Kitchen

Our kitchen has been done for a while.  Here are some pictures before we got it all messy with cooking and fun.

November 19, 2010 -- Passed inspection

We passed the final inspection (with 2 minor things to fix) so we can finally  ;-) begin living in our new home!!!

September 23, 2010 -- Day 382 -- Goodbye shared walls forever!

Today is the day that James and I say goodbye to sharing a wall with neighbors, stinky and otherwise.  Today, we're completely vacating the apartment (keep your fingers crossed that we get a deposit back).  The timing couldn't be better-3 new groups of renters just moved into the building.  The building is only 8 units and for the past 6 months or so, 3 of them have been empty.  This emptiness means less noise, less stenchiness, less chance that you'll want to use the clothes washing machine and it will be full.  Within a few days of new people moving in, we noticed a difference in the amount of smells that would waft around the building.  What it is about onions cooking that smells so nice at 7pm but so disgusting and gross at 7am?

This isn't to say that only rental apartments are stinky.  Many of you have heard my tales of my previous condo and my neighbors, "The Rasputins".  They smelled so much that one night the fire department was called!  When I went to the door to answer the knock of the firefighters, my neighbor, Rasputin, also answered his door.  The firefighter says, "There's been a report of a strange smell".  I'm guessing he was thinking of a gas leak, noxious fumes, toxic waste...something like that.  "Oh" says Mr. Rasputin, "that's us.  We had a stove incident."  Really?  A stove incident?  Like, you tried to cook something disgusting and it stenched up the complex?  S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E

Another stinky time, James and I came home to the condo and parked my car.  My parking spot was about 100 yards from my door.  Not close, but not too far.  We got out of the car and smelled mermaid.  Dead mermaid to be exact.  There was a smell in the air that smelled exactly like what a dead, old mermaid would smell like.  We kept walking and the mermaid smell got stronger.  We got to my front door and discovered that the smell was coming from The Rasputins condo-their door wide open for all to smell.  GROSS!!

No more shared walls for us!  Yahoo!!!!!

September 16 -- Day 377

Whew!  We've been living at the house for a couple weeks now.  Even though there is still work to be done, we're so grateful that we've moved in.  There are lots of boxes in the house and the garage but we're sorting through them to decide what to keep, what to sell, and what to throw away.  I decided that my volleyball trophy from 1992 was a throw-away, but I just can't part with the one from 1991.
James has had a great time being able to grill on our outdoor Weber grill again.  I look forward to getting out our new Kitchen-Aid stand mixer and making pasta and other baking jobs.
More pictures will come soon.

August 26, 2010 -- Day 357

No photos for you today.  But, it's a good thing.  The reason I can't post photos is because the floors are being finished today and I haven't been able to walk on them for the past week.
The house had hardwood floors throughout, except for the kitchen and bathroom.  They were in pretty good shape-only a few patches here and there.  We decided to keep the floors as they were and extend the hardwood into the kitchen.  The floors are ash, which we couldn't find anywhere in California.  We had the wood shipped from Ohio or Michigan or somewhere else I've never been.  They arrived, rested in the house, and then were installed.  We also had the installer sand and refinish the rest of the floor in the dining room, living room, and hallway.
This weekend, James will install the kitchen appliances and we'll move in!  We have a lot of things to move from our old apartment and my storage unit so we'll be moving things for the next month. 
The end is near!!!

August 10, 2010 -- Day 341 -- Before's and After's

We have had so much work done in the past few weeks I barely know where to start!  I'll start outside and work my way in, like I do when I eat sandwiches.  =)

We had the driveway and the walkways replaced.
Before:

Cracking asphalt.  It was difficult to park on and really difficult to roll the garbage can out.

After:

Smooth concrete.  We integrated the walkway with the driveway, thereby widening the driveway.  The walkways weren't in bad shape but they were a bit boring, so we had them re-done and added some striping to make them more interesting.

Our next step is to figure out what plantings we want to do in the front yard.

In the back, we had our patio made.  It's also concrete, but it's stamped concrete so it has an interesting texture and some more shapes in it than just regular concrete.

James is currently using the patio for a work area, but once we move in, we'll be sure to BBQ all the time.  Maybe I'll invite you over, if you're good.  Maybe.

On to the inside.  The bathroom is basically completed.  Below are a before and after of the sink area.  James did most of the installation in the bathroom and almost all of the design.  He's created a gorgeous bathroom and we both can't wait till we move in.
Before:

Wall hung sink.  The words that come to mind to describe this sink are: sad, hospital, tiny.  I'm sure it worked well for Veronica (the previous owner) but James splashes far too much for this to be useful.

After:

Marble vanity.  James (and I) will be able to splash all we want.  The new sink/vanity is on the opposite wall from the previous sink.  It has more counter space, more storage beneath, and classic sconces on each side.

We also replaced the laundry room.  The house had a large laundry room when all we really need is a laundry in a closet.  Take a look below at before and after.

....and after.  Front loaders are more energy efficient and stack easily.

Now, the kitchen.  When we look at pictures of the previous kitchen, it's so hard to believe the new kitchen is the same space.  Take a look and see for yourself.

Before:

After:

The appliances and the floor are not yet installed, but you get the basic idea.  The countertops are brushed granite, the backsplash is travertine subway tiles, and the island top is alder wood planks.  James did almost all of this work himself (we hired a subcontractor to install the countertops).  He even fabricated the island top out of 5" alder planks.  He stained it to work with the rest of the kitchen and we both love it.  Maybe I'll invite you over to see it sometime.  Maybe.

All in all, it's been a long process and we're so glad it's almost finished!  We have to have the floors installed (the wood is ash and NOWHERE in California sells ash, we had to order it from Ohio or Montana or somewhere that I've never been), and install the appliances and then we move in!  Should only be a few more weeks!

JOY!!!

July 30 -- Day ?!?! -- Concrete work

A few days ago, we had all of the concrete and asphalt removed from the driveway, walkways and patio in the backyard.  I can't believe that 30 years of solid rock was removed in mere hours.  It was so quick there wasn't any time to get pictures!  Tree roots had split the asphalt driveway so we're getting a new concrete driveway.  The walkways were old and sagging so we're getting new concrete walkways.  And, the patio in the backyard was that old style red painted concrete.  So, we're getting a new stamped concrete patio.  We had to move the patio as well, to make it accessible by our new french doors.  See photo  =)

We plan on doing lots of alfresco cooking and dining on our patio.  It's shady in the afternoons and evenings and Santa Clara often has a really nice breeze in the evenings.  Can't wait!!!