Please show me your backsplash...

[missy]

The stools look perfect Missy!

great match missy!

Looks great @missy, and definitely fill those holes!

Thank you @junebug17 and @kipari and @ILikeShiny!
And haha yes @ILikeShiny- if only it were all as easy as plugging those holes

 

[Tekate]

@kipari thank you so much!

Missed your last update, @missy... beautiful !! So happy for you!

Eager to see the results @Tekate and @ILikeShiny !

 

[Tekate]

new microwave oven and oven.

 

[missy]

new microwave oven and oven.

Nice choices! It’s all coming together beautifully!

 

[BlingDreams]

Another choice done. We added sinks for the laundry room and the mud room to our plans but learned yesterday that unfortunately they only offered a crappy white sink with a bright chrome faucet. Since that didn't match our decor at all I had to hunt down replacements.

(And a general rant... every time we ask for something outside of the standard offerings we are charged a fee and have to go through an entire review process involving getting approvals, purchasing department getting multiple quotes, etc.. Not to mention we're always made to feel like it's a large inconvenience for them. My comment has continued to be that if they didn't want the hassle of that extra work then they should have a larger selection to choose from!!! )

Anyway, initially all I could find were sinks in the $600-$900 range. Not what I wanted for a laundry room! When I'd about given up I finally found one for $116 that was the exact size I wanted, (25x22x13"), could be an undermount, and was available in black. Win!!

Laundry sink faucet was somewhat easier... I wanted an oil rubbed bronze finish with the lowest arc pull-out faucet I could find. It still ended up being around 12", but I think it will be fine.

Here is the granite we're using (new caledonia), the cabinets are black, and the flooring is light gray. I considered doing brushed silver instead of ORB but it would be the only room with silver so I stuck with ORB. Hopefully it will look okay.

ETA: Initial photos were huge so I changed it to a collage. Hopefully that's better!

 

[BlingDreams]

new microwave oven and oven.

Nice! I love the center grills on the cooktop.

 

[missy]

Another choice done. We added sinks for the laundry room and the mud room to our plans but learned yesterday that unfortunately they only offered a crappy white sink with a bright chrome faucet. Since that didn't match our decor at all I had to hunt down replacements.

(And a general rant... every time we ask for something outside of the standard offerings we are charged a fee and have to go through an entire review process involving getting approvals, purchasing department getting multiple quotes, etc.. Not to mention we're always made to feel like it's a large inconvenience for them. My comment has continued to be that if they didn't want the hassle of that extra work then they should have a larger selection to choose from!!! )

Anyway, initially all I could find were sinks in the $600-$900 range. Not what I wanted for a laundry room! When I'd about given up I finally found one for $116 that was the exact size I wanted, (25x22x13"), could be an undermount, and was available in black. Win!!

Laundry sink faucet was somewhat easier... I wanted an oil rubbed bronze finish with the lowest arc pull-out faucet I could find. It still ended up being around 12", but I think it will be fine.

Here is the granite we're using (new caledonia), the cabinets are black, and the flooring is light gray. I considered doing brushed silver instead of ORB but it would be the only room with silver so I stuck with ORB. Hopefully it will look okay.

View attachment 617285
View attachment 617283
View attachment 617282

Great choices! And oh my goodness I feel your pain. Exactly our experience. Everything and anything they could add charges for they did. Even stuff that was initially included. They nickled and dimed us to the tune of many many extra thousands. Very frustrating but hopefully at the end of it all we will all be pleased with our new kitchens! I’m rooting for all of us. Fingers crossed and hugs! I’m here to absorb your stress and listen and empathize. It will all work out but it’s a draining process. (((Hugs)))

 

[BlingDreams]

Great choices! And oh my goodness I feel your pain. Exactly our experience. Everything and anything they could add charges for they did. Even stuff that was initially included. They nickled and dimed us to the tune of many many extra thousands. Very frustrating but hopefully at the end of it all we will all be pleased with our new kitchens! I’m rooting for all of us. Fingers crossed and hugs! I’m here to absorb your stress and listen and empathize. It will all work out but it’s a draining process. (((Hugs)))

Thanks! Much appreciated, both the hugs and the agreement it will look okay!!! The extra fees are indeed very frustrating, but we keep telling ourselves that if we have to pay an extra handful of thousands of dollars to get our home exactly how we want it then we'll suck it up and make it work. But I feel like a pledge in Animal House, bent over and getting walloped on the arse

 

[missy]

Thanks! Much appreciated, both the hugs and the agreement it will look okay!!! The extra fees are indeed very frustrating, but we keep telling ourselves that if we have to pay an extra handful of thousands of dollars to get our home exactly how we want it then we'll suck it up and make it work. But I feel like a pledge in Animal House, bent over and getting walloped on the arse

Oh my goodness yes that visual is priceless. I like to think we will all have the last laugh and remember living well is the *best* revenge.
HUGS!

 

[missy]

So yesterday was a SUCCESS. We passed all 3 final inspections. Electrical Inspection PASS, Plumbing Inspection PASS and General Contracting Inspection PASS. Of course we didnt rely on the inspectors and Greg inspected it all himself as most of the inspections are a bit perfunctory and not sure they do the most complete inspection.

I asked Greg to take some after photos to correspond to our (terrible) before pics. We didnt take good before pics and I really dont know why. I meant to but then everything just happened so fast and somehow this is all we have. But better than nothing. And I hope you dont mind me sharing more kitchen pics but I thought it might be interesting to see them side by side. Some of these after pics are new ones that Greg just took yesterday and some are older new ones taken in the past month. We are almost done now. Painting has to be finished and a few odds and ends and then we can start putting all ur stuff in the kitchen woohoo. And Greg and I have to figure out a solution to the kitty litter as we had that in the kitchen before. Greg had built a special built in cabinet for the kitty litter on the south wall. Not sure what we are doing for them in the new kitchen. He wants to build something else and the kitchen is probably the best place for the cat litter.

OK here are some before and after pics.

 

[missy]

Hmm tried doing the before and after side by side...sigh. That did not work.

OK a few more before and after pics. South west wall Before




and 2 afters





And one more before

and last after


For now...
Have to refinish the front door among other projects still left. But we are in the home reno stretch for sure.
Thanks for looking and commenting and happy renovating all!

 

[Tekate]

@missy absolutely gorgeous. I liked the old style for the time, but this newer, sleek, white kitchen is perfect! great choices... congratulations!!! you survived.

 

[missy]

@missy absolutely gorgeous. I liked the old style for the time, but this newer, sleek, white kitchen is perfect! great choices... congratulations!!! you survived.

Aww thank you sweet Kate! Thank you for being here for me throughout the reno and everything. I so appreciate your support. I am sending good luck kitchen reno vibes your way and am here for you whenever you want to share and talk and vent and celebrate. Hugs!

 

[BlingDreams]

Missy, that difference is absolutely INSANE! I mean, just wow You took a quaint but outdated kitchen and turned it in to an open, bright, and welcoming space. Great job!!

 

[missy]

Missy, that difference is absolutely INSANE! I mean, just wow You took a quaint but outdated kitchen and turned it in to an open, bright, and welcoming space. Great job!!

Aww thank you @ILikeShiny! You are so sweet.
I am so excited for you and your new kitchen and home!

 

[rocks]

Looking at the before and after...very difficult space to optimize. Love it!

 

[missy]

Looking at the before and after...very difficult space to optimize. Love it!

Thank you @rocks! Thanks for recognizing the space is a challenging one and indeed it is. I wanted to preserve the brick wall so we couldn't make it an open kitchen which is my ideal. We did the best we could and if this was my full time kitchen I am not sure if I would be happy but for our beach house kitchen compared to what it was I am pleased. Of course as I start using the kitchen my feelings might change. I hope I come to love it so much that it would work for us as a full time kitchen too. Though I doubt we will ever move there full time I have learned never to say never.

And the all beige look was killing me slowly haha. I am just not a fan of beige. Now I have to figure out what to do to our Master Bathroom because that too is all beige. OMG the couple who lived here before are as sweet as can be but their taste was not my taste. Though the house is beautiful so I have to give them that.

 

[rocks]

I can appreciate what you did and the effort involved after renovating our city kitchen and my mom's suburban kitchen. My sil mocked me for months while I was in the planning phase. Not so much now!

 

[rocks]

Before and after:

 

[rocks]

Before and after:

 

[rocks]

Before and after:

 

[missy]

I can appreciate what you did and the effort involved after renovating our city kitchen and my mom's suburban kitchen. My sil mocked me for months while I was in the planning phase. Not so much now!

Before and after:

Before and after:

Lovely. And, Wow, what’s wrong with your SIL? Why would she act like that? Jealousy perhaps. Small minded petty people. I just had a recent unpleasant experience with someone I thought was my friend but who showed their true colors. I should have listened to what I was being shown a couple of years ago but now my eyes are wide open. It’s disappointing for sure but Always best to know who you are dealing with but I digress. Back to Reno chat.

No reno we have ever done was easy to plan but they were all worth it. The difference between this current Reno and the other renovations we did is the contractor. Since all our previous homes are in different locations we couldn’t use the same GC as much as we adored our NYC GC. The NJ GC and his wife are what made this kitchen Reno challenging. With Renovations you know to expect things often do and will go wrong. But it’s how you manage that and fix the issues. Sadly I can not recommend this GC and his kitchen reno company. Not even a little.

Thank goodness for my DH and his expertise and skills in not just woodworking, plumbing electrical etc but also people management. If it were up to me I would be in prison for murder. Hahaha JK. I think.


@rocks thank you for sharing more reno pics. What is going on with your latest Reno? Please remind me. So many fantastic Reno’s going on and I am loving seeing everyone’s projects develop.


Before and After pics ROCK. Haha see what I did there @rocks

 

[rocks]

I need to take afew more after shots...the difference is even more dramatic.

Contractors make all the difference. Our city gc was fabulous and our space was difficult. Nothing was a problem...and there were plenty. Suburban Reno included expanding a bathroom, redoing an office and hallway to include radiant flooring. Gc was not up to the task and was misleading at best. Hubby and I, being experienced, detail oriented and handy saw all the mistakes. We also know what is doable and what isn't. We paid for every upgrade imaginable, upfront. They did not deliver on many of them. Our cabinet maker is fantastic. Nothing is too much. He fixed many of the errors gc was responsible for. I even asked him if I was being too picky...his reply was that I was expecting what I paid for...being a "city person", and not in a derogatory way.

Sil...she is clueless. She does not have a good sense of aesthetic. Not good with special relations and can't understand why some things just can't be done. She also isn't a good judge of value. She thinks serially, not in parallel and plain just wants things done. Does not lead to good results. My brother is a better judge......but she will not defer to him.

 

[Austina]

What fantastic transformations! Just WOW!

 

[missy]

I need to take afew more after shots...the difference is even more dramatic.

Contractors make all the difference. Our city gc was fabulous and our space was difficult. Nothing was a problem...and there were plenty. Suburban Reno included expanding a bathroom, redoing an office and hallway to include radiant flooring. Gc was not up to the task and was misleading at best. Hubby and I, being experienced, detail oriented and handy saw all the mistakes. We also know what is doable and what isn't. We paid for every upgrade imaginable, upfront. They did not deliver on many of them. Our cabinet maker is fantastic. Nothing is too much. He fixed many of the errors gc was responsible for. I even asked him if I was being too picky...his reply was that I was expecting what I paid for...being a "city person", and not in a derogatory way.

Sil...she is clueless. She does not have a good sense of aesthetic. Not good with special relations and can't understand why some things just can't be done. She also isn't a good judge of value. She thinks serially, not in parallel and plain just wants things done. Does not lead to good results. My brother is a better judge......but she will not defer to him.

The worst thing is not knowing what you don’t know. My spatial perception is awful but I know it and defer to people who are better versed in spatial relations. Knowing when to let the experts take over is critical. It’s imoos to be an expert with everything and the key is finding the best experts who you can trust and letting them do what they do best.

 

[missy]

What fantastic transformations! Just WOW!

Thanks Austina!

 

[Arcadian]

wait a sec... @rocks was that wallpaper on the ceiling???

 

[Arcadian]

Wow @missy that is DRAMATIC!!! I admit, I didn't think it was all that terrible to begin with, but those side by sides are night and day. Its a gorgeous transformation!

 

[missy]

Wow @missy that is DRAMATIC!!! I admit, I didn't think it was all that terrible to begin with, but those side by sides are night and day. Its a gorgeous transformation!

Thank you so much @Arcadian. I agree the before wasn’t terrible and it had been done by the previous owners in 2007. But I really loathe beige. A lot.

wait a sec... @rocks was that wallpaper on the ceiling???

As for ceiling wallpaper haha I remember my bedroom in the 1970s had purple flower ceiling paper. I loved it. And purple shag carpet. If it weren’t for allergies I would be tempted to get a white shag in our beach living room.
Ah loved the 70s. Great music, great hair, great style. Loved my bell bottom jeans and long straight hair. And the music.

 

[BlingDreams]

...I would be tempted to get a white shag in our beach living room.

I’m getting speckled shag carpet in the guest rooms . My grandparents had long, thick-piled black and white shag carpet in the 70’s that I have such fond memories of that I can’t help but love shag carpet!