Kitchen reno update:

The second load of 5 (three more to go!) was delivered 8:30 a.m. this morning. We decided, after a lot of discussion, to go with RTA cabinet boxes from Ikea after a ton of research and talking to others who have done a similar project about their take on the quality.

Initially, we thought we could supplement our current cabinets with additional cabinets from the original company we used when we did our first kitchen reno. But, we became increasingly concerned that the color from old cabinet to new wouldn’t match and our kitchen would end up looking like a multi-white-shaded zebra 

We then began thinking about replacing ALL of our cabinets, instead. Because the cost to do so would double our renovation budget, we opted to save money where we could without sacrificing quality. To that end, we went with the pricier all wood boxes and will get quotes for custom cabinet doors from another company.

The downside is, the money we saved will go into time spent as we put close to 20 cabinets together. Another downside is that Ikea is no unicorn where back orders are concerned. We only have five more cabinets — and all their bits — on back order, but the best estimate we can get out of them is somewhere in between 3 and 6 months. And because you can’t start a kitchen renovation without your boxes, it means, our living room is going to look like this through Thanksgiving.

Yay 

(JohnR and I going through the checklist of items and inspecting them. Fun fact, they give you 48 hours to do so, so I guess that puts a lid on our Sunday!)

Kitchen reno update. Miles to go before we sleep, but the big news is…

We found an oven! It will take a decade (or like, three months) to make its pretty self to us, but the order is done and dusted. Woo hoo! We already have the dreamiest cooktop sitting on our dining room floor, and the fridge was able to be installed so we can use it while we wait for eternity to arrive.

Cabinets will be ordered this week at which time we will be told when we can expect them. I am stocking up on hair coloring because I know the gray will be here before the cabinets.

I also spent the wee hours of the morning researching kitchen sinks. This seems like a no-brainer, but it ain’t. Steel gauge is apparently something we should pay attention to. And we might consider a ceramic sink. Crazy!

We are looking for a range hood for an island 36 inch cooktop. We are thinking of going with an in-ceiling range vent. See sample photo below. Has anyone ever used one?

Next item on the to do list is for us to remove the flooring and try to save the hardwoods for replacement once we drop the dining room step down. Has anyone ever removed flooring and actually been able to save the tongue and groove? Apparently, the eye roll our contractor gave us when we told him what we planned to do doesn’t bode well for success. 

Kitchen reno update:

Progress on the appliance front. We found a guy in NY who talked to a guy in NJ who talked to another guy. The other guy, Victor, has the very 36″ Dacor cooktop model we were looking ages for and is going to personally deliver it to us. I do believe I’ve just made a deal with the mafia and I don’t care, that’s how desperate we are.

No wall oven until October. Victor had indicated he’d be willing to put out some feelers. Oh Lord.

Our refrigerator, ordered back in April, is due to be delivered and installed in the next few hours. I’ll believe it when they ring our doorbell.**

The rest of the kitchen will be in shambles until Christmas. At least.

**Update: Despite paying in advance for the fridge install, they said they didn’t like our copper tubing and the fact that our shut off valve was not behind the fridge. So, we currently have one massive brand new refrigerator in our garage, and another massive 10-year-old refrigerator sitting in the middle of our kitchen. I knew it was too good to be true. Womp. Womp.