Kitchen: Day 4

The more I thought about Monday's activities on Sunday night, the more panicked I became. Not only was I sick, but I had floor guys showing up between 7 -8am and a plumber coming between 9-11am. Had I scheduled them too close, would this cause a problem? Could I get out of bed and deal with all of this? Since I know all the ins and outs of the project I was the one who needed to tell them exactly what to do and be around to answer questions they had.

When the morning came and my alarm rang at 6:20, I was not pleased. I gingerly got ready and felt relatively OK. I sat in a chair downstairs beginning at 7am and waited for them to arrive as I checked all my e-mails and browsed trashy celebrity gossip sites. At 7:20 the truck pulled up outside. The two guys came in and we talked about the project and went over the little details. I explained to them that the plumber was coming (maybe as soon as 9am) to move the gas line so if they need to work in there beforehand, to start there.

Soon after they arrived they began smashing and removing the ceramic tile in the kitchen. I have never before heard a sound so loud. I huddled in bed as the sounds rattled the house. I can only imagine how mad the neighbors were. At 8:58am, the plumber and his apprentice showed. They floor guys had just finished removing the tile and it all seemed to be working out. The plumber took 3 hours to move the gas line. Not because he had been working for 3 hours. Because he had to run back to the shop and get a piece he forgot. But, in the meantime, the floor guys worked on the fireplace surround and everything seemed to be on track.

By 3pm, the flooring guys were packing up and a good deal of work had been accomplished for the day.

Here are some pics:

Kitchen: Day 3

Saturday night we finished packing up the odds and ends to move upstairs. I reluctantly agreed to head out to dinner (instead of ordering pizza) and we left the house around 8:30 to grad a bite and catch the tail end of the fireworks. Sunday morning, I woke up with a sore stomach and rested on the couch for a few hours before we began hauling the rest of the furniture upstairs. My sore stomach turned into a full blown stomach bug which was not a pretty experience. Moving furniture while feeling deathly ill did not make for a pleasant Sunday. But, we got it done.

Kitchen: Day 2

After a long day on Friday we headed out to dinner and stayed out a little too late. Waking up on Saturday morning was not joyful. My friend Matt had offered to come over in the morning to help us take off the tile counter so I wanted to make sure to move all the cabinets out by 9am. I woke up at 8am and Dan and I started hauling the cabinets onto the tarp in the back yard. They really were not that heavy but they are large and hard to move down the stairs. Here are some photos from the day:

8:30am: unhooking the sink

As I was unhooking the sink Dan ran out to get some ice for the cooler. It only took me about 15 minutes to take out the plumbing. When he came back I told him the sink was now out of commission. Five minutes later I heard water gushing in the kitchen. Dan had dumped all the water from the cooler into the sink. Habit is hard to break. While it wasn't funny at the time, it's pretty funny now. After he cleaned up the water. . . he dumped the old tonic water down the sink too. Oh my.

9:30am: lifting out the sink (to make sure Dan couldn't pour water in there anymore)

12:00pm: Matt and Dan looking over the empty kitchen after everything was removed.

Kitchen: Day 1

Here you go: Day 1 in all it's glory! It will mainly be photos for a while until I can muster the strength to digest all that is happening and fill you in on it.

After 11 hours, we stopped for the day. I was extremely tired, but overall it was pretty smooth. Our contractor came alone Friday morning and mentioned his crew had all taken the time off for the fourth but he still wanted to come and get the appliances for us. I watched as he single-handedly muscled them all out the door and somehow got the fridge up and into his truck. I have no idea how that happened.

Here are some photos of the day:

7:30am: the kitchen "before"


8:30am: after the appliances were removed

9:30am: getting some breakfast before at Eastern Market before embarking on the day

10:30am: at IKEA buying the cabinets

11:00am: There they are! All 88 cabinet pieces!

2pm: Finishing taking down the stove hood and the upper cabinets:

6pm: Day 1 complete

There is something very wrong about this

Two brothers (21 and 24) own an amazing house in NW. Check it out here.

Wake up and smell the appliances?

I've spent last weekend cleaning, organizing, and clearing out the kitchen cabinets. We'll wrap that party tonight. Tomorrow is a big day. They take away my precious hateful appliances. I checked with the contractor on the time he would arrive. His response: between 7 and 8am.

While on the one hand I am thankful for getting it out of the way early, I am also not looking forward to jolting out of bed at 6am to frantically shove my A-1 sauce and frozen blueberries into a cooler before they take my fridge away.

I have the same feeling now as I did before I would run a road race. It's a combination of adrenaline, butterflies, and terror. You know it will be hard, hope it will be fun, and pray it will be rewarding.

Choose your own adventure: Kitchen Renovation

This weekend, I wandered into the Restoration Hardware outlet and found myself appalled. All the nice pretty things were bent, dented and horrible to look at. Which is how I feel about renovating sometimes. The in-between is not always the best as keeping your spirits up. So, how often do you want to see the stages of the kitchen renovation?

Kitchen Renovation Updates
	Just the before and after
	Before and after with some sneak peeks along the way
	Updates on the major steps
	Twice a week updates
	Everyday updates!
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