Kitchen Renovations - Week 6

I've had writer's block for weeks, it seems, but I think the exhausted fog of renovating is clearing.

According to my calculations, we are at the beginning of Week 6 of kitchen renovations. All in all, it hasn't been a bad process. We took 3 weeks off to renovate, and got a lot done in that time. Last time Jim and I took 2 weeks off for major renovations (to paint the exterior of the house), it was wild. I thought we'd do the whole paint job in 2-3 weeks. Then we found out that we needed to heat-strip the entire exterior... At the end of two weeks, we had decided to cedar shingle the sides of the house so we never needed to paint again - and so at the end of two weeks, we had the front of the house primed, there were stacks of cedar shingles everywhere, and I was pregnant. "Wait, this isn't what I had in mind!" I remember thinking.

Anyway, this time there was actually a realistic time-frame, and we got a lot done. Our kitchen now has cupboards without doors or shelves, but all the woodwork in there has been varnished. It also has a working dishwasher (thing of wonder! thing of beauty!), and a working sink! Yay! The sink was a teaser for days. First we had to wait for the countertops to arrive and be installed. Then the sink was put in, but we couldn't hook it up lest water spoil all the unfinished woodwork. Then, we were ready to hook it up but the Italian drains that come with it (la dee dah) needed uncommon pipe hookups which we couldn't get on Sunday... Anyway, after many ups and downs, we now have a sparkling set of taps that gush the finest water that city services can provide. The stove has been ensconced in its place, as has the fridge. And the stove vent we bought two years ago is wired in, and work likes a damn.

We ordered cabinet hardware from Lee Valley (LOVE Lee Valley), and it arrived in four days flat. We're installing pewter-coloured shell pulls and square pewter knobs. Jimbo, who is always inspired by beauty to act, is busy at home varnishing the drawers so John can install those.

I have spent a week washing walls and shaking out rugs, to reclaim the rest of the house from the chaos into which it had descended. We are now eating in the dining room (yay), and so my college days are over again (or living like I'm in college is over again). All the baby gates have been swinging wide for a few days, and Sprout is happy as a clam. He runs from the front of the house to the back, and then from the back to the front, and occasionally sits in the door-less cupboards looking smug.

It all looks so fantastic, and the kitchen feels really spacious. There is always a worry when you design a reno yourself, that it won't work out. But in fact, it's perfect. I promised photos weeks ago, and didn't do it yet. I am determined, though, to at least put up a pic of the finished product. I promise.