Choices

I'm going to bring up the kitchen again. I'm very tired of talking about it, but it is still a work in progress. I have had to make so many choices that my brain hurts! Lowe's is coming Jan. 6 to rip out Diamond-damaged cabinets and install replacements, and to finish all the little details that were left undone. This is supposed to be the last time. After this, it's all on Conrad. We still have to choose flooring (we've moved on from lovely cork to durable tile), backsplash (I am seriously leaning toward white subway tile--simple) and we need some sort of light for over the kitchen island. Also, when we planned this kitchen, we did not plan for a spot for our trash can! So it is in the way, against my John Boos kitchen work island that I must sell, because it's too big and in the middle of the kitchen. I love it and we constantly use it, so felt very ambivalent about putting it on Craigslist, and was partly relieved when the people that contacted me never showed up (typical Craislist!).

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.

Granite or Quartz Countertop?

We drove to Orlando stone yards to look at quartz countertops, but we really couldn't see much because the big slabs are turned in to protect them from damage. That was disappointing. Everywhere we go, the stone companies seem annoyed by quartz and insist that it really isn't more durable than granite, and that everything I've read on the internet is put out by the quartz companies to sell their product. I'm so confused. I think granite is beautiful, and I can find it a lot cheaper than quartz. How do I know what is true?

Later that day...

Conrad called me and said that after examining our chocolate brown Diamond cabinets (and probably talking with the manufacturer), Lowe's agreed to order our cabinets in black at no extra charge to us. The kitchen project is moving forward again! I am so relieved. I may get a working kitchen yet this year!

I've also decided to start considering granite countertops. My friends with granite love it; my friends with quartz love it. So we'll see what we end up with. It will be a surprise (to me).

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.

Kitchen Remodel

The Lowes installer came over yesterday to look at the kitchen and check each box to make sure our order was complete. We love our cabinets (Whiskey Black Maple) and the glass pattern. But when he opened the box of "chocolate brown" my heart sank. They looked like a dark stain. Pretty--I actually have a couple pieces of furniture that color-- but not what I wanted, which was black. I was so disappointed. Conrad saw that, although we paid for the all-wood upgrade, the end panels are particle board! Their catalog states the upgrade is all-wood. He called the Diamond company and they weren't helpful. They simply don't make end panels in wood. Conrad was livid and ready to send it all back. Those end panels will be next to our dishwasher! Our Lowes rep promised to come over that evening to resolve this right away. She brought the samples with her, and we could see that our chocolate brown cabinet looked much different than the sample, although the cabinet company had assured us that the cabinets and sample are the same color. She promised to take all the chocolate cabinets back and re-order them in black, rush order. She also said that the installer would make our end panels out of wood, because Diamond would not (I still think that is bizarre). Conrad and I were both happy. She really went above and beyond to make us happy, and completely restored my faith in her.