We're at day 2! Thanks for everyone's support...doesn't make me feel so alone in this process :)

Lesson I learned today: I can't run my MW and toaster oven at the same time if they're plugged into the same outlet. At least it was a simple fix.

More counters coming off, additional lighting being put in place, and some electrical work.

firsthouse: I think the majority of it will get done in 3-4wks and then, some of it will linger on for a bit longer. I'm still trying to figure out paint colors for the walls and that darned backsplash!

oldbat2be: Here's our downstairs set up. It's not bad...hot plate, VM, rice cooker, MW, toaster oven and lots of paper products. We already had a fridge in the unfinished part of the basement, so we're using that now.

It is exciting! I'm looking forward to the same this summer so I know how you are feeling.

One week down! A lot has been done and a lot left to do.

The new cabinets from a local cabinet maker came in. They are just beautiful. He is a true craftsman. I almost, almost don't want to paint them. We didn't get all new cabinets, just changed a few, that's why it was not painted at his shop. Everything is getting painted on site...old and new.

They have started some of the electrical work and started lowering down outlets. The electrician kind of have me a puzzled look when I said I want to turn them horizontally and make sure that they are in the same line as the tile (whenever that gets puts in). Then, he ran into some snags at the desk where an outlet was being added. Anyway, he was patient and got it done, mostly.

It took the GC about 3 trips to the store until I finally found the right crown for the cabinets. I love it and even though he may have been a little annoyed to run to the store in the pouring rain, he really loved the final one as well.

Some crown and base trim has been added to the cabinets. I love it so far.

The correct sink ended up coming in on time for the templating. Yay!

They came to template for the counters today. Wow! Didn't realize how long that would take! He was here from 8am-12:30pm. At least he was thorough with seam placement, outside and inside corners, etc. When I had to sign the templates, I felt like I was signing away my life. Lol :)

Later in the afternoon, I headed to the shop to do the layout on the granite. There were 4 guys and me. We finally got a great seam match and placed everything to what seems to be a good spot. Who knows though! At this point, all I know is that it's done!

It's been a good week! Well, except for the fact that I didn't count on my daughter's allergies to start acting up from all of the dust.

Thanks again for listening and following along. As I've mentioned in prior posts, DH has been very hands off. He's just very busy and didnt want to get in the way of my "vision" of my kitchen, as he puts it. So, it's nice to chat with everyone here about kitchen dilemmas, progress, etc :)

My DH has been very hands off too. I envy the people that have a spouse that actually shares in the excitement!

So happy for you that the first week went so well!

I found the perfect chandelier!!!

Week 2 has begun! It's going a little slower than I thought because the contractor has been putting in a couple of half days and isn't coming in tomorrow. I guess it's not a big deal since the counters won't be installed until next week...but still.

I ended up going back to the granite workshop b/c I had a little mini freak out over the weekend about the templating. They were really nice and let me come back just to make sure that it was all fine...and of course, it was. I'm sure they cut it as soon as I left to make sure I didn't change my mind. At least I got them a big box of freshly baked donuts for their time :)

The outlets are now ALL lowered and horizontal. Wiring needs to be completed, but the dry wall is being started so that's a good sign.

The new crown is on most of the cabinets!

The painter started a little bit today and finished painting the beadboard ceiling.

Wow, it is looking good. I love your chandelier. It will look lovely in your space! I can't wait to see more pics!

Everything is looking great. It may not be progressing quite as fast as you had hoped but it will be worth the wait.

holly-kay:Thanks! When I saw the chandelier, I knew it was the right one. The right color with white shades. So many of the bronze chandeliers have brownish, beige shades, which I didn't want. Can't wait to get it :)

badgergal: I know everyone always says to double to length of time they initially tell you it will take, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

So far, it has been going pretty well, though!

Everything is looking great!

Thanks for sharing your project and progress with us. It's really fun to see the updates.

Let us know if you run into any snags we can help with. So far looks great!

Here is a link that might be useful: Tips for living in your house during the remodel

Looking beautiful so far! We're On day 6 of our Reno and its going slowly, some of its my fault since I couldn't make up my mind on the sink so its still not here for template.

Love your high ceilings and your angled island! Can't wait to see some more photos!

Thanks for that link sweet, it had some very good tips!

Sanjuan I am anxious to see your reno too!

RB, I can't wait to see more pics. I thought your kitchen looked perfect before but your new granite is gorgeous.

Sweet remodel: thanks for the link...it's got some great tips!

Sanjuangirl: can't wait to see your progress. I took forever choosing a sink and finally ended up with a double bowl Elkay for the kitchen and a deep single Elkay for the laundry room. They are at the fabricator's shop but the finish is beautiful!

I'll post pictures of that a little later when I'm able to...still have to figure out how to post a pic of a link...I saved the thread when hollykay asked how to do it, so ill try it out later.

rkb21. My kitchen reno. started the same day as yours. I love your space with the beadboard ceiling. Haven't posted pics yet, but I will. My cabs won't go in until the week of the 20th, so I can see how this is going to drag out. Atleast I don't have to look at the awful kitchen it is replacing anymore! I have to put a positive spin on things to get through the process.

Here's our Elkay kitchen sink:

{{!gwi}}

Here's our Elkay laundry room sink, 12" deep:
{{!gwi}}

Our faucet, Hansgrohe Talis C:

Love the granite! I took fresh cider doughnuts to our town building inspector (or more importantly, to his secretary, who runs the department). Like the crown pictures and watching your progess. Best, oldbat2be

Beautiful RKB! This is so exciting!

It was another slow day, but more my fault than the crew's. Luckily (or unluckily, depends on how you look at it), I noticed that the powder room sink has a small leak AND one of the upstairs bathrooms had a toilet that malfunctioned (the float ball just broke off and was floating around). So, the guys were helping out with those 2 unexpected issues. The toilet was an easy fix but they think they need to pull the pedestal sink forward to get to the issue...lets see what happens with this.

Anyway, they notched the cabinet to fit my slightly bigger new oven, Kitchenaid convection oven. I'm also going to get 2 larger drawers under it since we have some extra room...yay! more storage space!

They were going to install dimmers for the UCL, but I noticed they are NOT led compatible. Good thing I noticed otherwise I would have been wondering why my new led lights can't dim. Lol.

I'm still on the search for backsplash tile. I think I'm going to just wait until the counters are installed before posting the very popular "What backsplash should I use?" question.

I'll post some pictures of the progress tomorrow if more gets done.

Doba: would love to see your pictures as well. Good luck with your remodel!

Oldbat: thanks, I'm really nervous about seeing the granite installed. My first love was marble. Everything I loved at the slab yard was marble but I just couldn't deal with the upkeep and didn't want too much gray for our kichen. Out of all the granite I saw, I really loved this one. Hope it looks good :)

Holly-Kay: it is exciting!

I have my inlaws coming to visit this weekend. Not sure how that's going to go since we have no real kitchen, etc but it will be nice to see family!

Just buzzing through. Love that Colonial Dream! And the crown looks great.

Looking forward to seeing the upgrade!

Just buzzing through. Love that Colonial Dream! And the crown looks great.

Looking forward to seeing the upgrade!

Okay, here was the first demo day. Not very exciting. I, too, drool over marble, but we know the challenges. Thought I was going with Madre Perola, but I couldn't find a beautiful slab. I was told that all of the light beige, taupey, grey ones are gone. I went to a lot of places to confirm that. They also said they are finished with Madre Perola from the quarry. So, now I am looking at Frosty Carrina and Torquay. Floors in the kitchen and family room go in next week. Unfortunately, we have to take out the wood floors you see in the photo and replace them because the sub floor needs some help. The floors squeak like crazy. Also remodeling the adjoining family room. Most of the cabs are getting installed in 10 days. They have to wait to install the stacking cabinets until the counters are in and the panel overlays as well since the appliances will be coming in after the cabs. I have selected everything except for the countertops, backsplash tiles, wall paint color, window treatments and kitchen tables/chairs. I know that some of those things can wait until after the kitchen is installed. Does anyone have advice on trim color? My cabs are BM Simply White. I have a pocket door they want to paint that will be right next to the pantry wall and I guess that would be the same trim color I would use throughout the kitchen and family room. Should it be Simply White as well?

I'm kinda jealous of everyone that is in the midst of their remodel.... :(

Love the ceiling and REALLY love your faucet! We bought Hansgrohe for our bathrooms and I am impressed with their quality. I may have to take a closer peek at that kitchen faucet of yours, too.

Doba: wow! Good luck with the remodel! I thought I had dust to contend with :) I don't have any suggestions on the trim color, but you might get more responses if you start your own thread to post questions. I'm not great with paint color...I'm dreading choosing the wall color.

deedles: Thanks! I thought it had a nice shape and still had a traditional feel to fit our kitchen style. Hope it works as well as it looks!

Things are moving right along! More mudding of the walls where the backsplash came off, more trim being added and shelf for new microwave and oven built.

The light rail is being added and we added trim pieces to the shelves that will have glass doors.

Our appliances were delivered yesterday!

Kitchenaid oven, MW and DW [KUD48, panel ready]

Tomorrow, the counters are being installed. I'm excited, but really, really nervous. What if I hate them once they're in? What if I have a seam nightmare? What if....

Anyway, hopefully, there won't be a disaster post from me tomorrow. Wish me luck :)

How exciting!

I'm wondering what the name of that granite is? I'm looking for something similar - Colonial Gold is one I'm looking at.

Thanks!

seosmp: The granite is Colonial Dream. I'll post pictures of it installed tomorrow :)

looks wonderful so far. Can't wait to see the granite!

Thanks! I can't wait to see the pix!

So exciting! I just can't wait to see your granite, it is so beautiful. I know you must be nervous because there is so much that can go wrong.

My demolition starts Monday so it is so hectic here trying to get the cabinets cleared out. The lower level is getting filled to the gills. Yikes, I can't wait to get this behind me!

Yesterday was a big day. The granite installers were here ALL day from around 8:30am until about 4:30pm. There were a few issues that I did not anticipate. It was a bit draining b/c I was feeling like 'how much can I try to anticipate...this should have been figured out by them' kind of thing.

Nothing terrible, but I think I'm losing energy and getting into a little bit of renovation/remodel fatigue.

Anyway, it looks great! The seam matching was perfect and the seams look amazing.

holly-kay: good luck with your project...can't wait to see your progress pics.

Thanks, everyone for following along :)

I have a few more big decisions left...the hardware, paint colors, and the backsplash.

Hope I can muster up enough energy between piano recitals, dress rehearsals and dance recitals, end of school year events, and work to figure those things out. I will probably be asking for some help from my fellow GWs!

Your granite looks stunning! What a great choice, I wish they had that at our stone yard. I do like the typhoon Bordeaux that I chose but I am getting nervous about how it will look.

How long are they anticipating that it will take them to complete it?

Sorry, I haven't posted in a while, but we hit a bit of a snag in the project. My granite has a crack. I have a separate post about that, but I'm hoping that it will get resolved.

Anyway, trying to focus on the good things...

All of the crown is in, most of the light rails are in and the plumbing is mostly done. The cabinets are all in place and the painting of the cabinets will begin soon. It's very exciting.

I will post better pictures at some point!

I'm really hoping that the granite issue gets resolved soon. I'll keep you posted on that as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: my cracked granite post

My granite saga is to be continued until Thursday. They are coming to remove the cracked piece of granite, template it at the shop, have me come out for the layout to find a good match for the seam, fabricate it and install the new and improved piece....all in the same day! Let's see how that goes.

On to the progress of the kitchen...

The painting has begun so our lovely granite is again covered up.

The doors came in so the painter is beginning to paint them as well. I'm so excited. I can't wait to have them completed. This is a picture of the unfinished door.

I still haven't made a decision on backsplash or hardware, but I'm narrowing them down, I think.

Oh, I almost forgot! After seeing some threads about drawers under cooktops, I asked my GC about this. He said it's doable. How exciting, more storage space!!! We had ordered a single panel that is about 36" wide so that's what will be the drawer front now. The cabinet maker is coming out next week to measure for the drawer he is going to build.

Which cooktop are you using - I tried to find it but missed it - I want to make my under cooktop into a drawer - so will be watching for your pictures - you can never have too much storage!!

A2: We are using the same cooktop that we had before with the same downdraft vent [gasp, the horror]. We haven't had any issues with it and to put in a hood would have been a big obstruction to our current open plan, etc. It's a GE profile glass cooktop that is gas. I love it. I was really happy to have read some of the threads about the drawers before our doors and panels were installed.

I'll keep you posted once the cabinet maker comes later this week, but the GC thinks I can get a 3 1/2- 4" deep drawer that is a little shorter than the other drawers to accomodate the downdraft vent in the back of the cabinet.

I am looking forward to your final reveal. I hope the granite gets done quickly so you can get your kitchen back.

The journey continues!

Last week, the granite piece with the 'crack' in it was removed. Wow, they did a great job removing it...you can see a little scorch mark from the propane flame used to loosen the seam.

I went directly to the shop to do the layout and they returned a few hours later with the piece. We were all set to set it in place when the installer and I noticed that the new piece had this gray, ashy undertone to it. It didn't match at all...Oh, no! BUT, the story ends well. It was because the piece had been just fabricated using lots of water that it looked darker. Just to be on the safe side, the installer left the piece in place but didn't actually install it. They came back the next day and all was well :)

The granite is now officially in and looking great! Done and done!

The painter needs to still finish up the cabinets. That should happen tomorrow. Hurray!

My doors came in. Here's a sneak peek:

They are beautiful. They are a really pretty white color, a little creamy but a true white with no gray undertones

When the cabinet maker delivered the doors, he measured for the under cooktop drawer and was surprised at how much room I had. He thinks we'll get a drawer that is almost 4in deep. More good news!

I'm still stumped on wall color, backsplash and hardware.

Looking great! I really like the proportions of your island, can you share the dimensions? Do you have seating at it?

Wow your cabinet door is beautiful! I love the framing on it, I just love white kitchens, and you know that yours is one of my favorites!

kksmama: Thanks! The island is about 44 x 86. We didn't end up putting any seating there. I was conflicted about it. I wanted it and DH didn't think we had enough room. I think it was a good choice in the end to not add it for our space.

Holly-kay: Thanks! I'm trying to find some simple hardware for the doors now since the doors are so detailed.

I'll keep you posted!

duplicate, sorry!

This post was edited by rkb21 on Tue, Jun 4, 13 at 22:02

I haven't been very good about updating because we've been literally waiting for paint to dry.

The cabinets have been sprayed by I think the most meticulous painter I've ever met. He is very particular about his work, which I love! He wanted us to wait 2wks before the guys came to install to make sure the paint had time to cure.

In that time, I've made countless trips to the tile store, only to decide that I'll wait on my tile choice until it's all been installed. This way I can better visualize what would look good in my space. I am thinking a simple subway tile. Let's see what I end up with!

I also made several trips to buy sample paint. I did decide on SW Humble Gold for the small powder room off the kitchen. I really like it with the brass fixtures that we have in there.

I had a much harder time with the main room. I thought I had finally narrowed it down to the perfect color. Then, 4pm, the night before the painter was set to come, I had some doubts. So, I went off to the store again for one more can. I did change it to the lighter color and I'm happy with that choice.

Good bye pink tinged walls!

Much better now!

We did have another issue come up when the cabinet maker delivered cabinets for the laundry room. One of them was too short. He said he thought that's what we discussed. Then, I took out my notebook with my notes from that meeting with my drawing. Thank goodness for my crazy note-keeping! Anyway, he said he sent his drawings to the GC. They can work it out, but in the end, he said he's correct it and bring the new cabinet out later this week.

So, now I'm in the calm before the storm. They start back tomorrow with installing the appliances, installing the doors, etc. I really hope it all goes well with no more surprises.

They think they will be done by Friday...let's see. Then, I'll just have hardware and backsplash left!

Thanks for following along with me :)

RB, I love your wall color. What is it? I wanted to use BM shaker beige or carrington beige but our closest BM store is 25 miles from me. I am way too busy to drive that far but we have a Sherwin Williams about 6 miles from our house or a Glidden that is a mile from my business so I probably will use one of those for paint.

Thanks! It's SW color matched to BM Wood Ash 1065.

If you have the name, SW can color match the BM paints. Our painter prefers SW products which is why we did it that way.

It's been slow going, but the doors are mostly in. The appliances except the DW are in, as well. There is a light at the end of this tunnel after all :)

I'm glad I hadn't ordered the hardware because originally I was going to do knobs on the doors with pulls on the drawers. However, the knobs I really liked had a base that was too wide to fit with the edge profile of our doors. So, back to the drawing board with that.

Now that the doors are mostly in place, I really need to figure out my backsplash. I'm thinking just a subway tile in an off white.

It's coming along...just wish it was faster. I really am getting tired of our makeshift kitchen.

Anyway, we are getting there...slowly but surely!

Beautiful! Hurray for meticulous painters! And thanks for mentioning the notebook, I'm going to start one.

kksmama: Thanks! I would highly recommend a notebook to take notes of meetings. It's really helpful as time goes on and details are forgotten.

I really like your doors.

So, after a little break waiting for the new doors to arrive, I'm happy to say that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!!

The doors are all in and the hardware is about 1/2 done. I have almost decided on the backsplash so once that's decided, I'll be done with decisions.

Yay! I'm really happy with the doors and hardware. Now, if I could just decide on my backsplash...