Renovation - May 13

On the 4th day of this process, the plumber began by relocating the pipes that were in the walls that were to be torn down. In the afternoon, the carpenters came to put in a new support beam so the load bearing wall between the kitchen and dining
room could be removed. First they had to build support for the upper level of the house on either side of the place where the beam would go. This support system will be taken down once the new support beam is in place. Also, the bathroom vanity, sink, and toilet were removed today.

On a more fun note, I went shopping for a new toilet and sink for the bathroom. I tried out the elongated toilet and decided it was more comfortable than the round It was a little awkward with the salesman watching :) I also picked out a simple round frosted glass vessel bowl and a contemporary vessel filler. I found out that vessels do not have stoppers in them because there is no overflow. Interesting.

Renovation - May 12

Not much happened today, other than the fact that it was my birthday! 51! I can't believe I am that old already. Steve came by and finished taking up a layer of sub-flooring in the dining room so the floor will be level with the kitchen floor when the hardwood is layed. He also told me that they will be able to duct my exhaust vent to the outside. That was good news. Tim, the electrician, stopped by to see what the rooms looked like without sheetrock so he had a better idea of what he needed to do when he starts next week.
Since there really was nothing new to take pictures of, I am posting a picture of the area rug I bought for underneath the new table. It is from CompanyC and the pattern is called Wendy's Garden. Next to it is a painting I bought in Middlebury, VT when we went to visit Adam for his birthday last month. It is reverse painting on glass, and it was done on an old window which acts as a frame. Very colorful and it pulls in all of the colors of the rug.

Renovation - May 11

The plans for today: remove the door to the porch and replace it with a window, replace the other 3 section window, tear down sheetrock from the walls that will be removed, tear down the ceiling in the kitchen and dining room, remove the island. All of these were finished today.

I love the light, airy feel the kitchen has already. Being able to look out windows in the front and back of the house is great! However, removing the sheet rock and ceilings revealed things that might cause a change in plans. For instance, the multitude of bathroom pipes in the kitchen ceiling might prevent us from having a hood which is ducted to the outside. I am looking into a downdraft as an alternative. Heating pipes were also found inside walls that are supposed to be torn down. Hence, I got to meet the plumber a little earlier than scheduled because the pipes will have to be re-routed so the walls can be removed. Since this needs to be done before the workers can go forward, and the plumber cannot do the work until the day after tomorrow, I don't think any work will be done tomorrow.
In addition, the electrical estimate came in higher than expected, partially because we would like LED lighting

Renovation - May 10

So much demolition was done today. All of the cabinets were removed. The appliances were taken out. The closets were taken down. The small window over the kitchen sink was removed and the new, larger window was put in place. And the carpet in the dining room was taken up. The kitchen looks so BIG when it is empty! I love my new window!

A New Beginning

Nutmeg Stairs and Cabinets here in Ellington is doing the renovation and Steve Luginbuhl is the job foreman. I have been working with their designer, Jonathan Brown, since the middle of December to come up with the design. It was a lot of fun and Jonathan was great to work with. I hope that what I visualize in my head will look just as nice in reality.

Vance and I built our house in 1988. At the time, we had been married for only 4 years and did not have any children. We liked contemporary homes and designed our home with lots of white. Our kitchen, as you can see in the photos, was white. White cabinets, white kitchen table, gray counter-tops, gray walls, black chairs, pale pink (almost white) half bath, off-white dining room ... you get the idea. Over time, the rest of our house has evolved, but now we are updating the remaining rooms. Good-bye white.

So we will be eating off paper plates, cooking on our grill or toaster oven or convection oven/microwave. I have an electric skillet. And a refrigerator. It almost feels like our week in the cabin in Lake George - but then again, that's only for week! There won't be much to clean and cooking will be limited, so I'll have lots more free time!