Let's Talk Remodeling

[shelly3girls]

Can I ask where you bought that Entertainment Center? I am looking for something to hold a big screen TV and our current EC is maxed out at 37"

 

[shovan]

Can I ask where you bought that Entertainment Center? I am looking for something to hold a big screen TV and our current EC is maxed out at 37"

We purchased it locally at one of our better furniture store's.

The manufacturer is Parker House. It's really neat in that, the middle section expands to fit the tv. from 48" to 72". Here's the website:
http://www.parker-house.com/main.html

 

[Ranatra]

Shovan, Love the wall and that is one beautiful piece of furniture!! Looks fantastic!!

I'm crossing my fingers that our bathroom soapstone counter gets installed next week. The copper vessel sinks have arrived and we love them! (Breathing a sigh of relief, since we ordered them online)

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Shovan, I love that entertainment center! Very, very pretty!

 

[shovan]

Thanks everyone!

We really like it. Still surprised at the difference redoing that one wall made to the look & feel of the room.

The contractor will start back finishing the bathroom vanity area after the New Year. Then we'll put him to work on the den walls again. We're going to sheetrock the rest of the room & I think paint it a lighter beige/gold. I'm considering painting the cathedral ceiling the same color as the walls. Any opinions on how that will look?


Ranatra, Glad you like your sinks! Can't wait to see pics of the soapstone counters!

 

[blanq]

Shovan, Love the wall and that is one beautiful piece of furniture!! Looks fantastic!!

I'm crossing my fingers that our bathroom soapstone counter gets installed next week. The copper vessel sinks have arrived and we love them! (Breathing a sigh of relief, since we ordered them online)

I am interested in your soapstone, so please let me know how the installation goes. I start my renovation in 2 weeks, and am also going with soapstone counters in the kitchen and laundry room. I saw the photo of yours, and am curious where your soapstone was quarried from. Do you know? I have never seen a slab like yours. More typically, they are bluish/grey with white veining but when oiled, soapstone turns black and the white veining really stands out. Will you be oiling your soapstone?

 

[Ranatra]

. I saw the photo of yours, and am curious where your soapstone was quarried from. Do you know? I have never seen a slab like yours. More typically, they are bluish/grey with white veining but when oiled, soapstone turns black and the white veining really stands out. Will you be oiling your soapstone?

I'm sorry I don't know where it's from, but I will ask my installer. I will also be asking about his advice about oiling it. I did a lot of reading about soapstone online and it seems like oiling or not oiling is just a matter of personal preference.

 

[blanq]

I'm sorry I don't know where it's from, but I will ask my installer. I will also be asking about his advice about oiling it. I did a lot of reading about soapstone online and it seems like oiling or not oiling is just a matter of personal preference.

Oiling is a matter of preference. From my research, you can leave soapstone naturally light gray, but when skin or food oil touches the stone, it makes the stone go dark. This dries out and the light color returns over time, but it can make the countertop blotchy looking where people touch it frequently or in food prep areas. You might want to be aware of this, if you opt not to oil yours. If you oil it, I believe your brown veining will not stay brown. I have only heard of oiled soapstone looking dark green or dark grey/black once oiled.

 

[mickeysgal]

Still surprised at the difference redoing that one wall made to the look & feel of the room.

Isn't that the truth! It's amazing what one thing can do to the look of a room. Then you have to watch out because it starts the remodeling fever as it pours from one wall in one room to a whole room makeover to a whole house remodel.

How is everyone doing on their projects? Did everyone slow down over the holidays? We're in final stages of finishing the downstairs bathroom and the upstairs powder room.

Am_I_There_Yet, how is your bathroom makeover going?

 

[shovan]

Isn't that the truth! It's amazing what one thing can do to the look of a room. Then you have to watch out because it starts the remodeling fever as it pours from one wall in one room to a whole room makeover to a whole house remodel.

How is everyone doing on their projects? Did everyone slow down over the holidays? We're in final stages of finishing the downstairs bathroom and the upstairs powder room.

Am_I_There_Yet, how is your bathroom makeover going?

Yesterday, the contractor started working on the vanity area of our bathroom. He ripped out the old vanity, did the plumbing & the electrical work. Today he did the sheetrock work. Tomorrow he'll paint & hopefully start on the tile. We'll go pick out the granite slab tomorrow but we'll probably have to wait for that for a couple of weeks. The glass shop came today to measure for the door. So we are moving along.

 

[Ranatra]

Today my soapstone bathroom counters are being installed!!

I'll post some pics later this evening.

 

[starwood]

They are starting my cabinet refacing in the kitchen Thursday. The bid process was exhausting enough. I couldn't get these people to leave the house. Everyone wanted me to sign before they left because "we'll give you $1000 off but it's no good if we leave... and you know the prices are going up January first". Who in their right mind signs a contract for over $14,000 on the first estimate. None of them would give me a written estimate.

We finally went with Sears. I also wanted to see about having an other cabinet installed in the corner with the slide out recycling and garbage bins, countertop for the microwave and cabinets above it. They wanted over $4000 just for this!

I've spent over a week cleaning out the kitchen and throwing things away and it still doesn't look like I've done anything. I can't wait for this to be over.

 

[shovan]

Today my soapstone bathroom counters are being installed!!

I'll post some pics later this evening.

I've really been checking in & waiting to see your soapstone counters! You must be so excited it's almost done.

They are starting my cabinet refacing in the kitchen Thursday. The bid process was exhausting enough. I couldn't get these people to leave the house. Everyone wanted me to sign before they left because "we'll give you $1000 off but it's no good if we leave... and you know the prices are going up January first". Who in their right mind signs a contract for over $14,000 on the first estimate. None of them would give me a written estimate.

We finally went with Sears. I also wanted to see about having an other cabinet installed in the corner with the slide out recycling and garbage bins, countertop for the microwave and cabinets above it. They wanted over $4000 just for this!

I've spent over a week cleaning out the kitchen and throwing things away and it still doesn't look like I've done anything. I can't wait for this to be over.

Whoa, $14,000 for cabinet refacing! and they wanted you to sign on the dotted line immediately without a written estimate! That's just insane. I hope Sears came back with a better price. Or do you have tons of cabinets? Please take some before & after pics to share!

 

[starwood]

It's also including new Corian Countertop. The prices were all pretty close but Sears is giving us new drawers where Kitchen Magic only wanted to reface the ones I have and Sears is going to take away all of the garbage and Kitchen Magic wanted us to put it out for trash.

Sears also said we didn't have to pay them a penny until the job was complete to our satisfaction. The others all wanted a substantial downpayment and a schedule of payments as the job progressed.

I have a bad feeling that when they remove the backsplash I'm going to find the ugly tile that was there when we moved in. I may need to remove the tile and retile with something not hideous or put in some new dry wall.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Am_I_There_Yet, how is your bathroom makeover going?

It would be going great if I could actually get some participation from my husband. Work has been nuts for both of us, but if I keep waiting for him to support me, it'll never get done. I honestly don't know how I managed to get the kitchen and secondary bathroom remodeled now.

So - I sent an email to my contractor about 30 minutes ago telling her that I would be making all the decisions on my own. I'm just going to start buying the things I need and leave my husband out of it. I hate to do it that way, but I don't think I'm going to get him on board until he sees me taking action.

I'm very frustrated.

 

[shovan]

It's also including new Corian Countertop. The prices were all pretty close but Sears is giving us new drawers where Kitchen Magic only wanted to reface the ones I have and Sears is going to take away all of the garbage and Kitchen Magic wanted us to put it out for trash.

Sears also said we didn't have to pay them a penny until the job was complete to our satisfaction. The others all wanted a substantial downpayment and a schedule of payments as the job progressed.

I have a bad feeling that when they remove the backsplash I'm going to find the ugly tile that was there when we moved in. I may need to remove the tile and retile with something not hideous or put in some new dry wall.

Oh, Corian that explains the price! Definitely sounds like you made the right choice going with Sears! Almost everyone expects some type of downpayment, so that's a really good deal. And I can't tell you how happy you'll be that they will haul everything away!

Of course, you're already seeing it with the backsplash, but you fix one thing and then it just starts to snowball!

What color Corian & cabinets did you choose?

 

[starwood]

The cabinets are called cherry pear and the countertop is mojave. There is also a new corian sink with faucet sprayer in bisque. Also Sears will reconnect the new sink with the others wanted us to get a plumber to do.

It's amazing cleaning out the kitchen - I swear things are multiplying. I keep moving stuff out and there is just as much in there as when I started.

 

[Ranatra]

I've really been checking in & waiting to see your soapstone counters!

You're not going to believe what happened. Yesterday afternoon my 3 yr. old flat screen monitor died. I didn't know it was the monitor, I thought my computer crashed. I called my oldest DS and he came right over. He told me it was my monitor, thank goodness. He dropped off a loaner monitor this morning for me to use and has already found me a great deal on a new one.

So, a little late, but here's the pics. We are loving the new counters!!!
The plumber is coming on Monday to hook up the faucets.

Our bathrom is a 2 part bathroom with a locking door in between. The back part which consists of a counter and sink and a walk in shower is accessible from our Master bedroom. The front part of the bathroom which consists of a counter and sink and toilet is also accessible from the main hall.
We are now waiting for our glass shower doors to be installed, hopefully real soon.

Back part. DH has just started adding the coppery hardware to the cabinets. We're also thinking about changing the brushed nickel door knobs which were put on a couple years ago.

My wall inbetween the front and back

Front part

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Ranatra, that's really pretty! I have a funny story about your faucet - I recently took a trip to Playa del Carmen and this resort has these phenomenal bathrooms. I mean they're so cool that people take pictures of them and post them in their trip reports.

ETA: Here is a link to a few photos of the bathrooms. This place was amazing! http://images.google.com/imgres?img...svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&sa=N

Now, keep in mind, I used to own a plumbing company with my ex...

Anyway, the first time I went into one of the bathrooms in a common area, there was a faucet like yours. I put soap on my hands, and for the life of me, I couldn't get the faucet to turn on. So, I wiped it all off with a towel and found an employee and told him that the water wasn't working in the bathroom.

Fast forward to the next day, and I went into the one near the pool. Another cool bathroom, same faucet. Once again, I couldn't get the faucet on. As I stood there looking like an idiot, and employee came in and turned it on for me. I had been doing it wrong the whole time.

When I posted my trip report, several people came forward and also reported that they'd had embarrassing bathroom moments too.

 

[shovan]

I've really been checking in & waiting to see your soapstone counters!

You're not going to believe what happened. Yesterday afternoon my 3 yr. old flat screen monitor died. I didn't know it was the monitor, I thought my computer crashed. I called my oldest DS and he came right over. He told me it was my monitor, thank goodness. He dropped off a loaner monitor this morning for me to use and has already found me a great deal on a new one.

So, a little late, but here's the pics. We are loving the new counters!!!
The plumber is coming on Monday to hook up the faucets.

Our bathrom is a 2 part bathroom with a locking door in between. The back part which consists of a counter and sink and a walk in shower is accessible from our Master bedroom. The front part of the bathroom which consists of a counter and sink and toilet is also accessible from the main hall.
We are now waiting for our glass shower doors to be installed, hopefully real soon.

Back part. DH has just started adding the coppery hardware to the cabinets. We're also thinking about changing the brushed nickel door knobs which were put on a couple years ago.

My wall inbetween the front and back

Front part

Sorry you rushed to post it & then I didn't rush right back to see it! WOW, that looks wonderful! I love the soapstone & everything you chose! But I especially like the color of the stone & the grainy lines running through it, very different & pretty! The colors on the vessel sink are really gorgeous & are perfect with the stone & the wood!!!! You did a wonderful job!

We've had a lot going on here too! The granite was installed today, along with the sink & upper cabinets. Sinks not working yet & lights aren't up, so my pics wouldn't come out. I'll try again tomorrow cus I could really use some help with drawer/door pull placement. Both DH & I were super happy with the look of it all, I can't wait to show y'all!