Archive for October, 2007
Model Citizens
John and I completed a huge task this weekend- painting the living room (the largest room of the house) a neutral tan (Glidden’s Sand White) from a pale green. It looks much better with that big doorway leading into our kitchen and our new dining set, huh? Now we can cook, eat, entertain, and relax in one big open space as opposed to being in three separate rooms. Plus turning the living room into a living and dining area freed up the dining room which we turned into a third bedroom- a totally valuable addition to our home.
And after all that rolling and edging, we were dying to do something entertaining and non-labor intensive. Enter some more fun model house tours. If you recall, we toured a bunch of open houses when the Parade of Homes came to town two weeks ago, and since this past weekend was the last time that all 158 houses opened their doors to the public, we jumped at the chance to visit a few more. This time we brought our camera for some amusing on-the-scene pics. Here’s John enjoying the game room in a giant 6,000 square foot home while I get ready for breakfast in bed.
Backsplash Backlash
This morning we excitedly met with our Certified Kitchen Designer to finalize the plans for our cabinets and countertops. We’re super psyched to post pics of all the materials we’ve chosen (KraftMaid cabinets, Stonemark Granite countertops, etc) so stay tuned for that fun stuff. In the meantime, we’re having a moment of indecisiveness about the backsplash.
One easy option is to continue our granite a few inches up the wall to act as a backsplash and then keep the rest of the area under the top cabinets a semi-gloss paint like this.
This option really appeals to us because we would be able to easily change the paint color should our kitchen need a fun update down the road.
Our other option is to nix the few inches of granite on the backsplash and use one material from countertop to the bottom of the cabinets, like white subway tile (our absolute favorite) or some other small tile like this.
The only downside is that this couldn’t be easily changed like paint, and will cost more for installation.
I’m sure we’ll come to a decision at some point (and would totally appreciate your opinions- comment, people, comment!) but until then we’re having lots of fun looking at crazy cool backsplashes in magazines and on the internet. Click here for some fun options like this gorge glass backplash we found on RemodelingMySpace.com.
First two images courtesy of KraftMaid, last image via RemodelingMySpace
Spin Doctors
Here’s that washer & dryer update that you’ve all been asking for. Yesterday our fab front loading washer & dryer (which ended up being floor models due to Lowe’s SELLING THE ONES WE ALREADY PURCHASED!) arrived in near perfect condition. In fact, the dryer is flawless and the washer has only a tiny scratch on the top that you’d need a magnifying glass to locate. So all in all, we’re actually thrilled that Lowe’s messed up and sold our new models since the floor models are just as nice (and ended up saving us another 150 bucks, bringing our total discount on the washer and dryer to $500- amazing!). In fact, they told us we ended up getting them both below cost- so the store didn’t make a dime off of the sale.
But we didn’t stop there. Don’t you know me at all? We visited our favorite home improvement store last night to talk with a manager about getting a free four year warranty on both items (valued at $250). See, our argument was that we didn’t ask for the floor models but ended up with them due to Lowe’s error, and we didn’t want something to go wrong with them from all the wear and tear they endured while on display. We figured they might meet us in the middle and offer a warranty on just one appliance or offer to pay 50%, but we never thought they’d actually go along with us completely.
I guess we’re just THAT CHARMING. We waltzed out of there with the full 4 year warranty on both items for a mere $13 (the computer wouldn’t let them give it away for free, but the manager somehow got it down to just over ten bucks for us). Now that’s one heck of a deal. Point: Lowe’s.
And – here’s quick before (well, amidst demo) and after shot of our laundry nook. A fresh coat of paint and some bamboo blinds from Wal-Mart and we’re back in business! Next we just need to cover some of those ugly plugs on the back wall.
Coming Apart Put Back Together
Tall, Non-Fat Soy Mocha Oak Latte
We’ve been showing off our new floors, but have neglected to tell you how they came to be. Our bad.
Once upon a time, our kitchen designer convinced us hardwood, not ceramic tile, was the way to go in our kitchen (white cabinets look warmer with wood floors as opposed to cold, hard tile). We started at Lowe’s and Home Depot as usual. Both had a decent selection of engineered hardwood for around $4.00/sq.ft. but we needed about 370 sq.ft. so we were looking at a grand total of almost $1,500 in flooring. We were also nervous about engineered hardwood because we were told that it’s too thin (1/4″) to sand and refinish more than once. That didn’t bode well for a few kids and a dog (we plan to stay in our house a long, long time).
So, we quit playing around and ventured over to the hardwood experts – Lumber Liquidators- where we struck gold, well, “mocha oak.”
Whether it was its beautiful, rich color or its big “SALE” sticker that attracted us, we immediately knew we had found our floor. It was 3/4″ thick REAL hardwood (as opposed to the thinner manufactured kind) at a mere $2.79/sq.ft.
The sale only lasted 3 more days so we had to move quickly to get all that flooring for less than $1000. Lumber Liquidators doesn’t do installation but they recommend installers so we called someone from their list (which turned out to be our L.L. salesman’s company- flooring racket anyone?). But hey, they came out, measured and ordered our floors for us within 24 hours.
BTW, I’m totally glad we didn’t try installing it ourselves. I don’t own ANY of the crazy tools they used, and since it took them three days (and they ran into a host of roadblocks) I can only imagine what it would have been like had we been the team attempting the installation. Though if I ever get brave enough, the folks over at One Project Closer have a floor installation tutorial that makes it look less scary. Anyways, you know the rest of the story – it’s in, it’s beautiful, and Burger couldn’t be more pleased with his new play surface.
Image courtesy of Lumber Liquidators
Old School
Remember that old, gross wallpaper we found after demoing the chair rail in our dining room turned third bedroom? Well, over the past couple of weeks we’ve uncovered some other “interesting” design choices made by the original owners.
For instance, when the kitchen cabinets came down we found this toothpaste green paint under the sink:
And when the floor guys took up the layers of linoleum on Monday, they revealed the original faux-brick flooring (to match the faux-brick backsplash, maybe?):
I can’t even wrap my mind around how this floor and the paint looked with the knotty pine cabinets and “green monster” appliances.
But the kitchen wasn’t the only room showcasing questionable patterns and colors. This wallpaper reared it’s ugly head from behind a heating vent in the half bath:
And we thought the last owner had a strange aesthetic. Thank goodness he protected us from some of the decisions the original owner had made! Sheesh.
