Faucets!

My maternal Grandmother did not have running water or a bathroom until she was in her 70's.  For the last week and a half we have only had running water for cooking, washing and drinking from our shower.  In the spirit of my Grandma who I never heard complain,  I won't complain either.  I am however very grateful and I have a new appreciation for my Grandma.

Today the kitchen and bathroom faucets were installed and the dishwasher too!  We can use real plates now!  There was a hitch with the bathroom vessel sink.  I got a great deal on it at Lowes but I should have gone on line and looked at the reviews.  They all said there is no drain that will work with this sink.  The plumber tried everything but it would not stop leaking so I ordered a sink and the plumber will be back again.   In the meantime we have a vessel dishpan.  I'll think of Grandma as I use it.

 We had our first meal in the new kitchen today and I was able to utilized the island, the sink and the stove.  I kept walking to the living room to go to the fridge but hopefully it won't take too long to retrain myself.

Turning in early tonight.  I'm tired.

                                               Got this sink and faucet at Overstock.com

                              
                   Kenna ordered the Maytag Dishwasher and held it at Lowes for me until I needed it.

                                                           Ordered this faucet on line too.

                                                             Dishpan vessel sink.

                                                    Todd enjoying the kitchen table.

 Former shop counter, now our island.  Top made by Kari Evely, stained and finished by Todd.

                                        

                                                        The fridge is in the kitchen now.

The Finishing Work

The kitchen is now open to the living room and we wanted the trim to match.  Miles and Kenny spent the last two days making the baseboards and trim to match.  These guys are really talented.  It's tedious work and it looks great.  I doubt my painting skills do it justice.  I painted a few base boards last night and quit after I knocked over a quart of paint on the finished floor.  Quick clean up.  Lesson learned.  Don't paint when you are tired.  Here are some pictures of the finish work.

                                  This is the living room trim they were matching.

                                                Miles and Kenny finishing the trim work.

                                                  Beautiful trim.

                       Miles does carpentry, finish work, decks, and we just found out he can do concrete too.
We give him our best recommendation!

Salt and Pepper Counter Top

I thought I wanted a solid surface counter top but after much discussion with the kitchen designer at Lowes, Kenna Routt, we decided on the granite.  Lowes has 7 or 8 to choose from at an installed price and sometimes they even have 18 months same as cash.  You go to the granite place and pick out the slab.  That was interesting.   So, today was the install day for the counter top.  Kenna came over to watch and was a big help in the decision of faucet placement, and she also told us we needed a hole cut for an air duct for the dishwasher.   I  highly recommend her services at Lowes.  She helped me choose a dishwasher and microwave and kept me up to date when it came in and they held it for me at Lowes until I needed it.  Here are some pictures of the counter top.  Lowes granite features a 15 year sealer so no worries for quite a while.

Kenna has a degree in interior design and will be glad to help you plan your kitchen.

We Have Lighting

It seems like we haven't had lighting in the kitchen for a month.  I do know for sure that we have never had lighting like this.  Under cabinet lighting, task lighting, can lights, and a chandelier.  Mark's Electric out of Danville is amazing.  Mark and Van work fast and very well together.  One switch was covered up by drywall but they just cut out the drywall and finished it.  I won't  comment on the drywall because I'm just so excited about the lighting.   I can't believe this is our kitchen.  If I'm dreaming I hope it doesn't end.  

                                                            Mark, of Mark's Electric

Van, of Mark's Electric

My little joker, Marylee 

                                        

Coutertops tomorrow!

Progress in the Kitchen

Well, lots has happened since my last post.  The cabinets are in, and they are beautiful.  More than I hoped for.  The Amish really are craftsmen.

The counter top template has been made.

This will be a big week with the electrician installing the lights,  the carpenter finishing the woodwork, and the plumber installing the faucets.  We haven't had lights or water in the kitchen for a while so it will be great to have both.   I've got doors and woodwork to paint, cabinets to figure out where to place things, and soon a counter top.   Can the end of the project really be in sight.  Sure hope so.

A New Business in town.

Kari Evely has just returned home from a year in Ameri-Corp where she learned all kinds of carpentry skills, helped tornado victims and blessed people whereever she went.   She has now started her own finish carpentry business.   She rebuilt the top of an antique store fixture for us and added shelving to it.

Soon she will be adding base boards in our bathroom.   If you need something done around the house call Kari.  She will do what she says and is a very pleasant person.  Come on ladies give her a try. 

Kari Evely  859-227-1780.  Tell her Linda sent you.

Miles and his crew installed our new back door last week and it is beautiful.  It is energy efficient and you don't have to slam it to shut it.  The trim isn't up yet but have a look:

   Notice the new floor.  Pine floor sanded by Todd.  Stained and poly by me.    Colonial Pine stain.

The cabinets will be installed on Tuesday and the countertop people will make a template on Wednesday  and the coutertop will be installed next Monday.  This means no kitchen sink for a week.   The end is in sight and we can do it.

It was a busy week and ended with a surprise birthday party for my mom's 80th birthday.  She  was surprised and I think everyone had a good time.  The weather was wonderful.  We love the downtown Pavillion.  It's a great place for a party.

    

The Bathroom Color Is...

I have a hard time choosing a color.  I wanted gray for the bathroom.  Not blue gray, green gray, yellow gray, brown gray just gray.  Difficult to find.  Finally yesterday I realized my stairway is gray and I like the color, so I called Nicholasville Paint to see if they could look it up for me.  They file all the invoices by year and can look through and see what color you bought.  Talk about service!  So I got the card that the stairway gray was on and chose one a little darker.  It's called Silent Night.  Years ago Benjamin Moore just numbered colors but now they all have names.

The red paint and the gray are both Aura, by Benjamin Moore.  It's a paint and primer in one and we were able to paint the red in one coat.  I did the gray today in one coat too.  This was on bare new drywall.  Amazing paint.  It's expensive but the time savings is terrific.

Todd rented the sander from Home Depot and we started sanding the pine floor this evening.  Have to turn the sander back in tomorrow so we have another busy day ahead.

Here are some pictures:

      Next step.  Sand floors with great big rental sander.  More dust.  More Mess.

                                      

                                          Our pine kitchen floor, soon to be stained and poly.

The Kitchen color is............

Benjamin Moore 1330  Valentine

Below is an inspiration picture.  Our cabinets do not have glass and the countertop is lighter.

The red color is in the living room and has been for 15 years.  It is a blue red and reminds me of flag red.

I used Aura, Benjamin Moore's new paint that is a one coat paint and primer combined.  I love it.

Here are my new pictures.  Before White cabinets and white woodwork.

Next is painting the bathroom and sanding and staining the floor.

Next step in the renovation.

First can I say that if you are a handy person and can do home repair I think you could have a great business if you would do the following:  Arrive when you say you will.  Do what you say you will do.

Have a fair price.    Oh, and if you can't come one day-CALL THE PEOPLE AND LET THEM KNOW.  One more thing, answer your phone, return your calls.  Don't avoid people, it only makes the whole thing worse.  Tell the truth.  If you do these things word of mouth will keep you busy!  With That said.....

The drywall is done and that's all I have to say about that.  Now we move on to priming and painting walls and staining the floor.  In the midst of all this we planned a yard sale.  What were we thinking?  Oh, well,  that's over and we got to spend time with Sarah, Bryan and Sadie and get rid of some stuff.  Our middle one is home for the summer and to say she was shocked by the chaos at home is an understatement.  Laura is a neat nick and to live with dust and mess is really hard for her.  It's not forever.  I'm also planning a surprise 80th birthday for my mom.  Timing is everything!  (It's not at out house!)  

My task ahead is to prime and paint the drywall (walls and ceiling) and stain the new unfinished pine floor.  The hard part is picking out the colors.  I've driven the paint store guys crazy but they've been great. (Nicholasville Paint) The physical difficulty is trying to do all of this with my 50 something body.   Soreness and Ibuprofen to come.    This kind of renovation really tests a family.  It's hard to live in a mess and try to function.  I keep hoping everyone can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I can see it.  I hope I never get so uptight about my house that I would sacrifice a relationship in the process.  Should we obsess about a mess and dust and drive ourselves crazy trying to have everything perfect?  I don't think so. (Of course, I'm not a neat nick) A true friend will share the joy in the process and encourage you.  I'm lucky to have that.  

I went down to Harrodsburg yesterday to see the paint sample of the cabinets we are getting.  They are coming from Heirloom Furniture.  David is the rep for Amish cabinets.  Ours are white with a black glaze.  The door will have an outside edge like the cream one and an inside panel like the white one. 

The Amish will be delivering and installing.  I'm so excited about that.  They will be installed June 14th so I've go to get busy!!!!!!!!!!

This is David from Heirloom Furniture.  They have beautiful furniture,  lawn furniture, wooden toys and clocks.   The showroom is at 3008 Louisville Rd. , Harrodsburg Ky.  (that's 127  My friend Jill told me about it.  She has bought some beautiful furniture there.)  The showroom is only open Thur-Sat. 

I would call first.  859-865-4393

Did I mention we're on a diet too!  Todd has lost 26 pounds and 25 for me.  Todd is already off one medication.  That's the goal, to get off most of them.  Dieting together has made it easier.

Dirty, Itchy and Dusty

When we started the renovation of our kitchen and bath we began with demolition.  I have never been dirtier.  The insulation was last weekend and I never felt so itchy.  Now the drywall.  I've never seen so much dust.  The drywall crew worked well yesterday and we expected them back this morning.  No show.
We are really under a time crunch because the cabinets are coming June 14th and we have to prime, and paint the walls and ceiling and finish the floor before then.  It's going to be a messy week.  I'm a little frustrated.  Sure hope they show up tomorrow.  Here are some drywall pictures.

                                          I'm quite sure I would break my neck on those.

                                             The dry wall crew.

                                          Plastic wall between kitchen and living room.

                                             Make shift sink.  The only one downstairs.

                                            Bathroom.  This green dry wall is moisture resistant.

                                                             Zuzu has no idea what is going on.