it happened so quickly :)

as promised in previous post... particle board countertops.. here we are cutting to fit. We made cardboard templates for the tricky pieces.

routered the edges and then stained them and clear coated them (3 times)

I think that for the whopping $25 it cost for all of the countertop in our kitchen, it was well worth the effort. (we just saved ourselves about 2 grand!)

They are wonderfully shiny and as my husband pointed out "you can't even tell when you have spilled your coffee" haha

And... finally... all of the countertop stuff is back in the kitchen where it belongs. :) this is a very happy thing!

We still need some moldings for the doorways and windows, some backsplash (which will be a thinner particle board stained to match), doors for the pantry and laundry closets (I have these already and only need to strip and refinish them), and flooring (again... already purchased and stacked in the spare bedroom for acclimation)...

I think that the house is looking like a million bucks...

This is HUGE!!

Big Big Big headway was made since the last post. We finished putting up the brown bags (thank goodness!) and steve finished his custom downdraft. Here he is installing the last screws and... there you have the perfect solution to venting when your range is under a window.

It's pretty sharp and works like a charm!

Of course we tested it before moving forward. Then comes the painting, which was done the night before the cabinets are getting installed (nothing like waiting until the last minute).

But we made the deadline and sure enough, the cabinet guy arrived on the first non-rainy day in the week.

He managed to make all the cabinets we needed (2) in about 10 days and it only took him a couple of hours to install. It was pretty amazing to watch.

Sure enough... with a little kicking and shimming, they went right in.

The final item was getting the Ikea sink to fit in the hole. After a couple of trimming attempts, it fits like a glove.

And.... There you have it! Kitchen cabinets! Custom angled drawer fronts, knotty alder shaker style, all drawers except for under the sink and full extension drawer glides. :) we are very happy!

More to follow...

look for the custom particle countertops in future posts. Yes... you read right.. particle board countertops...

Now that's doin' laundry in style!!

Well this past weekend was HUGE!!!
Washer and dryer relocation!! The move only took a couple of hours to unstack, secure, move(roll into the house on a handtruck), put into the closet, and hook up... :) :) :) :)

Thank goodness my husband is thin.. we were smart enough to frame out a hole behind the fridge so we could hook up the washer and dryer.. it worked perfectly!!

no no.. .he isn't praying to the god of the laundry.. he is making sure the feet are in the guides so when the washer spins it doesn't spin the dryer right out of the closet.

And... there you have it... Now all we need is some more brown paper and a few doors and that part will be complete!!

The best part of all of this is that I don't have to walk out in the rain to do laundry and ... bonus.. no frozen soap! haha

Pantries all around!!

Well this is a little bit backwards but if you go to the bottom of the post you will see the progress of the pantry almost to completion..

Progress, Progress... and by the way my toe is healing nicely.

Todays project... paint the shelf boards for the pantry... this means that yet again I will be setting up saw horses in the living room.. thank goodness there is plenty of space.. Installing the pantry shelves is pretty high on the priority list this weekend.. if it will actually happen remains to be seen.. Eventually (within the next week or so) we will be able to order our kitchen cabinets.. they will be made out of knotty alder (the door pictured is clear alder) and the countertop will be silestone (I think).. things have a way of changing just when you think you have made up your mind and have a plan... haha

The kitchen has changed a bit.... We moved the tower of shelving out of the center of the floor to make room for working with the long wood for baseboards and pantry shelving. The kitchen is minimal to say the least but completely liveable...

Yes... the curtains are temporary! haha.. but aren't they fabulous?

I couldn't sleep a couple of nights ago, so I got up at 3 am and decided to finish the brown bag treatment on the wall below... it took a couple of hours but it's done.. now all I have left to do is the walls in the kitchen.. It shouldn't take too long and then the "brown bag wonderfulness" will be done. yippee!!!

The is one of 2 shelves that we are using for "kitchen cabinets" and while it's close to the kitchen it seems pretty far away when you are cooking.

Below is the 1920's light fixture that Steve rescued out of a home in Paradise that they were disassembling and selling off. It cost him all of $2 and he took the glass out, sanded it down and painted it, replaced the ceramic socket and wiring for the bulb and ... there you have it... one vintage 1920's porch lamp for a "night light" of sorts.

This area is the focus this weekend... shelves on the left and a lovely stack washer dryer to the right.. molding, trim, brown bag... then maybe I won't have to go out to the garage to do the laundry (on a side note.. it snowed last night and the garage is not attached to the house!)

This couch is just about the only thing in the house that hasn't moved since we put it in place..

Hope you enjoyed the progress update.. more to follow.. we continue to work at it little by little...

Our goal is to have this half done by our anniversary. Of course I did leave out the part about laying the wood floor and having to clear coat hundreds of feet of baseboard and moldings for the windows and doors and of course the stripping and refinishing of the doors for the laundry closet and pantry and did I mention the part about taking out the stone entry/landing by the front door? ... Seems the more I think about it the longer the list gets so I think I will go paint something.. :)