Saturday, September 10, 2005

Major Kitchen / Dining Room Remodel (2005)


Dumpster or Amphibious Assault Vehicle?! 

We knew that we'd have a lot of demolition debris so we went for the biggest, baddest, most imposing dumpster we could find. I think we succeeded. We filled it up once and are about 1/2 way full on the 2nd load.
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Living Room wall... BEFORE

Here's what the wall between living room and kitchen looked like. It was a nice wall... and it didn't hurt anyone... but it had to go.
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WARNING! Naked wall alert!

Here the drywall has been removed and so has the arch over the entrance to the old dining area.
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Wall B-Gone!

We not only removed the entire all and arch, but the soffet as well. We had to cover the opening with a dropcloth to prevent any dust from floating around. Alas poor wall, I knew him well.
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Living Room - BEFORE

Here's what a portion of the living room looked like before the work started.
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Living Room - AFTER

Although we aren't quite finished, you can see the neat IKEA wall unit we designed. The new recessed lighting looks great! We can't wait for it to be finished.
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What a difference a ceiling makes!

Well... the day finally arrived where Tim and Mike were able to swing by to do what they do best. In just a few hours they enclosed the ceiling, patched the walls, swapped out the old window and reframed and installed a new larger window, and tape and mud on all the seams.
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Another view of the kitchen

This project has underscored something we already knew. The more skilled the craftsman, the less available time they have. Electrician, plumber, and carpenters all had extremely tight schedules. If a guy is sitting twiddling his thumbs... there's probably a good reason for that. Tim and Mike have a few finishing touches to go in the kitchen. Then it is on to the dining room. LOL
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One of a kind stove

This Maytag Gemini is a 5 burner gas stove with a double-oven. It's the first time in a looooong time that Eva has had a gas stove. I'm glad that we were able to do it.
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If you squint...

...you can begin to see what resembles a kitchen. The walls have been primed and painted. Ceiling is done. Stove and side cabinet installed. (8/21/05)
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The beginnings of our snack & coffee bar

Cabinets are assembled and attached. Eventually a granite countertop will extend from the tall pantry cabinet to the edge of the coffee maker. (8/21/2005)
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The end is in sight

All but one cabinet is installed. The microwave/hoodrange installed as well. A piece of the old granite tile countertop was cut (with sink intact) and placed on the new cabinets. (8/29/2005)
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Coffee bar gets closer

With a temporary top, the coffee bar looks closer to its final configuration. The area where the small roll-away carts are will be Eva's workstation area. A keyboard drawer (for her notebook) will be installed under the countertop. (8/29/2005)
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It's beginning to look a lot like Chr...

...a dining room! What was once our mistake ridden sun-room, is now well on its way to becoming our retro dining room. Exterior sheathing, electric, windows, and doors are done. (8/29/2005)
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Backsplash sneak-peek

Eva had a great idea for a backsplash. Use decorative glass pebbles glued and grouted. Here she tries a test patch on a tray to see what it would look like. (8/29/2005)
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Granite countertops installed

Black granite countertops were installed on Friday 9/9/2005. Right above the dishwasher is an appliance garage. Basically it's just a fancy cabinet with a roll-top door. Barely visible on the left is the bookcase units. This marks the completion of construction in the kitchen. We started demolition at the end of May. In the nearly 3.5 months our kitchen remained fully functional except for a few hours while the 220 line for electric stove was being rerouted. And except for a few hours when the sink was disconnected while the granite tops were being installed. Pretty awesome! (9/10/2005)
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View from the entrance

Here's a view from the front entrance. A better shot of the bookcases. They give a more uniform look while hiding the side of the fridge. After much searching we decided on these high chairs for the island. Guess where we bought them.... IKEA of course! LOL (9/10/2005)
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Coffee Bar

Here's a view of our coffee bar from the hallway. There's our super deluxe brewmaster 9000, a toaster oven. That small silver appliance under the countertop is a mini fridge. A great and convenient place for our soda, water, and other refrigerated snacks. (A full glass pebble backsplash will be installed) (9/10/2005)
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View from the office

Another view, this time from my office. That grey rectangle will eventually be our dining room. (maybe only 1-2 days away from completion) The parquet flooring throughout the hallway, living room, kitchen really stands out. You just cant beat the depth, interest, and richness of real hardwood flooring. (And it's cheaper than the fake stuff! Go figure!) (9/10/2005)
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Yet another view...

...this time from the entrance to the pantry/laundry room.
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