Half A Kitchen!

Half of our kitchen is in! I'd like to say we have fewer boxes, but as soon as the install crew emptied them, Jacob was running boxes to his room with plans for a fort running through his mind. He didn't get much school work done.

Conrad and I are so impressed with the Lowe's installation crew! They were very careful and thorough. They worked hard for an entire day, and are coming back Wed. to install the other half, then the granite people can measure and template the countertop. I am dreading living without a kitchen sink for clean up. The undermount sink is coming with the new counter. I am second guessing our counter choice--both color and material--but I'm trying to put my doubts out of my mind. We really agonized over this decision.

Lowe's has been so supportive of giving us the kitchen that we expected. I love the cabinets and we can't stop staring at the formerly empty hole now cozy and full. But we are not impressed with the company, Diamond. The color discrepancy between the sample and actual cabinets was so disappointing. The night we ordered, our Lowe's kitchen rep called Diamond, and they assured her that the cabinets would be "exactly like the sample." We were also told our re-order of black cabinet was a rush order, but that smaller order took longer than our initial order! Another issue is Diamond's use of particle board instead of plywood. It's true, the cabinets are "all wood" boxes stapled together, but everything else is particle board covered in thin colored paper. We picked out knobs and matching drawer pulls, but there aren't any drawer pulls; lots of knobs though! And the screws Diamond sent with the knobs are too long, so the crew drilled holes for knobs, but we don't actually have any knobs on the cabinets. For months we had a big empty hole where our kitchen was supposed to be, boxes crowding our house and all our kitchen supplies spread throughout the house. Mess everywhere, impossible to clean. Three months without a kitchen because of Diamond. It's been stressful. Looking at the kitchen and seeing cabinets, being able to put things away and clear away the disorder in our home has been a wonderful relief.

I expected our kitchen would be done before school started, but my new goal is that it will be done in time for Conrad's birthday (Sept. 22)and the holidays so we can have parties!

Who Needs A Kitchen Anyway?

Conrad ripped up the flooring in the kitchen yesterday, so now it's down to bare concrete. We are again debating...this time over whether to install floors before or after the cabinets are installed. I've googled that question, and apparently it's a personal opinion because I read pros and cons for both. We're concerned about putting our expensive new cabinets directly onto an area of the concrete that he discovered was damp under the laminate. We would really love cork flooring, so I'm reading up on that too. Tile is great, but we spend so much time standing at the sink and stove, and drop dishes all the time, so I'm leaning toward the more forgiving, squishy qualities of cork. Beautiful too. It's not as indestructible as tile, but tile chips and scratches anyway.

The older boys moved out last week and are living over the river with my parents. They have a big light, roomy space and hope that helps them study. They started working on their Bachelor's at a new college this week. It's nice they're around in the evenings to help their grandparents, and I think so far my parents enjoy their company. I wonder if our prolonged kitchen remodel had anything to do with them moving out?

We had a week of homeschool in our house mess, and once I cleared off half the dining room table so we could lay out the books, we were able to tune out our surroundings and concentrate on schoolwork. Piano lessons have continued as normal. We have a path to the piano and a path to the couch in the family room, and there haven't been any injuries or complaints from piano students and families, even those with little ones.

Jacob's friend is staying here a few days, so we're taking vacation already! It's been fun, and I thanked Conrad again for giving me this beautiful life where I could take the boys to the pool at 10 a.m. I thoroughly enjoy my "job" of homeschooling Jacob, but even my "job" of teaching piano is a joy, and many students are Jacob's friends, so they become weekly playdates (wait--he's 12 and says that word should not be used anymore). Okay, I mean they hang out.

Kitchen Saga Continues

Since the Diamond "chocolate brown" cabinets were lighter than the sample (one also had a chip right on the front), Lowe's picked them up this morning. I don't know where we go from here. "Someone" from Lowe's is going to look at them and decide whether the sample and our cabinets match. I guess Lowe's isn't happy about taking them back, but in my opinion, it's all on the cabinet company. If we knew then what we know now, we would never have ordered Diamond. "All wood upgrade" means all the end panels are still particle board. Conrad is disgusted that the cabinets are stapled together. Our house is in chaos for who knows how much longer, and I'm teaching piano lessons everyday and we're starting homeschool soon. We're eating on the couch and I guess we'll be doing school on the couch too, since our table is holding kitchen items. I am somewhere between angry and depressed. The families that come for piano lessons are also getting a lesson in kitchen remodels.