Thursday, September 01, 2005

kitchen gettin' there!!

Its been a couple of months' worth of 'oh me nerves' kinda of topsy turviness in my kitchen as you may know. You will then also know that I instigated the whole project when taken with a sudden whim to demolish my country kitchen, purge all cuteness and folk arty-ness from my 'culinary command post'!
the baskets? . . . OUT!
the country knick knacks? GONE!
the odd coloured bowls and glasses. . . . SO LONG!
the quaint tea towels. . . . ALSO GONE!

Fortunately for me stainless steel is IN when it comes to kitchen accessories de jour. I have managed to strike paydirt!!! Every place i go, there is this abundance of metallica!!! ha ha!!! A spontaneous trip to HomeSense last night was fantastic! Stainless, chrome, brushed nickle items spilling all over the shelves, centre aisle displays of the stuff!!! Can't believe I made my choice before I knew it was a 'hot' thing!!? Totally coincidental! I'm trying, of course, to be thrifty, get bargains whenever possible. We have been really trying to do things on as shoestringy a budget as possible. Saving money where possible and investing where necessary like flooring. We saw this product called "FibreFloor" on our of our scouting missions! I flipping through flyers tonight and guess what? its on SALE now at Sears!! YAY! I know where we're headed tomorrow! This stuff is amazing. . you don't need to lay a subfloor, you don't need to rip your old floor up, you don't glue the stuff down - it is engineered to just lay flat on top of your floor! All you have to do is lay and cut. . then place your threshold strips and Bob's your uncle!!! DONE! It also comes with a 25 year guarantee! What a lazy renovator's dream, eh? The only other more expensive item is the copper tile that we spied at The Home Centre. . posh-looking. . so we'll see what that's going to cost. Regardless I do want the copper and Rob likes it too. Its gonna look fabulous on that wall, I just know it! I actually had my heart set on glass tile. If you've never seen it, wow. . its so glossy and gorgeous - stunning. When I laid eyes on some sample boards of the exquisite stuff at the Home Depot I was so taken! I yelled out loud "THAT'S IT!!! THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WANT!" After looking at slab after slab of oatmeal-coloured, bland stuff in Aisle 17, spying this stuff made my pulse race!! Rob had to practially grab me and spin me around toward the store exit! Oh, but it had everything going on. . . cool smoothness, iridescent shine, deeply pigmented, vibrant colour. . i was 'aw-ing' and looking at Rob with the "Can I have it, pretty please with sugar on top?" look. . I don't often give him that look cuz i'm not really often so soppy about 'things'. He didn't buy it. He just looked at the price tag and said "It's $13.00 per sheet, Kathy!" and it was -- my heart sunk. It would take many sheets to cover our wall. I'm just now getting over the disappointment!!! So, we looked at this Home Centre and they had this huge, colossal selection of tile - every type, including some glass that just wasn't as purty as the stuff at Home Depot, so i wasn't tempted. We should order the tile soon. . wanna get this wrapped up! We've never tiled or grouted before, so it will prob take us forever!!

Last night i went through the kitchen and took out every duplicate, every 'non-matching with the new vibe' thing, every now undesirable item and placed them in 2 large bags. We'll let our daughters go through the stuff - much of which is perfectly fine - and what they don't want gets the heave ho! (we'll take it to one of the thrift stores).

Rob is hanging the triple-coated doors now and they look lustrous and WHITE! the hinges and catches are stainless, the handles are brushed nickle. I have this urge to brush my hands across them. . actually i've already done that!!! they're so smooth and lovely. (yes, i'm a bit weird!)

The big job still isn't done - we have the lower cupboards to attend to. . sigh. Then the tiling, then the light installation above the sink, hang the bamboo blinds - make the valances, which will be covered with aluminum sheeting, lay the floor and we're finished! I'm going to cook a celebration dinner when its all spiffy and complete. CAN'T WAIT!!!

I'll post a picture of the cupboards soon.

16 comments:

Denise said...

Wow! What an undertaking! I can't wait to see the finished product - sounds fabby!

kathryn said...

wow is right! big, big job. thanx hon. I'll def. post pix of the finished project! When are you leaving for Vancouver?!!

Kevin said...

Oh your kitchen sounds like it is going to be so nice! Your hard work will definitely be worth it.
I know what it's like to redo a kitchen. It *IS* lots of work and $$, but it can look so much better. Brushed Nickel is super popular right now and looks great, so that sounds like a great choice.

I'm excited to see your pictures!

~Kev

Sherri Lavender said...

I've gotta get over there ASAP!

kathryn said...

thanx, guys! its already so radically different.

i feel strange writing about something so 'trivial'in light of all that's going on in New Orleans, Biloxi, etc. . . I can only try to imagine. . how many others like us were excited about redoing stuff in their own homes? oh my. The pictures are disturbing. The newscasts are unbelievable.

anyway. . yeah.

Denise said...

I leave for Vancouver on Wednesday. On a flight with 3 other terror's so that'll be fun. Started packing up some stuff this morning...sheesh...I've got too much!! ;)

Krista said...

I've never heard of FibreFloor?! This sounds like pretty incredible stuff! I love it when the stuff you want goes on sale!

Bob wanted this work bench from CT - $130. We held off because there were other, more pressing things that we had to put money into...last week they put it on sale for $59!!! SCORE!!! Love that! :)

I think I might have to join Sherri and pay you a little visit to check out this ultra-modern gourmet kitchen spectacular!

K

kathryn said...

yay Dee! flying out soon!!! i am so proud of you, girl!

I hope you can still blog while you're there?!

Krista. . that's so cool that you guys hung in there and waited and then got that bench ON SALE!! isn't that a great feeling?!

This FibreFloor is cool stuff. Comes in 3 grades. . we're getting the top grade cuz it'll stand up the best of course. The pattern i've chosen is a stone pattern, slate gray with some nuances of other 'earth tones' kinda in there. . it looks beautiful. Ceramic tile, slate flooring is tough to work with. . your subfloor must be perfect. . no squeaks, squawks, non-level portions, otherwise your tiles may crack and shift. . forget about that! there ain't nothing level in an older home!!! most things are wonky. . this way you get the look of slate, without the fuss.

I would love for you and Sherri to come for a visit!! Perhaps it would be nicer when its complete? Give us a couple of weeks. Hopefully there isn't a huge lead time for the ordered stuff?

k

kathryn said...

Linds, you are perfectly poised to see all the trends, all the decor. I bet that's kinda fun, eh?!

You'll never guess what I got 2nite? You know how crappy my broom and dustpan set is? Well, I bought a chrome-handled angle broom with a clear dustpan!!!! Your sister mocked me silly!
I don't care. I also got a really nice metal trivet set - very classy - clear glass inset in the centre - $3.67 for 2 big ones! (regular $15.00!!!) We ordered the copper tile and the slate-look flooring 2nite! The tile will take 7 - 10 business days to come in. . the flooring will be 14.

Tracy said...

This IS quite exciting. I am also looking forward to seeing pictures!

kathryn said...

the dustpan is clear plastic!!! and yes, it clips onto the broom. The dustpan seems better than that other weird one! You'll have to inspect it!

Thanx, Tracy!!! I'm very excited. I contacted a company today in Mitchell that resurfaces your existing counter top. They work with concrete. .yes that sounds bizarre - but you should see their website! their work is GORGEOUS. They make a thin-set cast of the material that fits right on top of your counter. That way you need not demolish. . You simply refurbish what you've got. Apparently it can withstand heat up to 450 degrees F! It holds up to anything else you could possibly do to it. So, I'm also thinking of doing that. . cuz my counter, though in very good shape, is hopelessly dated!

Dale said...

Kat said "...forget about that! there ain't nothing level in an older home!!!"

Wow, don't I know it! I own and live in an old farmhouse that has been in my family since it was built 140+ years ago. There is NOTHING level or square in this house anymore. Everything I do must be uniquely "crafted" to fit or work where I want it. UGH!

But it has sentimental value to me so I can't complain too much. It will look very nice again some day when I can finally afford to renovate all of it.

Have fun finishing up the kitchen Kat! Can't wait for the pics!

kathryn said...

hey, thanx Dale! I can't wait to finish this task! its been big and there hasn't even been any demo. . just reno. . sometimes i think demo would be quicker!!! but much more $$

I think its wonderful that you live in a long time family farm house!!! how cool is that? I love old homes. Mine isn't old - its only about 55 years old. . its just a baby compared to yours!

Kevin said...

:)
Old houses and even 55 year old houses are cool because they have character and charm. New houses often seem to have been built using a cookie cutter... many look the same. Older houses have usually been remoddeled at least once which also contributes to who they are.

The pictures should be great to see. :)

~Kev

kathryn said...

yeah, i think so too, Kev. Older homes do have character. they are usually plaster construction. . (interior walls are plaster not drywall), their joists and load bearing walls are very soldily built compared to new construction, i've seen both and the difference is obvious. Back in the day workers took more time, used better materials and i think took more pride in their work.

oh well, i'm sure that there must be some well built new homes out there! I shouldn't generalize.

kathryn said...

totally agree with you Linds.
heh heh spacious and they don't smell weird!!! LOL!!!!