Counter tops - in!

I am watching the counter tops being installed right now. YAY!!! The sink comes with the counter tops, so that is a huge step forward. Unfortunately, the plumber isn't coming to hook up the sink/disposal until tomorrow, so no home cooked meal tonight. :(.

Today, I got freaked out about my design choice for the first time. I was telling a lady I know from work about our sink issues (read the posts below to catch up). She asked what color the counters were, the color of the sink, the faucet, etc. Then she said, "and you didn't want to do a black sink and faucet with the black counter tops?"

"No," I said - matter of factly. That never even entered my mind as an option.

"Huh. I would have done black."

Hmmmm. This is the first and only time that I have second guessed my design decision. With this whole house, I knew exactly what I wanted. Decisions were easy. I could see it in my head. No issues in terms of color and what to do where. Now - I'm worried.

So far in my typing, they haven't put the sink in yet. All day today I've been freaking myself out that I did this outdated design in my kitchen. It's very worrisome.

Deep down, I know the reasons why I picked what I did. I think the white sink and faucet will mimmick the white appliances and the white backsplash. But still. Ugh. I guess I'll know in a minute.

Pictures to come!

Ignore previous post

Well, you can ignore a lot of it anyway. D just got back from his sink hunt. He got one of his suppliers (it helps to know people) to get the sink that we wanted for a decent price (still more than we wanted to pay on a sink) and get it delivered tomorrow. Wow!

Now, the granite was on schedule to be installed tomorrow. But, with all this it will be Thursday instead. Still, pretty good, huh?

Yay! I still get what I want! Yay!

Sink difficulties

We are having issues with the sink. Actually, I guess the real issue comes from my design for the kitchen. Apparently, my design is using outdated items - namely, the kitchen sink. Humbly, I thought that I had a pretty good sense of style/design. Or, at least it was good enough to not turn anyone off.

So, in this kitchen, my thought has been white cabinets, black counter tops, white subway-tile backsplash. Since we have white appliances (that was a budget decision), I decided to stay away from stainless all together and make the design work with out it - regardless of how popular stainless is today.

With that in mind, only a white cast-iron sink made sense to me. What else would you put in there? Nothing else comes to my mind. I also would prefer to have just one big sink with no divider. That's what we had in our last house and I loved it! I really just don't see the need for a divided sink. It's a waste.

That would make the criteria for our kitchen sink: white, single bowl, undermount (meaning we would mount it from the bottom instead of dropping it in - it gets rid of that lip that just gets cruddy over time).

I don't know all the technical terms for sink materials. Cast iron, porcelain, composite, etc. It's all a little jumbled in my head. I just told D to get a white sink that looked like our last one. Job done. Right? Nope. This morning, he asked if I wanted to take a look at the sink before he handed it over to the granite guys to install for Tuesday (yes, tomorrow! I just might have a sink tomorrow!). Sure, I would look at it. Good thing I did! It was a composite sink. Not cast iron. If you don't know, composite is the type of material that I would use as a utility sink, not nice a pretty for the kitchen.

Well, that sent D back to run around and try to find a cast iron sink that would be okay for the budget and the timeline. Meaning, it had to be in stock. Come to find out, no body carries cast iron undermount sinks because they don't sell that often. Hmmm. Well, I guess I'm an odd-ball.

I did just get another call from D. Basically, we are going to be back on the microwave diet this week. We're going to have to order something else. Too bad. But, at least I'll get what I want. Or, as good as I can get. The pictures below are my options:



This is the sink that I want. Deep, single bowl, cast iron. Would look perfect in my kitchen and would function fabulously. It's the more costly option. Why? I don't know. I really can't figure out what makes something that seems simpler, more expensive.



This is the back-up option (read: budget). The reason I would be okay with this one is that they call it the "smart divide" where the divide is lower than normal and you can fit pot handles across it. Again, if you need a "smart divide" it would probably be better to have no divide at all, right? And, this one is some how less expensive than the one above. Sheesh.

A slight break

Sorry for the lack of check ins. I know that everyone is busy, but it seems like we are double busy. I seriously don't know where my card reader is. It's sad. So, the only way I can get pictures to you right now is from my phone. So, not the greatest quality photos, but at least you can get an idea of things.

So, here's what I've got for you. Some kitchen shots. It's taken about 4 weeks for us to see visible progress. Pretty much all work ground to a halt while we waited for our kitchen cabinets to be made. We left the old kitchen in tact during that process just so that we could semi function normally.

Last weekend, D started demolition on the kitchen. When he was done, it was bare except for our range and refrigerator. Like this:



So, you can see that the entire original kitchen was wood paneling. Yuck. The white areas you see are where we have primed it for our backsplash.

Now, for the new cabinets. Ta da!









Yeah, I'm so happy with these cabinets. Thank you Roger!!! They are exactly what I asked for. I love them! Of course, they look even better when you remember what we came from.

So, you can see that even though we've gotten over the major hurdle of getting cabinets, we are still without counters, trim, backsplash, etc. A kitchen re-do is not an overnight project.

The last pieces of the cabinets are coming Monday. Not all the shelving was ready. Also, the open cabinets that you see will have doors with glass panes and those weren't ready either.

Today, D and the electrician are putting in the under-cabinet lighting. Nice! Something we didn't have in the last house and it will be a nice addition. Counters, sink and dishwasher will all happen at once too. Probably Thursday or Friday this coming week.

The first step has been taken. Yay! It's nice to see something coming together! Thankfully, I should have more to show this week!