Whaaats Up???

I know, I know....loong time no update.  Things got a little hectic around the end of November.  Went to Phoenix to spend time with LOTS of family for a family reunion.  Spent a week cooking, catching up and generally having loads of fun.  It was so nice to see everyone, and especially for G and H to meet a lot of relatives that they have never met in person.  It was also kind of nice to get away from the day-to-day issues of Phase II I have to say.

But since it's been a while - - here is a very long post to catch every one up on the saga of CMR Phase II:  Kitchen-New....

On Friday the 16th - - this was the BIG news....

Big moving truck FULL of kitchen cabinets sent all the way from Seattle from Henrybuilt!

The stuff was extremely well packed and there was loads and loads of stuff

It was really great to see these cabinets. If you recall we had a CATASTROPHE regarding the ceiling height. Turns out it was a problem with the measurements and the folks that caused the problem stepped up immediately to rectify. Best of all, Henrybuilt came to the rescue, did us a real solid and got everything taken care of with only 1 week delay in shipping! Hazzah!!!

The cabinets came on a Friday and I hustled off to Phoenix the following Monday without a single view of the damn things getting unpacked.  I wish I had a photo of the garage, since all that was left was a wee narrow space for George the Elder to park his Ducati in.  My car was ousted long ago to make room for the stove, but at least you used to be able to walk through it to get to the lower level of the house.  Not so much once the cabinets were unloaded!

After I left - - George the Elder stayed behind a couple more days to work and to keep watch and to take some photos of cabinets starting to go in.  Since I wasn't around I have no idea of the sequence - - but you'll get the gist...

 

 

Here is the stove nook coming together.  Upper cabinets hung.  The grayish shiny stuff on the back wall is a protective sealant that is over our fancy schmancy stainless steel back splash that will cover the wall behind the stove!  They've peeled it back a bit below the upper cabinets - - you can see the black backing sort of hanging down.

 

This big boy actually belongs across the room as part of the "tall wall" - - it is 3 cabinets that sit at counter height and will house appliances, the microwave and, in the very top cabinet, lots of things I will never be able to reach :)

 

George the Elder, ever the critic, commented that they didn't make as much progress on day 1 as he had hoped.  Go figure.  But on to Day 2 of Cabinet installation...

Upper stove nook cabinets are partnered with their lower buddies.  These sit back a little from their big brothers and will eventually have glass fronted doors.  The uppers will be solid.

In goes the sink counter!  The dishwasher will eventually sit to the far left.  "Tall Wall" will be on the right.

This cool little thing is a nice shelf that will live right under the sink.  Talk about utilizing space that used to be wasted.  I can put dish soap and rubber gloves and all my little scrubby things in there so that my counter top remains free clutter.  Wheee!!

Back to the Stove nook.  This cabinet sits to the right of the stove and will eventually house a wire shelving type unit where we can put oils and what not with in easy reach of the cook top.

It's at this point in installation that George the Elder brought G3 and H to meet me in Phoenix. We returned to SF to see the kitchen-new in a whole new light.  These views will be preserved soley in our memory since I did not take any photos.  In fact, I got lazier than Ian McLazy of the McLazy clan and didn't take many photos for a while....I suck.

This week I finally got out the camera to capture the floor tile going in.  I also got out the camera today to take some photos of what things look like as I sit here typing....so here we go...

The stove nook with all the cabinets done and dusted!  Now all it waits for is the La Canche.  She's still downstairs in the garage nestled in her big crate biding her time until someone VERY strong comes to get her and put her in place.  The range hood right now is incorrect, but we are working on changing that.  It's supposed to be entirely flush with the middle cabinets -- but if that can't be fixed, we can live with it as is.  Cause, dang, doesn't it look great?  Dig the wood trim accent at the top.  It's the bomb.

Next up is the sink wall and part of the "tall wall".  Since the cabinets are all "under wraps" while the floor gets done and other big stuff goes on around it - - imagine that there are graphite colored cabinets all underneath there.  Remember the cabinet that was sitting on the floor the first day of cabinet installation?  Here it is right where it is supposed to be....

I have coveted large sinks ever since our time in Japan and Europe where the sinks are only large enough to wash your hands effectively.  This little puppy is HUGE and DEEP and Oh So Very Stainless.  I will NOT miss my pink sink -- nope, not for a single second.

Looking down in to the kitchen-new from the top of the short stairs, you can see that the island is in place and the pantry on the right is installed.  That pantry is Gee-Or-GEOUS and spacious and perfect.  Drawers and shelves inside are a organizational girl's dream!

Ohhhhh, the island.  We are loving the island!  9 drawers on the front, plus a sweet tall narrow cabinet for trays,  A bookshelf on the back to showcase some vintage kitchen items we've collected.  It's fabulous in its current state....But, wait -- there's more!  There's a piece that will sit on the edge of the island closest to us in this picture that makes my heart sing.   It's got drawers for knives, a hidey hole for our kitchen radio, and a junk drawer space to boot.  But it's sitting somewhere secret for now -- just waiting to make it's debut.  I have seen it up already-- but it had to come down while the electrical was sorted out and perhaps will wait for the stone to be put on before it comes out of hiding.  It's A-MAZZZ-ING.

A view standing at the back door.

A view looking in from the dining room.

And now for the tile.  I believe I might marry my tile.  We were looking for something that would give us the same feel as our polished concrete floors in the downstairs - - but that was durable, stain resistance and could clean up like a rugby player on prom night.  We found it....Thanks Ann Sacks!!

We used a big 12x12 square with very tight spacing.

It's all done and grouted already - - had a wee problem with there not being quite enough tile -- but Foreman Luke is on it and it should get here tomorrow.  I didn't get any photos of it when it was done - - and now it is already all covered up.  But, trust me when I tell you it looks soooooo perfect.

And with only a couple of weeks left before we are supposed to be "mostly finished" - - here's what's on the agenda...

Tomorrow:

See this big space?  See that little radio?  Tomorrow this whole space will be occupied by the new fridge and freezer that will be delivered.  30" of mind boggling refrigerator space!!  19" of crazy cold freezer space!!  We had a minor communication snafu with the fridge panels - - wrong dimensions for another product - - which then impacted the cabinets above the units -- but again, Henrybuilt acted quickly and the problem is being fixed and new panels and cabinets are rushing down here next week. 

George the Elder and I will head over to give our approval for our granite to be cut in to counter tops and island tops and sink wall back splashes.  I wish that this picture could really show the beauty in this hunk of stone.  It's a honed slab of granite -- so no shiny polished swirly stuff for us.  We are looking forward to seeing how this stone complements the graphite color and fir.  We're thinking it's going to be delicous.

There you have it - - a quick walk over three plus weeks of work on the kitchen-new.

I would be lying if I said that the time had gone so quickly that I didn't even notice it -- but then again, it hasn't exactly been dragging either.  We are more than pleased that our team is working so well together.  Problems arise every single day.  Little ones mostly - and some not so little ones - - but they are getting resolved in one way or another.  True that the "one way" generally involves us spending more money - - but that's the nature of the beast.

Luke still seems to think we'll be ready for Christmas.  I am cautiously optomistic.  Still so much to be done - - more drywalling, changing of the stove hood, installation of the roof blower for the range hood, construction on the roof, replacement of the gutters on the back of the house, more tiling, painting, more cabinets to come and get installed, dishwasher and stove to get installed, electrical and plumbing to finish... and the list goes on.  I just had a flash of Ty from "Extreme Makeovers" screaming in to his bull horn - - "LET'S GET WORKING PEOPLE!!!!!!"