minka

Sweepingly beautiful short film about place and memory, a farmhouse in Japan, and the lives of the people who called it home.



Redux Update...
Not sure I've completely drawn the picture here on the blog or not, but the kitchen remains in an unfinished state. The reasons are many and include (1) fact that as soon as we got running water back, all my drive to finish the details like cover panels, tile backsplash and trim vanished, (2) we're waiting on a custom steel railing to be installed and (3) the demo of the tile floor in the existing lower living room and all of the associated details concerned with choosing new flooring to put in its place, which has been complicated by the decision to install electric radiant floor heat. All of that to say, updates have been few and far between, but when I finally have a chance, there is plenty of material there to post about.

interesting super bowl sunday was had here at kingswood redux
no parties to speak of, as house is in full redux swing
this was supposed to be a day of rest
but it turned out to be a major work day

story begins a week before, when the old maytag dryer stops working mid-cycle
appliance repairman says the motor is blown -- too much to fix

lots of internet research ensued
leading to the purchase of a new matching set

old dryer -- scrap it (via free stuff on craigslist)
old washer -- sold on craigslist
we're big fan of craigslist here

saturday -- the day before the delivery
paint and clean laundry closet
old water valves corroded and must be replaced
big thanks to the inventors of SharkBite
saved me the hassle of soldering
also put down a click-n-lock floor from IKEA that we originally picked up to put down in two closets

super bowl sunday -- delivery day
notice "corner of concern" (seen above) and wonder if the door to the new, front-load washer will open when pushed over against that wall
new set is delivered and the guys couldn't be happier to tell me the door won't open, which means they get to leave everything sit right where it is and hightail it out the door (so they can get home to watch the super bowl, of course)

two options: stack them or remove the corner
after a bit of thinking and a call to my "general contractor" (i.e. dad) the decision is made to remove the corner-- no problem, right?
yeah...except that when I removed the drywall, it became apparent that this corner was actually a load bearing post

4:30 -- two hours to kick-off
quick run to the home depot to get a basement jack
[as a side, let me just add that if you want home depot all to yourself, 4:30 on super bowl sunday is the time to go]
install basement jack

6:00 -- half-hour till kick-off
sawzall support post in middle and use leverage as your friend
pull the bottom of post, realize it was set directly into dirt (some 54 years ago) and has since rotted out -- so it wasn't actually even sitting on anything (or bearing any load)
remove some more drywall so I can cleanly rebuild the opening
grab a bite to eat at some point early in the second quarter

clean up
install new washer and dryer

run a load of towels (!)
rewind to halftime
enjoyed an entertaining halftime show (madonna + lmfao = good fun) and a great second half of football


plan going forward is to build a new corner post in the remaining section of wall that remains

kitchen [counters + running water]

Backtracking a few weeks...

The week between Christmas and New Year's proved to be very productive, as we had our counters installed and welcomed back running water to the kitchen.

We hired out the finish plumbing. Again, not because I couldn't do it, but mainly because I certainly couldn't have done it as well as this:

I almost hate to put doors on the sink cab and cover this beautiful set up!

Finishing work continues on the kitchen; although we've had a bit of a diversion in dealing with the removal of our tile floor in the lower living room. More details to come...when we have a moment to jump on here again!

kitchen [we've got gas]

Propane to be exact...

Hello new tank.

Thanks for stoping by, LG double oven and microwave.

And welcome...you beautiful, blue flame!

kitchen [cab install]

I may be back at some point to highlight some of the custom work we did, but in the meantime, here is a pictorial account of the install...

day one

 day two

 day three

test to ensure 30" sink cab holds the weight of a 15-month old -- it does

kitchen [demo and rebuilding]

Demo is complete.
And the rebuilding has begun.

There are, however, no photos that document the demo process. Just so happened that the day I picked to demo, a freak, pre-Halloween snow event of sorts knocked out our power for about 12 hours. So I was literally ripping drywall off the wall in the near dark, save for a small utility lamp plugged into my neighbor's generator. I also had the fridge plugged in, but that is beside the point.

Electrical was the next logical step; and took way longer than expected. It occurs to me that everything DIY always takes longer than expected...so why don't we all just realign our expectations -- then everything would be finished on time. Here are some of the highlights:

• In-wall low voltage lines for LED undercabs 
• Had to re-route a bunch of lines to account for a new microwave placement, new gas stove (goodbye 220v), new recessed lighting and a new pendant light. Amazingly enough, all of the receptacles ended up being in good locations, so we just switched out the boxes so everything would be consistent.
• Ran wire for new switches and recessed lighting
• Relocated our heating thermostat from the upstairs hallway to the main floor, in hopes of keeping the house more comfrontable during the winter.  

Next step was adding a bit of new insulation to supplement the blown-in (from the previous homeowner's 90s remodel), the majority of which I was able to save, even through the drywall demo and new wiring.

Followed by the old floor removal and new luan underlayment for the Forbo Marmoleum. I ended up hiring this job out in order to save time -- the weekends are just too short, especially once I pulled out the plumbing.

In that same vein, I also hired out the new drywall install. Maybe a DIY sin in some people's eyes, but I believe its well worth the time-saved and a wise investment for the money. My installer is at the house doing his first sanding and recoat as I write. He expects to finish up by the end of the week. So it looks like painting is on tap for this weekend.

Cabinet install is scheduled to take place next weekend, as I was able to pull in my dad and brother for two straight days of IKEA kitchen fun. The counter templating is scheduled for the Monday after, so the pressure will be on. Looking at the extended forecast...it appears we might just have counters and running water by New Year's Eve. 

i only had to show him once

now anytime he gets that wrench in his hand, he heads for the sink cab!

kitchen [countertop decision]

Cambria's White Cliff (image via Cambria's website)

We started talking kitchen renovation some two years ago. At the time, we were going to use IKEA's black brown cabinets. After deciding on cabs, we went out and looked at a number of countertop options. Two contenders emerged -- Corian and Quartz. Before I could even do any true research on either, my wife fell in love with Caesarstone's Blizzard. And that was it...our decision was made! And the decision was made that easy for the very reason that my wife never has strong preferences in any of the decisions we make for the house renovations. The fact that it was the perfect white for the dark cabs didn't hurt either. So we got a couple quotes and put them in our pocket for when we'd be ready for counters.

Let's just say those quotes stayed in our pockets through many washes! As I've mentioned before, our first child came along and put the brakes on a major kitchen renovation -- kinda hard to fiddle around in your house when you have a small little human who needs all of your attention, which was happily given, I'll add. 

So when we finally got the little man somewhat figured out and started to focus on the renovation again, a few things changed -- namely the cabinets, as we decided to go with IKEA's high-gloss gray and white (ABSTRAKT). When the time came to consider counters again, I simply sent out a few requests on the Caesarstone Blizzard, in order to get some updated numbers. As a side, I was amazed by the differences in the quotes I got back, as there was a $2,300 margin between the highest and lowest quotes, with the rest falling somewhere in between. Even more puzzling was that the two lowest quotes were actually given by the companies who I knew would produce the highest quality install, which is just as important as the counter material chosen.

After choosing a company to work with, I started to review their proposal and it occured to me that we should probably visit the showroom again (duh!), with our new doors and backsplash intact, and take a look at the Blizzard against them. Well...let's just say Blizzard was the first color we eliminated. In sum, it wasn't the perfect white for the high-gloss whites and grays. We went through all of the quartz samples (from the various companies) and had a hard time deciding between Caesarstone's Pure White and Cambria's White Cliff, which was the whitest of the two. So I asked for prices on both. Turns out the Cambria product is all but a $1,000 less than the Caesarstone Pure White. And Cambria is manufactured in the United States (maybe the overseas shipping accounts for the price difference between the two?), so it has that added "green" value to it.

So the decison was made -- White Cliff.    

kitchen [starting to feel real]

The kitchen has been a mess ever since I removed the old railing almost two years ago. We delayed the kitchen renovation last year this time to focus on the birth of our first child. At some point after everyone put up the new 2011 calenders, I got the redux bug again. Sometime in early-Spring, I worked up a design board and presented our initial design here. That design went through a number of changes and we finally got the kitchen ordered in late-Summer and delivered in early-Fall. About half of them are built and waiting patiently in our garage for the big install -- but that's still a few weeks off.

Even with all of that activity, it wasn't until this past Saturday, when my dad and I removed one of the existing wall cabinets (for the new window install) and then started to rework a bunch of the electric, that this feeling came over me that this whole kitchen redux is actually going to happen. At some point this week, Angie and I both said: "Wow...this feels real!"  

And that feeling was only intensified today when I arrived home from work to this:

That's a newly installed Pella 350 Series casement window, for those following along at home.

We hope to finish the new electrical this weekend, begin some drywall demo and then take a serious look at the remainder of the DIY work schedule to put in place a plan that will keep us in a somewhat working kitchen until all the little pieces can fall into place so that we're ready for the new cabinet install. My plan is to blog as many of the little steps along the way as I have time to. Stay tuned...

kitchen [final design]

We finalized our kitchen design in August thanks to some helpful comments on our initial design from some of our readers here, as well as "personalshopper" over at IKEAFANS. We're very pleased with the modifications to our initial plan. The most significant change, remodeling-wise, was the decision to move the only window in the kitchen. In order to keep the sink centered on the window, we'll also have to move the plumbing for the sink and the dishwasher. These moves created a domino effect of minor changes that, when combined, give us a more useful layout:

• We switched out the 36" sink cab for the 30" sink cab -- we had originally planned for a 32" sink, but when I actully pulled out the tape measure while standing over our current sink, it just seemed a bit large for what we need, especially considering the size of our kitchen and its lack of counter space. We can certainly get a 28" sink in the smaller cab and, depending on what the countertop guys say, may be able to squeeze in a 30" sink.
• Smaller sink leads directly to increased counter space. In addition, the new placement of the sink increases the countertop area of the critical work zone between the sink and the stove.
• Smaller sink cab allowed us to use the 37" corner cab, which we plan to modify using a kidney-shaped, shelf-based lazy susan, instead of IKEA's center-pole susan.
• Using the 37" corner cab opened up a space to the right of the stove that is perfect for a 5" pullout shelf.
• The 37" corner cab also opened up space to the left of the stove, allowing us to go with a wider drawer cab and counter area next to the fridge.  

After a lot of thought and careful measurements and re-measurements (by my engineer/father), trying to account for every quarter-inch from ceiling to floor, I decided to go with the 39" wall cabinets. Our final measurements show 16.5" between the bottom of the wall cabs and the top of the counters -- not ideal, but I believe it will prove workable. 
  
I should also mention that we were able to finalize the plans during the last week of the IKEA kitchen sale. I didn't want to visit the store on the final weekend of the sale (can't even imagine the chaos), so I took a day off work and ventured down on a weekday. I worked with a kitchen associate who knew his stuff and spent about an hour going over the order with him. Delivery is scheduled for next week -- I keep telling my wife its like Christmas in October! The plan is to store it all in the garage and build it (and they will come) whenever the little guy lets us.

More to come...

[modern] cornhole

So the kid is turning one and we needed another yard game for his party. Wanted to go with a classic -- cornhole. Located a detailed set of DIY instructions and went to work! Everything except the hardware was sourced from my garage -- leftover birch plywood from a nursery project and 2x4s that were actually left behind by the previous owner.


I wanted to go with a classic, modern look for the board -- using walnut stain on the birch (finished with a water-based, semi-gloss poly) and high-gloss white paint on the frame and legs. I considered making it primary red or blue for the kids, but something inside me yearned for a more modern and timeless cornhole board!

I was planning on making two boards, as the instructions call for, but decided that we really had no need for two -- we'll simply have a foul line marked by a stick (or some other item laying around the backporch), make the tosses, retrieve the cornhole bags and then make the long (27 foot) walk back to the foul line. [Cornhole purists around the world shudder.] Official rules here.

My wife was tasked with making the cornhole bags...but life took over, the party date was nearing and we decided just to order them. We're very impressed with the color and quality of the ones we purchased.

And the best part...

The newly-minted one-year-old approves! Good times.

Modern Stairs

Modern stairs come in a wide array of shapes, materials and designs. And I've seen some amazing ones out there on the interwebs -- too many to even think about listing. The photos below happen to be our inspiration shots for stairs that we believe look beautiful, are designed well and work within our modest modern renovation scheme. 

Unfortunately, I don't have credits or sources for either of these photos. We're leaning toward the bottom design and I have requests for estimates out now -- one using walnut, another using oak (that would be stained a walnut or ebony color).

Before I go, I should also mention the finish of the wall around the stairs, as seen above. It brings the wall flush (or almost flush) with the stair casing. Here's a better detail shot of that, and another great set of stairs, from the guys over at BUILD Blog:

This look is achieved using a shadow bead or "Z" reveal mold on the edge of your drywall. I'm planning to use this molding throughout the kitchen redux and hope to provide more detail -- from a DIY perspective, of course -- once the project gets underway.

Modern Guardrails

The latest on the kitchen redux is that we are still in the planning stages. The good news is that I received an email from IKEA yesterday announcing a new kitchen sale that runs through August 21, 2011 -- so I'm confident we'll make that deadline.

The backstory on our lack of progress is that after posting our initial design on the IKEAFANS site, I only received one response. However, it proved to be a very important one. A kind FAN suggested that we move a window to achieve a more beneficial layout. I agreed and went to work to see how realistic it would be to complete. Moving a window is something that I have no time or desire to complete myself, so I need to call in a few contractors for quotes. We're also thinking about having a short run of stairs up to the kitchen rebuilt, so I'd like the contractor to include that in the quote as well. Finally, we need to come up with a modern guardrail solution for the kitchen, and I'd like to float those ideas past the contractors as well.

So that required us to sit down and come up with an idea of the look we're hoping to achieve with the new guardrail. Although I've been collecting inspiration shots over the past couple of years, there are pros and cons to all of them, especially when you throw in an extremely mobile 10 month old (who will only grow older and more mobile).

Here's our current space:
For those looking to get your bearings, you're standing in our "lower living room" looking up to the kitchen. The short run of three stairs is to your left and the lower living room's drop ceiling is visible at the top of the picture. The wood paneling will be replaced with drywall during the kitchen remodel. At some point, I hope to build a floating desk on that short wall.

Here are some inspiration shots that we're considering, along with our thoughts on each:

Glass w/ Stainless or Aluminum Hardware
Pros: Will create sense of openness between kitchen and living room, making the small kitchen feel larger; love the look of the exposed hardware
Cons: Glass + Toddler(s) = Never Clean; although I haven't priced this out yet, I get the sense that this is one of the more expensive routes to take

Plexiglass or 3form 
Pros: Creates sense of openness; still a big fan of the exposed hardware; depending on finish, easier to keep clean than glass; suspect plexi is cheaper than glass
Cons: Although not fully researched, I suspect these materials are more susceptible to scratching, 3form is expensive and not easily sourced

Cable w/ Stainless or Aluminum Hardware
Pros: Nice, clean, modern look; creates sense of openness; easy to clean, may be more economical than glass
Cons: Horizontal Rails + Toddler(s) = Climbing Hazard (although I have some ideas for temporary covers/guards to thwart any climbing)

Aluminum Fence-like Divider
Pros: Modern look; safe; probably the most economical choice
Cons: Not as clean looking as other options; creates a more closed-in feeling

Aluminum, Steel or either material combined with wood

Pros: Vertical balusters are possible, which eliminates the climbing hazard; clean, simple look that creates openness between the rooms 

Cons: I suspect custom fabrication would be required here -- run for the hills (unless you know someone or are willing to learn to weld yourself!)

I'll be back at some point with some inspiration shots for the stairs. In the meantime, drop a comment with your thoughts, ideas, resources and links on modern guardrail solutions.

nursery

You may recall the peek inside the nursery from a while back. We finished the room shortly thereafter and the little guy arrived in September; but the first-time parent thing kicked in and it's taken us a while to finally capture some pictures of the room and get this post together.

We didn't stray too far from our design board, just the typical subsitutions when you can't source a certain product, find something better or simply don't want to spend the money on another one (I'm talking to you, Eicho Crib).

Although my wife made a lot of the design calls, let's face it, the true foreman on the job was our cat. Big thanks to Chance for your excellent leadership throughout this facelift of a project!

Let's talk paint first. This room had a short-lived stint as an office, whose walls were painted using Behr's Ultra Pure White so we would have a blank slate to work with later. So all of the white you see in the nursery remained the same. The major splash of color came in a deep blue feature wall, which would anchor the white crib. We choose PPG's pure performance -- its a zero VOC paint that received excellent feedback on various online professional painter forums. I echo these reviews -- excellent coverage, true color and no noticable odor. Cobalt Stone is the proper name of the blue, and Leap Frog the green, which you'll see in later pictures.

We'll start the tour of this small room at the aforementioned crib. Regular readers of Apartment Therapy's ohdeedoh should recognize this at the ever-popular, low-budget/high-quality BabyMod Parklane. We loved the clean, simple, modern-look. And the drawer on the bottom added valuable storage in the small space. Speaking of that drawer, it's a hack of sorts, although the only thing I did was slap on a few coats of the Ultra Pure White High-Gloss to cover the original honey-stained drawer front. The rug, curtains, rod and blackout shade are all IKEA grabs. My wife made a skirt for the crib (needed when raised to the highest mattress position) using the excess fabric from the curtins. Oh...and the perfectly modern mobile is the Big Dipper Baby Mobile (small) from The Wonderland Studio.

We thought about painting a tree on the wall, but decided that we liked the clean lines of a vinyl wall decal from Leen the Graphics Queen. Leen was great in working with us on a custom size and sent out tons of color samples before we placed the order.

A simple turn of the head takes us to the next stop on our tour. I could make up a catchy name for this corner like "the reading nook" or the "chill corner," but let's face it, when the boy was little (0-6 months), we rocked him to sleep and did a few feedings on the IKEA rocker -- the IKEA bookcase just looked cool. Now that he's bigger (8 months), he pulls himself up and stands here by himself, tortures the cats when they lay on the rocker and pulls most of the books off the shelves and toys out of the baskets; and that's only when he's not trying to get into the trash can next to the dresser (which you haven't seen yet).

The rocker, which I suspect has been discontinued because I can't find it on the website, is fairly comfrontable for putting the kid to sleep, but not so much when you need to get up while holding said kid -- its a bit low to the ground and deep in the seat. We're looking forward to the book readings that are sure to happen in the future. You know, the ones where the kid can jump on and off your lap without you having to pick them up and put them back down!

Also note the bear on the bottom shelf -- mine from when I was a kid. His name is Bandit, after the dog on Jonny Quest (one of my childhood cartoon favs)!

A closer inspection of the featured art in this corner reveals more vinyl, this time Birds On A Wire Squares from Byrdie Graphics. In their truest sense, they are meant to be adhered directly to a painted wall, but we wanted to add a bit of visual interest to the wall. So we purchased a sheet of birch plywood from the Home Depot and had them cut it down into squares. After a bit of sanding, we slapped on the Leap Frog paint, installed the hanging hardware and went about hanging them as level as possible. No magic or special tricks to speak of, just a Hang & Level, a touch of math and a little patience! 

Let's see...modern piggy bank from Amazon.com (I believe) and the beautiful wooden stacking toy from Little Sapling Toys. Paired with some plastic greenery and one of our favorite reads, no matter your age!

Our final stop on this short tour does require one to turn in place. Hopefully you're not exhausted, yet? IKEA MANDAL -- this dresser not only looks great, but it's a pretty solid piece, as far as IKEA furniture goes -- solid birch casing with solid birch drawer sides and backs. A pretty nice piece that should take us well into the teenage years. But make no mistake about it, the star here is the BabySmart Cooshee Changer (Lime). We absolutely, 100% love it, recommend it and can't imagine diaper changes without it. 

We leave you with an unstagged shot of what the nursery looks like on a pretty average day, just imagine a few more books and toys strewn around the floor these days!

And that's it that's all that's all there is...