Before final demo & sheetrock:
{{!gwi}}

With sheetrock:
{{!gwi}}

Before final demo and sheetrock:
{{!gwi}}

After sheetrock:

{{!gwi}}

Mudding and sanding will take the rest of this week. Floors early next week...then CABINETS!!! It is killing me that they're here in town and I haven't seen them.

Oh, and my ming green backsplash is now a maybe. I ordered (and paid for) it on 9/16 and was supposed to ship 9/18. I finally got ahold of the sales guy on 9/27 and he said he would ship Monday (9/29). Still no word on shipping or tracking #. I'm going out tomorrow to look for a backup. Sad.

Anita

Looks like everything is coming along nicely. The cabinets will be in before you know it! I'll keep my fingers crossed on the ming green (I'll say a prayer too!)

Julie (NOT the sister who gave the paint thinner !!!)

Anita,
I was hoping you' have good news about your Ming. I love reading this thread and seeing how you are progressing. Thank you for sharing!
Beth

Love the updated posts and the Flippen prank. I was laughing so hard I was crying! Oh, I should be exercising instead, but was captivated by the posts. How are things going other than your backsplash troubles?

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your patio. It is beautiful. Hope you are able to enjoy it before the super cold weather sets in.

I too felt my kitchen was so much smaller after the cabinets were removed. It was wierd!

Got to scoot and exercise--ugh. Been trying to catch up on posts since PG and E fried my computer last week with a power outage. Just got it fixed late yesterday when the part finally arrived.

Sheetrock is completed, so kitchen looks like this:

{{!gwi}}

The rest of the house looks like dust :)

My Minas soapstone slabs left Denver today on a truck (saved $200 shipping because they were able to put it on with another shipment and they passed the savings on to me!). It should be delivered to my fabricator by Tuesday. Possibly Monday, definitely Tuesday.

I got my ming green marble backsplash today after a nailbiting customer service experience. I LOVE it and I hope it works in my real kitchen the way it works in my imagined kitchen.

{{!gwi}}

I also picked pendant lights this week after falling in love with the lights at a local bakery while pigging out on scones. The blue in this photo looks kind of baby blue but is actually aqua and works really well with the ming green samples I took in today.

{{!gwi}}

My existing hardwoods will be patched Monday or maybe Tuesday, then cabs go in Thurs or maybe Friday.

And the only thing I have left to pick is paint color, the light over the table and my knobs and pulls. Oops, I'm supposed to have my knobs and pulls on site when they install the cabs next week. I don't think that is gonna happen :)

Anita

My blue kitchen has been gone now for 3 weeks 2 days.

My cabinets were supposed to go in starting today or tomorrow. I got a call from my contractor today that the cabinet installers ran behind on their job today and they won't be here until Monday to start. My immediate thought was "that moves templating back, which moves install out, which means they'll want to install when I'm out of town, that can't happen" blah blah blah out'. So for countertop install I was expecting to hear we'd slipped from 10/24 to 10/31.

THEN he said "but we've moved countertop install UP from 10/24 to 10/22!!!

I said "YOU ARE A ROCK STAR"!!!! Seriously, that two weeks until counters come in, they loomed on the schedule like a big brick wall. So maybe, just maybe, I'll have a dishwasher by the end of October. Wouldn't that be sweet? ??

In other news, I'm no longer sold on the aqua pendant lights I'd chosen because I realized my whole palette through the house is earthy tones and the aqua goes a whole different way. (see my other thread and help me pick a paint color, please!)

I still have to pick the paint color, knobs & pulls, and the lights (pendants and table light). I think once those are done, I'm done deciding things at least until 2009! Thank God I don't have a baby to name or anything, because I'm all decided out.

I am so excited to be on the cusp of this next stage where everything comes together. I'm scared and second guessing everything, too. I was trying today to come up with a new method of installing backsplashes which would make them easy to remove and change out. I was thinking that maybe they could attach the cement board with velcro or something, and then if I get sick of the backsplash I'd just pry off the velcro'd on backsplash. Pathetic, eh?

Anita

Anita, I hear you exactly! We're in about the same stage - our cabinets just went in, and countertop install should be next week, 10/17, so about a week ahead of you. So I definitely am in the same zone of the everything coming together - exciting but also scary! I love your backsplash idea, by the way, that would be very neat if it could done and look good :-)

Good luck picking the rest of your kitchen. We are I think done - we have a paint color and lights, and I wimped out and skipped pulls - I do like the clean look, too, but it also means one less thing to pick! Oh, and we did have a baby this year (back in May) and seriously, we had a terrible time with his name and I think part of it was we were trying to get everything else for the house decided about the same time and it was seriously too much!

{{!gwi}}

The full extension glides and soft close are DREAMY!

What a fun day :)

Anita

Hey Anita, glad it's going well! Both construction-wise and schedule-wise!!!

I am *so* jealous of your ming-green backsplash. I saw it in the tile shop the other day - it's just gorgeous. Can't wait to see the finished pictures! (Bet you can't wait, either!!)

Good luck!!

I have a confession to make. I left at 10am this am, right after taking the picture I posted earlier of one unpacked cabinet sitting in my kitchen. When i came back at 3pm and saw *my* cabinets in *my* kitchen, I teared up! I know it is so silly because I planned this and chose it and I knew it was coming, but I was still totally overwhelmed to see these lovely cherry cabinets with tasteful shaker fronts in MY kitchen. What a day :)

This was late afternoon::

{{!gwi}}

I can't get any pictures of how it looks now because it is too dark in there. He has all of the uppers hung and all of the lowers installed. He has one spice pullout to assemble and install, my oven cabinet to install, and all the adjustments. Plus all of the trim.

I was impressed with both the installer and my cabinet salesguy. (I hesitate to call him a KD; not sure what the right term is. Maybe cabinet designer?). He was the guy who helped me translate my layout to which cabinets I needed and how it would all be finished. He was onsite nearly all day which totally makes sense because he is the one who I have talked to all along. I love that level of service.

The weird white panels are the unfinished edges of certain cabinets before the finished end panels go on.

The quality looks amazing. I think the finish looks a lot better in person than on this picture.

I'm very happy :)

Anita

Your cabinets are beautifully rich wood,both the color and grain.

Yay you!
I'm about two weeks behind you...
cherry, shaker, soapstone...
Looks great--
drywall was a drag, yes? I've ben at this since June and that was the one weekend I wanted to cry--no escape from the dust!
Congrats for surviving..home stretch now!
Looks great...

B

Berf,

Yes, drywall WAS a drag! I gave up on the house at that point. I'm glad I'll be out of town when the floors are done :)

Do you mean that you are cherry, shaker, soapstone also? Pics please!

Anita

Indeed-I've got natural cherry cabinets arriving Thursday. Shaker doors with slab drawers, full overlay. Green Mountain Original PA soapstone (picked the slabs yesterday.)...all should be installed by the end of the month, if not finished completely.

And we too are planning on making ourselves scarce when the floors are done (the whole main floor is red oak and will be refinished at the same time.)

I'll post pics when everything starts going in...I've got a thread started with a few pics of other aspects...

Here is a link that might be useful: Berf's Whole House Reno

Anita, your cabs look beautiful!! You are so close to being done now that it must be feeling pretty good. Thanks for the updated pictures!

Sandy

Can't believe I missed this thread. What an exciting and fun read. Love your style, and you're going to have a great kitchen!

Mari

I'm on my way out to the granite yard to watch as they lay the templates out on the slabs. I am so excited to see my slabs!

My kitchen is looking so great! I can't believe I'm at this stage.

The guy has up most of the crown and what an amazing difference that makes. I had forgotten what crown we picked and I love it! I know I need to post pics but I"m dashing out the door...so look again later today!

I have one possible problem with a cabinet. My upper corner cabinet has two doors that come together at a 90 degree angle in the corner. You can open either one without it rubbing on the other door, but I cannot imagine any possible way to attach knobs or pulls to the doors without essentially locking the cabinet shut ;). I'm hoping they meant to hinge those two doors together like the ones on my lazy susan cabinet. I'll get to talk to the installer later today.

Other than that weirdness, I'm delighted with the soft close doors and drawers, I'm thrilled with my shallow drawer right under the cooktop and those two huge (!) pot and pan drawers.

This is so fun :)

Anita

Anita - Congratulations! You deserve to tear up and feel great about this -- it looks just wonderful! Post more pics, please!

(there is a tiny, small part of me that is SO jealous -- I am in drywall dust netherworld, cabs won't be ready until Nov. - hard to wait and look at nothing moving particularly, although they did say floors should get laid next week, fingers crossed that we make that -- the bigger part of me is SO very happy for you, it is wonderful!)

Alice

The view of the kitchen island from the dining room:

{{!gwi}}

Island from the kitchen table area (no smarty pants comments about my dog's eyes, eh Julie???)

{{!gwi}}

I liked the cabinets before crown, but wow does the crown make it pop. Crown detail:

{{!gwi}}

Do we like these pulls?:

{{!gwi}}

And do we like these barstools?

{{!gwi}}

Anita

PS, by my count, tomorrow is 7 weeks since the bay window came out. I have counters scheduled to be installed in one week, and appliances in two. I'm nearly done!!!

My, my. Yes we do. The cabs look wonderful, BTW.

I was referring to the bar stools. The pulls are okay, but there are probably better ones out there. On this monitor, your tiles look paler than on my other monitor. A putty-colored paint would be pretty with today's version.

Looking great! I'm jealous that you actually got to lay out the templates on the actual granite. Our fabricator has gone digital, which means they photographed the granite and then put digital overlays on it on the computer. So I had to look at my slabs separately in real life and for the layout. It worked fine, you could see everything you need to, magnify, etc. but it's just not as pretty on the computer :-)

Good luck on your countdown to completion!

Love the bar stool, not the pull. Too long, skinny and unimportant, if that makes sense?

You're an earthbaby, so a true browny pale gold?

The good news is that I've ordered the barstools! And I picked a paint color! Kitchendetective, you were right on, it is a putty color. It is Sherwin Williams Jogging Path. It has a nice medium tone (I was trying to break up the high contrast between cabinets and backsplash) and it really sets off the backsplash well. Here is a sample with ming green tile on the left:

{{!gwi}}

The bad news is that the cabinet guy accidentally installed the hardware! It was totally my fault; I grabbed it yesterday when I was at Lowes because it was clearanced, and I put it down in the kitchen. I didn't TELL him that I was only buying it so it didn't disappear before I made up my mind.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

I'm still trying to decide if I like them and I'm only still thinking about it because I know others didn't love them, or if I truly don't like them either. Can't tell yet, but it will come. In the meantime I get to live with them a bit. If I don't love them, I can easily move them in to the mudroom and laundry room adjacent. Or I can return them, as the installer helpfully just slid the pulls out of the packaging and set it all aside.

Speaking of the mudroom, I've been neglecting it! Right now it looks like this (view from kitchen, through mudroom, into laundry):

{{!gwi}}

Locker wall:
{{!gwi}}

Desk wall:
{{!gwi}}

Cabinet guy dropped these off and is due back today to install. He'll finish to match the deWils kitchen cabinetry next week. I had the deWils guy bid the mudroom also and it would have been a safer choice, but I couldn't swallow the price AND I didn't get the look I was going for. I want the look of lockers, and what the cabinet line gave me looked like pantry cabinets without the doors. (It looked that way because it was just pantry cabs without doors :).

For reference, here is the old mudroom. We had lockers on the left (pantry cabs without doors!) and the laundry on the right.

{{!gwi}}

Anita

My Minas is on a truck on the way to my house...can't wait!!!

Anita

Pictures - pictures - we want pictures (even some with the dog are fine :)

Anita, So glad everything is coming along so nicely. It really looks great. Can't wait to see pictures of the soapstone! Hope it all goes smoothly and we make it to the end soon! (I think I am a week or so in front of you If all stays on trach this week, we'll be done on Halloween (except for pendants which will come next week) although at the moment, having a few issues so we'll see. Let's keep our fingers crossed for us both and again, yours looks beautiful so far!

Anita - what a great thread! I'm sorry I missed seeing it sooner - on the other hand, I didn't have to wait for progress updates. I should send this along to my two sisters for a good laugh.

I'm secretly glad you didn't go for the aqua pendants (I did follow that thread) - I just didn't see them working with the rest of your kitchen. But all of your decisions are really coming together - everything is looking wonderful .

We're about a week or two behind you, and like you I have been plotting the progress by putting my camera into overdrive. In fact I spent a ton of time today reorganizing my pix on Photobucket. My husband teases me that I won't have anything to do once this project is over :-).

Can't wait to follow the rest of your progress and see your FK!

Eliz

Any updates, Anita? It must all be coming together this week.

I just got back from out of town (Orlando..warm and sunny! Nice break). My kitchen and mudroom floors were done while I was gone and they look awesome.

Today the backsplash will be installed. I need help with grout color. Anyone?

The plumber is here getting my sink all set up with faucet, disposal, air switch, soap dispenser and instant hot. He said (jokingly) that he needs a bigger sink base ;)

The appliance guy is on his way. I'm bitter, though, because I'll have a dishwasher on site within the hour but the electrical is not done yet!!! This is a goof and I'm disappointed. I'm going to call my contractor and see what he can do because I seriously miss my DW!

Kitchen overall:

{{!gwi}}

Floors in the new table nook:

{{!gwi}}

Here is the island from a couple of angles:

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

And the backsplash in progress behind the cooktop / hood:

{{!gwi}}

and along sink wall (with a sample of paint choice to the right)

{{!gwi}}

love it all!!!!!!!! fyi....i have jogging path in my mudroom and LOVE the color. i think it will be great in your area!

Anita - It is ALL SO BEAUTIFUL!! I love your cabinets, backsplash, paint combo -- it really seems to give each element its place and brings them together in such a warm and soothing way. What a wonderful accomplishment, enjoy!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how your kitchen is looking. Everything looks great together. I'm sure you're thrilled. I was reading this thread today for the first time and I was really getting worried the poster (who turned out to be your sister) was some weird-o stalker or something!!! I was laughing when I read it was all a big joke.

Did you change your cabinet hardware from an earlier photo?I like what I'm seeing in these newer photos - the hardware looks nice.

I am coming out of lurkdom to say how much I love your kitchen so far. We are in very early phase of discussing our kitchen remodel and yours is already serving as an inspiration kitchen for me.

Downsy,

This is the same hardware as in the earlier photos. The jury is still out...they got installed by accident. (can't remember if I posted this story already!) I found them at Lowe's on clearance, bought them because they were nearly sold out and dropped them in the kitchen on my way through. Came back a few hours later and they were installed! I'm still trying to decide if I love them.

I sent your post to my sister! She *really* got me with this prank and it is funny to think of her as my weirdo stalker :)

Anita

Wow - it looks fantastic!

Wow again! What a beautiful change from blue.

Your kitchen looks fabulous! And by the way, I love the stools AND the pulls.

WOW - it's really coming along beautifully. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Julie (aka weirdo stalker/sister)

OK Anita, you can't just post the pics of the barstools and inspire deep and jealous envy, and then not reveal the source! Please, where are they from, and how do I get three?

It's really coming along. You are really gonna love cooking for the holidays from now on. You are gonna want a cot to sleep on so you never have to leave the kitchen.
Casey

Evilbunny,

the stools are Baba counter stools from Design Within Reach. (or rather, design not-quite-within-reach, as the price was a splurge!). They sit great, look great, and seem very sturdy.

Anita

Anita, Your kitchen is coming together beautifully. BTW, I like your cabinet handles. I'd keep them. You're almost done!

This kitchen sure ain't blue.

Good job!

So glad to have found this thread again. Kitchen is hands down gorgeous! You must be thrilled! Just love it and all of your beautiful choices. Congrats. Can't wait to see it finished.

Wow, Anita! The end is finally near! Your backsplash is perfect and Jogging Path will be a super classy color, pulling it all together.

And you didn't even post a seperate message re: your soapstone! It is beautiful and deserves a few pictures to show off! : )

Sandy

The kitchen isn't even finished and we're already using it - loving it! That is my daughter's homework spread out on the island.

{{!gwi}}

sorry for the OT, but here is my crew at Halloween. Funny, huh?

{{!gwi}}

Here is the backsplash grouted with Laticrete Light Pewter grout.

{{!gwi}}

Tomorrow my cooktop and hood can be installed now that backsplash is grouted. My electrical will be done tomorrow, too, so I'll have undercab lights, my disposal, my oven, my compactor, etc.

Those of you following my other thread about lighting know that for now, I'll just have the cans...as I can't make up my mind about pendants and light over the table yet! Too many good choices! Right now I'm leaning towards the Parker Pendant in white

{{!gwi}}

but no clue for above the table. I'm thinking I want a linear suspension style light there but no leads yet!

The kitchen will be inspected Tuesday, paint will happen Wed-Fri. After that I have only the final floor coat and I have my non-blue kitchen!!!

Thanks for following along. This stage sure is fun :)

Anita

The kitchen looks great and the kids are even cuter! They can come and trick or treat at my house ANY time - tell them their favorite aunt ALWAYS has candy :)

Your kids are cute, although I doubt they all want to be 'cute'-ha!

I like your kitchen very much. The cabs are simple and elegant, and the stain is just perfect.

Anita - WOW, WOW, WOW! Your kitchen is REALLY coming together. I love how the grout color sets off your backsplash -- so pretty! Halloween looks are fantastic, BTW!

I have to giggle -- just as your non-blue kitchen is nearing completion, my "blue" kitchen is starting to take shape. Door samples have been delivered for me to look at, final tweaking of cabinet drawings is happening, counter top decisions to be made, hardwood to go in this week. Once I have something to take a picture of, I will have to start a "blue kitchen progress post". :)

Yours is just beautiful and so great to see how your family is loving it -- that is why we do all this anyway, right?!