Ok, maybe I won’t give up the weekly progress reports just yet. I think our to-do list is still random enough.
1. Backtracking a bit – here’s the recap on our lyptus butcherblock:
Our lyptus came as a 25″x144″ piece. We discovered that biscuiting together two pieces would be significantly cheaper than buying one slab. Not wanting to take any risks on the strength of the connection, Kyle did two rows of staggered joints.
…then we clamped the crap out of it. (These clamps belonged to Kyle’s late grandfather. I’m sure he’d be happy to see them put to good use.)
After the glue dried, we cut the slab to size and sanded the cut edges. The material came pre-finished, but we bought some extra finish for the edges.
2. After our silestone counters and backsplash were installed, it was time for some finish electrical work. Below is Kyle’s greatest electrical accomplishment to date – a 5-gang!
It was a success…besides installing the outlet upside down.
3. Our range has been installed and functional for over a week but we couldn’t fire up the gas cooktop without our 900 cfm Vent-a-Hood (it has a Magic Lung people, I have been looking forward to the day when we would finally have a venthood that did not filter the air through a 20-year old mesh and then back into my face)! This proved to be a little bit more cumbersome than we expected (IKEA and Vent-a-Hood, please coordinate your fastener locations so they’re not in the exact same place!).
Done! There’s still a lot missing on this wall, like a backsplash at the range, the custom open shelving, and another steel ledge. In due time.
And what about this sexy Seiho vent! Complete with bugscreen and raincap, it’s the big sister to the dryer vent we installed last year.
4. I may have shed a tear when the faucet and sink went in. The Grohe faucet is solid and elegant and the Kraus sink is gloriously deep. Not only can I actually fit pots and pans in it, but I can hide at least a week’s worth of dirty dishes (but you know I won’t)!
5. In IKEA news, we’ve installed a whopping 6 drawers! We’ve been really impressed with the IKEA drawer hardware so far. Then again, it’s been 4+ years since we’ve had drawers so the concept itself is pretty awesome.
6. Finally, we spent part of our anniversary furniture shopping. It was, for the most part, a success. Pieces were re-evaluated, decisions were narrowed, but by the 6th store…we were tired and I was giving Kyle the stank eye on everything he pointed out. Except for that giant Z from an old sign. We need that. Last night, we did some mock-up space planning to figure out what size couch and coffee table to get. This is more or less what we’re thinking…just imagine a sectional in a brown felt and a white lacquer coffee table. Oh, and those IKEA ex-cafeteria chairs that we bought in the as-is section for $10 each? Eames, LCW lounge chairs in natural cherry. Someday. IKEA for now.
We also picked up a new piece of art on Saturday. More on that later this week – though I must warn you, the bird theme continues.