Rock On!

This is the type of granite that we chose for our counters from EleMar, the granite supplier that Matt pointed us towards. We'd narrowed our choice down to this type (Green Ocean) and another (Green Hawaii). We had initially thought we liked one called Green Butterfly, but we found out it was a pretty common color and after seeing some of the stone at EleMar we quickly changed our minds. Also, the more exotic stones at EleMar were only a few hundred dollars more than the (apprently) mundane Green Butterfly!

We think we know the exact slab of stone that we've bought. Our next step is to have it picked up by a fabricator, who we'll meet and decide exactly which section we want for our island, our corner, and so on.

This is the first blog with links; we're getting quite savvy here!

Let There Be Floors!

When we first looked at this house a mere 2 (or was it 3?) months ago, we noted that the floors, while worn, were workable. At the time, we decided we didn't need to refinish them. Well, this entire process has been a learning experience and, above all, we've learned that it is always easier to do stuff when the house is empty. The floors were one of our "big ticket" items but we decided that they would well be worth it. As it turns out, we were right. We saw these floors after 2 coats had been applied and 2 more were to be put down. The entire house was brighter, newer, livelier. The transition between the new and old floor in the kitchden was totally ambiguous. It's just another step in the road making this house ours!

Floors in 3 Hours!

This is our kitchen at about 8:00 AM on 4/16/08. I took down the drywall and removed the insulation. I found what appeared to be the tomb of the resident mice, complete with little skulls. Assuredly a future posting will be of Erika and I bringing home a pair of kittens that we will raise and train to be feline ninja mice assassins. Anyway, the piece of plywood represents our island - should be a perfect position as it's close the stove and whoever is sitting on long side to the right will be able to reach back and get beverages from the refrigerator!

Soon after 8:00 AM 3 workers showed up and almost instantly began to work. Hard. They didn't stop to talk, drink water or take breaks. This what they did the whole time:

When the floors are refinished you won't be able to see where the old floor met the new one. They "wove" the floors together. It's red oak, by the way which, apparently, is the most popular type of flooring in the US. Who knew?

The Case of the Missing Kitchen

Who needs a kitchen, anyway? Here we are a few minutes after our closing. Don't we look happy? Sure, we just wrote the 2nd biggest check of our life. But we had this nice new house, some champagne, and what was a workable kitchen.

One of the biggest selling points of this house was that it wasn't a raised ranch. Not that there's anything wrong with the architectural phenomenon that is the raised ranch. We just decided that it wasn't "us." Another selling point was that everything in the house was fine as it was. We'd just be changing things "to taste." As it turns out, we decided that one of the best ways to make the house our home was to take on the kitchen as our first big project. Matt had some really good ideas - new cabinetry, an island, a recessed refrigerator. There was a wall separating the kitchen from the den. It had a larger doorway and a "window" cut out. We thought that it would make a huge difference to knock that wall down (our realtor Pat's favorite suggestion - "just knock this wall down!") and blur the line between our kitchen and our den. Make it a kitchden! That's right, I just invented a word.

The previously existing kitchen was, as you can see, fine. Functional. Dated.
See where the wall used to be? Yeah...that's gone. Still, not a bad kitchen, right? Sure, the stove and dishwasher are a touch on the old side. The fridge could use a replacement. The tile isn't all that bad, is it? The cabinets are actually pretty nice, too. Solid wood, and they'd look great with newer hardware. Well...how about we just blow the whole thing up and start over!
Where'd that kitchen go?!?! Erika and I arrived one day, ready to tear down wallpaper or sand stuff or paint or something and someone took our kitchen! So we went to the cabinet place last week and chose some nice new custom cabinets out, asked about granite countertops, and held our breath for the quote. We're turning blue right about now waiting for that oh-so-reasonable price tag to arrive. We might have to hold off on that trip to Fiji.