Nothing in particular that I was dying to post today, so I gave Ree and Ro the camera and asked them to take a picture of anything they wanted and tell me about it. Anything in the whole house – upstairs, downstairs, outside, the garage – sky’s the limit. You know?
Ree took a picture of her newest crafty creation and said: “This is a Cinderella ruler and a paper tent with a heart on it. I picked it for my picture cause it has a princess on it. I use it for a fan. I just made it.” Hm.
Ro ran upstairs and snapped a pic of our art gallery and said: “This new art wall has my work on it and my art is on the right. I like the rainbow and the actress the best. I make it at school. I picked it for my picture because it looks pretty.” She did a great job of framing the pic and getting it all straight if you ask me!
Heh. Always like to see what’s going on in those little heads. I would have bet big money that they’d have featured some of their new birthday Barbie stuff. Shows how much I know.
My pic is of one of the huge granite slabs I picked today for our kitchen remodel. It’s called Taupe Gold. I’m drawn to the veins and interesting detail in it. We’ve wanted to attack the kitchen since we moved in, but just couldn’t face any more remodeling until now. It finally seems like fun again, so I guess it’s been long enough: 
(this pic is clickable if you want to see the slab bigger)
So, does anyone have any kitchen remodeling tips or hints?
Post 21 of 31 in Oct Daily Life
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Oh, that granite is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteMy tip for a kitchen remodel? Move out! :o)
Heh...it's not that bad and you'll get through it, especially if you just plan to eat out often. i also remember my parents putting some kinf of dust thingys in all the vents so that the dust didn't carry throughout the house.
Have fun. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.
We remodeled our kitchen last spring. My tip? Take every estimate you receive (time, money, amount of materials) and double it. It took twice as long, cost twice as muc, and needed two sets of flooring materials (the flooring is a long story).
ReplyDeleteI was totally worth it, but a bear to live through.
I have no remodeling tips since we just bought new instead of remodeled but the granite is beautiful! It will be interesting to see what you end up doing to make the kitchen just the way you want it.
ReplyDeleteI read your blog every day and never really comment, but today I wanted to give you a hint I learned when I did my own kitchen reno: take blue painter's tape and use it to mark on the granite where you want the granite cut, where the sink goes, etc. Otherwise they will cut the prettiest parts away!!!
ReplyDeleteFio
Have a place to escape, even overnight, if you have to, so do it when the girls aren't in school. I'm so glad we did the floors in the summer, because I finally packed the girls up and went to my parents! DRINK HEAVILY.
ReplyDeleteSet up a secondary kitchen in the garage with everyday stuff like bowls, cups and silverware. Find a small microwave as well. Practice washing dishes by hand in the bathroom sink! Like the idea of pre marking your slab. Ask for the scraps and left overs.
ReplyDeleteGo pick out the refrigerator first and design the cabinets around it. Refrigerators are bigger than they used to be. Don't ask me how I know this.
ReplyDeleteI did mine a few years back and it was much easier than I envisioned. If you are lucky enough to have a vegetable sink in your island, leave it intact until almost the end. That way you have one working. If you do not currently have one, install one with another disposal. Also, when you do your sink, be sure you get an "instant hot" water spigot - Insinkerator seems to make the best one. They are invaluable. Instant coffee, instant soup, instant hot chocolate - all with the flip of a lever. You have to have a sink that has 3 holes in it. Ask your plummer. That little gadget is one of my favorite things in my whole house! Oh - I put in porcelain sinks and am now sorry. I'm going to bite the bullet and pull them out and put in stainless.
ReplyDeleteI'd pick out the bare necessities and pack everything else away. We put all of our kitchen stuff into plastic tubs that we kept in the dining room. We ended up miserable b/c we then had 2 rooms that weren't really liveable! I wish we'd just chosen the things we needed most (Ikea plastic kids dishes, that sort of thing) and properly packed the rest of it into the garage.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!!
What's the nature of the remodel you will be doing to your kitchen?
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful future countertop! Good luck with the remodel-- I look forward to pictures :) Can we have some before and afters?
ReplyDeleteRandom question: There is a picture on Zulily's sign-in page that looks just like one of your girls. All in black and white, with an orange and pink tutu?
ReplyDeleteIf you want a faucet with the hose option, get one that has a magnet to hold it in place when not in use. The other type always seems to break & hand down. It's very sad when this happens. Also there are some very quiet disposals now (Insinkerator) - worth the little bit extra they cost.
ReplyDeleteThanks, guys, these are awesome tips!!
ReplyDeleteI never would have thought of the painter's tape, by the way, and I am SO picky that it makes perfect sense to be able to specify exactly which part of the granite slab to use. Yay!
Amanda, it's not one of our girls, but the funny thing is that every time Zulily uses that picture I get hordes of emails asking about it. There's just something about it!
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