Kitchen Reno 2013: Day 10 - The "crowning" glory!

After a week away (a week away, a week away, a week away... to the tune of In The Jungle...) the project is still on track on Day 10, as planned.

I was off teaching my company's new PS (professional services) hires, and while no work was going on INSIDE the house, the countertops and backsplash were being fabricated.

2 other things happened while I was gone:  we chose the profile for the countertops, and we made a fuss about the inside about one of the cabinets that did not turn out as we had originally planned.

*I* wasn't going to make a fuss.  The cabinet, intended to store knives in a hidden drawer and then have a big open space for cookie sheets, came in with hardware making it instead a very large spice rack (lots of wasted room in the back), with a  huge divider, and a tiny slot for cookie sheets.
I was disappointed, and mentioned it when the cabinets were in the warehouse, but was told it could be fixed easily later.
When the cabinet was installed and the hubby saw it, we agreed it needed to be changed asap. I asked again, and the kitchen designer said it couldn't easily be changed (the metalworks were glued/screwed to the door, which pulled open, and wasn't hinged... they'd have to take the whole thing out...)

I gave up, as I didn't want to ruin the whole project plan.  I'd figure out something else to do with the knives and could use the large spice rack for other stuff. Insert large sigh here. 
But it was tainting my view of the whole project.

My wonderful husband, however, did NOT give up. As soon as I was out of town, he contacted the guys, and said that while I was just trying to be polite, I was really disappointed, and we had to fix this.

So-- first thing Monday morning, the first thing the kitchen guys did, was take out the metal works and the door, and the interior divider, and BOOM.  Cabinet we can work with!  They'll make a drawer (we agree that a non-hidden drawer is more practical, since you don't want to open the door all the time to get your knives, and a new door, and we'll be back in business. #happy

Also? Since the box didn't move or change,  we did NOT impact the timeline for the countertop installation, which was my other main concern. #reallyhappy

A win-win (for me. :D ). Literally.

Here's the new inside of the cabinet and the old pieces that caused misery

Cabinet minus the offending parts

The main offending part - so much wasted space, and this is clearly not a knife drawer

Here's the profile of the countertop-- we chose Eased.

We researched, and Eased is easier to clean off

In a fit of inspiration, we also chose a light fixture for the dining room this weekend.  I has anticipated crying, migraines, and misery. But it was actually surprisingly easy (thank you conceptlighting.ca )!

Our new Dining Room fixture

Here's what it looks like in the store, but this isn't our shade color:

I love that the crystals have bubbles in them

It should arrive in 2-3 weeks. 

Other things that happened on Day 10:
Crown molding went up in the kitchen and living room.  I hadn't originally wanted this (just wanted the cabinets to go straight up to the ceiling), but the ceiling had other ideas.  Since it apparently has quite a slope to it (nothing to be concerned about, just a fact of life...ceilings sometimes slope), we had to cover the gap between the straight piece and the ceiling with crown molding. So here it is.

This had to be painted to match the cabinets (Cloud White, don't'cha know?) in the shop, and I think it looks great already. It will look better once Jamie gets done with it.

The crown molding. Subtle, yet necessary

I brought the Kohler faucet/tap (did you know they call faucets "taps" in the UK? No? You're welcome! Now your British friends won't look at you like you're on drugs when you talk about your plumbing choices with them) back from the US where I had it shipped (and saved about $400 or so in the process of buying online and shipping it within the US), and my LED grow light for the herb shelf (STOP SNICKERING. I like basil. That is ALL) came home with me as well.

Good thing I got the faucet in time, because the COUNTERTOPS ARRIVED TODAY, and I about lost my mind from joy. That's 2 days ahead of schedule, and a huge milestone!

I don't want to ruin the surprise of the "big reveal" when it's all done, so here's a snippet of counter, and the 32" sink. 

For the record, I remember the quartz differently. I really like this, and hubby says this is what he remembers, but it's not what I've been imagining. Anyway, I like it. Wait till you see it all together. 

Day 11 should bring an end to mudding and sanding (minus a new hole they need to make in the closet wall, to more securely install the floating shelves we requested), and a lot of priming and painting. 

Do I dare tell Jamie the Painter I found a scuff on the wall? Or do I try to erase it???