Kitchen Finishing Touches

Since I just did not have time over the weekend to do anything because my dear sweet Sara was sick, I thought I would share one more picture of my kitchen now we are actually moved in.


We decided to just keep our old white microwave simply because it is still working really well. When it finally needs replacing, we will get a stainless one to match the rest of the appliances.

We had them paint the corbels on the breakfast bar black since they could not find a stain to match the Espresso of the island cabinets...As you can see the black works nicely with the dark granite counter tops....Plus the legs of our table are also painted black so it became a repeated element.

Last Tuesday the cabinet guy also came by to do some minor touch ups...tweak doors and drawers and finish the silicon edging now the cabinets and house have had a couple of months to "settle". It was small stuff but made the world of difference...It is all in the details :)

I still have to work on the window treatment. Window treatments seem to be my most challenging part of any room. Ever noticed how few pics of window treatments in the home decor magazines? And lastly the lovely blue plastic trash can needs to be replaced or relocated.

Now about Princess Sara.

This was taken last night after her bath...She was feeling much better after some "super breathing treatments" and dose of steriods from the ER yesterday...It is truly scary how quickly these episodes come on. I have to run her to the Doctors for a follow up visit this morning...I am not sure how much is going to be achieved this week as she will be taking a course of steroids for the next 4 days and they make her a little hard to get along with, but I will take a grumpy toddler over a not breathing properly toddler any day.

Hope yall have a wonderful Monday.
Kelsie

TODAY IS MOVING DAY.....

To celebrate moving day here (finally) are pix of the completed kitchen...well there are some minor things...Like the corbels still need to be stained, the outlet covers on the island are still white and the cabinets are waiting for Tom to come back and do the touch ups on the paint that got chipped during installation...BUT that is ok...TODAY WE ARE MOVING IN...Tonight I get to finally sleep under our new roof and cook (reheat ) in my new kitchen.

So that all being said, not sure when I will have time to post next as our internet service will be limited for a few days...In the mean time you can enjoy all the pix of my pretty shiny new kitchen.




Don't forget to check out how the kitchen rated on HGTV.com Rate My Space

Week 16_While we wait....

So today was supposed to be the final inspection...Did the inspector come by?? Did we pass?? Who knows...We have not heard yet, leaving me wound a little tight right now...Can you imagine that, me wound tight??...because I am usually such a level heading, go with the flow type gal...*watch the sarcasm drip from your monitor here*

So while we wait, I thought I would share a couple more pictures of my kitchen with yall...Below is the view of the kitchen from the front door.


...I had hoped to be sharing photos of a completely finished kitchen by this point...but the cleaners did not show up on the weekend so
A: The blue plastic on the appliances can't be removed yet
B:And the corbels should have been stained to match the espresso cabinets , but the painters will not do the final little bits until the cleaners have been.


The white power outlets will be switched out with black ones...I did not even think about them until after I saw black backsplash in place...oops...So right now the remaining 2 are on special order and should arrive any day now...Another thing with the black splash, it actually cracked while being installed, so will be completely replaced by the end of the week...Since this is only cosmetic it has no baring on the final inspection.

As you can see, we finally have the fan inside the ceiling tray installed...I think it looks really pretty...though the glass is white and does not match the kitchen/dining glass, I will have to shop around to find a suitable glass light shade to replace it, but this was the only fan that I like the style and the metal finish matched the rest of my fixtures, never know I might learn to live with the mix of white and amber shades.

Bath vanities are in place and looking very nice. Really glad I opted for the espresso cabinets in the bathrooms, I think they needed the darker color to ground the space...The cultured marble tops are "light coco"...wonder if the mix of the 2 make my bathroom Mocha?? (ok...that was a lame attempt at humor)
Besides being on edge about the inspection, it has been a pretty stressful couple of days around here....The baby has been sick...Nothing too serious, but a sick toddler is never fun...and then this weekend really provided me with good photos to show you why we are so anxious to get the house finished and move out of the mobile home.

We had a severe storm move thru the area and our place took more damage during it that when the hurricanes came thru in 2004...Below shows the south side with the skirting torn away, the table and BBQ's where all around the corner, behind the house before the storm.


You can see here the buckling in the skirting along the back of the trailer...All in all made for a pretty scary Sunday...Worst still the baby and I were not home, but at Church when this took place, leaving Mic to have to ride it out by herself....She was cooler about the whole thing than me though...even while I was calling her to check she was ok.


I am grateful this is all that took place on Sunday, and in no time at all David had it cleaned up and the skirting back how it should be...I count us very blessed.

Week 15 - Under Ground Power - Counter tops

I am happy to report that the permanent underground power has been put on at the house. I am told that when the electricians come back to do their final stuff they will take the temp pole with them. YAY no more ugly power pole to mare my landscape..

Other super exciting news is my gorgeous Uba Tuba granite counter tops got installed yesterday...Lots of pictures to share because they are just sooooooooo pretty....


I guess I should mention the floor since I forgot in the last post and you can see it in this photo (though they are covered in dust right now)...Very pleasantly surprised on how good it looks, and the installers did an amazing job matching up the edges so you can not tell at all where the joints are...We chose to go with vinyl (lino for you aussies) through-out the house for a couple of reasons...the first one being cost...with the money we saved in the floor budget, it allowed us to afford to get the granite counters in the kitchen...Later we intend to up-grade the floors to a floating wood laminate floor and this brings us to the second reason for our current floor, it will act as the moister barrier between the cement slab and the floating floor system..saving us a step and money down the road..Third reason being, that having a toddler, we do not want to be worrying about her damaging expensive flooring..In the mean time it does not hurt that the vinyl turned out looking pretty too :)


But back to the counter tops...Is that not a thing of beauty...Note we have an under mount sink...It is also a full 2 inches deeper than my current sink...yay.


As suspected the counters really did help to define the cabinets against the wall...Going to see how it looks after the range hood and the fridge are in place before making the final decision on painting that wall.


For the island (and bathrooms) I chose these delicious espresso cabinets. The gaping hole is where my dishwasher goes..


And finally, last night we went over to check out how the lights look...Not all the fixtures have bulbs in them yet, but we did get to see how well the recessed lights in the kitchen illuminate the space...and though I did not take a photo the ones in the living room ceiling tray are also very pretty...As David said last night, now we can the light switch, it feels like our home.

Week 14 - So close to the end now...

PLEASE CLICK IMAGES TO SEE THEM LARGER...

Just 12 days to go to meet our deadline and Leon is doing everything he can to keep everyone on track...We now have soffits and fascia, giving it a nice finished look...All that is left now is to add the porch lights and the door bell...at least I think that is pretty much it for the outside...Well besides landscaping, but that will come later and be done by us.

On the inside, I am LOVING how the french doors into my workspace are looking, and the wall of built in closets look great too...I am so excited to get them filled with fabrics and set up my sewing machines and get back to work...I knew I would miss working but this is about driving me nuts...Watching Project Runway is like torture right now. :(

As I mentioned in my previous post, all the lights are installed but for the one in the living room, we needed to find a 1/2inch diameter, foot long extension rod for the fan inside the ceiling tray...This proved harder than it sounds, though we found one, it was the wrong color and had threads at both end so David had to grind them off to make it fit and then painted it black to match the fan.

Even with having to do all that, I am glad to report that all the agonizing over my light fixtures for months, most definitely paid off, I am loving them all...Pictured here is a mini chandelier with ceiling medallion is in Mic's room and will help capture the French country feel we are going for. You will be surprised to find out this fixture was found on walmart.com...Once the bed is in place the chandelier can be lowered, for the moment it is hooked up so we do not walk into it .

Before I tell you about the cabinets, I do have to mention the 3 pendants over the breakfast bar, because the extension rods that came with them are 12inches long and the kitchen ceilings are only 8foot high, using 2 rods per pendant made them hang a little lower than I had hoped for, BUT having just one rod made them too short, while trying to work out which height would work best, I had the electrician hang one short and one long...and BAM...we had our solution...I love how unique they look now.

Ok, now for the cabinets...I had wanted and "thought" I had ordered an off-white (ivory) cabinets with a caramel glaze for the outer wall...well it seems when you combine ivory with caramel glaze you get TAWNY BIRCH...which would be the color we painted the walls...I have thought of little else this week end but how can we fix this problem of my cabinets now blending in with the walls and still keep on schedule...

Well a couple of things, once the counter tops are added and the appliances, this should help define the cabinets some more...Plus we do plan to add a tile back splash, and this may now happen sooner rather than later....Obviously sending them back is not really a option if I want to have a kitchen when Mum and Nina arrive from Australia...So PAINT...after much mulling over and discussion in the wee hours of the morning, since this is literally keeping me awake...We go with the easy option and paint the kitchen and dining walls a darker color...and if it gets to the point I just CAN'T live with the cabinets this color then I will just have to paint them white myself....ANY AND ALL INPUT WELCOME BTW..

On a happy note... LOVE LOVE LOVE my hardware...after much searching online I was able to find the exact cup draw pulls and cabinet door knobs I wanted for less than 1/3 of the price of the ones at homedepot...So thank you The Knob Store on ebay...http://stores.ebay.com/theknobshop

I had my heart set on these cup draw pulls as they remind me of my Aunty "Loopy's" kitchen and bring back so many fond childhood memories of visiting her on the farm and chasing their many many ducks...

So is it surprising at all how fond I am of ducks now...Here are our 2 new additions, Peeps and Hula at only a week old...they are now more then twice this size and still growing...They are Giant White Pekins and supposed to reach 7lb's by 8 weeks of age...YIKES lol.

That's it for now. Hope to have some exciting counter top news by the end of the week.

Week 12 - The count down begins.

I feel like I have been chasing my own tail all week, trying to make sure everything we need to get done is completed and we are not holding any of the work on the house up. We really need to hit our April 30th deadline and I refuse to be the cause of any delays....Everyone and everything needs to run smoothly over the next 29 days.

So the big things for this week, we have color on our interior walls..Tawny Birch...the best I can describe it as is, a yellowy beige. Notice they have removed all the doors again. They took them away to spray paint them...They will not be rehung until the flooring goes down sometime next week.

With the ceiling tray walls painted the same color as the rest of the walls, the tray really takes on definition. You can also see the A/C vent covers have been put in place, Can't wait to see how it looks with the light fixture and recessed lights installed also.


The septic tank was also installed along with the drain field..While the machine was here they also dug the trench for the conduit to be laid for the underground power line....



Other stuff but not photos:
All the shelves in the closets have been installed today...And we have got an outside color match, so they will start painting there on Monday...They switched and did the inside first so we can get the next wave of sub's come thru in order for us to keep things moving towards the looming deadline.

Weeks 9, 10 and beginning 11 - Where did the time go

Everything is really moving along now...Our walls all have insulation now...The inner walls have batts, but the outer walls got a spray in foam type stuff that fills every little nook and cranny, making it much more energy efficient...First they spray it in the walls, then they take what looks like a drill operated paint roller on a frame to knock down the excess and smooth it back to the studs...Then they have a second guy with what looks like a super large vacuum hose sucking up all the stuff that is knocked down, it is sucked back into the truck and reused....then the walls are left for the glue/bonding agent in the insulation to dry...I do have video of this process but it needs editing and I do not have the time to mess with it atm, so will post it at a later time.

BUT the biggest difference to the interior of the house so far is the drywall has gone up and we have walls and ceilings now...YAY.

This is a view of the soon to be kitchen area, you can see the built in pantry and the half wall that will be the back of the kitchen island bar.

It is amazing how much bigger the space feels now...all the rooms for that matter..

And talking of making a space feel bigger, here is a view of the living room ceiling tray...The extra 18inches really make that part of the living area feel huge.

It also gives that part of the room a feel of separation from the kitchen and dining without having to be closed off by a wall...it is hard to describe, but it is a very positive thing.


After the drywall was up and it had passed inspection and all the joints plastered, they came back and "shot the walls" to create a Spanish Knock Down effect...This will give the walls a slight textured look...With the soft yellow color I have chosen for the interior walls, it should really help lend to the country cottage look.

You can also see in this picture that my interior doors have arrived and are actually been installed as I type this...The painters are supposed to be coming by today also to start caulking in and prepping the walls to start painting tomorrow...I am so excited to see how how the colors we choose are going to look.

Kitchen cabinets have been chosen and should be ordered today...I have chosen my counter tops...See pretty picture of Uba-tuba granite to the left...I am loving the subtly of the coloring and hope it should contrast nicely with our cabinet colors.

We have also finalized our flooring selection, our lighting fixtures have been picked, door knobs purchased and OH BIG NEWS...The duel flush toilet price has been reduced to just $118 per unit...So not only are we saving more money, but hopefully this will make even more ppl choose this energy/water saving option for their bathrooms.

Well I think that is about you all caught up now...And hopefully by weeks end I can show you pictures of our pretty Steel Blue home.

End of Week 7 - Siding and Windows and Doors OHMY

So much has been going on this week it has been hard to keep up, so I am going to start by showing you how the house looked by the end of the week...Was a little disappointed it does not have doors yet, they have arrived but the rain this morning prevented them from being hung...Or any more siding going up today. The siding is pre-primed btw, so this is not the color the house will be...and though we have been planning it to be all white, we are considering giving it a color...Who knows, I could change my mind a dozen more times between now and them painting...Plus today I am just too tired to think straight.

Now moving on to the work done inside this week.
All the hurricane straps were added and the ceiling tray framed out...This all done by Tuesday so it could pass the engineering inspection. They also added the pull down attic stairs and created a runway and storage platforms in the attic area for David...I do not have good photos to share, as it was hard to photograph from below, will have David take some pics of it later in the week.

The A/C duct work was also done this week, it is very cool looking and could pass as a modern Art Insulation, almost a shame to cover up such impressive workmanship when the ceiling is finally installed lol...Even more impressive is that the entire ducting was done by one man in just a couple of days.

Last but not least, the wall for the breakfast bar was put up, this will allow the electrician to work out where wire in for the lighting that will hang above the bar.

The doors you are seeing in this shot are the backdoor for the utility room and one side of the french doors that will be in the dinning area...Fingers crossed the next time we see these they will be installed.

This coming week promises to be a busy one with Electric and Plumbing rough in's scheduled to start Monday...David will be installing all the TV and Internet Satellite cable and phone lines this week.

Plus I believe he roofers should not be far behind the Elec and Plumbers...

Sharing the vision - Floor Plan and Rendering

I have had a few inquiries about the style of house etc, so figures I would share a colored rendering of the front of our "little cottage" and the floor plan with yall...
Don't forget you can click on either image to see enlargements of them.

We want to stay true to the area in which we live and also to the family history on the property, so lacking a real photograph of the original homestead, we are going for a Florida Cracker/Cottage Style home, with white on white finish and a porch with railing.

As you can see from the floor plan, it is a 3x2 with open concept living area. it is just shy of 1800 square feet...a little over if you include the porch. The "Den" is going to be my doll/work space with french doors opening into the family room, allowing me to keep an eye on Sara while I work...The rectangle in the family room is a ceiling tray which I love, help to marry the old and the new style features together...the french doors off of the dining will give us a gorgeous view of the open fields behind the house and the wonderful sunsets we are blessed with here in Florida.

Duel Flush Toilet Found at Home Depot = More Savings

What could be more exciting than saving hundreds of dollars and being Eco friendly at the same time. This is what Home Depot has done for me.

I had expected to pay $466 or more per unit for a toilet with a Duel Flush system from our local "Green" store...But good thing for me we stopped at Home Depot and while wondering around in the kitchen and bath department (as you do) I thought it would not hurt to ask if they carried them yet...Even though just a few months ago they did not have any on their website. (that I could find)

Sure enough Glacier Bay make one for just $158 and it comes with great reviews on the Home Depot site...To read the specs and the reviews Click Here

Other house news...The temp power pole is in place, waiting on inspection and then will be connected up by the power company...

Kitchen changes have been decided upon...The new layout will make the space more functional, allow me to include the pantry and give the entire Great Room a more modern and updated feel...Now I am getting very excited to see how it looks in real life v's in my head lol

Foundation Laid and Last Chance for Kitchen Changes

By lunchtime yesterday the foundation was laid...Not sure what the purpose of the gap is at the side but I know it is supposed to be there...Either today or Monday they will begin filling the interior with dirt, at some point the plumbing etc will be added and once that is all finished the slab will get laid over the top of the dirt.

Meaning I have this weekend only to decide if I would like to make any changes to the kitchen layout...I know I left it a little late but inspiration did not hit me until Wed night lol....I am thinking that instead of the galley style kitchen I would like to have a large floating island with breakfast bar...This would also allow us to turn the fridge and create space for a pantry to be added in the kitchen instead of around the corner in the utility room....I think it would also make the kitchen look more modern and custom...and after all if I am having custom cabinets built, they should LOOK custom instead like they are just "out of the box"

I think you can all tell which way I am leaning about the kitchen huh ;)

Sales = Upgrades....

This morning was the first seriously cold morning we have had here in Levy Co Florida for the season...32degrees ( that's 0 degrees for you metric folk )...A thin layer of ice covered everything...but this did not stop us from being up and on the road to Gainesville before the sun was up....

The reason, After Thanksgiving Savings. Our Builder/Contractor had let us know that the Thanksgiving sales on these type of appliances is the best savings of the year. And after some research, I discovered he was right...

By taking advantage of the sale we were able to upgrade to all Stainless Steal kitchen appliances, instead of standard white ones, while still staying within our budget...I am super thrilled to say the least....The sale prices also allowed us to afford to look for the features we really wanted in the appliances without compromising...All 3 are Energy Star and ECO friendly....See it was not just about looks...

Now we had thought we would have to store them in our garage until the new kitchen was ready for the lovelies to be installed, and we would also be loosing a couple of months off of the 12month after sale warranty....

BUT Sears totally rocks and we were able to set up to have them delivered in late February instead...meaning they will not be taking up valuable room in the garage AND more importantly, the warranty will not go into affect until we have them delivered...Now if the kitchen is not ready for them in Feb (though I really hope it is ) we can push back the delivery date to closer to the time when we are ready for them.

Another bonus of getting the Appliances taken care of now...one less big decision to be made :)

So if you ask me this was truly a sale worth getting of bed for.