Ole' barnwood shelves, Installed

Finally, dishes in the kitchen and above the sink on the newly installed open shelving!

Along with installing the pantry the other day, the old barnwood planks were put up. (Last year my contractor dug around in his hayloft and found some 100 year old barnwood planks for my kitchen. I scrubbed and watered the dust and dirt off and then applied tung oil. And then they sat behind the kitchen door for a long time - they are very beautiful with their circular markings and rough cut and they are VERY HEAVY)

Took several tries, but we got it. Eventually I will fill in the holes, maybe when I get around to the backsplash. You can't see it in these pictures - zoom lens problem - but the other two brackets are askewed (along with the pre-dated, pre-coded, askewed studs ... old house factor). For now, I HAVE UPPER SHELVING. And a place for the IPOD.

 

I love my zoom lens but that is all I have, a zoom lens, which makes it tricky to get a straight angle of the shelves.  The best I can do is go down the stairs, look up and snap the misaligned brackets from down below.  I love the shelves; sure makes working in the kitchen complete.

p.s. last years recap of the kitchen renovation, and dare I say, almost down a year later?!

Task light

Once upon a time I had an idea for the kitchen lighting. That failed. I re-thought the lighting and was inspired by these beautiful industrial lights from long ago (the white socket tulip bulb one is so pretty, I still fancy it). But I didn't want to spend a fortune, you know, in case I changed my mind or it didn't look as beautiful in my house. OR it did look beautiful but I had to sell the house and the new people didn't have the same appreciation. A little bit of brain storming, practicality and research landed me on ebay and I found something similar. I really liked the black twisty cord, the machine aged cage and the dull matte finished brass socket.  I ordered, it arrived and sat in a box on a shelf for a long, long while.

I debated between one task light versus two. The cord was long enough to create a second light and eventually I hunted down another matte finished brass socket (there are lots of shiny ones available, but no room in my house for shiny.) and a cage. When this package arrived, the cage was TOO new looking and I don't own a machine that ages metal.  Luckily I had also decided I may like to swap out the cages for some colour and had ordered two yellow cages.

My handy contractor put the second one together and installed the lights. I tested the switch and there you have it, cool industrial like task lights with some sunny yellow colour. And wallet still in the black.  The two brass sockets are a bit different, one having a pull chain, the other a turn key. Some edison bulbs to enhance the industrial look and set soothing atmosphere. The two other cages I have will be spray painted, black perhaps.

Check out 1000bulbs for all your electrical needs and industrial light building.

See here (post and link to come) for links and research and other ideas.

Fun in the kitchen - the details

Spice rack up! 

But what is casting all those shadows and light? Well! that would be the beehive light that I purchased many months ago! And luckily I still like it and it still works for me! Have you ever had something for so long, something you bought and loved but then months later, you wondered if you would still like it and if it would even look OK the way you originally envisioned?

I had ordered 2 medium and one large last August, 6 whole months ago. The medium arrived and I immediately cancelled the large, which had been backordered. The medium were large enough. I originally thought three would work in my kitchen, in a L shape  of sorts, wrapping around the backwards L counter.  No way, not after I had one sitting in here.   I re-planned the lighting, and kept the 2nd medium to hang above my stairs. 

Months later, my contractor came (alright, he had been here many other times to help install the cabinets and counter, but yesterday he came to help with the details). I sat and he would ask "Whats next?" Boom, boom, boom! My wishes, problems fixed and design ideas come to light right in front of me; install the remaining three problem drawers; spice rack up; beehive light, up, task lights assembled and installed. 2nd beehive light up. toe kick installed. Woot.

More about the task lighting in another post.

Next week, the trim and baseboard!

Sources:
"Beehive" light : aka West Elm Organic Blown Glass Pendant
Spice rack: Lisa and Lars Greenhouse framing
Yellow industrial task lights: Cage and bulbs from 1000bulbs; cord from an ebay seller.

Lighting inspiration. here, here and here

Kitchen update: doohickeys, octupus, milkbags and the shrinking list

I clapped and grinned and even jumped in delight a few times.

Before this outburst of elation, I doubted myself, delegated the task to contractor, then waited and procrastinated. Time went by and I found myself in this new year with a shortened work month and time on my side. I researched and watched some videos. Gained some knowledge and sorted out a few tricky assembly items that I had also pushed aside. And with all my new confidence and determination I attempted these nuances and hip! hip! hurray for me!

Yes, I installed the pull out drawer - I know, a small feat for most, but big HUGE for me, that level of concentration, accuracy and not messing up, not my kind of thing. I tried to avoid this one cabinet as it required aligning and drilling your own holes. No pre-drilled holes for this IKEA cabinet. I didn't want to mess up, so thought it would be easiest for my contractor to handle it.  And even though the instructions came with a template, I wasn't convinced it was a task for me.

The other quandry was the rod and "doohickey" thing. The official name, unlike every other IKEA product name. Doohickey #1 is the bendy metal piece that is covered with a white nylon piece and appears at one end of the gallery rod.  Do not confuse this with doohickey #2, the gray plastic piece at the other end. Doohickey #1 piece normally fits into a plastic drawer front for the pull out bin. BUT for the drawer that attaches to the door front, one needs to swap out doohickey #1 for another doohickey, which is supplied, in another packet. Lets call this doohickey #3. (Disclaimer, doohickeys are not officially numbered, that I know of, but for purposes of the piece, I'm numbering them. Disclaimer 2, I read on IKEA fan page that "Doohickey" is the official name. Maybe they were joking?) You can see 4 doohickey #1's (gray and yellowy white piece, some bent) and 2 doohickeys #3 (white piece) above the template in the picture below.

What really helped me and convinced me to give it a try was this youtube video I found. I could not tell from the paper pictorial instructions that I was too remove doohickey (5:50min in video) and replace with another doohickey that would attach to a screw (5:31min). (Good thing I had found that "random" package of doohickeys that had slipped under a drawer over a month ago.) The video also showed me how easy it was to use the template (4:30min) - the part about laying template down and creating little holes. Then remove template and drill into markings.

I was so pleased with myself, yet noone to share that triumph! And the drawer is very sturdy, much more so then I thought it might end up being. Lets admire it one more time!

See that octopus thing in the upper right corner of picture above. Got that at IKEA too. I reuse my plastic bags. Wash them and drape them over my faucet to dry. But they usually get in the way there.  When I spotted this Octopus drying rack I instantly knew it was just what I had always needed.  It isn't in its permanent spot, hanging off a window crank, but I wanted it in the kitchen. Maybe when I get the shelf up, it will hang off of that.  (Another option for plastic bag drying racks is a nice tree branch with lots of little branches. That is what my uncle uses.)

To note: I hail from Canada where our milk comes in bags. 3 one litre bags in a larger bag. My mom always reused the milk bags for sandwich bags. I hated it. They didn't keep the sandwiches fresh enough.  And although I have lots of reusable containers these zip lock bags are handy for storing/freezing food but I don't like to toss them after one use (thanks mom, love you). So wash them and hang 'em up to dry using my cool octopus.

All the things one can accomplish when they have all day to prep themselves and get on with it!  I wonder what else I may challenge myself with ... I do have the knobs for the doors, another task I delegated to contractor lest I measure wrong or break off the corner. Install the dishwasher? Maybe!

While my day job is on hold for the next month, I now have the time needed to mentally prep myself and get some things done.  Last week I reluctantly dragged the ladder and paint stuff up stairs. Kicked open the ladder, Half-assedly threw some covers on the sink and counter and started to prime. I took a pain reliever earlier, hoping to ease my shoulder pain and perhaps the pain of painting. Hate painting. I'm lazy(didnt cover all of the counter and got some paint splatters on the soapstone counter; I'm sloppy (was trying to cut around the outlets and both times ran the brush right over them OMG!!!) and shaky. (I should eat first. and maybe not drink 8 cups of coffee).

I swore through the entire ordeal. Splish splosh I hate painting. But wow, first coat/primer is on and wow, I can move on. (we are talking about this one corner wall that the sink resides in. Yep that's it, the big huge drag.) I hated it so much I gave up and didn't cut into the ceiling. HA. Whatever, bring on the White Dove coat of paint, next week perhaps. One week to mentally prep. A few minutes to prepare area, 30 minutes to paint.

That was me this morning, that pink dust pan happy face. Just how I felt. And that is the last of the cardboard boxes, stashed under my bed. Actually a lie, there are two toe kicks and two cover panels stashed under there.  I managed to prepare white bean chili for the crock, assemble pullout door front and figure out the doohickeys all in a three hour slot between taking and picking up the dog at the groomers. I love time management. I love productive time at home.

There are a few other details to finish off the kitchen (you can see Before&after here)
** the lighting - got it, just need it installed
** baseboards - got it, just need it installed
** dishwasher - need to order it
** that really screwed up top drawer in the 36" cabinet. I talked with an IKEA kitchen person in hopes of finding a solution, perhaps 1 36" top drawer to use instead of the two drawers & partition, but nope. No such item. Gotta sort that partition problem out with some L brackets. Definitely one for the contractor.
** one other top drawer that requires the removal of the oven. (Did I ever post about my three IKEA assembly problems I ran into???)
** pantry - need to build it
** paint the last wall - primer done!
** toe kick - ordered two more pieces. when it arrives, I'll call the contractor
** upper shelving. (that is why I finally painted. I have a GOAL. The goal is to get some kind of shelving put up above the sink, even if its temporary, so I can move my dishes on to the shelf and move their current storage thing into storage.)
** spice "rack" - install 60" long piece of exotic wood above stove.
** get chimney vent.

And that might be it. Maybe Ill finish it just in time to sell the house (unless my job picks up)

A recap

I injured my shoulder a while ago. In August, swinging at a green furry ball. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time, maybe a pulled muscle or strained tendon.  A few months later and the pain had escalated. Did I dislocate my shoulder? What could cause so much pain? Rotary cuff damage? I'm not sure what triggered the 8 scale pain during that time, but I finally took an Aleve and laid down with a an ice pack wedged between my neck and shoulder. This actually helped. The next day, and there after, the shoulder pain decreased.  A few months later, pain is milder but still there. Mobility is low. I tried painting the wall in the kitchen, but quit that after I realized lifting arm above head wasn't going to work.  A few weeks later, I swung my arm around my child to embrace him. A swing similar to the swing in the tennis match that initially caused the pain. THAT HURT. My arm does not move that way. Dislocation and the thoughts of rebreaking shoulder to fix it creeps through my mind. (Going to doctor is an option, I suppose, but I'm not convinced about that, yet. Maybe a 2013 goal)

Anyhow, an attempt at painting the last kitchen wall, foiled, was the last house fixing up thing I have done.

I would like to see the lighting installed. I've got that packaged in boxes around the house. And the exotic wood shelf that is supposed to go above the oven, but remains stored on the dining room floor. Choosing a backsplash would get things rolling. And finding a reclaimed wood board to house my plates above the sink would be sweet. 

Until then, a 2012 recap is in order. (Disclaimer, listed points may not be in actual order of occurrence)

** Last January, unusually warm temperatures led me to call a stump crusher. He came. He crushed.  And then he became my full time contractor.


** We started w/ some electrical work in the kitchen,on this wall below.

 

** Ordered the fridge and cooktop from AJ Madison. Lived in a bit of chaos, while the appliances overtook the living room, boxes of cabinets stuffed under beds, and in spare rooms.

** We changed a regular door to a hidden sliding door to the half bath.

** Then we took out the huge 48x70 rotting window and replaced it with custom made french doors. Leading to a "Parisian Balcony" that was also built.

** Tiled the kitchen and bathroom floor.

** Took three trips to different cities (Ottawa,Boston,Philly) to buy the Ikea kitchen cabinets and oven and sink.

** Worked on a rock patio extension to the pea gravel patio. Did a little more landscaping.

** Took down a old tv shelf (previous owners) in my sons room. Painted the wall sky blue.

** Tweaked the half bath

** Updated nursery to little girls room.

** Craigslisted off the old appliances.

** Painted a few walls in the kitchen. The wall above, yeah, thats the one I need to paint. Thats the one that told me my shoulder still doesn't work.

** Finished the electrical in the kitchen.

** Built the cabinets.  Ordered the counter, installed the cabinets. Installed the counter.  Installed the drawers and fronts. Woot, a kitchen!

Looking for pictures to stick in between the items, well its now a before and after post as well as a recap.  I have never done the before and after pictures of the kitchen, so consider this a sneak peak and hopefully a full reveal in the new year.   The commitment took place in Jan 2011. A before tease, Jan 2011 and the gutting, end of Feb 2011 - almost 2 years ago.  But this is a recap of 2012, where most of the rebuilding and planning and decision making happened.