Are We Having Fun Yet?

When your home is looking like this for the last month, it is easy to ask yourself this question. But, we are persevering, perfecting the virtue of patience, and learning to live with pervasive dust and disarray, all in the name of home improvement!

As 2010 began, we jumped right in to our own version of "Extreme Makeover." While the TV cameras haven't been rolling, we've been snapping shots all through the process. While we haven't had the good fortune of someone coming in and doing all the work for us, plus paying for the whole thing, we started our kitchen remodel excited to get going, ready to work, and rather unprepared for the reality- the good, the bad, and the ugly- of an extreme makeover.

We began the process many months ago, with bids for re-facing cabinets vs. new cabinetry, granite countertops, appliances, and many other details of the project. One example of the extremes in bids came with the bid for the electrical work. One young "hot-shot" electrician wanted over $5200 for the work, while the other "good ole/old boy" wanted $975 and he threw in some additional work at no charge. After checking on the second guy, it was a "no-brainer," but he was slow and David had to "babysit" him to keep him on task. As we worked on details and decisions, we criss-crossed three counties, visiting showrooms, granite yards, home improvement stores, etc., and found several good deals, especially on appliances. The biggest "piece" was deciding on a cabinetmaker and choosing the wood. Our pick was our neighbor who does gorgeous work, who was in the middle of the bids, but who is notoriously slow. Our bid from him was dated October 12, and the cabinets were supposed to be installed the week after Thanksgiving. Rick was not ready, so we postponed the start of the remodel until the first of January. Thank goodness! Now at three + weeks into the remodel, it is clear that we would have been in a huge mess in the middle of Christmas with the family here.

We started the new year by packing away Christmas and packing up the kitchen and family room. Boxes can be found in many different locations through our home and, very often, items that we need become a search for "a needle in a haystack."

We moved our frig into the living room and covered everything with sheets and towels, in preparation for the dust of demolition.

David and I took the first of the old cabinets down, but things got really interesting when the rest of the cabinets and the soffits in the kitchen came down, ripping out the ceiling, raining down all the insulation we had put in last year, and leaving part of the kitchen open to the roof. I came home from work to a freezing cold kitchen, the air "toxic" with insulation and dust, and David sweeping up, often standing knee deep insulation. (One important note at this point- David has borne the burnt of this remodel, day in and day out, dealing with the ugly and the unexpected and working right along with all the sub-contractors. He is my hero!)

The electrician (a 60+ guy who took a break to smoke a joint in our front yard) and the sheetrocker (really scary guy, covered with tatoos of skeletons and lots of body piercing) were around for many days and then David rented a machine to blow the insulation back into the attic. It was supposed to be a short, easy project, but the blower kept plugging up and the air was full of insulation dust again. After they were done, David's helper guy stepped through the ceiling, raining down insulation again and we had to bring the sheetrocker back for a couple of days to repair the damage. As the contractors did their work, we worked to take down the wallpaper in the kitchen and family room and we painted just enough to be ready for the cabinets to come. (Memo to myself and anyone I really care about: Don't put up wallpaper if you ever plan to paint 30+ years down the road!)

We took some much needed (and enjoyed!) R&R in Michigan, attending Brian's first dissertational recital for his Doctorate, and then we returned for the delivery of our cabinets. Here's a sneak preview of the cabinets- they're gorgeous!

By the end of this week, the cabinets will be done, the granite will be installed, and the appliances will be delivered. In the meantime, we'll keep painting, snapping pictures, and preparing to answer the question, "Are we having fun yet?" with a resounding "YES!"