kitchen daydreams

Let’s talk about the kitchen some more! Because who doesn’t love talking about the same topic every week?! Like I told you, we decided on a kitchen lay out and the kitchen cabinets last week. We went to a few different places to get pricing but ended up going with “Just Cabinets”…. side note: the kicker here is that they don’t sell “Just Cabinets” they also sell furniture. Don’t you just love the irony? No, just me?

I digress; our contractor put us in touch with my new BFF, Idan, who is a cabinet connoisseur and a sales guy for JC. Iden was extremely helpful, very knowledgeable and also made a house call to check out the space for himself! Sure he ended up living around the block but I have a feeling he would have done it anyway. After a few hours of sitting in the store choosing between cabinet styles, color, glazes, hinges, etc. he came up with this amazeballs drawing.

There are probably a ton of things that are going on with these cabinets that I don’t know about. I do know we have soft close drawers and doors, remember how I would check the cabinets while standing in the middle of a party? Well now when that comes to my house, she can reserve her judging for something else. Like, not having full overlay cabinets. I know,  It PAINS me to even say it. (stupid Budget) I was assured by numerous people that it will look fine, nay great, but I wanted to say it. It’s like when you see someone with a huge cut or pimple on their face and you can’t help but stare at it and wonder if that person knows how big it is or that it’s even there? Well this is kind of like that; I know we don’t have full overlay cabinets so STOP STARING!  Instead, swoon over the beautiful cocoa glaze, full extension drawers, pull out pantry drawers (thanks, Idan!!!!), amazing molding, and perfect door/drawer handles. SWOON TIME:

A ton of people asked where we ended up in the cabinet color debate. Let’s just say my case for off white cabinets was strong and RC couldn’t help but agree after he heard all of the facts. Sure the fact that I am allowing a 30inch TV in the kitchen helped but I like to think it was my strong debate skills, impeccable research and good looks that sealed the deal.

If you’re in the market for cabinets, may I suggest calling Idan at Just Cabinets in Dundalk? Tell him we sent you and if he seems hesitant, promise him you won’t email him as much as we did!

pipe down

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I think all of the framing is finally done on the house and the plumbing has started. Look how glorious:

We have a ton of white PVC pipe running through the house, some random white pipes sticking up in what seems to be the middle of the floor:

Don’t worry, we’ll have a kitchen island with our sink there at one point. The tub was also installed in the upstairs bathroom. Sorry but I didn’t take a picture of that; I was busy playing “follow the white pipe”. It’s like a maze and kind of amazing. Indoor plumbing, gets me every time. Besides the plumbing, the siding on the house was finished! The workers were there finishing it on Saturday, so nice right?!

We’re not using vinyl siding, we’re using this stuff called Hardiplank. Partly because with the historic tax credit you can’t have vinyl siding or windows but also because this stuff is some of the best out there and it’s the new thing to do. It’s pretty much the Twitter of the siding world. Sure, Vinyl (facebook) still works and it gets the point across but Twitter Hardiplank is actually better. #personalopinion Hardiplank is made of cement and more durable, if you’re THAT interested (Dad) you can read about it here.

On top of finishing the siding, the windows were installed! Nice, new, wood windows (again, historic tax credit). I couldn’t believe this was the first time I could see out my front window! Remember, it was a piece of ply wood?!

kitchen window and door to deck

man cave!

The electric wasn’t started this week but since it looks like the plumbing had a nice start to it maybe that means the electric will start this week?!

Have a great week!

tlc may want to do a special on us

We’re getting to that point where we’re SO anxious to move. We still have two months ahead of us but it somehow feels like it’s going to go fast. Our apartment has boxes starting to pile up for “the move”, I’ve already starting to use the excuse “when we move I’ll..” organize the Tupperware, clean out my closet, etc. See what I mean?

don't call TLC on us..

We received really nice dishes, martini glass and champagne glasses for Christmas and I (fine, it was RC. I wanted to play with them right then and there!) didn’t think unpacking them just to pack them up a few months later would be the smart thing to do so we’re living like hoarders. Kind of.. this is in the “office” that we never use and tucked away from the rest of the apartment but still, it’s a little odd. BUT when we received this the other day it made me feel a little better! I can’t friggin believe it! It’s actually happening.. we’re actually moving.

People keep asking if we’re on track for an April 1 move in date and the answer is, we have to be. Hear that, Josh? I know you check this! J

Oh! Did you notice that green thing in that back of the picture with the boxes? Anyone know what that is/where it’s from?! It’s from the house! It was the old green gate that was in the backyard. When we were over the house a few weeks ago we noticed that it was actually really cool. It’s old and weathered and would be a cool piece in our house. Trying to blend the old with the new! Ya feel me?

kitchen nightmares

I always thought that if I were going to write an autobiography the title would be “…And I Was Wearing a Cardigan” (I feel like most of my stories go like this “this girl was wearing this sequined dress, the other person was in a napkin for a skirt and I was wearing a cardigan” wahhh wahhh waaaah) or “They Called me Ann” (people often think I say my name is Ann aaaaaaaand I sometimes don’t correct them) but lately I’ve been thinking of “Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget” or at the very least it would be a chapter.. a very looong chapter in the book about my life with home renovating being the main discussion.

You see, I have the amazing ability to pick expensive things. I sincerely, truthfully, don’t do it on purpose. It just happens. It’s like a sixth sense. A natural talent. Something that I’ve had forever. Lady Gaga even sang about it, I was born this way. I. can’t. help. it. So imagine little ol’ me sitting down with a kitchen designer and him giving me the options on what I want for the kitchen. OBVIOUSLY I’m going to pick the better/more expensive things.. most of which I didn’t know existed BEFORE they were even brought up. Now, I couldn’t imagine life without a cutting board built in to a drawer in the center island. I mean, how did I manage walking over to the pantry to get the cutting board for all of those years? It’s truly mind boggling.

Kitchen designing was kind of stressful, not gonna lie. It sounds glamorous and fun on paper but it’s really not THAT fun. Every time we sat down with someone to design a kitchen (we did 3 times), it was at least 2 hours before we even saw a finished design then at least another hour or so and multiple emails for updates. Maybe it would be a lot more fun if I got the cutting board built into a drawer but that was the first thing to go once the total came in, followed by a few other “extras” that I’m still having a pity party over.

We’re 98% sure this is our kitchen, wanted to show you a little teaser so you get an idea for what we’re going for. Once we finalize (read: I talk the guy into giving me the that cutting board cabinet for free) the kitchen I will show you the final! I figured this was just a jumping off point to start negotiations.

the hiccup cure

HICUP IN MY HAND!!!

BOO!

Drink a cup of water backwards.

A spoonful of sugar.

Cover your ears.

Pull on your tongue.

Everyone has their own way to get rid of hiccups. For our last hiccup that I told you all about back here,  we just called the mason. If only drunk hiccups were that easy to get rid of. The cliff notes, we wanted to expose the brick and came across this:

woof.

The mason was originally concerned we wouldn’t be able to find brick to match but looks like he did!

I can’t even tell you where the break was, it looks amazeballs. Exceeded my expectations yet again! Maybe I should increase my standards?! mm nah. They did the same thing on the inside brick that they did on the outside brick, but, instead of taking down formstone they took down plaster, repointed the brick and filled in where necessary.

I LOVE the way brick looks in a row home, it's so authentic. Yeah, it's not energy efficient and yeah, it may rub off on you when you walk by and yeah it may start to crumble but I've never been one for practical and I'm all for sacrificing comfort for beauty.

knock three times

we have new doors! The front door was installed, check it out:

Quick trip down memory lane..

OCT 2011

Nov 2011

Nov 2011

Dec 2011

Jan 2012

B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

We still need to pick a color to paint it but that’s it! A four panel wood door, per historic tax credit guidelines.  I know I keep telling you that I will explain this more at a later time and this is another one of those times. J They didn’t just stop at this door, they even installed the door to the roof top deck. Look how purdy it is..

Like I said before, those stairs will lead to the outdoor stairs which go to the roof top deck. I love how it’s accessible from the inside and I LOVE that you don’t have to go through a bedroom to get to the roof top even more! Most Canton homes I’ve seen have the door to the roof top in a bedroom. Even though most of the time when you’re having a party your roommate won’t be sleeping it still is a little intrusive to have your entire party walk through someone’s bedroom just to get outside. It’s not the end of the world but since we had the choice of where we wanted the stairs, we decided to put them here!

concrete jungle

This rehabbing a house thing has brought out a side of me that I never thought existed. In my previous, pre-homeowner life, things that excited me include a glass of bubbly, wearing boots and scarves, making a regular manicure last for more than 3 days, a new Britney Spears song, a latte, stuff like that. Now, this is the stuff that gets me:

our poor neighbors

A damn concrete truck. A Truck! I hope this is just a phase.. like that one time I thought I was going to be the next Nancy Kerrigan. Without the whole getting beat up with a pipe thing.  Here is a close up, because I know you just can't get enough.

it's basically taking up the entire block

They poured the concrete through the front window and into the basement where there were a few workers waiting to smooth it out. I was told they had to “sit on it” after.. and after I gave my puzzled looked my contractor said “you know, the expression sitting (or was it waiting?) on concrete”.. still, either way, I don’t know what he was referring to. Unless that was a one on one date on a recent Bachelor season, I’ve never seen it/heard of it. I still don't understand if they have to physically push it down like they're sitting on it? That job would suck. Or maybe sitting like waiting.. sitting.. this is beyond my James Madison education.

 

I went by the house during lunch to talk kitchen stuff. I didn’t expect to see all of the shenanigans, so please excuse the poor pictures. The iPhone 3 can only do so much, one day I’ll join you in 2012 and get an iPhone with a flash. Also! While I was trying not to get run over by a truck or hit in the head with that tube I saw this!

 

That guy in grey is pulling our ugly door off with his bare hands! Kinda hot right? I mean the part about not having that ugly front door. Hopefully when we go by tomorrow we'll have a front door that closes and locks!

the stairway to heaven.

 or just the second floor and rooftop deck. This right here is crazy to me- We have stairs. STAIRS! Even though I spent most of my adolescence climbing up and down a ladder to my bedroom loft at my parents’ house, it was getting REALLY old not being able to go from floor to floor with ease in my house.

this jacket is for warmth, not fashion. I'm not THAT big in real life. (i hope)

trying to figure out the timer and RC's Flacco mustache

kind of got it.. he is going to be mad about this. (hiiii honeyyyyy)

Point is, we're on the stairs! Here is another angle:

first floor to second floor

close up of the "turn around"

standing in the front door looking toward the back door

I LOVE the way they look. They look better than I was picturing. I was worried they would take up too much room and break the house up too much but there is a ton of room and you can still see the big back door from the front door. money. Once you go up to the second floor this is what it looks like:

view from 2nd floor landing

I've casually mentioned that you'll be able to get to the roof top from inside, this is how you do it:

So you walk up a few more stairs and open a door to the outside where there will be more stairs to the rooftop:

future site of stairs.

After you walk up those soon to be stairs you will be there

And you will have views like this (but better once they build up the deck)

I'm pretty pumped about it. This week they will be pouring the concrete for the basement! The basemernt currently looks like this:

This week should include basement concrete pouring, electric and plumbing work. Hopefully next house update will have some electric wire running through all of the pictures!