Day 10

Progress. It's a very different footprint than the old kitchen, but having lived 'around' the space rather than 'in' it for so long, I don't think the adjustment will be difficult. The floor is lovely - well done on that quick choice.
We're up against a decision deadline. The lights, faucet,  and pulls all have to be purchased and delivered, or at the very least, ordered, before we go away next Saturday. While we are in France, Ken and Paul will finish the magic. Appliances are scheduled to be delivered, as is the quartz countertop. Choosing all the little details is proving much harder than deciding upon cabinet styles or layout or appliances. Too much selection? I've said for years that I have commitment issues. It only took 15 years to recover the couch. Unfortunately this time, I have less than 15 days to pick things we will have to live with for many years to come.

Last night, after ploughing through pictures of kitchen lighting until our eyes blurred, we decided on the spoondelier to go over the peninsula / eating bar. Schoolhouse pendants, which I love, seem to need bigger spaces, according to the design magazines at least. Spoondeliers, I hope, will be unique, add just enough detail, and not be too big for the space. They have to come all the way up from Nashville, Tennessee, and their website says it should take 2 - 3 weeks. I wonder how much assembly will be required...

Day 9

Installation of the cabinets started today. We like the green, but it's the little decisions we're having trouble with. Lights. Tap. Pulls. For small details, they have a big impact. It looks like the spoondelier wins over more traditional schoolhouse pendants. I like the look of schoolhouse pendants, but the pictures in magazines are always of much bigger kitchens than ours.






                               Salem checking things out...

Day 8

Invasion of the boxes!
The cabinets arrived today. I haven't seen this many boxes since moving from Sweden. They're everywhere. The new opening from the dining room is going to take some getting used to. While I still haven't decided about the pendant lights to go over the peninsula (leaning toward schoolhouse pendants, but the spoondelier is still a contender), it's looking like we'll have more pot lights than we'll know what to do with.
Peter's homework tonight is to paint the ceiling and assorted pieces of wall where there won't be cabinets. Better him than me - I despise painting. I much prefer wallpaper. Some of my beloved toile wallpaper has survived - in the alcove between the laundry room and the kitchen. P repainted the wainscotting in there because the wood was clashing with the new floor. It looks so much fresher white.
The weather people think we're in for a big storm overnight and into tomorrow. Fingers crossed for a snow day. If we get one, we'll have to work really hard to stay out of Paul and Ken's way as they start to assemble the cabinetry. I'm anticipating big changes tomorrow.

Day 7

Floor.
Well, half a floor.
Nice, non?

Day 6 - lighting options

Over the peninsula (it isn't an island because it will be attached to the wall), we need 2 hanging pendants. We've cruised websites and wandered around lighting stores. I'm not really falling in love with anything. Some of them are too big; some have exposed lightbulb filaments which bother my eyes. What to do...
A couple of years ago, when we were in Niagara-on-the-Lake in December, there was a magnificent chandelier in the front window of a shop. It was made of old silver cutlery and teacups. They wanted a fortune for it, and we weren't in the fortune business, so the light stayed in the shop, but I never forgot it.
Today I found a similar one at Anthropologie at Yorkdale. If you've been in, it's near the back, very tarnished, but very distinctive. Unfortunately, I think it's too big for our space. Top to bottom, not including the hanging chain, I think it's about 3 feet long. We only have 8 ft ceilings. How high above a counter is a hanging light supposed to be?
After getting home, I hit the internet and discovered that there's a company out of Tennesee called Cake Vintage that makes teacup chandeliers and spoondeliers. I love the teacups, but I think they'd be too big. The spoondelier, on the other hand, has possibilities...

Day 6

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have subfloor!
The very boring backsplash tiles have arrived.
The flooring is waiting in the dining room.
Things are looking good!
Funny how small the room feels without anything in it.

Day 5

From the sounds of things, today was a day for adjustments. The outlets for both the fridge and freezer had to be moved, as did the outside vent for the stove. And my lovely toile wallpaper is gone.
The writing is (literally) on the wall - freezer here, dishwasher here, and the old bulkhead spaces have been filled in with fresh drywall. Salem has been keeping pretty well out of the way. He waits until work is done for the day before he comes to check it out.

WHOA! wait a minute - how did I miss this? If you've been in my kitchen, try to orient yourself to see what's gone. Look at the words. The other archway to the dining room is gone. Wow. That was the right thing to do. See on the right there? the white thing? yup. That's my old fridge. In the middle of the front hall. It's the latest in design. Grab and go etc.

Day 4

You don't see the difference do you?
New window!!!
One you can actually see through! and open!

Day 3

The new doorway through to the dining room has been framed. The current doorway is where the curtain is. Salem's "gopher" holes have been filled in. It wasn't a good day to install the new window, but she's a beauty (last one in the house to be replaced). The old fluorescent light is gone (hooray!) and the new pot light holes have either been drawn in or are already cut out. The most exciting part is that there are now labels on the walls for where all the new appliances will go (yay freezer!)
Stay tuned...

Day 2

Yesterday ended with the first of what I'm sure will be many problems: the flooring we had chosen, the flooring I had dreamed about, the flooring I had designed the ENTIRE space around, is no longer available. How do they not know these things? I had been into the store several times over the past few months to gaze at the sample. I had borrowed it multiple times. I don't think it's entirely the store's fault. The manufacturer should be more honest with its clients and let them know when there are product shortages. Short of the long, we spent more than 2 crazy hours running around town and we found something else. It's significantly cheaper and may end up being significantly easier to live with in the long run, but it lacks the magic of the original.
Salem discovered a whole new world once K&P left yesterday and he could come out of hiding. There are holes in the floor now, cat-sized holes, perfect for exploring. At one point last night, we lost him, and when we called for him, his little head popped out of the hole like a gopher.
It's amazing how the feel of a space can change. The room felt shorter as soon as the curtains came down. Now it feels taller without the bulkheads. It also feels smaller the emptier it gets, but it won't be staying empty for long...

Heart's Desire - Day 1

In this column, I have written about our travels more than anything else. Today begins a journey of another sort; today begins our long-awaited kitchen renovation. When the Property Brothers tell their clients "I can have the whole thing done in 5 weeks", I never think that sounds so bad. A little over a month seems pretty quick to completely overhaul a significant part of a house. But living through the 5 weeks for the bathroom reno last year nearly killed me. I'm hoping this is better because we should be able to live around the mess, rather than having the mess right in the middle of our living. Only time will tell.
Happy Valentine's Day.
And so it begins...