Cabinet Time!

We finally did it. We ordered cabinets. Let's all pause for a moment of silence as this was a major decision that deserves quiet reflection.

...

WAHOO WE ORDERED CABINETS!!!

So for those of you who don't live near us and haven't heard our cabinet discussions that have been ongoing since last summer, you may not be able to fully embrace our joy and excitement. And fleeting moments of freak out when we realize what we just did.

Allow me to fill you in. Our current cabinets stink. Figuratively and probably literally if you were to put your nose to them. They're old, not so cute and covered in some pretty nasty nicotine. If you've ever contemplated lighting up, our cabinets would suffice as one of those "see what your lungs would be covered in" demonstrations. They're bad.

Imagine the doors open and nicotine stains covering them

So we started researching pretty soon after moving in, just to see what was out there. We did design after design, consulted with Lowe's, IKEA and some random Craigslist peeps. The Lowe's designer, while friendly, mistook our hand-drawn design and measurements of a new open kitchen and large living room as new open large kitchen and tiny futon-only living room. Plus the $6,000+ price tag had us running for the exit.

IKEA--now we do like this place. Well, Andrew "likes" it. I've alluded to our relationship with the beloved European space saver before and will one day divulge our thoughts. Not today. While they can generally be a cheaper option for things--again, generally--that isn't necessarily the case with cabinets. For our small kitchen we would spend upwards of $5,000 with IKEA.

*Let me insert this thought here: most of you who know anything about kitchen renovations and costs are probably thinking 5-6 grand is reasonable. Indeed. You can spend $10,000 on cabinets alone if you really want to. But we're trying to do this cheap...er, economically, as we want to make a profit one day. And as my friend Laura's sister-in-law says, it's not our forever home.

Back to IKEA. The cabinets also involve particle board. $5,000 for particle board is just wrong. Moving on. We looked on Craigslist because wholesale guys will post deals on overstocks. Other contractors/DIYers will also post cabinets they are removing for upgrades and such. Since we weren't opposed to fixing them up, we felt it was a viable option to seek these out.

We met with one overstock guy who had a good product that I really liked, and the price was $2,500 for the basic stuff we needed. Probably would've come to $3,000 by the time all was said and done. The problem was, we weren't ready to buy. And he lacked communication skills.

We drove out to see at least one set of cabinets from a flipper (one who flips...houses, not himself...not sure if this is a technical term or not). We called first since it was an hour drive; being assured no particle board was involved we took the bait. And found particle board. Boo.

The other option we had was the Re-Store in Springfield, which is now called EcoBuilding Bargains. They get great cabinet sets in pretty frequently, but because they are never quite enough or what not, we had to surrender to our desire for really cheap prices. Our kitchen space is pretty small and weird, and it was never going to happen.

Then, about a month ago, Eureka! Andrew found a place in California (yeah yeah, far away) that does cabinets for pretty reasonable prices. Solid wood, three-weeks from order to arrival (really quick for those not accustomed to cabinet ordering) and they had some good choices.

We were about to order from them when we decided to check out one last place: Grossman's Bargain Outlet in Chicopee.

So glad we did. They had cabinets we loved--white with a chocolate glaze--and the price was so so right. We had to make a few concessions as they didn't have all the choices we needed (example: no trash can cabinet--a 15" cabinet and pull-out accessory from IKEA will do the trick), but we were able to make it work. I conceded my need for glass doors in the uppers (they didn't have one specific size with glass so it would've looked weird...repeat "not my forever home, not my forever home") and we pulled the trigger. We also opened a card with them to save 10% which we will pay off next week and then immediately close.

Just like that, cabinets ordered, and for less than $3,000. Yippee!! Plus, we got a stainless undermount sink for under $70. All the major items have been purchased, we just need to decide on countertops and flooring.

documentation of relief

Fresh Discovery

This is a "transcript" of events that happened about an hour ago.

[door opens, Andrew and Sherpa come in from a run. Jen is in the back of the house, editing. Footsteps are heard bounding down to the basement--Andrew, not Sherpa, he's scared of the basement. Moments later...]

Andrew: Jen, come here!

Jen: What?

Andrew: Come see this, I've got something for your blog!

Jen: Two seconds...

[Jen enters the kitchen to find her husband seated in the floor with a scraper, digging at the carpet.]

Andrew: So you know how it's a bad idea to have carpet in the kitchen?

Jen: [afraid of what is about to come next] What? Did you find mold?

Andrew: I don't know. But you know how's it a bad idea to have carpet in the kitchen?

[here a brief discussion on what color the actual carpet is...blue is decided.]

Andrew: So the previous owners put blue carpet down...[peels back blue carpet] on top of green carpet!

[indeed, the blue carpet reveals a layer of green carpet...*gasp*]

Andrew, giddy about his announcement

Aha! Green carpet!

Really, it's green

Continuing with his spontaneous demolition

The way I see it, one of two things happened:

1.) The previous owners move in. "Oh honey, look at this nasty green carpet in the kitchen. You know what would make this just groovy?" (remember, we're probably in the 60s or 70s) "Hardwood floor?" (the two have a good laugh...who in their right minds would put hardwood in a kitchen?) "You're too funny. Let's put ocean blue carpet down on top to remind us of the Cape."

2.) The previous owners move in, put down green carpet and later have a change of heart. "Green was so last decade, let's upgrade!"

Some of you might be asking, well, what's under the green carpet?

Peel n' stick floor tile! and wood underneath...

Oh, but that's not all! I go back to editing and hear more damage being done.

Jen: What are you doing?

Andrew : [slyly] Nothing!

[dialogue repeated with the same effect]

I get to a stopping place and head to the kitchen to find my husband tearing apart the paneling on the wall we plan to knock down. He's "just looking." What was under that awful green paneling? Drum roll please....

More wood paneling!!!

Underneath the green wood paneling appeared to be plywood. But it wasn't. Touch it and it's definitely paneling. Painful as it is, the green does look better than the wood stain...slightly.

And then ensued more demo as the faux wood beam was ripped from the ceiling with gusto:

Everyone should have one of these in their home. The look of a cabin in the woods without the weight or upkeep of actual wood.

I hope our little discovery provided you with a moment of entertainment on your Saturday. We're leaving the house now, so no more fun surprises. Well, unless Sherpa decides to join in on the action!

The end of manual dishwashing is in sight...

Sight as in I can physically see the dishwasher I will be using...I just can't use it yet. Last Tuesday Lowe's delivered a slide-in range and dishwasher:

The new kitchen will have a peninsula, so we needed a slide-in. Initially I was concerned we'd have to keep using the old one and later pay to take it to the dump, but we learned slide-in ranges are self-supporting, so we can use it until we tear out and rebuild the kitchen. I was so happy to see the delivery guys take out the old stove--in pieces, actually. It was really old and when the guy pulled the oven door up, it just popped off!

The new oven is so great--it was a little nerve-wracking spending so much money on an appliance, but we love it so far. The smooth top is much easier to clean, we have a quick boil eye with optional sizes, a convection option and a warming spot. Andrew cracks me up because he'll turn on the oven light and just watch his food cook. The window is much larger and actually clean enough to see through!

I'm assuming the dishwasher is awesome, too. I'm tempted to load it where it sits and buy paper products...washing all the dishes by hand is definitely getting old. I realize everyone did this at one point in time, but dishwashers are one modern convenience I am in full support of. We cook A LOT and have people over a good bit so we produce tons of dishes. 

One note on researching and buying appliances: apparently no dishwasher has fabulous reviews. Seriously.  No dishwasher we looked at was given more than three stars. Most had fewer than that. 

We asked around some and looked in the store, then researched the ones we'd heard about or initially liked. My sister-in-law doesn't like hers, so we stayed away from that one. My mother-in-law loves hers, so we researched it. We ended up getting it, but the reviews were less than comforting. We were a little nervous about moving forward, but knowing that Andrew's mom falls in the "competent user" category (you have to wonder about some reviewers) and that no model was spectacular helped us make a decision.

Once we knew the dishwasher model, we decided to go with the same series for the range to have two matching appliances. We've looked at electric, gas, dual and induction--those are really sweet...and really pricey. Gas is better for cooking, electric for baking, but dual fuel is expensive, too.

We ended up choosing electric because we plan to install a hot water tap, which will make boiling water just as fast as a gas stove. There aren't as many options for slide-in ranges--at least on display in the store to physically open and such--but the one we were interested in happened to be there. For a few hundred more we could have upgraded to the newest model: basic difference being stainless steel knobs over the black plastic ones. We decided to save some green...and personally, I like the black ones better.

We also bought at a good time. Lowe's had great deals--15% off the dishwasher and 10% off the range. Plus they were doing a tax refund gift card, so we put the total amount of both appliances on the card, bought them with it and on March 18 we got 10% of that amount back on the card. Free hot water tap/other necessity, here we come!

Small Steps to a Better Landscape

I think I said somewhere along the way that we have an awesome friend and landscape designer, Kristin, who did this amazing plan for our yard. I so wish we had a trust fund somewhere that we could spend and do it all right now! But since we don't, we plan to do a little at a time. I started last fall by buying four plants to use this spring. I learned that fall is the time to buy plants--they go on sale at the end of the season, and though they look ugly, perennials will come back in their season and look great! With Kristin's help, I picked out four shrub-like plants to put in a bed near the mudroom entrance to our house. I planned to spend $50, and with everything basically 50% off, I stayed within my budget.

Once home, we dug holes and planted the shrubs in their pots. We packed dirt around them and "healed them in" with leaves. I can't wait to dig them up after the first frost! (Stay tuned for this...it won't happen until May up here in the frigid North!)

You obviously can't see them, but four plants lie under those snow mounds!

New England Sogginess

Last week, New England became a very soggy place as the temps rose, the rain fell and the snow melted. It's amazing how quickly five feet of snow and ice turns to mud. Unfortunately, along with the promise of spring and its *slightly* warmer weather came wet basements and icky situations all around. Our situation was nowhere near as dire as that of our friend Kurt (who may or may not be the same Kurt who wrote me an encouraging email) who endured several inches of silted oppression resulting in ruined carpets, comics, boiler and a damaged water heater. He is allegedly couch surfing a week later.

We have no room to complain (and really haven't) compared to others' basement ails, but since this is a blog about my house, I feel the need to tell our "flood" story. :)

The day the rains were the worst--last Tuesday I believe--I awoke at 5:30 a.m. on a non early morning workout day to a wet pillow. I initially thought I had knocked over a glass of water in my sleep, but when I turned the light on all glasses were in their full upright position. My rustling woke Andrew who was probably pretty confused to wake up to me asking the quiet house where the water was coming from. It was coming in through the bedroom window directly above our bed. Yay.

It came in a slender stream, so I'm assuming it had been happening for awhile based on the stream size to wet area ratio. I started panicking about replacing windows, etc etc since we were supposed to get rain for another 12 hours at least. My laidback husband pretty much rolled over and reminded me that we needed to replace it anyway as he tried to go back to sleep. I, however, could not go back to sleep immediately because my pillow was slightly moistened, and the sump pump running every nine seconds interrupted my returning to REM. (Truly nine seconds. I counted. Counting sump pump intervals is about as futile as counting sheep, by the way.)

When Andrew did get up to go to work, he checked the basement which did have some leaking water...on the downward sloping side of the house...not where it should have been. He moved the few items near the seepage and left. Later investigation showed that there may have just been too much water for our pump to handle with the rain and snow melt, so the trench around the basement wall backed up causing some water to flow in. The window was more than likely accidental. We're still planning to replace the window this spring/summer.

We've had more rain since--even as I write this--but so far so good.

Slightly Disgruntled Reader

Last week I received the following email that I'd like to share:

Dear Jennifer, 

Your blog called out to me today to let me know that it feels neglected.  It wants to share your home updates with the world, and its voice is being stifled.  It asks that you rectify this situation at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Kurt Galactica*, Esq.
Potential Legal Counsel for your Blog


*Name changed to protect the innocent.


As I told him in my reply, I will do my best to correct this matter immediately. I have at least four new posts that will be made in the coming week.