D(emolition) Day Approaches

The final design decisions are being made. Jule was able to find the cork in the color I've been looking for, and we settled on a design for the tile backsplash. I added the microwave I needed to my order at Factory Direct and decided against installing a wine refrigerator. I need to go to Home Depot or Lowe's tomorrow and pick out the two door styles. I still need to get the lights and the small TV. After that I think I will be done with the selection process.

I've been working on getting my kitched cleared out all day today (with short breaks to mow up what I hope is the last of my leaves and later, to swim). It's a good thing that I had about half of it done from when I thought I was going to be starting the last time, because I am tired of clearing out my kitchen. It's appalling how much grease was floating around the air in my unvented kitchen. Yuk!

But, clear it out, I must as the contractors are supposed to start Tuesday (November 30) on the demolition. I'm a little apprehensive as I haven't really talked to Bob (McCartney) about the details. Julie told me the 30th, but aside from emptying out the cabinets, I don't really know what to expect.

I'm also wondering what I'm going to get regarding some of the specific cabinets. We had talked at one time whether I wanted an 8" or 5" spice rollout, and did he remember that I wanted my shelves to pull out? I've also been agonizing as to whether I should send back my sink and exchange it for a black one. If I'm not careful, I'll end up deciding by not deciding.

Stress and anticipation. D-Day, D-Day's a coming!

Anticipation

It hasn't even started and I'm ready for it to be over. Luckily, since I had gone through the design process with Schloegel that part was done. I had to make a few substitutions, but had a firm idea of what I was looking for.

The wood for the cabinets is cherry, with more brown tones than red tones in the finish. The counter tops will be granite in verde butterfly. The hardware is simple and in a bronze-y finish. It's funny that it never occurred to me to go with anything but a brushed nickel finish on the hardware because the hardware in my current kitchen is bronze-y.

Julie finally found me a cork in the color I had originally picked out. For whatever reason, we were having problems finding the brand that I was going to use with Schloegel, but Julie's supplier came through at last with the new samples.
The tile is copper slate with some glass tile accents.

I had purchased a stove and refrigerator three years ago in anticipation of remodeling. Unfortunately, the refrigerator I bought then is HUGE and didn't work well in the design so I am buying a counter-depth one. Since I've found that I don't care for the side-by-side anyway, it wasn't terribly hard to twist my arm for a new one, but so much for my master plan of spreading the costs out a bit. Ah well... I've got the new refrigerator, stove hood and microwave on order.

I purchased the sink online and I kind of wish that I'd gotten a black one instead of the color I did get. I thought from the photo that it was silver, but turned out to be more of a cream. It's pretty, but I wonder if it will stain, but sending it back will be such a pain (though not impossible, I guess). I'm still debating that and it will probably turn into a decision made defacto. The faucet and soap dispenser are the same ones that I originally chose, but I did find it online for quite a lot less than what it would have been at Fergusons. The disposal and airswitch is purchased.
I still need to pick out the light fixtures, but I think I am almost done with those kinds of items. With my short attention span it's no surprise that I'm already tired of the project!

Work was supposed to have started right after Thanksgiving, but when the contractor was here Monday, they said it would be "shortly after" Thanksgiving. This is already starting to make me nervous. I have told them that I really expected them to be done by Christmas. They didn't seem to think that would be a problem, but I am starting to have my doubts.

Get Ready, Get Set.... Get Ready, Get Set....

Before - Stove view

For years I've been convinced that the only thing that was keeping me from being the Next Iron Chef was my 1980's kitchen: no countertop space, no gas range, ugly linoleum flooring. Yes, especially the ugly linoleum. In order to do any job right, one had to have the correct tools and my ugly, inefficient kitchen was not up to snuff.
However, inertia is a powerful thing and kept me immobile for quite a while. Then, it was the economy. Then, it was fear, as my last forays into the remodeling world had been very scary. But, after hours of deprogramming from HGTV remodeling shows, I finally felt ready to make some forward progress.

I went to talk to the folks at Portfolio, a design center just around the corner from my house. That experience set me back. (Details here). When the young designer told me that my cabinets alone (no installation, no hardware, no countertop, no nothing but shelves and drawers) was going to cost $28k, I was back to Square One, since I had gone in with a budget of $25k for the whole remodel. (OK...yes, it was low, but I wanted to test the waters. I sunk like a stone).

Before - Baker's table and pot rack

A couple of years later, I finally got the courage to start again. I had started working out with a group called Team EMG, who was co-owned by Ben Schloegel. One night, our class was held in his dad's design studio, Schloegel Design Remodeling. I think highly of Ben, so I thought I'd give them a whirl.

Donna came up with a great design and was fabulous about helping me pick out materials. We had all the materials nailed down, and I was all set to sign on the dotted line to have a new kitchen by Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, when we got to contract time, her budget and mine weren't coinciding very well. Dang! It was a very disappointed chicky that had to tell the extended family who were coming to KC for Turkey Day, that they would not be cooking in my new gourmet kitchen.

I stewed on it for a few weeks. I wanted to do a little more research and find out if their number was really what it cost. If so, I would just need to save a little longer. If not, maybe a different company was in my future.

A couple of friends had recommended McCartney Cabinets. My only hesitation with them was that while they said they LOVED the cabinets, one of my friends was not very impressed with the subs that did the work. That aside, I gave Bob a call.

Before - Dining Room Entry

When Bob told me that he did all custom cabinetry, my hopes plummeted again. Custom = expensive in my mind. He challenged me by telling me that he was competitve with the box cabinets and when he provided his bid, he truly was. One visit to his showroom was all the convincing I needed, as his work was incredible. And, the design options they had avialable within their four walls was amazing.

So, I have signed this time and sadly, neither of us felt that we wanted to take the risk of having it done by Thanksgiving (it MIGHT have been possible, but it was iffy), so my family will still have to deal with the bad linoleum one more holiday. I should be enjoying my new granite countertops, cherry cabinetry and cork flooring by Christmas, tho!

A few false starts, but we are well on our way to ...GO!