It's Coming to Life!!

Week Four...check out the progress!!!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

The floor went in.  I was sitting in my office eavesdropping (ahem, working) while the contractor and his guy were discussing my reclaimed wood, and how best to install it.  Apparently reclaimed wood flooring is a pain in the ass to install.  If you're thinking of using it because it's cheaper, think again.  It's really not.  The initial cost may be (I paid $2.00 per sq. foot), but there's a lot of labor involved that brings the overall cost right back up.  The  benefits you get from reclaimed wood are that you keep it out of the landfill, and if you're putting it next to already aged flooring, you'll be able to get a better match for a consistent look.  Boards change color when they age- putting one stain color on new vs. old boards can look vastly different.  It's kind of like borrowing your best friend's  most prized red lipstick- the one that looks so glamorous and old Hollywood on her, but looks like a cheap trick in the making on you.  Get it?

We ran out of useable "old" wood slats and had to use a few square feet of "new" wood.
No worries, it's under the fridge, and once sanded and stained, you won't even notice it!

So what makes reclaimed wood a pain for those installing it?  For starters, some of the tongues are missing- they were either broken off or cut out when the planks were removed from their previous home.  They were also previously refinished, so there are small pieces of filler stuck to the sides, which can prevent the boards from being installed flush/tightly to each other.  This means extra work for the installers, and once installed, the floors still need to be sanded down and refinished again.  It's pretty labor intensive, so what you save on materials, you more than make up for in labor costs.  I've made my peace with it, though- I feel an obligation to this old house to treat her well.  (Are you kind of surprised I'm not married to an 80 year old man with how much I profess to love old things?  Dave is 353 days older than me...I think that counts, right?)

My original hardwoods run in two different directions: Dining room to the left,
and living room to the right.
The kitchen hardwoods have been installed, but haven't yet been sanded and stained in this picture.

(You may also be asking yourself, "Why didn't you just feather in the new flooring with the existing flooring so that you didn't have a threshold between the doorways"?  Well, friends, my hardwoods extend past the living room, though the hallway, and into two bedrooms as one continuous piece.  If I had feathered in the floors, I would have had to remove ALL OF MY FURNITURE from the first floor in order to sand and refinish EVERYTHING.  Not happening.  Also, we just refinished the hardwoods eight years ago when we moved in- they're in great shape!)

Refinished kitchen floors on top, existing living room floors on bottom.
Pretty damn close, right?!?

They turned out GREAT, didn't they??

Dave has caught me many times this weekend just standing in the doorway staring at the floors.
"You know they aren't going to change in front of your eyes," he says.
Yes, but they are JUST. SO. AMAZING.

The cabinets have also been installed...yay!!  My inspiration picture had simple shaker style cabinets, but I opted for an even simpler flat black cabinet panel.  I really love the juxtaposition of modern elements mixed with vintage, so I'm pairing a more modern, streamlined cabinet front with brass and wood.  I think the "older" elements will help to tone down the more modern cabinet shape.  Also, I've always got that dreaded term "resale value" stuck in the back of my head.  This is our first home, and although we love it, we know that it isn't our forever home.  While the design pros will always tell you that white cabinets are best for resale, I think that if someone doesn't love my taste, they can easily change out the countertops and cabinet hardware to create a completely different look.  Plus, since these cabinets are already painted and not stained, I don't think anyone would feel too badly if they just wanted to paint them again in a different color.  I've really thought this through and made the best of excuses to justify black cabinets, haven't I?!?

Not much to see here...YET.
Just a lonely little vacuum attachment trying to keep things in order around here.

This coming week, the countertops, tile, and finishing touches should go in...the end is in sight!!

Walls. It's Nice to Have Them.

Hallelujah, it's starting to look like a room again!  This week, the drywall went up, was mudded and sanded, and brought my house into an absolute state of FILTH.  Even with the tarps up, that drywall dust just seeps its way through every nook and cranny.  I'm pretty sure it's alive and has figured out a way to permeate plastic like some sort of intergalactic plasma goo.  I can even feel the dust in between my toes, with socks AND shoes on.  Yuck.

Oh kitchen, how I cannot wait to walk through your doorway again.

The new doorway studs into the living room have been closed up, and the walls and ceiling have gotten a coat of primer.  Things are moving in the right direction!!

Is heaven on the other side of the plastic?
That glowing blu orb sure looks like it.

The outlets are finally at even heights!
I can sleep easy tonight.

My window wall into the dining room has been temporarily closed up to help tame the dust.
What's taped up there, you ask?
Only my cabinet layout...it's finally time!!

The floors are also going in- I bought salvaged hardwood from the Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Detroit - hooray for less environmental waste!  Everyone is jumping on the "salvaged goods" bandwagon - check out this great article from the Huffington Post to see what some of the incredibly talented people in Detroit are doing with salvaged materials from the city!!

Guitars from Detroit wood?  Check.

Because the floors were removed from someone's else's house, they aren't in perfect shape, and the boards are shorter than most brand new board lengths would be.  Once installed, they'll be sanded down and refinished to match (as closely as we can get it anyway) the existing hardwoods that they will butt up against.  I'm excited about all of this- because they aren't "brand new", I have zero worries about dropping a knife or splashing bacon grease on them.  They'll already be worn in, so I can enjoy them to the fullest! And let's just hope that when I DO drop a knife, it stabs into the hardwood, and not into my foot.  I have squeamish nightmares that this will happen one day.

It's been moved from the basement to the kitchen floor...baby steps!

The appliances also were delivered this week, so now I've got my full new kitchen sitting in my garage.  We unpacked the cabinets from the boxes, with only one fatality- one cabinet door was scuffed up.  Lowe's has promised to deliver a new door within 5-7 business days, and the scuff won't delay installation at all- thank goodness for small favors!

They're crying to be brought inside.
And I'm crying for that white stove to be sold.  Come on, Craigslist!!

Things are moving along! Hopefully we'll see some great progress within the next week- removing and rebuilding the guts of the kitchen is over...on to the pretty stuff!!!