28.4.11

The good, the bad, and the ugly...

It never ceases to astonish me how some people have no problem deceiving so called 'friends'. There should be no surprise when I tell you that our kitchen remodel has taken a lot longer than expected. In fact, 'longer than expected' is quite the understatement. I recognized that our kitchen remodel was going take longer than we anticipated, especially when we were told at the beginning of March that our kitchen remodel would take one day, possibly two days. Anybody in their right mind is smart enough to know that a kitchen with exposed cinderblocks on the walls could not be completed in one, let alone two days, by a single person.
Based on the pictures and information I have provided in my previous posts, you might think our kitchen appears to be absolutely magnificent. However, like many of us who only like to share about the 'good' and leave out the 'ugly', I have left out the details of this secret nightmare. We have had problem, after problem, after problem, leading to never ending headaches. I would go into detail and explain all of the different complications but instead I'll just attach pictures...
The paint on the cabinets was 'bubbling'...
Many of the cabinets arrived damaged, which was going to be fixed when the job was completed...I guess that isn't going to happen
What's wrong with the picture below? Well other than the fact the drawer above the opening for the oven is completely wrong in size, the oven did not fit in this space...Please note that the issues listed above are only some of the issues we have encountered. Additionally, we also took out the cabinets in our hallway and planned on having this cabinetry redone to match the kitchen. This was suppossed to be completed with our 'one day job remodel, but of course this did not happen. Now, after two months since the day we first began installation, we are left with an unfinished project.
So today was the cherry on top of our problem cake. After being ignored for two weeks despite numerous emails, phone calls, voicemails, and texts, we learned via Facebook that the company who we bought our cabinets through, is out of business.
We bought our cabinets from Jonathan's high school friend Tom LeBaron, who worked for Dakota Mills. From the beginning, I did not feel comfortable doing business with Jonathan's 'friend', but Jonathan was insistent on doing business with him because not only was he local, but he also wanted to support a friend, so I agreed. However, as an unbiased customer, I recommend that nobody ever do business with him. I consider myself to be a fairly patient person, and I will admit that it takes a lot to make me angry, but I am purely irate with this situation at this point in time.

18.4.11

Functionality

I have been avoiding this blog post for at least a month now because I vowed to both myself and to the few individuals who read my blog that my next post would include a finished kitchen. Instead, I would like to suggest a small compromise - how about I include pictures of a functioning kitchen, which is still a huge accomplishment for Jonathan and I, especially when we are doing most of the work by ourselves! So other than the missing hood and back splash, this is basically the finished product.
You might be thinking, "I thought you weren't going to include marble countertops?" Well, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE EVERYTHING about marble! So, why should I spend the same amount of money for something else that I don't love? I don't regret my decision, not even for a split second.
Not to mention, we also found unique 'brown antique' granite countertops that inlcude large gold sections which I adore!
Additionally, Jonathan has spent a ton of time installing canned lights in most of the cabinets. He isn't quite finished yet, but so far he has done an amazing job! I am seriously so lucky to have such an amazing husband!
Below is a preview of what our marble backsplash will look like :) This is a project that we have saved for possibly... next weekend?
On a side note, this past weekend was Jonathan's birthday and I honestly could not be happier to be married to such an outstanding man. I am so grateful for an amazing, loving, hard working husband. I know I can always count on Jonathan to be there for me and to care for me. I love you babe and I hope you had a fabulous birthday!
This past Sunday Jonathan and I did something that was extremely therapeutic for our general well being - we began to work on the outside of our house.
I planted flowers in two pots to go beside our front door. I love how much more cheerful the outside of our house feels. The ugly cinderblocks will be our next outdoor project.
Jonathan planted spectacular pine bush/trees in rustic whiskey barrels, in addition to three aspen trees that are incredibly difficult to see in this picture, but there are three skinny aspen trees along the fence. I know the basketball hoop makes the picture below difficult to envision, but we all have a little bit of functionality intertwined with decorativeness, right?
Close up of the small pine tree in a whiskey barrel
That is all for now :)