Here has been our building for the last week:

Gorgeous, no?

We have been busy waiting for the new windows to come in.  In the meantime, Mat finished the framing for the two new panels (going from 3 smaller to two larger panels).  It is still going to look a bit unfinished, as the whole new facade will be done at the same time, at the end of July.

We can already tell a major difference in the amount of heat the new windows let through, versus the old ones.  The old widows were pretty much solid screens, letting in tons of heat or cold from the outside.  It will be interesting to see the utility bills in the coming months!

This morning plumbers from Chet’s Plumbing & Heating came in to install the kitchen sink, the handwashing sink, the mop sink, and the toilet and bathroom sink.

What is it about running water that is so momentous?  Really, it is just a couple of sinks and a toilet.  But all of a sudden the space is USABLE.  While all of my ingredients, pans, and tools are upstairs in the apartment kitchen, I could walk into the bakery space, turn on the oven, bake a cake, and then wash the dishes.

Now we are starting to figure out more of the details that tend to get lost in the big picture planning: toilet paper holder, soap dispenser, paper towel roll, mirror, art, storage, etc. etc.!

Justin and I were having a bit of a lazy morning, when a short phone call changed the course of the day.  Mom and Paul were coming down to visit Paul’s mom and wondered if we wanted some help putting up the last of the ceiling tiles.  Hard to turn down free labor!  So from about ten until noon, Justin and I finished up the last bits of flooring while Paul and Mom measured and cut the ceiling tiles to go around the perimeter of the room. Thank you, Mom and Paul for helping finish up the putzy part of the ceiling!

This week there will be a lot happening in the space.  Changes with the lighting, and getting the last of the outlets and switches put in, getting the plumbing fixtures installed, connecting the venting for the bathroom, closets, and ovens, as well as having all the trim work and doors finished.  So close to having the renovations complete!

Wowsa!  I think we have something that looks a bit like a kitchen taking shape!  After a bit of miscommunication, frustration, and chaotic phone calls, our vinyl flooring was delivered Friday afternoon.  We found this flooring months and months ago, and to see it finally laid is quite satisfying.

The dot print is fun, without being overwhelming (which was our one minor concern).  My stepdad Paul came down on Saturday morning to help us install it.  The easy part of the install is that this type of vinyl is a “floating” floor, so it does not require any adhesive.  The (incredibly) tricky and time-consuming part of this type of vinyl is the pattern.  We found out the hard way that you just can’t measure and cut a piece and put it into a place.  Lots of precision matching needed to happen before any cutting could take place!

While it was a long day and a bit hard on the knees, we got so much accomplished.

Thank you, Paul, for your patience and help!

While most of the bakery space is going to be white, one thing I’m really loving about it is the different textured surfaces throughout the room.  Bright white can look very different upon closer inspection.  In the main kitchen area you’ll find the easy-to-clean washboard.

And the front, customer-friendly space has classic bead board paneling.

One of my very favorite portions though, is one that won’t be too easy to see next week.  Mat did a fantastic job of subway tiling the wall where our ovens will be.

It will serve as extra protection for the wall against the heat produced by the ovens.  I almost don’t want to cover the craftsmanship up, but leaving the ovens in the middle of the room probably isn’t the best idea.

We’re running into a few short delays, but nothing that won’t take care of itself in the next week or two.  We are also in the process of making decisions and getting in bids regarding the exterior of the building.  I’ll share pictures very soon!

What a difference ceiling tiles make!

Despite the face, Justin is happy with the tiles!

These are Stratford tiles by Ceilume.  They are a very thin plastic, and were a breeze to install.  We haven’t done the edges, as the walls still need to be painted.  Thank you to Mom & Paul for the help putting these up!

It is kind of hard to describe how I feel when I look downstairs.  Happy.  Excited.  Amazed.  Nervous.  Hungry?  Maybe I should eat before I go downstairs…

Yesterday the guys from Chet’s Plumbing were in, doing some major work that will never be seen (honestly – I didn’t even get a picture of it before it got covered up with drywall!).  All the piping and tubes went into the walls and in the basement which will allow us to function as a kitchen.  The required plumbing for the kitchen sink, hand washing sink, mop sink, and the bathroom sink and toilet was put in in less than a day.  Pretty remarkable.

And today Mat continued to work at putting up drywall, beadboard paneling, and washboard on the walls.  Such a big difference this makes.  Good bye, Semi-Awkward Country Rooster Border.  Why you were ever put up in the first place in a computer repair store is beyond me.

The next few days will bring some electrical work and numerous inspections before Mat can close up and finish the walls.  Our flooring is ordered, though will take a bit longer than we hoped to come in (two weeks) and our new ceiling tiles will be in on Tuesday.  If these are the changes that occurred in only four days, I can hardly envision it after four weeks!

Today our contractor, Mat Elmhorst, began working on the bakery space.  We had received glowing reviews of his rate and quality of work, but we were still taken a bit by surprise.  I think our idea of pace is a little skewed since we did all the work on the upstairs space, during which A LOT of learning took place.  It is great to see just how fast these renovations are going to go by!

Here is a picture from April 21st, after we removed a lot of the built-up debris, but before Mat started any work:

And here is a shot of the space after just six hours of work:

Already, the utility closet is re-framed, the new bathroom is framed in, and the half wall creating a path to the bathroom is framed as well.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring!

On Thursday afternoon, we walked straight from the title company where we closed on the sale of our house over to the bank to deposit The Check.  And we are in no way waiting to spend The Check!  This morning we had one last dumpster delivered to the building in order to clear out the first floor.

In addition to the debris that has accumulated as we renovated the upstairs, we also took out the old ceiling tiles, the rest of the carpet, and the wall that had been blocking up the window.

And what a difference it has made!  Tons of gorgeous light streamed in and brightened the space immediately.  The cleared out space helped me to refocus on our plans and re-envision the layout.  So excited to move forward with the space!

Next on our agenda is to get the air conditioner installed, order new ceiling tiles, and get the big front window replaced (as well as see what is behind the nasty corrugated aluminum).  Big Thank you to Dad, CJ, and Maria for helping with the work!

We’ll keep the updates coming!

Upstairs Kitchen?

Check.

Alleluia.

Downstairs Kitchen?

Oh Help.

(Update! We close on the sale of our house in two weeks and then the next round of renovations begin!)

The cabinets and counter tops are in.  And I love them.  I mean, really love them.  And I know I shouldn’t love as much as I do, but they’re gorgeous, and just what I wanted, and what we’ve waited and waited for.  Best birthday present ever!  Justin did such a great job putting everything together.  If building IKEA furniture was an Olympic sport, Justin would certainly be a gold medal favorite.  He rocks my face off.

I have to say though, I am a little overwhelmed now.  I finally have cabinets in place and beautiful counter tops, and I can’t even begin to think how I am going to organize everything!  The organization of a kitchen is no simple task.  What is the BEST location for my flour, sugar, and baking soda?  Do I want my spatulas in a drawer, or in a crock on the counter, or hanging on the wall?  Should my knife rail go on the right or left side of the oven?  Is it okay if the microwave goes right next to the sink?  Plus we still have 7 more drawers coming to fill in a few base cabinets!  And Justin will hang the shelves on the wall this weekend!  More space!  We have ingredients, food supplies, bowls, plates, utensils, pans and pots strewn all over our living space, and I NEED to get it put away.  Quality of life will greatly improve when everything is put away.

Did I mention how much I love this kitchen?  I do.  I love it a lot.

Let me tell you.  I have never been more happy to do such a mundane chore.  Washing the dishes.  In a fully operational kitchen sink.  With a whole load of stored-up dirty dishes getting washed automatically by the fully operational dishwasher.  I have never really considered a kitchen sink a luxury item before now, but after trying to wash a stockpot in a bathroom sink (which is possible), I’ll no longer take it for granted!

Justin is working at assembling the last base cabinet, and then we’ll line them all into place.  Tomorrow the last two counter tops are attached.  Then shelves on the walls.  A place for everything and everything in its place.  So exciting!

We’re going as fast as we can!

After several months of waiting and making do with temporary shelving, our kitchen cabinets are officially here!  As I type this Justin is hammering the back of another cabinet into place.

We drove over to Ikea in Minneapolis for the day on Saturday.  We had the kitchen all planned out, so after only a couple small changes, we put our order in.  The vast majority of what we needed was in stock and ready for us, though we will have to go back in a couple of weeks to pick up a few drawers when they arrive.  As the base cabinets and counter tops were in stock, we are able to proceed to the Install Kitchen step of our renovation plan.

We were very thankful for Justin’s parents’ minivan and had it stuffed to the gills with boxes.

Upon our arrival home and following the tedious process of unpacking, Justin immediately grabbed one of the corner base cabinets to start working on.  This one turned out to be the most complicated one to do, but it has made subsequent cabinets a breeze!

The corner cabinets came with swiveling and extending shelves, to reach the far reaches of the corners.  Great use of space, though a bit more detailed to put together.  Add the extra complications to the notoriously vague instructions from Ikea and the result can be some headaches, but he barreled through and really has the process down.

Already he has three cabinets constructed (plus a bookshelf).  I’ve oiled and sealed the first butcher block counter top, which we’ll measure out and cut and lay down tomorrow in order to put in the sink.  This week is going to fly by!