The Thing About Progress...

The countertops are in and the dishwasher is finally installed.  All we have left to do is paint the walls and ceiling, put up shelves, tile the floors and backsplash, and install lighting.  Hmph.  This still seems like a lot.  Thank goodness for progress.

before

progress

before

progress

before

progress

 

before

progress



whim HOME Hits the Road

Both the BroFam dining room and the Mamasita's kitchen are coming along slowly but surely.  More on those to come...  For now, I wanted to share some brainstorming.  A couple of weeks ago I started a new project that I am particularly psyched out of my mind about (phrase a la ELF, the movie).  While I was up in Ohio at the end of August, I visited a long time family friend who just bought a new house in the Hyde Park area of Cincinnati.  I love Ohio and I love Cincy, particularly Hyde Park with all the curves and hills and charm.  The Reese home is lovely, brimming with potential, glamour and a mischievous sense of humor.  After a few hours of touring the home and sharing ideas, I had a new and very exciting project to focus on.  One of the many beautiful features of this home is a proper foyer with a staircase and a formal living room to the left.  We decided to start at the beginning and are in the first stage of design on the entryway.  Here are the idea boards I sent to Mrs. Reese for approval.  Much to my delight, she chose the first one. 

Mrs. Reese has an eye for unique thrift and estate finds.  It will be so exciting to see how this project evolves as we go.  More to come...  

Gemutlichkeit!

Just when we thought everything essential was almost complete in the kitchen, another hiccup.  The plumber CAME BACK to my client's (aka mama's) house yesterday to 1) install the sprayer for the faucet because the countertop guys forgot to drill a hole and 2) install the dishwasher because there was no electrical hookup when he came the first time.  The sprayer was installed and he set everything up to install the dishwasher without any problem.  He opened the box the dishwasher came in and Voila!  A huge ripple right down the middle.  It's at a point where I just had to laugh.  We'll have a completed kitchen around Christmas... Maybe.  So in the meantime, I am thinking positive and dreaming about my current favorite FINISHED kitchen.  It is by no means my inspiration for my client's kitchen from hell, but I love it. 
If Hansel and Gretel were a sassy Swedish ex-pat couple with a summer home in Minnesota, this would be it. 
Eat your heart out...

A Nightmare on Kitchen Street

At this point, we are just hoping that this kitchen project is completed before Christmas.  We started in April and you would think Murphy himself was the general contractor because it has been somewhat of a disaster.  It started pretty smooth and we thought that going through Home Depot would make it more convenient.  Wrong.  Communication between all of the subcontracted parties has been nonexistent.  The first screw up occurred when we received all of the cabinets only to find out that the guy who had measured the kitchen was three feet off on one wall.  Whoopsy daisy.  I understand a few inches, but three feet?  Really?  We then had to send back some of the cabinets and reorder others.  The woman at the Home Depot had the nerve to call my client (my mama :) ) and ask if she could bring back the cabinets that didn't work because they were pretty backed up.  Shphincter say what?  I wish this was the end of it.  On the first day of cabinet install (a month later) the worker cut his hand and had to end the job.  He didn't lose any limbs or phalanges, which is really all that matters, but he did put a screw right through the wall and into my mom's bedroom.  It's a lovely addition to her artwork.  This is just the start.  There is much much more and I won't go on.  I really hate to rant and rave.  I don't like to post anything negative on my blog because there is too much negative and I don't like to spread poison.  Please note that I am not angry or bitter.  We can laugh about this because in the whole scheme of things, it's really insignificant.  It's quite a story to tell-almost unbelievable at this point- and I am learning so much from all of this.  So anyway.  It's going to be beautiful when it's finished and I wanted to post some during pictures.  Things have since progressed- we now have running water- Great success! So... here she is... in all her topless glory.  (counter-top-less that is)

DURING

Stay tuned.  The next episode of A Nightmare on Kitchen Street should be a good one.  Ciao!