Adding the extra's to the Kitchen

So anyone who has been following our renovation project will have realised that I am in love with the furnishings of Restoration Hardware (we even had our Wedding List there if that wasn't a hint already).  So while we looked other places to find items we wanted from other stores and suppliers, we just found that the quality and style at RH was what we wanted.  So surprise surprise when the finishing touches to our home come from there.  In the kitchen alone, the bar stools, lamps and knobs and pulls were all from Restoration Hardware.

We love these bar stools and have a matching desk chair too:

The final floor finishing.....

Since our floors had been refinished, until all the units and appliances had been installed, we hadn't seen the refinished floors, since they had been covered to ensure that they didn't get dinked!

After everything was in, the covers were removed and the gorgeous floors beneath were finally revealed.  We couldn't have been happier.

Tiles, Lighting, Appliances .... and finally the cooker hood!

So with the Kitchen units installed, the next step was for the tiling of the walls, and the cutting of the Caesarstone.  Choosing the tiles was one of the things which really took a long time.  Jennifer worked tirelessly to make the choice as easy as possible and in the end we had a choice of two which were both gorgeous.  It was a hard decision but this is what we chose in the end:

After the tiles went up, the cut caesarstone arrived and slowly the kitchen took shape with the addition of the huge apron sink and lighting. 

and then for the appliances.

The Range

and of course the wine fridge.

and after a few false starts we finally got the cooker hood installed:



Balcony demolition - worse than expected

We knew when we bought the town home, that the previous owner's had not necessarily given it the full due care and attention that they could have, so we were ready for the additional exterior work that was going to be needed.

One of the biggest shocks to this English Girl is the impact of termintes in California.  They basically live in every house in SoCal and slowly eat the wood away. See  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formosan_subterranean_termite for more information.

Unfortunately the Tudor town home has an additional amount of wood so termites are always going to be in an issue.  So even prior to closing escrow we had to have the house treated for the pesky little critters and will have to fumigate fully in the future (along with our neighbours) and then replace the wood on the outside where needed.

Here's a glimpse of what it's going to be like in 2012:

In addition, we decided that we should have the balconies repaired - better to be safe than sorry.  Anyway after removing the exterior stucco, it was obvious that a full replacement was going to be needed. 

So going going gone.....

and slowly they are being rebuilt... this time with actual waterproofing which the original developer didn't use!  At the end of the day the termites love damp and wood so we are trying to elimate as much as possible....

The kitchen begins to take shape

Now that the floors are done, the kitchen cabinets can start to be assembled in situ.  Unfortunately we were slightly delayed by the onset of some seasonal rain, which meant that the guys didn't want to transport the cabinets on the open backed lorry.  Thankfully the usual sunny weather returned to LA and the cabinets started to slowly arrive and the kitchen begun to take shape.....

First the shells were installed:

Somehow all of these drawers will fit into the kitchen:



and the new walk-in closet doors.....

Then just a couple of days later the guys come to install the closet doors:

doors closed

doors open

Then we just had to make a decision on lighting - track lighting or recessed lighting.

In the end we decided on recessed lighting and we are very pleased with the results:

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Although after weeks of anticipation it didn't take us long to fill the space:

Seriously - thank god for the guest walkin wardrobe too!

After going backwards and forwrds between track lighting and recessed lighting, we finally decided on the recessed lighting and we are so pleased we did:

The walk-in closet arrives!

So it seemed like many months ago Brian and I had chosen the closet wood colour and hardware.  Now was the day of reckoning when we would see how it actually would pan out in the flesh.

This was the space we started with - incuding a new floor!

and within just a couple of hours, it became:

Chocolate Pear with Brushed Nickel hardware

We both love the fact that the rails actually curve around the corner units.

Utilizing the space....

The open space also gave the guys a place to store all of their tools and provided a great space for painting the doors!

Caesarstone

Today we are having to decide which edge to have on our Caesarstone countertops for our kitchen which is going to be installed this week.  With our mocha caesarstone topped island, and shaker style cabinet cupboards, I think we like number 5 above - the bevel square.

This cool tool helped us make the decision:
http://www.caesarstoneus.com/products/edge-options/

Jane and Brian's Bathroom Project - part II

So whilst the rest of the house was being torn down at the rate of knots, we felt that we needed to add our own sweat equity to the project and get our hands a bit more dirty.  Pedro's team were swiftly breaking down walls, removing the appliances and old cabinets, and demoliting tile but we also wanted to get in on the action. 

We had been back and forth on whether to completely remodel the master bathroom, when Jennifer suggested that we could give the tired painted vanities a new lease of life by stripping the paint and revamping the bathroom that way.... and so we did!

The white painted vanity units

After the first coat of paint stripper.

and another!

Chosing a shade of stain!

 To be honest we haven't got much futher.....

 

Flooring

You might have seen from some of the earlier posts but most of the first floor had wonderful oak wood floors.  It's just that neither of us particularly liked the shade of stain that had been used.

And as you may recall the kitchen had some seriously hideous tiling.   

With the demoliton of the kitchen, the tile was removed and then came the matching of the wood floors.  New oak floors were installed where the tile had been and then the whole of the first floor was resanded and then all restained so it would all match throughout.

The new wood laid.  You can see the old colouring.

Then the sanders came in....

it was a pretty dusty day:

The camera picked up all the dust in the air

Sanding took the old colour off the wood.



That's a lot of dust!

Jose Angel and his team did an amazing job, it just took us a little unaware that we were not going to be able to get back into the ground floor of our house whilst he was working on the floors.    This caused a little problem considering we were only using one room to live in and that was upstairs!

Brians ingenuity overcame the issue, as he worked out that getting upstairs just meant climbing a ladder to the first floor den, and then balancing on a beam to get across the newly stained floor to the bottom of the carpetted stairs, which we could walk on!

Our escape route:
from the Den on the right over the plank and up the stairs on the left....

Unfortunately I didn't get back quick enough to be able to get a picture of newly stained floors before we had them covered over again to stop them getting nicked by the cabinet installers or splashed with paint.... you'll just have to wait and see!

The Kitchen gets going....

We had the inspiration, chosen the style of cabinetry and worked out we would knock through to make a large kitchen opening into the dining room next door.  There was a possibility that we would encounter a load bearing beam but Jennifer and Pedro had some ideas of how to deal with that eventuallty. 

Before:

These are the pictures as the kitchen went from straight out of the Eighties with tiled floors and old cabinets to an large open space waiting for the cabinets and appliances to arrive.

Week 1:

Interesting place to store a dolly!



The last piece of tile hangs on!



Week 2:  The blue tape was used to give us an idea of where the various appliances and cabinets would be placed.

Week 3:  In order to be able to remove the load bearing beam which was smack bang in the middle of the kitchen (and would sit in the middle of the island if we couldn't move it), a steel beam, the length of the kitchen had to be installed.  Supposedly it took six guys to install.

 Week 4:  Reframing and building the computer desk area.

Week 5:  Finishing the structural work.  Covering the beam, plasterboard (sheet rock) and patching.