Once a Tree

Today we had a large cedar tree removed from our backyard. The tree was healthy and would have made a great addition to a park or large property. In our yard the tree took up so much valuable space. Now that the tree has been removed we can focus on how we would like to landscape our back yard. We will be adding more plants and trees to the yard. They will be appropriate sizes for our city lot.

Finishing details

Our contractor has started installing the back splash tile that we selected. The tile is a taupe color and they are being installed in a subway pattern. We were considering installing a smaller similar tile which had some color variation but we found it to be to busy. This tile has basic color, style and pattern which allows the other elements of the kitchen design to stand out.

Overall we are pleased with our selections. We purchased our tile from Tile & Stone Factory Outlet in Burnaby, BC. The faucet we purchased from Home Depot. We purchased the Hansgrohe Metro High-Arc Pull-Out Kitchen Faucet, Chrome. It looks stunning against the KOHLER Vault 18-gauge single-basin dual mount Stainless steel kitchen sink which we purchased from Lowe's. The counter tops are Caesar stone quartz in Nuggat (6600) which is part of the Classico collection.

Home on the "Range"

Bad jokes aside, we have recently installed our Blue Star range (RCS - Residential Culinary Series). We have not yet hooked up our plumbing so our kitchen is not yet fully operational. Our sink, dishwasher, fridge water line and ice maker have not yet been hooked up. Besides some trim work and back splash tile, those are the only items needed to complete the kitchen renovation. We are counting down the days until this project is done and we can use our kitchen (and the rest of the house)

www.bluestarcooking.com

KitchenAid® Pro Line™ Series refrigerator

Yesterday we received delivery of our KitchenAid® Pro Line™ Series refrigerator Base Model: KFCP22EXMP and KitchenAid® Pro Line™ Series dishwasher Base Model: KUDE40FXSP. Both items have been installed but still have the plastic protective layer in place.
(see photo below)

Our contractor has installed new floor tile, crown molding and paint in the half bathroom. Ryan and I installed the vanity, sink and tall cabinet that we purchased from Ikea. (LILLÅNGEN SERIES ) We also installed the faucet in the half bathroom (Pfister Vega faucet in chrome)
(see photos below)

Progress is a good thing

In the past few weeks we have seen some progress on our home renovation project. The kitchen cabinets have been installed, our new Caesar stone counter tops have been installed. The whole thing is starting to take shape. At this point the floors have been uncovered. They were installed months ago but we had them covered to prevent them from being damaged.

Wall paint: Benjamin Moore™ Revere Pewter.

Slow progression

Our renovations are moving along slowly. When I say slowly, I mean really really slow. We are getting more and more frustrated as each day goes by. It seems like a constant struggle between us and our contractor. At this stage we have some cabinets installed in our kitchen. We have been measured for counter tops. Our appliances have been ordered and are ready for delivery (as soon as our kitchen is ready for them). I will say that the quality of the work is good. I just really wish we could have a kitchen to cook in. Is that too much to ask?

Deck

Our contractor is completing the finishing touches on our new deck. This house was just begging for a deck. Previously it only had a patio which we could access from the french door in the living room. It was a bit awkward stepping down onto the patio. Once we started the deck we wondered why there had never been one there before.

Kitchen & Dining Room updates

Our contractor has made some progress on the kitchen and dining room. The wall between the two rooms has been removed to create an open concept kitchen/dining room. New drywall, insulation and electrical has been installed. We also decided to install in ceiling speakers and an iPort. (see photos below)

Benjamin Moore™ HC-169 Coventry Gray

I took approximately 5 minutes to choose the paint color for our bathroom renovation poject on the weekend. We had just started moving into our house and we are now using a half finished bathroom. I wanted to get paint on the walls as soon as possible so we could have the vanity installed. I am very happy with the way the color looks on the walls. My new favorite paint color is Benjamin Moore™ HC-169 Coventry Gray. I will be using the color in other rooms in our home.

We still need the following items installed before we can consider this room finished; mirror, lighting, towel bars, glass shower enclosure, light switches, door, toilet (we have a temporarily toilet because we received the wrong one initially).

Bathroom update

We will be moving into our new home permanently this weekend. The bathroom renovations will hopefully be completed before Sunday. At this point the tile has all been installed. The next step is to grout the tile joints. Before the vanity and toilet can be installed the contractor will have to complete the drywall and pain the walls. I really hope most of this is done in time. We already know that the custom glass tub/shower enclosure will not be installed soon but we can survive without it for now.

Here is a photo of the bathroom as of yesterday.

The countdown is on

We have one more week until we move into our new home. We are a bit anxious about this move because we don't have a completed bathroom or kitchen at this point. Our contractor has assured us that we will have a shower available to use one we move. There is a half bathroom on the main floor of the house that we have left in place while we complete most of our renovations.

Bathroom fixtures

Yesterday we drove around town looking for all of the fixtures for the bathroom (except lighting). We purchased the plumbing fixtures at SaveMore Plumbing and the tile from C&S Tile. I am quite pleased with the selection that was available at each supplier.

We also had a very eventful day at IKEA sourcing out the GODMORGON sink cabinet and BRAVIKEN sink. The cabinet was the problem. We had decided many weeks ago that we would purchase the cabinet with oak drawer fonts as it fit in the color scheme we were going for. We were not in any rush to purchase the cabinet and sink since it was from IKEA and we could pick it up from their store (no special ordering needed). We looked at the cabinet and sink in the showroom as we had done many times before. When we went to pick up he cabinet from the warehouse area we were advised it has been discontinued in oak. We panicked a bit, persuaded the store manager to have the display cabinet removed. On our way to the as-is department to have the display item priced, we noticed the exact same product, new in the box in the as-is department for 50% off the regular price. This was even cheaper than the reduced price they offered us for the display item. Needless to say we purchased the item that was 50% off. Here are some photos of the items we purchased this weekend. It looks like we are on track to complete the bathroom this month.

All this talk about the new house...

We are getting really excited about the progress of the bathroom renovation in our new home. The tub is arriving today and will be installed soon. We have some of the tile for the tub area already purchased but we haven't selected any floor tile or tile for the front of the tub.

With all this talk about the new house, I have not posted any photos of the exterior yet. Here is a photo of our new home. Keep in mind we will be doing some major changes to the landscaping.

Bathroom ... so far

As I mentioned yesterday, the bathroom has been demolished and is now ready for construction to start. Our contractor has confirmed he will be starting this project tomorrow. Here are some before and during photos. See below...

Sold!

Since our last post we have listed and sold our house. It only took a few days. We are relieved to say the least. Now that we have taken possession of our new home. We get to start doing renovations all over again. Since taking possession on April 21st we have already gutted the entire upstairs bathroom. We must have the entire bathroom renovated before we move in at the end of May as the house only has 1.5 bathrooms. This time we have decided to hire a contractor to do most of the work. Ryan has started updating the houses electrical wiring.

Here is a collage of our old house.

Sun room updates

In preparation for getting our house on the market soon we have hired a contractor to finish off the sun room. This is what I consider to be money well spent. So far he has finished applying the cedar shingles to the area about the windows.

Clean up

We have decided it it is time to get ready to put our house on the market. Before we can do that we have to do some major cleaning as well as purge all clutter. On January 28th we had they guys from 1-800-GOT-JUNK come over and remove a large amount of debris we had left over from the demolition of the sun room stairs and siding. Now that we have decided to move forward with listing our home for sale we got a bit more serious about our junk removal efforts and we call the guys at http://www.orangebins.com/ to drop off a 10 yard dumpster so we could load it up with all of our household and constructions waste (concrete etc).