It took a long time coming, but our small kitchen renovation is finished!! I can't tell you how excited we are to finally sit back and take a look around the room that we created. Nothing beats the feeling of entering a space, and just using it... opening the door to a well-stocked fridge, pouring yourself a glass of milk, storing the pots and pans away, rinsing the dishes... all mundane little things you don't realize you miss until you haven't done them for a very long time. And boy, did we miss this room. Let me show you around our small galley kitchen.
House-stalking is one my and DH’s favourite pastimes. It can be as innocent as walking down the street at dusk, peeking into neighbour’s houses as the fading sunlight helps make our overt voyeurism less obvious, just as they turn on their indoor lights, helping us to see all the beautiful things they have in their homes. Or it can be quickly taking a tour of a house under construction, bypassing a temporary fence to see the newly poured foundation or framing going up. Or it can go to the extreme of parking our car down the street so as not to attract attention, creeping past the For Sale sign, feeling your beautiful fencework by hand (because we can’t quite see it in the dark), having HandyMan boost me up so I can see the upstairs hallway, and standing in the front bushes in order to get a better look at how you placed your living room furniture and see what kind of chandelier you’ve chosen. Not that I’m saying that’s what we did the other night at Sarah’s house. Nuh-uh. If your nice neighbour-lady with the Scottish Terrier says that she saw two shadowy figures standing by your front window… it wasn’t us ;)
I always tend to be the one peeking over my shoulder when we undertake one of these real estate rendezvous. HandyMan is a lot more oblivious to the “no trespassing” signs. I wonder if it’s a ‘male’ thing because I’ve met quite a few guys who just like HandyMan are excited by the site of an under-construction or abandoned building. I should trust him though because sometimes we get to see some really cool stuff. My fear of being caught though often stops me in my tracks. How about you folks… any crazy sneaking-into-a-house stories to share?
I always tend to be the one peeking over my shoulder when we undertake one of these real estate rendezvous. HandyMan is a lot more oblivious to the “no trespassing” signs. I wonder if it’s a ‘male’ thing because I’ve met quite a few guys who just like HandyMan are excited by the site of an under-construction or abandoned building. I should trust him though because sometimes we get to see some really cool stuff. My fear of being caught though often stops me in my tracks. How about you folks… any crazy sneaking-into-a-house stories to share?
My favourite designer, Sarah Richardson, returns to the airwaves with Sarah's House 2, on Tues. Sept. 30 at 9pm ET/PT on HGTV Canada. Sorry, you US-folks won't be able to catch this awesome show, but you may be able to find reruns of season 1 in your local listings.
Its an intriguing show... over the season, Sarah takes you through the house selecting and buying, the demolition, the design, and the entire renovation. That's right, she renovates a place from top to bottom, then sells it at the end of the season - hopefully for a profit!
She offers renovation and design tips along the way that any homeowner can appreciate. Sarah was also pregnant throughout the filming of this season (her second daughter arrived about a month ago), has a 2-year old, is filming another show (Sarah's Cottage) simultaneously, and runs a thriving design practice so it'll be interesting to see how she juggles all those demands! Its quite a different house this time around - a more suburban looking 1950's ranch backsplit. I'm thinking this one will be a bit more contemporary with mid-century elements.
Here's some pics from Season 1 to show you what the fabulous Sarah can create:
*a little insider's story for you: Sarah asked the purchasers of Sarah's House 1 to leave her a note saying if they wanted to include any of the furnishings in the purchase. She found a post-it note on the front door with one word: Everything! Now that is what I call 'move in condition' ;)
Take a bucketful of fluffy white tile glue...
Add some polished calcutta marble mini tiles...
Sift out threads of tile netting...
Mix well using equal parts elbow grease, determination, and HandyMan talent...
Apply carefully...
The appliance installer is in today to move the gas line for the stove and install the microwave and dishwasher. As we sit here almost at the finish line of our DIY kitchen renovation, I’m pretty surprised actually at how much of this renovation we were able to do on our own. All it took was a little bit of effort, some Googling, and leaps of faith. I’ll admit that I’m the one in the relationship to say “Call in the professionals!” at the first sign of trouble, but HandyMan is a bit more adventurous and we’ve benefited from that. Despite previous renovation experience, there was a whole bunch of things that we tackled for the first time.
If you’re contemplating tackling some of your own kitchen renovations, here’s my thoughts on kitchen renovation tasks that you can DIY:
Kitchen Planning:
Yes, you’ll want to sit down with a professional who can help you determine what size of cabinets you need, finishes, and optimal placement, but there are many things only you can figure out. Like how many small appliances you have, which ones do you want readily accessible, and where ideally in the layout would you like them. Do you want an abundance of deep pot drawers or open shelves? Would you rather have more room for a wide fridge, or a double-bowl sink? Do you want extra drawers so you can store your fine china that’s currently sitting in the dining room hutch?Think about sight lines too... are there any rooms that look into the kitchen? What will be the view with the new layout? How do you enter the kitchen typically – side door? Hallway? What do you want to see as a first impression? Taking the extra time to really think about how you live and how you will use the space really makes for a better design in the end. Kitchen designers can design what you ask them to... but if you don’t have a clear understanding of what your needs or wants are and don’t articulate them, then you can end up with a design that is good but not tailored to you specifically.
Demolition:
It’s a tough job physically but one of the best places to save some money. Don’t be afraid to do it yourself. Best tip: use a tarp zipper (available at Home Depot) to help contain the dust.
Tiling:
With a little know how, laying the floor tile is not a difficult job. You’ll need to ensure your subfloor is even, and decide on whether you want any sort of underlayment first (we used Ditra) But picking your tile, asking the pros what type of mortar and trowel to use, and doing the laying is a job a novice can do. Same goes for the backsplash. It’s a fairly easy job if you take the time and use the proper tools.
Door and window trims:
Chances are you’ve bought some pre-made trim at your local big box home supply store. However, if you venture out to your local lumberyard, you’ll probably find more intriguing options. We didn’t know what backband was until we visited our lumber store. Now, we have much more substantial and attractive trims in the kitchen that are in keeping with the rest of the house. All it took was looking at places out of our norm for supply.Plumbing:
Surprised? I am too. HandyMan had experience with small plumbing jobs like changing washers and such but for this reno, he added shut-off valves, extended and connected the water supply line for the fridge, and installed the faucet. As he put it, “I’ll try it myself because the worst that can happen is I get wet”. And wet he got... but all is good now ;)There’s a few things I would let the pros handle:
- Drywall: this may look easy but I think it’s a surprisingly hard skill to learn. The boards are heavy to lift, taping and mudding is messy and it takes a real experienced hand to patch seams so they’re invisible. I’ve wasted buckets of drywall compound trying and trying to get small patches just right.
- Electrical: call me crazy, but I think anything that can kill you is best left to someone who knows what they are doing
So those are just my thoughts. If we had to do it all over again, I probably wouldn’t change a thing. I would still bring in the pros where we did and DIY where we did. Now if I could only hire a pro to show me how to cook like a Michelin-starred chef in my fancy new kitchen...
After waiting for plumbers to call back, waiting for plumbers to show up, and
finding plumbers that weren't available for weeks on end, we - okay, HandyMan
- took matters into his own hands... and removed the offending radiator! And
it was surprisingly easy. He got some tips over the phone from a helpful
plumber and drained the system and moved the rad in all of 30 minutes. If we
knew it was going to be that easy, we would have done it ourselves weeks ago.
No matter, at least its out and we saved $300-$1200 in the process (yes, those
were the quotes we got!).
Appliances are being moved in tomorrow. Just a little late (did you happen to spot the old fridge in our dining room in the Globe and Mail photo? No? Good :) ) After that, another two weeks for us to do the backsplash and get the valance and handles in and hopefully, I will be left with something that feels as fresh and lovely as this:
Appliances are being moved in tomorrow. Just a little late (did you happen to spot the old fridge in our dining room in the Globe and Mail photo? No? Good :) ) After that, another two weeks for us to do the backsplash and get the valance and handles in and hopefully, I will be left with something that feels as fresh and lovely as this:
Wish I could post about progress on the kitchen, but I can’t. We tried to get a plumber in to remove the rad but he was a no show. And none of the others we’ve called have bothered to call us back… anyone have a good plumber in Toronto?
Anyhoo, without the rad moved, the appliances can’t come in. And so the granite guy can’t come back to measure for the piece behind the stove. And the installer can’t install the microwave. And we can’t put up the backsplash which sits flush to the microwave and stove. And cabinet guy can’t come back to install the valences which sit on the backsplash. Which means cabinet guy won’t install my handles yet either. It’s a vicious renovation circle, I tell you.
So since I’ve got nothing to show, take a gander at these other bloggers who have some lovely rooms of their own. I’ll just sit here by the phone and wait for the plumber to call :o\
Jeremy and Kathleen’s kitchen
Hooked on House’s living room
Just Beachy’s staircase
This Young House’s sunroom
No.462's living room
House Obsesssion's kitchen
Becoming Mom's nursery
Mrs. Limestone’s guest bedroom
Making It Lovely's patio
Door Sixteen's bathroom
Anyhoo, without the rad moved, the appliances can’t come in. And so the granite guy can’t come back to measure for the piece behind the stove. And the installer can’t install the microwave. And we can’t put up the backsplash which sits flush to the microwave and stove. And cabinet guy can’t come back to install the valences which sit on the backsplash. Which means cabinet guy won’t install my handles yet either. It’s a vicious renovation circle, I tell you.
So since I’ve got nothing to show, take a gander at these other bloggers who have some lovely rooms of their own. I’ll just sit here by the phone and wait for the plumber to call :o\
Jeremy and Kathleen’s kitchen
Hooked on House’s living room
Just Beachy’s staircase
This Young House’s sunroom
No.462's living room
House Obsesssion's kitchen
Becoming Mom's nursery
Mrs. Limestone’s guest bedroom
Making It Lovely's patio
Door Sixteen's bathroom