Befores and at the Moment...

It is nice to compare and to see how very far we've come since purchasing the house last year. At the moment my main focus is the kitchen, which was the biggest checkbox on my must haves for home for us - a beautiful kitchen.

As it was, the beauty was in the eye of the beholder. It was a neglected space. The laminate was nailed down in some places, in other spots it was totally missing. The sink and the faucet had reached the point of no return - but I saw the potential. The amazing amount of storage and counter space. Lots of natural light....so, so much potential.

And now we are so close to my vision becoming a reality.

This before photo was one of the original listing photos when the previous owners were still living in the house.

 As you might be able to see that we had this window made a bit smaller than before. 2 reasons:
          1)  Inorder for the dishwasher to fit, with out losing  cabinet space, the window had to be raised
       

         
          2) The porch roof had to be an addition to the house because the windows on this side are all blocked across the top by the rafters. The window was made shorter to get away from that.

Somewhere down the line we will close up the rafters so the wasps can't nest in there anymore. I hear if you paint the ceiling sky blue, they stay away. That is something I plan to try.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

New Outlook...

The rest of the windows have now been installed.

North facing side of the house. 

North facing window of the wood bedroom.

Looks like the lilac is blooming...I LOVE lilac.

West facing side of the house.

Look ho tall the grass (weeds) is (are)!

This is the West facing window of the light bedroom

These are the double windows in the front room

Picture window in the front room

East facing window of the wood room

view from the inside.

So, I just noticed something...as you see, this window is open to the rafters. I did not want it to be opened to the rafters. BUT if we had made it shorter, like we did in the kitchen, we would have to add wood above the window on the inside. There is no way that the wood would match...so we have to live with the window open to the rafters and maybe, just maybe, when the time comes to work on the back lanai, we could raise the roof or something so the window isn't in the rafters. /rant

Kitchen window - South facing side of house.

Kitchen window from the inside.

Looking good! And so pleased with the added insulation factor!!

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Lowers

Well, well, well...today they put the drawers together, put them in and hung the doors. They also put in the granite and the trim to hide the indirect lighting.

I asked Lisa to talk a picture or two of the table top. Beautiful grain.

 They rested the sink in its place so we could see what it looks like.

Polished to a shine

Notice the vintage look of the flap under the sink and look at all that counter top space!

Notice the the wood trim along the under edge of the upper cab. Just enough to be a bit of detail and hide the indirect lighting.

 Oh and just to refresh your memory....this is a before and in progress pic:

Can't wait for the next step!

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Uppers

I have been on pins and needles AAAAAALLLLLL day. Lisa told me they were working on the cabs today and that I would be getting a bunch of pictures....later.....A BUNCH....later.

So there's me, walking from one side of the room, then walking back to the computer and checking if I got mail. Nothing. I walk away again and walk back...nothing...this repeated itself all afternoon long. I wonder how many miles that was?

Then a batch of emails from Lisa show up. I'm a bit nervous, afraid to open and then WOW! What I have been seeing with my minds eye for months is standing in our kitchen!!!

The first lower cab on the right was a drawer and a cab door that covered the laundry chute.
We've had it modified to two drawers and a tilt out door for the laundry chute.

This is the bare wood. The painter is coming tomorrow...they will be painted in a sage green with maple trim. 

The empty space is where the Fridge will go. Incase you don't remember, the small cabs used to be open shelves.

Lots, and lots of storage The uppers used to be open shelving.

The table is still missing the skirt. The carpenter is waiting till we're there and we have the chairs we want so he can see how much clearance we need. The other open space is where the dishwasher will go.

The first cab and the cabs over the stove are all new.  Before that space was filled with an open shelf.

He removed the  scalloped edge and replaced it with a maple stained arch that mimics the lines of the upper cabs.

Tomorrow they'll be working some more. I'll continue to drool over these pics and hope I'll be able to sleep and get thru the day tomorrow.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Patty Cake, Patty Cake

So now that we have the bun baker we were able to pick out what matches best and this is what we've agreed on.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

A Little Support...

Today they built up the cabinets so they can install the tracks for the new drawers.

Not sure where this one is

or this one

This might be to the right of the sink

I "think" this is to the left of the sink 

This cabinet will hold 2 drawers and the flap for the laundry shoot.

I do see some dark wood near the sink, will have to ask if that's mold or something.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Trust Issues...

Oh man....It is hard to trust any one to do any kind of repair....

About 6-7 years ago I bought Roger an automatic dive watch.

This photo is from Amazon

In Feb he came home and the faceplate was spinning.

My original profession is a jeweler, so I know a bit about watches and repairs. I know the face plate has small pins that secures it in place and that the pins - due to what ever reason, seem to have broken off.

Took the watch to our local jeweler and they said they would have the watch maker take a look and get back to me. Two weeks later they call me back. They said the would secure the face plate and pressure test it - would cost $125. I looked and a new watch like this one would cost $230. It was worth it to me to have it repaired.

So fast forward a couple of weeks and we pick up the watch. Right away Roger says the rotor is loose. They said the guy glued the faceplate (I thought that was odd) and there is no guarantee on the rotor. We don't think too much about it and he enjoys his watch, till Friday. The watch stopped, seems like the rotor fell off. I called the shop and they said no problem, drop it off.

Today, while we were out, they called and left a message saying he looked at it, and that the watch needs to be overhauled - it will cost $95 to do that..,..I'm at 280.

What the heck was he looking at when he looked at the watch last time? If the watch needed to be overhauled when he looked at it the first time, he should have seen it. Had they told me the cost of the repair and the overhaul right away, over $200, I would not have had it done.

I call back and ask what the heck? Why didn't he tell us that when he looked at it in February? They started with some lame excuse and I told her that I worked at a jewelry store for 15years and I know that the watchmaker should have disclosed EVERYTHING when he did the first estimate.....told her that I am very, very, very, VERY upset. The boss is supposed to get back to me on Monday.

How can I know and trust someone to work on my car (suddenly always smelling like burning oil since the last oil change), work on my watch, work on what ever when you get these coincidental additional issues shortly after they had my stuff in their hands. Screw me once, shame on you. Screw me twice, shame on me.....Serious trust issues here...

/rant

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Today is the day

Today everyone is showing up at our house :o)

The carpenter is done and they will be putting the kitchen together on Monday. Once that is finished they will start putting in the rest of the new windows.

Lisa also let me know she has the tile and stone samples to hold up to the soap stone to see what matches best.

I guess once all the kitchen the electrician will come to install the under cab lighting and then they will get the painter to paint the cabs and stain the front door.

Bam! Bam! Bam! That's what I call making progress!!

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Oh Shut the Front Door!

One of the other things we noticed while we were there was that the entry doors, especially the front door, have seen better days.

Due to the years of wind and weather, the top layer of wood is totally dried out and warped and the glass is slipping around in the frames. Thought long and hard and have decided to get new doors too.

The three choices we had were wood, fiberglass and steel. No matter how pretty, with wood, over time we would just have the same problem. So that went off the list. Steel, well I can't help but think it would radiate heat in the summer and cold in the winter. That leaves us with fiberglass.

On the website it claims that "you get the look of high-grade wood with all of the durability of fiberglass. The exterior doors in this collection have the look and feel of a real wood front door — with solid wood square edges, architecturally correct stiles, rails and panels. Unlike genuine wood doors, they resist splitting, cracking and rotting."


Sounds promising!


After looking thru their line we have compromised on this front door:

The caming will be in brushed nickel

Now the back door is narrower and we won't be able to have the same door so this is what we have selected for the back door (not sure which glass yet):

Both doors will be painted (frame) and stained (door) to look the same.....


Wait ah minute, looking at them side by side like this....I don't know if I like it....gave Patti at the design center a quick call told her that when I look at these two doors, side by side, the Sesame Street song "One of these things doesn't belong here" goes thru my head. They don't match in style - at all. Even staining them the same color won't make them look like they belong in the same house.


She made a couple more suggestions:

This one has wood grain and could be stained to look like the front door.

This is a paintable door. It has two casings like the front door, but no grain.

This option is a plain, flat door.

Hmmm....will have to talk think a bit more about this one....what are your thoughts?




Aloha a Hui Hou!

Always in a Hurry

Sometimes you just have to stop and look where you've been, instead of being in a hurry to get somewhere.

Had some fun taking pictures in my rearview mirror...some cool stuff back there!

Aloha a Hui Hou!