Kitchen... [check]... Now What's Next

 It takes five months from when I pack everything up in our old kitchen to when we have a mostly operational new kitchen.  See the Book of Face for all the juicy pics. It isn't until you don't have one do you realize the emotional wallop attached to kitchens.  The heart of the home and all... or maybe it's just having nowhere to prepare our sustenance that is making us unbalanced. Then again, if I didn't have a bathroom I may become unhinged as well.  Luckily we have one hanging out on our deck for several months. The squirrels love it as a practical perch.  It is an excellent snow total measurer.

The neighbors must be thrilled we moved in.  We haven't gotten anywhere on the half bath because we were working on the kitchen.  I'm still getting used to the kitchen.  And even when you announce it's done, it isn't really.  There is always one more corner to caulk, one trim piece to finish.  Actually... it IS done now so I eat those words.  Onward I go to the next project, idle hands and all that jazz. In my spare time I managed to hook up all 4 sets of closets with sliding doors, which really is a quick and satisfying project. I have a foray into pink trim in my office, which I promise to change when I get a chance.  I putty and paint all the trim. And I paint a couple dark blue-almost-black accent walls more enlightening colors. Trent replaces all 18 sketchy can lights that were not UL listed on the 1st floor. Sometimes it is super hard to find a switch for them, but where would the fun be without a good challenge. He also patches up some weird old holes in the ceiling.  We were under a crunch as we'd had the house insulated top to bottom and they were coming back to blow in the attic. Our house is MUCH more efficient now.  November through January we had used over 1900 gallons of propane, keeping the house relatively chilly.

 

The half bath is a confusing 8'x18' room.  Yup - it's begging to be improved.  There is a pony wall behind the toilet.  Maybe it is to hide things behind? Or a way to center the toilet without looking too absurd? Who knows. There is a pocket door going into the space that doesn't work, keeps slamming something inside the wall until it falls off its tracks in said wall.  The outlet in here, by the way, is on the same circuit as an old kitchen hood, which is on the same circuit as one of the 5 living room lights. None are in the same vicinity in the house.  

This space is actually TWO projects - it will spawn into a half bath and a laundry room.  The wall and new and improved pocket door go up to make the half bath's new home the back 55" of the room.  Just ignore our temporary kitchen in the foreground.

                                                  

We add a window, our only south-facing one.  It makes spying on people hanging at the circle just past our house more stealthy than running outside to look! A utility sink replaces the pedestal sink for more of a laundry room feel.  Not an easy retrofit, but whatever.

I get "oh-my-bold!" wall paper for the bathroom, mid century modern on steroids.  It's peel and stick... how cool is that?! I could tell you how exactly this wallpaper is but I'd have to use expletives.  Suffice it to say it's the love child of Satan himself.  Not having to use paste is a nice idea in theory, but after peeling the backing off the stickiness is such that it pretty much marches onto the wall itself.  Literally.  This is NOT a joke.  From several inches it leaps to the wall.  And although it can be pulled off and repositioned (many, many times) there is one thing it will not let go of and that's itself.  The reviews all stated that the design doesn't line up.  They also state they loved it so much they were willing to deal with this flaw and just spent way too much time applying it.  I can't say that I hated it all that much though.  It's the sort of task you can just pick up and do... no setting up a saw, changing into ratty paint clothes, or trying to find the best butter knife to open the can of paint.

Trent runs the water lines to both the sink and toilet and we are in business. I buy gold toilet paper and towel holders, of course. And the gnome moves in to add a touch of color to the drab space (joking).  We end up with a half bath that is fun to potty in!