Kitchen Update

We've been in the new house a whole week now, and parts of it are starting to resemble a real home. We even cooked out for dinner tonight, despite temperatures in the 50's. It's been raining for weeks I think, but this afternoon was upgraded to merely gray and overcast. Things are good. Messy, disorganized and full of endless to-do lists, but I recognize that these are good problems to have.

So, without further ado, I will tell the story of the kitchen's journey toward awesomeness. It is far from complete, but I am thrilled with the results so far.

To begin with, we had this:

 Step one was making Jamie come be our "contractor." Day one: Remove the upper cabinets and the bulkhead.

Day Two: Buy new cabinets that are 9" taller than the old ones.

Day Three: Fix the plumbing and electrical issues that were previously hidden in the bulkhead. What we (he) couldn't do anything about was the large waste water pipe going all the way across the the wall over the window. There was also a good deal of cursing and wrestling with pipes in the fixable sections.

Day Four: Hang the new upper cabinets. Make cut outs where needed to fit the pipe inside along the window wall.

Day Five: Return the microwave to it's old position. Fill in the space above the cabinets with 2x4's, trim and crown molding. Rebuild a smaller bulkhead over the sink, and install a "new" salvaged light fixture from our house in Lexington. Mom and Dad arrive to help install the new pantry cabinet next to the refrigerator. The carpets are cleaned upstairs and in the basement on this day also, so Mom starts her painting tasks by painting Jonah's new bunk bed.

Day Six-Eight: Install shelves, cabinet doors and new butcher block counters. Celebrate Jamie's birthday and Mother's Day. Finish packing at the old house. Paint the kids rooms and the guest room (Eliza's yellow room took four coats including primer--thanks Mom!).

 Day Nine: Move-in day. Keep telling yourself that it's going to be great...eventually. Jamie goes home.

Days 10-16: Unbury the house from boxes and packing paper...Well, the downstairs anyway. I predict  that my sewing room will probably unpacked sometime before Christmas.  Mom and Dad stayed until the morning after the move, so progress has slowed considerably since then. I did manage to get a couple of coats of polyurethane on the counter tops, so they are ready for cooking. The exception is the new top for the island, which Dad took home to work on in his shop. We saved money by using pre-cut butcher block from Ikea, but they only had it in 25-inch wide pieces--just a few inches too narrow for the island. Luckily Dad has planers and biscuit-cutters and giant clamps to join two sections perfectly together.

Day 17, today. The last cabinet door, which was out of stock last week, is now available. So, after another multi-hour trip to Ikea, and then about an hour of installing, unistalling, stripping out screws, drilling,  groaning, searching for replacement screws, and reinstalling, we have this: 

Still to do: replace the brass light fixtures over the island and table, paint the lower cabinets, replace the island counter top, order and install the tile back splash, paint the crown molding and toe-kick on the pantry cabinet, touch up the wall paint.

I think I can, I think I can...When are the Pike family remodelers coming back again? Hopefully soon!

Closure, A Whole New Can of Worms

We closed on the PA house this morning, with only a few minor glitches. Bottom line: we are now the proud owners of a big ol' house!

Ben had to go to work afterward, but Eliza and I went over to measure and plan. Unfortunately my happiness balloon was almost immediately deflated when I knocked a hole in the previously-mentioned soffit, only to find this:

Inside the dreaded soffit

I believe this is a "waste water" pipe coming from the two toilets upstairs. According to my handy-man sources, it probably cannot be moved, at least not without a LOT of hassle. Phooey! Maybe we will just have cabinets with a giant pipe running through the tops on this wall?

The next section of soffit revealed yet another pipe, but this one was much smaller. I think this one could be moved fairly easily. Alas, it was very close to the opening and didn't make it into the pictures. The third section of soffit, which goes over the refrigerator, is hiding even more plumbing:

Way at the back on the right, you can see what I think is the cold water line going to the refrigerator. Again, this should be pretty easy to move (I hope). I put a call into the plumber to see what he can do. Fingers crossed for good news!

Farewell to a Home

The closing went off without a hitch for 337 Henry Clay yesterday morning. It didn't hit me until a few hours later that we'd never be inside the house again to say goodbye. The two years that we lived in it were full of memories, mostly happy. I took a look back at our pictures from those years and picked out a few to share.

My pride and joy, aside from Jonah

 The whole house was a labor of love, as most old houses are, but the kitchen will always hold a special place in my heart. We built it as a family, from the floor up.

Dad giving a tiling lesson.

The island created a perfect circular racetrack for small boys.

Zoom!

The oven and counters held some pretty creative handiworks.

 

And then there was the fire. It made a huge mess, but in the end, we were all safe and the damage was pretty minimal.

Aftermath of the infamous hat fire of 2008.

Elsewhere in the house, there was a lot of play time.

And outside, there were cars to be washed, balls to be kicked and gardens to be nurtured.

Thanks for the memories, House. Treat your new family well. You were a great pit stop on our big adventure.

Home Again, Home Again

The kids and I have had a busy couple of weeks. Jonah started his spring break last week, so we (the kids and I) drove to Kentucky to leave Jonah at Camp Nina's for a week. They are of course spoiling him rotten. Eliza and I came back to Pittsburgh on Tuesday the 22nd, along with a car load of stuff from the house. After a few days at home, off we went to visit one of my "oldest" and dearest friends in Atlanta. It does make me feel a little old to say we've been friends for almost 20 years. We had a blast hanging out, eating out, watching British TV ("Coupling"), shopping and checking out the awesome Georgia Aquarium.

Me, Eliza and Carey

Eliza is a pretty good little flier. Minimal fussing, lots of napping and charming of fellow passengers. We came home on Monday.

On Wednesday, Jamie brought Jonah home, and the house is alive again with little boy noises (all three of them). We have been mostly hanging out at home, but we did make it to the Carnegie Science Center with Jonah's little friend. The robots were a big hit, especially the one that plays air hockey against the humans.

Cheesing with R2D2

We also made lots of good food and hung out to watch some agonizing UK basketball. I ended up asleep on the couch during the second half, but woke up long enough to see the heartbreaking end. Better luck next time boys!


Things are moving right along with the sale of the house in Lexington as well as the purchase of the house here. Inspections are all complete (us--2, them--4), terms negotiated, dates set and hoops jumped. We close tomorrow on the Lexington house! Woo-hoo! We still have some details to iron out with the new house, but we're getting closer. This week's goal: start packing up the attic.

Happy First Half Birthday!

Eliza Marian, my sweet baby girl.

Dreaming of Glass Tile

Drool.

About the Kitchen...

Where to begin with this boring kitchen? The double oven and stainless appliances are the only real draw. Everything else is builder basic blah. I keep staring at these pictures, trying to figure out why it feels "off," and what to do about it. For starters, the island feels a bit too small. I think it's because the top has so little overhang. It seems stunted. Also stumpy: the upper cabinets under the soffet. Not only am I losing valuable cabinet space (which I need for all my damn cake paraphernalia), but the ceiling seems really low. Oooh, I can't wait to take a hammer to that thing! And not to worry, I'll reuse those cabinets in the laundry room and my sewing room.

Also getting the boot: the hideously dated lighting and the Formica countertops. I might be able to live with just replacing the island's top with something more appropriately sized. Counters don't all have to match, right? But this kitchen is crying out for a backsplash, and I wouldn't want to put a lot of time and money into only to highlight the counters I don't really like.

I also find it strange that they didn't put a cabinet over the refrigerator, even though there's an upper cabinet right next to it. So, add that to the list, along with a new set of cabinet hardware. Whoever came up with this idea for cabinets without pulls was a dull man indeed.

I'm probably going to have to live with it for a while to decide what it really needs. Then I'll have to get to work on my handy-dandy family for some help. But, here are some of my idea for starters:

I love the idea of darker cabinets on the bottom, either a dark walnut stain (on the left) or painted gray (on the right). The uppers have been replaced with taller, white versions and the soffet is gone. I also switched out the light fixtures for stainless steel, modern ones. The one over the sink is an extra from my beloved in Lexington. The island top is wider and longer, with an overhang in the foreground for seating. My sketch shows granite (why not?), but I also like butcher block, and it would be a heck of a lot cheaper. And finally, my favorite, pale blue glass subway tile for the backsplash. That part makes my heart sing, and it's finally getting me excited about this kitchen.

Now, the next question is--how can I pull this off? To be continued.