Still Stunned!

I am still stunned every time I walk into the kitchen.  It is hard to believe I am in my own house!  Truthfully, I haven't cooked but two meals in there so far...as usual life gets in the way!

I am still waiting on the cabinet front doors for the dishwasher and fridge but it should take much longer to get them.

I am looking forward to doing a little entertaining soon...but first the house is a mess...the dust is still every where!  My vacuum cleaner is still broken...and I have about two more drawers to organize..

Cleaning up the whole house is next...but not today...!

Ambitious

Ok, so having a beautiful and well appointed kitchen does not make one a great cook!  I might have been a bit ambitious when I attempted Bernaise sauce last night for our first dinner out of the kitchen.  The taste was good...but I didn't get it thick enough..so Tabb used it as a dipping sauce!  Oh well...I will try again.

And I guess I should say that the bulk of the meal was prepared on the grill and outside...steak and fries..(done in the fry daddy on the deck) I didn't want to grease up the kitchen!  I did do the salad and a rasberry sauce for ice cream!

Favorite things

One of my favorite things so far is the kitchen sink...I really love the big sink and single faucet.  I have washed the sink and dried it (a big deal for me!) already at least twice a day!  I doubt that will last for ever...but right now I am loving the sink...and June Cleaver would be impressed!

Moving In

Have you ever just opened your cabinets and drawers and looked at all the things we stuff in them? I believe it's part of our good old American philosophy of keeping stuff because we can. And maybe a little of listening to our grand parents talk about how they saved everything!  I packed up a lot of things that we had been storing for years.  Some of which was coated in layers of dust from non use.  I packed it up anyway and stacked boxes up in the living room when we started this project.  Now comes the hard part-deciding what will go back in the cabinets and it's going to take a while.

Have you noticed on HGTV the tiny cupboards (European word for cabinets that sounds so much better!)  and appliances that are in those houses and flats.  I think they are on to something that makes sense.  Why keep things you don't use? And why not keep only food that is going to be used! It's fresher and better for us...and it's got to be cheaper too!   I'm trying to go through all my things to see what is really used.  

Take for example the sweet little crystal parfait glasses that had been collecting dust on a high shelf in the old kitchen.  I don't remember the last time I made a parfait!  Will they stay or go?  If I decide I have to do parfaits I can always use a wine glass--and I know I won't be getting rid of the wine glasses!  Well, that's not quite true-- I am getting rid of a few that have been around since the 80's!  It's these kinds of decisions that I am making with the opening of each box of things.  It seems to be taking me a bit more time than I thought.  

When planning the kitchen I wanted a place to store all my fine china...yes, I do use my china.  Maybe it's a southern girl thing...but I like using the good stuff for more than just holidays.  I had originally stored them in some cabinets that were hard to reach. Then, in my last rearrangement of the kitchen the china moved to some open shelving in the dinning room that I was never pleased about.  Now, I have two sets of fine china stored in one of my drawers in the kitchen.

Ok, so back to work I go moving back in this kitchen!

FWIW..When planning the budget for the kitchen try to leave room for some trips to the organization store for some of the neat stuff you can use to organize things!  I have made only one trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond so far...but another one will happen today!

The Reveal!

There are a very few details that will be finished next week...but I couldn't stand it..I had to share what it looks like now!  More about it all soon...I am still trying to get moved back in...

FWIW...It takes much longer to put it all back than you think it will!

After

Before

The left side Before

The left side After

The Right side

Right side After

Just one more thing Cinderella

As my kitchen project is winding down I am amazed at the "one more thing's" that have to happen.

Yesterday the appliances were installed.  The tile was  set and the grout was applied this morning.

The refrigerator and dishwasher will have have the same doors as the cabinets..(cabinet front) and the cabinet people will be back to measure and get those done.

There is one piece of baseboard to be applied...and some shoemold (I have no idea how to spell that!) to be applied and stained and of course I don't have the stain...and one tiny little piece of sheet rock to be redone...which then means one tiny little bit of painting that has to happen.

FWIW My point is...when you watch HGTV and they do the installation in a day and the family comes in and lives happily ever after...it really doesn't really happen that way.  These are details that take a bit of time and effort to work through...  Expect the one more things and don't expect an HGTV reveal in a day or so.  It's like believing that Cinderella really does meet her prince, the glass slipper fits, and they ride off into the sunset!

BTW...hang with me and I will add some photos soon!  Oh yes, and I love the tile! 

This is the week!

It looks like I will be able to prepare a meal by the end of the week!  WOW!

The schedule has been:
Cabinets installed --Monday and Tuesday of last week
Floors finished--by Friday
Floors Dried all weekend (we couldn't walk on them)
Monday morning the vent hood and most of the rest of the electrical was accomplished
Tuesday the counter tops and the sink were installed.  The cabinet people  put the finishing touches on the cabinets.  The electrician will be finished.
Wednesday the appliances will be installed and the sink hooked up.  And the tile installer will be here to install the back splash tile!  I understand it is a two day job...so by Thursday we will have working kitchen!

Photos will follow on the finished product..I think I am going to love it!    Looks like I get to learn to cook again!

Pinterest recipes...here I come...

First Steps

Last Friday I watched the last coat of floor finish be applied to the floors in the kitchen.  It was applied with a brush--by hand.  When it was finished we closed the doors and put chairs in front of them and couldn't walk on the floor until Sunday!

So what did I do?  I took a brief vacation from the kitchen and went to Birmingham.  I spent all day Saturday shopping with our niece as she shopped for furniture, fabric, and accessories for her living room and dinning room!  Saturday night we moved furniture around and tried out several different looks.  We drank some wine and ate some cheese and planned an plotted her redo!  It was great fun!  

I have decided home decorating is my guilty pleasure.  I love it.  I always have. Lacey and I used to lay in the  floor and look at decorating magazines and plan our first apartments and homes.  I can't say I am all that good at it...but I do enjoy the hunt, the plan, the creative part of it all!

Sunday when I returned home the floors ready!  All by myself. in a quiet house I slipped my shoes off and I walked barefoot on my virgin floors.  They felt wonderful.  The finished floors really make the cabinets look great!  I can't wait to share it all in photos soon!

Stay tuned!

Happy Woman

It must be nice to be the cabinet guy on install day because he sure gets to see happy women! 

This week brought the first glimpse of what the it's really going to be!  The cabinets were installed on Monday and Tuesday!  I can't tell you how pleased I am with the cabinets!  They are beautiful and it is exactly what I wanted.

I must say that I tried to plan the kitchen and think about where I would put things.  Since I was changing from all drawers and no cabinets I tried to think about what I needed to store and how would I store it.  I am not good enough to plan out every detail--like where each pot, pan, and utensil will go.  I know people who are that good...but that's not me.  As with most things...I have a general concept...but hard specifics...not really.

FWIW.  When doing the plan, Lacey drew the kitchen and we labeled where things would go.  For instance, we wrote on the design, "dishes", "glassware", "pots", "bowls", etc...Now that I can see it all I am rethinking what I had planned.  I do believe I will have a place for it all...it is going to be interesting figuring it all out!  And I am committed to not storing things I don't need.

It took Monday and Tuesday to do the installation.  The floors are being stained the rest of the week and we won't walk on them for a few days.  The electrician is scheduled for Monday to do more of the lighting and install the vent hood.  I chose one that vents out of the house.   The counter top is scheduled for Tuesday, and the cabinet people come back to drop the top one of the cabinets down on the counter--I have two appliance garages.  Then the appliances and tile are scheduled for Wednesday.  I will be amazed if it all happens as smoothly...but keep your fingers crossed...this time next week I may be able to move back in...

Well, there are plans for a small dinner next Friday...!  If the kitchen is ready...great...if it's not...no worries, I have a plan for something that doesn't require cooking...improvise, improvise...!

Shattered Dreams

The cabinets were supposed to be installed on June 1...supposed to be installed.  It didn't happen and so we wait. I am not complaining..it's what happens to everyone I know who has done this kind of project.  But UGH.. On a positive note I cleaned up the dinning room, washed another load of dishes in the bathtub.

It's progress...sort of..

And...I didn't let the lack of a kitchen stop me from having a welcome home party for son Tabb last night.  Grilled hamburgers (thanks to Dad) and chips and beer on the deck with Tabb's friends.  Martha Stewart might not have approved of the open bags of chips and squeeze bottles of mayo, mustard, and ketchup...and the paper and plastic on the table...but I did drink some champagne out of a glass!

Ain't Paint Great

A fresh coat of paint just does wonders.  The kitchen has been painted, as has the office, and my bedroom.  I love a little change!  The kitchen is now ready for the cabinets!

The ceiling is a beautiful shade of blue, the wall and cabinets will be cream colored.

The house is a wreck...furniture is moved to the center of rooms, boxes are stacked up here and there.  The dust is everywhere too!  I like it all.  I am sure it's the Army Brat in me.  I am just as happy as can be with all this mess and change.

With the kitchen project I had also planned to do work on my bedroom. I have new drapes being made, and the room has been painted a beautiful light cream color.  Just painting the room has made a huge difference...More on the bedroom later...

About the cream color. It's really pretty. It's fresh, crisp and calm all at once.  Lacey, the queen of color has chosen this one...and as usual she was right on...I can't wait to see it with my ikat blue and cream colored draperies!