Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Kitchen Renovation Update

Like all DIY projects, the renovation is evolving every week - that means we keep changing the plan because we have no idea what we're doing! We have had a productive day today though as Craig was off work ...

All 6 layers of floor are now out. The original floor is just hardboard. The fridge will stay where it is. The counter top on the left will be expanded to the window. We'll upgrade the sink & fridge. The masking tape in the foreground is our proposed island.


This is the most exciting part! We shopped around a lot for countertops. We didn't want laminate. Didn't end up liking Corian after we saw that it scratched up a lot. Decided we wanted granite but it's ungodly expensive. We found cheap granite at Bargain Outlet but have had trouble finding someone to cut it for us for less than $1,000 and 6 weeks wait - basically they don't want people like me and Craig buying our own granite and just having them cut - so they price you out. I was also told that the granite was Chinese and therefore not good product - I have no idea if that's true! Anyway, we found this place - L&E Stone & Kitchen Supply and we were sorted! These guys will measure, supply, cut & polish and install for a fantastic price. The granite is an inch thick too! We've chosen the color "Bainbrook Brown" (see above) for countertops, backsplash and an island - all for much less than we thought.

Craig found these walnut stools at Lowes today, reduced from $178 each to $49. Perfect! They might be too high for the kitchen island - if they are we'll use them in the basement around the pool table.
Our life for the next couple of months - sanding cabinets! I think we made the right decision to keep them, although we thought they were solid wood but they're not - they're laminate! We'll have to be careful sanding. We'll stain them a dark walnut, get some pewter hardware and Bob's your uncle - fab new cabinets!
By the way ..... this could all change next week!

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