It has been awhile since I posted because life is so hectic - not to mention I am homeless! :( Maddy and I - and now Matt since our electricity and water has been off for several days now - are all living with my parents still - oh and the dogs! Cannot forget them. It seems like even though we hired professional to handle the remodel for us, the task are insurmountable! There are still so many decision to be made each day, things to find, decisions to be made.... I leave my full time job to go home to a needy 2 year old and another full time job of co-managing - with the help of Matt - the reconstruction of our house. It doesn't even feel like the same house any more which is pretty incredible in itself. So much has been going on lately, I don't know where to start and probably will forget a lot. To start, our taste is incredible. Some how Matt and I can walk into any store - probably even the grocery store, and if we need to pick something out we always only like the most expensive things. I think it truly is a gift. If we got paid for every time we heard the word "premium" or "upcharge", our budget would start decreasing instead of increasing!
For example, the simple cheap half bath remodel. We took everything out and were going to simplify with a pedestal sink and toilet. Sounds simple and cheap right?? Apparently not. We only liked the large pedestal sink and matching toilet by Kohler which of course were much higher than everything else. Again, truly a gift. After searching days and several stores finding nothing comparable, we just purchased them. So next time you are at our house, take time to truly enjoy the luxurious new toilet and sink.
In the laundry room we currently have a large fiberglass double sink really deep sink that we love. After many stores, we found they no longer make something like this that is that large and can be wall mounted, we would have to get a sink base and purchase a large kitchen sink to put in it. Again, additional cost for large stainless single bowl sink PLUS now purchasing a cabinet to put it in. Not to mention we needed other cabinets to replace the old ones we took down, and every laundry room needs granite countertops of course - right?? Apparently in our house. We also built a closet into the laundry which is the first thing I notice when I walk in now, though it is also the only thing at all in that room, but will be very functional and was definitely needed after removing the hall closet.
The largest change has come in the kitchen. After 6 months of planning and picking the perfect design, we have changed it. At first we were going with a curved two tiered island. The whole idea was opening the house up giving it a very fluid, open look. Furthermore, with Maddy, the two tiered island I was contemplating a lot its functionality as she is so young. After much thought, we changed the island to a very large single level rectangle. It is lower so Maddy can do her art, eat her meals, just hang out at a lower level with me while I am cooking and working in the kitchen. The change came about as well because when we went granite shopping I found a beautiful Alpine White though it is actually a marbled gray granite. Matt wasn't sure how it would look with our cabinets so googled kitchen images. In doing so found some pictures with different island and exterior wall granite. So now, we are doing a dark gray cabinet on the island color with the Alpine White granite and a steel grey granite on the wall cabinets which are still white. A little more modern and contemporary but very custom and unique and we enjoy it. One other alteration we made which I love too much is the cabinet above the built in ovens now will swing upwards and we are putting a 27 inch tv hidden inside. We had the cable and electricity moved to make this work. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and with the large island to gather around, I wanted a tv but not noticeable. The hidden tv in the cabinet is going to be one of my favorite features of the remodel I think!! For years when we moved in I had a crt old school huge 27 inch tv that sat in the corner and I loved it. I have missed it ever since we moved it so I am glad to have this new addition.
One thing still lingering is the PENDANTS! I hate pendants just to clarify. Pretty much the only thing Matt and I argue about is the stupid pendants. I pretty much have given up and don't care any more but Matt's taste is outrageous on the only ones he does like so I have had to step back in after conceding my opinion to at least regulate the costs. We found something new today which comes out next week and is on order for us to view. I am hoping it is the one and this horrible process of pendant searching comes to an end. It truly has been one of the worst parts of the remodel. If I knew it was going to be like this I would have just done all cans in the kitchen.....
Speaking of, the cans are looking wonderful!!! Before the remodel we had no overhead lighting in the house! It was awful!! Both living rooms were horribly lit be lamps and the kitchen has several darks spots. Our first floor now has 32 cans, 3 eventual pendants and under cabinet lighting. We are not going to know what to do with so much light. I hate dark though so it is going to be another wonderful addition.
Progress is being made at the house. They have less than a week to be out, and I am more than ready to move back in. Hopefully they stay on track. It looks like we will be moving back in 1-2 weeks before the cabinets are done, then the granite will take an additional 1-2 weeks after the installation of the cabinets, but we can still be back home, just without a functioning kitchen. So far however, so good. I like the progress, am so happy with the open huge feeling the house has now, and just cannot wait to see it all come together. Knock on wood, other than some minor hiccups, the remodel has gone pretty smoothly so far. Hopefully it finished up the same way.
