9th week update

Bryan managed to squeeze in half a day (more like an evening, actually) and we got quiet a bit of molding and embelishments installed.

A miniature crown molding was installed above the cabinets. Originally we wanted a fancy crown molding, but since we are keeping the soffit, we would've been able to use the molding for 2 walls only. Most importantly, we wanted the cabinets to go all the way up to the ceiling and since Decora does not make 39" tall wall cabinets, we either had a choice of 36" + 6" of molding (too much!) or a 42" with not too much space for the molding. We decided to utilize the space and to make things more even with the soffit walls, and went for 42" plus the scribe molding. Scribe molding is really more of a strip of wood to go between the top of the cabinet and the ceiling, but that's what traditionally is used in cases like this.

When Bryan was going through all the molding pieces that had arrived with the cabinets, he noticed this molding called "inside corner" molding. It actually looked like a miniature version of a crown molding. He held it up against the cabinet and it looked great. Best of all, we ended up getting the new batch of molding on the house due to a number of screw-ups by Decora (see a post of about 3-4 weeks ago).

In addition to the molding, he installed the replacement corner cabinet (original came with a small crack) and the grape embelishmnets. One of them went on the filler above the fridge and the other one went on the sink cabinet. Original intent for the 2nd onlay was to go on the filler above the hood, but it turned out that there wasn't enough space for it (it was ordered kind of on the fly - both of us were at work when we found out that we would need a filler above the vent and had to place an order ASAP; i was concerned that 48" of plain filler would be too much and felt that the onlay was needed - now that everything is installed, I think the onlay would've overwhelmed the range and the hood). An onlay on the sink cabinet was something I thought of during the design stages, but the embelishment was too expensive, we left it off. BTW, the 2nd embelishment did not cost us anything (same story as the molding).

Next time we will see Bryan is when the doors and the replacement molding arrive. The window frame also still needs to be stained.

photos to follow....

PS - i went strawberry picking on Sunday to a local farm, and cooked the most fantastic strawberry/rhubarb reduction with a bit of cinnamon. Yummy. I love that range!!!!

8th week

Once again, nothing much happened.

Bryan managed to squeeze in a few hours mid-week to re-connect the sink, and to do a few things here and there.

We also went to the granite fabricating place to see the template against the slabs and were able to see how the stone will be cut and where the seams would be. That was a lot of fun :) The slabs are gorgeous! It appears that the granite won't be installed till the first or the 2nd week of July.

Also, it was discovered that the door replacement order never went through b/c we had a question about the door dimension and somehow that got lost in the shuffle. A rush was placed on the order though, so hopefully we will see the doors soon. We also had to re-order some molding since the finish was crap (it looked like the pieces were not finished drying when they were put away).

The corner cabinet replacement (for the one that originally had a crack) came in at the end of the week.

The punch-list includes: install the replacement doors (5), install cabinet hardware, install cabinet shelves, install all molding and trim, install embellishments (2), stain the window trim, hook up microwave. After the granite is installed, Bryan will have to install the garbage disposal, the faucet and the soap dispenser and the airswitch for the disposal.

The granite

Since the templating was already done, I have decided to post the photos of the granite. The granite is from India and is appropriately called the Kerala Green, but is more commonly known as Tropical Green and Hawaiian Green. Sometimes it goes by Laura Verde and I think there is at least one more name!

What attracted me to this stone is the combination of green with the reddish specs which matched the cabinet stain perfectly. Originally we were interested in black with blue stones (like Volga Blue and Blue Pearl) but once the cabinet door was compared to the stone samples, the cool/warm contrast was not working. Since the green was always our second choice, Kerala Green was a perfect find! We think it coordinates nicely with the cabinets and the floor tile. Best of all, it turned out to be a much cheaper choice than our original selections.

We are getting a full granite backsplash as well (from the counter to the cabinets) that's why the new paint covers the walls partially and the orange is still visible in some places.

Our 3 slabs were selected and the deposit was given back in March. However, due to smaller market and a high demand for our fabricator, the wait from the templating to the fabrication at this time of the year is 5-6 weeks. There is only one place in the area that does it under 2 weeks, but they are also thousands more expansive. We can certainly wait :)

7th week

the tall filer finally arrived towards the end of the week and so did the molding and trim pieces (most of them anyway).

we had the templating scheduled for Friday, so the cabinets left of the freezer had to be taken apart for the tall filler to go in.

then they were all put back (except for the doors since the time was short before the granite people arrived). The doors are sitting against the couches in the living room :(

the filler above the fridge was installed - the fridge is truly a built in now.

the air vent was installed in the toe-kick of the base cabinet right of the fridge (originally, the vent used to be located on an empty wall).

the panels were installed on the exposed ends of the wall cabinets flanking the range vent.

the trim kit for the recessed can above the sink was installed as well.

the last corner cabinet is still in transit but the cracked one was installed for the templating.

unfortunately, with the templating guys needing the sink disconnected, we lost running water again. Hopefully we will get it back soon.

some photos to be posted soon.

6th week

nothing really happened except that our old sink got hooked up and a few things arrived from Decora (fridge filler).

a bit of painting (touch-up) was done though - and i think some of the toe-kicks were installed, but it could've been done at the end of the 5th week.

5th week photo update (before the hiatus)

As mentioned in the previous post, a lot of work happened but a design flaw was discovered which put everything on hold. Here're the photos of progress.


This is the view of the "window side:

peninsula view from the dining room doorway, with the double trash cabinet opened. Note that the sink is across the trash cabinet.

This is the view of the fridge wall (from the sink wall) with the microwave not installed yet - it was taken out right away once we realized that the freezer door won't open all the way. The filler above the fridge is not going be installed till the tall filler between the freezer side and the microwave gets delivered and is installed.
This is the inside view of the wall cabinet left of the microwave cabinet. The phone will be kept inside the cabinet to minimize the clutter on the counter, as well as to keep all the outlets and wires on the walls to a minimum. The cell phone charging station is going to be there too. The full view of the cabinet is the next one (the one that is closest to the wall).
And this is the trio of cabinets to the left of the microwave cabinet - which all will be taken down for the tall filler between the freezer and the microwave cabinet to be installed. We have just enough space on the wall to install the 1.5" filler and to move the cabinets towards the door opening (the doorway on the left is to the front hallway). The photo was taken from the center hallway.



Finally, this is the view from the center hallway to the other side of the peninsula (where we will have an overhang for a stool) and the 12" deep side of the kitchen (the fridge side is the 24" deep wall). Note that the wall corner cabinet just before the dining room doorway is not installed yet since it had a crack and we are waiting for a replacement :(

So more or less at this point the work was stalled and we were waiting for the filler to arrive.

another update coming soon!