Hardwoods!

So, frequent fliers here know that I am fixing up my kitchen. And that once they pulled up the icky vinyl tile, we found hardwoods, which I happily reported on this blog, a declaration lovingly mocked by my pal Mamacita (frequent smart-ass commenter) and which was clarified for the general public by another commenter as:

The way I read Mamacita's comment was something like...decorno has a hottie contractor, has found hardwoods, is now getting a disposal, found a bag of cash buried in the wall, a diamond mine under the house, and the fumes from the remodel mysteriously made her boobs increase two sizes. You bitch. I hate you, how wonderful for you.

Well guess what? IT IS like I found a bag of cash! I mean, seriously, look at the sorry-ass floors in photos here...





...and then look at what some patching of massive holes (I was not delighted to know that I had these holes under my refrigerator, but whatevs) and a some sanding did. It's like magic.





I am trying to mourn the loss of Domino, but I am too fucking excited about my new old floors.

The first two coats of stain go on tomorrow, and then we take a look-see and if needed, the third coat will go on Friday and then that's that.

The cabinets were delivered today. They were made by Builder's Showroom. So far, we have had a great experience working with Lisa (co-owner) and Paul (designer). So, if you are in the Seattle area and considering a similar project, visit them. I was told inset cabinets would cost me 30% more, but the final quote to get exactly what we wanted AND inset was better than quotes from lesser versions at Lowe's and Home Depot. So, so far, so good.

And the happiest part today was reviewing the new itemized quote/bill which actually came down from the original estimate thanks to eliminating the cost of tile and labor to install it - - even though he's had to add in other unexpected work. Love that part. See Mamacita? It IS like I found a bag of cash in my house.


On another note, having a male contractor is like having a temporary second husband. We had very, I dunno, marital discussions about lighting today. You know... where he played the role of a know-it-all (in a sweet way) declaring things like, "Well, yeah, I am putting in black canned lights because it will soak up some light and cause less glare. Function over form, you know." To which I had to say whatever polite version of "Like hell you will..." that I could muster. And then I find out he worked in the lighting business for 25 years and felt a little defeated. But I am the chick with the design blog and 90 pounds of back issues of old magazines, so I know what I want dammit, and he's just going to have to ixnay his black ights-lay and find me a solution that is less... gross.

But I am growing to love Gary. He never really says no. He gave me homework (figuring out my lighting situation, naturally, because he tells me my picks won't give enough light). And after we went rounds on the lighting situation I looked around my house quietly.... scheming.


"Can you build a mantle?"

"Yes."

"Can you build a built-in bench in the kitchen.. with storage?"

"Yes."

"Can you give me electrical outlets in the backyard so I can string party lights in that tree?"

"Yes."


I sat for a moment thinking of everything else on my list.


"We're going to have a lot of work for you."


And he just laughed. Because he already knew that.