Stone City Part 2

Earlier today we went to Stone City again, presumably to select our slab-o-Crystal White for the counters, and a sink. Once we got there, and went back down into the warehouse, our sales associate figured out that the Crystal White we had selected was not granite, but marble, not an ideal choice for kitchen surfaces that would get a lot of action. It's softer, wears more quickly, is more porous, and is basically a lot more high maintenance. Not good for us. Dangit. No worries, though, we just went around again and found something else that we like a lot, and that *actually* is granite (you'd think they would have noticed this sooner. Whatever.). We are now going with Dawa Yellow:

I think this also means we'll change the backsplash sooner than expected, but that's okay. On the other hand, though, I don't think it will affect color choices for the kitchen.

Yesterday I got some Benjamin Moore Simply White oil-based paint for wood cabinets. It's a warm white, not bright, with good blueish undertones and a satiny finish. For the walls, we're choosing from a mushroom-y pallate. Here's a paint choice strip I brought home to look at:

(a little blurry, but you can get the gist... we're thinking about the middle three visible choices)

So, I think those will still work nicely with the new granite, which should be installed by or around the time my parents and brother come to visit in a little less than two weeks! Good timing.

We did also choose our sink... but that was much easier! A single bowl, very large, very square... pretty straight forward.

At that paint store yesterday, I also pulled some strips with color choices for the front hall. More on that later.

New Appliances... But Wait!

Our new appliances arrived today! Hooray, you say? Yes, hooray, but a modified hooray. Turns out in a kitchen as old as ours was, it's not just the appliances, counter surfaces, flooring, cabinet hardware, ceiling fan, and shelving that's out-dated. Apparently, our hook-ups are also circa 1962, which means that we have a functioning refrigerator, but our oven and dishwasher are basically just a pretty face for now. We will need to have an electrician come back out to install the required panel we need for the oven, and we can't do the dishwasher until the counters and sink are in place, because there's no plumbing to hook into right now. Duh.

All that said, they are still awful purrty!

So while it appears we still won't have a fully operational kitchen until around the end of the month, our disappointment is only slight. This is still pretty exciting.

I also went to Thybony Paint today, and with the help of our friend, Suzette, and the extraordinarily helpful Joe at Thybony, I am all supplied up to get those cabinets refreshed. More on that tomorrow and next week...

Reminders...

So, first of all, Happy Birthdays are due to our dear friend Troy (Dave's best man), and another dear friend, EP. Love you both lots and wish you another year filled with happiness and laughs and good friendship and everything good.

I had been planning to go to the paint store last night after work, but between bad weather, traffic, and needing to return the too-small rug, there was no way to get there before it closed. That will happen this weekend. Hopefully to take care of all of our various kitchen-painting needs (more posting to follow, obviously). That's why I haven't updated in a couple days. Tomorrow our appliances arrive, so I'll have that to report on this weekend as well.

That said, I just had the sweetest little reminder of what this is all about, and I just have to share it. Design*Sponge posted the loveliest video for its weekly wrap-up. It's a sharing of a video made by a couple that eloped when they realized their wedding was getting out of hand and out of their control, a sentiment I know we felt at many points in our planning process, and which I know others have experienced as well. It does sort of all get away from you at points, and while we pushed through it, and had an extraordinary day (if I do say so myself), this video, and summary, nudged me gently and reminded me that what all of this is about, this Home Sweet Schwab and all its associated adventures, is love. And family. And home. And love = family = home.

Take a look here.

And here's a little memory to go with this reminder...

(27.June.2009; Ph: Danielle Aquiline Photography)

Kitchen Renovation: Phase 1 Complete

The first part of our kitchen renovation is complete! Finished! Done! Tonight we came home to no signs of a contractor. The kitchen is empty of demolition/construction materials, and we can now really see a clean, quiet picture of what was accomplished in the last week. The new wall and window look great - we love the outcome. The transition from old to new is smooth and seamless. Danny even used part of one of the removed cabinets to finish off the open side of the last cabinet under where the sink goes (this "side" used to be provided by the cabinet that held the double oven - now gone). Saturday our appliances arrive; Saturday afternoon we return to Stone City to pick out our slab o' granite and sink; Tuesday the Stone City folks come over to measure for the counters; and about a week after that, the counters are in. Between now and then, hopefully, we can do some of the cosmetic elements (painting, shelving, finding our butcher block cart, etc.), but what we have to remember is that it doesn't all have to happen in an instant. I'm just excited to be able to bake for Thanksgiving! Here's what we came home to this evening:

(that empty space will soon be home to a new oven (right) and dishwasher (left))

(you almost wouldn't know that side wasn't always there... that it's a band-aid, so to speak)

Getting really excited for Phase 2! Who wants dinner?

Beautiful Morning

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY (yesterday) to our amazing nephew, Eli, who turned 5!!!

And then, HAPPY BIRTHDAY today to my incredible friend Nadine!

It is officially fall and getting colder by the minute here in Chicago. I got off the bus this morning with leaves blowing all around the air, and was equally disappointed and relieved to reach into my pockets and find gloves.

BUT... all that is a little more palatable, when you wake up and are greeted by a sunrise like this:

I just had to share it. Have a great day!

More renovation updates later...

New Idea re: Cabinets

Once again seeking design input... ED gave me an idea about the cabinets that I've been swirling around in my head for a week now. You know that our existing cabinets look like this:

(short ones)

(tall ones)

You also know that my plan is to paint them white (or white-ish); and further, that I want to replace those old pulls with cute new knobs. In the new plan, I would not add knobs to the cabinets, as they have, in addition to these stunning decorative pulls, the former proprietor of our lovely chateau also selected cabinets with carved out ledge pulls (I don't know if there's a real name for this feature, so don't judge me, you handier folks)... see:

(what would you call those?)

Instead, I am now thinking of simply applying wood filler to the holes left by the beautiful existing pulls, sanding over it, and painting the cabinet faces entirely, without any additional hardware. I will still buy the knobs, likely the yellow ones, as they're still the front-runners in my mind, and simply apply them only to the drawers for a pop:

What do you think, friends and family?

New Rug

I bought an area rug for the living room (Lanie is THRILLED). It's simple, but I think it looks nice. It's super soft, and I love the impact it has on the room, even without any other changes. My only concern is that maybe it's a bit small? Dave was imagining something covering nearly the entire room -- touching or nearly touching all of the furniture. I was imagining something smaller than that, but I can't decide if I think it's too-too small. Thoughts?

(close-up fancy time)