First glimpse of the kitchen

Are you ready for a ton of pictures of a tiny kitchen?

Brian had a fun experience installing the IKEA kitchen.  It only took 3 trips (so far) to IKEA to get it done.  He worked on the kitchen by himself and found it completely do-able to hang the cabinets solo.  It's coming together!  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

messy workspace, first few upper cabinets mounted

first few upper cabinets mounted

upper cabinets are in with doors

you get a before, during, and after all at once with these pictures!

clean up and add lights - looking good!

blur your eyes so you see a stainless micro and smooth top range

just wait, the base is even better

ah, the working conditions

 

step back and admire

the ugly base is gone!

and the pretty base is going in...

progress

range makes a great tool shelf

umm hmm, starting to be a pretty kitchen

look, we have an island too

ready to tackle the dishwasher?

 

whoo hoo! the integrated dishwasher was such a good choice

looking good!

It's coming together nicely!  I'm looking forward to the new appliances, mostly because those are coming next.  The dishwasher took quite a few hours to get mounted and set into place, that was not fast.  The rest of the kitchen went together reasonably quickly and without frustration.  Those IKEA people really know how to set you up for success in your assembly.  We're down to the level of cleaning up details in here - installing shelves, a few trim pieces, and soft close hardware.  Then it's just a waiting game until the counter guys can get there...

Laundry helper

Maybe I don't want to get new laundry machines just yet.  Here's my helper saying, "I'll do it all by myself".

He hangs himself half into the washer to get the clothes out.

Then swings them into the dryer best he can. When the washer is empty, he hops down to clear off the  dryer door and close her up. 

Now, I just need to teach him how to sort, how to add soap, and when to set each cycle. Oh yeah, and all the folding and putting away!

I found this in draft mode, thinking it was published back in March... Oops!

It's the little things

Remember this hard working corner in my kitchen? Probably not, so let me introduce you.

You see that funny tube on the counter? It was mounted up under the cabinet, but it was missing something... We couldn't figure out how to turn the darn thing on. Turns out, there was a little spot on the end where a plug might have supposed to have been. Anyway, I'm getting off track.  While we were buying under cabinet lighting for the condo, I petitioned for one for the dark corner in our kitchen.

Tada!

My, now glowing, bread board and bananas make me smile!  

It's still ugly paint color and gross handles and knobs. I want to lighten the cabinets and get a pretty counter and backsplash and appliances, but those are ideas for later. Right now, I have a fairly cheap and inconspicuous solution to "the dark corner". And, it makes me smile.

I might need to get another for the other side of the kitchen, you know, so it doesn't feel left out... In the dark!

What's making you smile this week?

No more granny blue

Did I mention that having the paint tools at home would be dangerous?  Dangerous to the granny blue in our living room, that is!

We wrapped it all up, and then took a few pictures.  Cutting paper to cover all those window panes was a pain! Taping the paper on to each pane was even more of a pain.  I groan every time I hear what a pain those panes are!  There were 80.  Brian did the majority of the work.  He calculated that he tediously taped on a close line greater than a football field's length in this room. #mathnerd

 I can't get over how ugly that fireplace surround was.  So glad to no longer be sporting the blue shelf backs and "antique glazed" front.

Wait for it...


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Wow!  White is so fresh and pleasant!

 The ceiling was ugly, off white, shiny, textured tiles.  You can see along the edge where he got it with the trim paint that it will be so much better in plain white!

 Final wrapping for ceiling paint.

 Ooh, putting it back together with silver hinges and a lucite knob.  (Is lucite what you call it??  It's a clear crystal-like hexagon.  Fits with the vibe of the room, I think.)

 Can't help but notice the grill as well...  It was painted and glazed to match previously, and rusted beyond use.  Now she's looking real fine!

 Let me remind you for a moment what it looked like shortly after we moved in.

 Ugh, those blue half walls and window trim were so gross!  (So were the window treatments!  That's up next.)

Now, I think we've brought it into the modern era.  I'm so happy with it!  Let me at the art and window treatments!

How often do I celebrate fresh paint on here?  It's our thing these days. There is a sense of accomplishment and a much improved aesthetic when you finish a paint job, so I guess it's an okay thing to celebrate. We have had the tandem bike out for a fun ride once already this spring, so it's not ALL work no play.  I just don't have much to show-off about a bike ride. ;)
Happy Spring!

Condo Update - paint

We were up for another work weekend and we got 2 important things done - paint in phase 3 and furniture in phase 2!  Here's a random splattering of photos from that work weekend:

Wrap it up tight!

Primer done - the orange walls are finally all gone.

Ooh, a real bed!  It makes the mattress softer.

Poang chairs, so comfortable!  Surprisingly large in the room, though.

Upper cabinets down. Kitchen is so much bigger!

Gray wood looking good.

Whoo, look at those bright white electrical covers!  It's the little things :)

We painted up a little extra base trim for after the floor is put down.

Getting there!

Now that is one beautiful fireplace wall!

Wrapping for paint makes a huge pile of garbage.

Great view! 

I could say so much about that last picture - old window vs. new window.  No competition, new is fabulous.  I just hope the old one isn't a detractor for the sale of this place. With the new windows, you can see the glistening of the lake all the more clearly.  It's so frustrating how replacing the worst one makes the okay one look terrible.
With the last phase painted, we were able to bring all the paint stuff home, so the tool pile is starting to grow smaller!  Dear me, now we have paint tools at home... You know what that means!