I'm back with the 2nd kitchen update.
Mike and I arrived home Tuesday July 27 in the evening and we had arranged for all the appliances to be delivered on Wednesday the 28th.
First up is a GOOD thing....the fridge. It is an LG Model # LFX23965ST. I love that it has the french door style. We had ice and water in our old stainless fridge and once you have that I don't think you could go back. {{I just remembered that we have to submit on-line for a $300 promo rebate. Woohoo!}}
BAD - The fridge is from Calgary Home Appliances which is owned by Trail Appliances. They delivered the fridge and wouldn't ya know.....they gouged my brand new hardwood. OF COURSE THEY DID. They had to remove the handles on the fridge to get it in the front door (even though the big yellow sticker on the handles say "Avoid Removing Handle" and then when they were reattaching one of the handles it was dropped. As you can see the handle is rounded and sharp and it stabbed the hardwood. I am so trusting that I didn't even look because they said it hit the rubber mat. When they left....I found this. I could not believe my eyes. Thank God our project manager (Mark) was here and he called Trail immediately to report it because they are going to have to cover the cost to repair it. Seriously how can delivery guys be so incompetent? I would not recommend this company.
GOOD - next up our Miele dishwasher arrived. I was so on edge after the floor was damaged that every person that came through the door for the rest of the day was forewarned to BE CAREFUL! Funny thing is that the Miele was purchased at the same place that the fridge was but Miele does not allow them to deliver for them and delivered it on their own. Smart move.
GOOD ~ my range. It is a Fisher & Paykel DCS RDT-305 Dual Fuel. We purchased this from The Bay. If you live in the Calgary area and ever need appliances I highly recommend you go see Frank at Market Mall. Seriously.
Oh, in case you are wondering.......the reason the appliances are still sitting where they are is because the electrician didn't return to finish the job. He got some lights installed but that's about it. Not too sure what happened there as he left without talking to me. There's no electricity on the main floor so until they can be plugged in they were left where they were placed.
GOOD - Range Hood. Ventahood PRH9. I just noticed that the box was set down wrong based on the "Up" arrows. Same delivery company as the fridge, wouldn't ya know.
GOOD - Garburator. We almost didn't get it as we've never had one but too many people said they like having one. It would have been the one thing lacking in the kitchen and I'm glad we added it in the end.
GOOD - My faucet and soap dispenser were installed. Brizo Venuto. {{Good....except for the fact that there is a scratch on it. Another reason I got so worked up and had a couple of good cries this past week. How come people aren't more careful?? I'm not a demanding person. I don't like to be a complainer but I do like things to be in perfect condition and stay new for more than 1 week. I don't know if a trade scratched it or if it arrived that way but it sucks either way}}.
BAD - My beautiful pantry doors. There was a bit of an issue due to the counter top right next to this cabinet.
The doors would not close because the counter top was pushed too tight up against the side pushing it in. You can see between the pantry door and the side panel to the very left of the counter top that it is "tight" leaving no space for the door to move.
The company came back right away to pull the counter away from the panel but then it left a big gap {photo below} The wall that this counter is on has been a bit of a problem. It's way to uneven all over leaving gaps in other places too.
To fix this I presume the counter needs to be taken away and scribed to be flush. The funny thing is this didn't worry or stress me one bit because I know The Remodelers will take care of it. When Mark (PM) came back the next day he noticed it immediately.
GOOD - VERY GOOD! My 3 x 6 Marble subway tile back-splash was installed. I am 110% in love with it. It does still need to be grouted.
Oh....and I don't have a close up of it but you can see that the crown molding was also installed. It is gorgeous but the contractor is going to have the crown molding re-sprayed on-site as the colour is looking different than the brace it is attached to {as they are different materials}. I just love this view as I come down the stairs.
UGLY - Like really ugly! Sorry to anyone who has lights like this but these are the pot lights the electrician installed. They are called "Baffle" style and if anything screams 80's to me it is these. Not only are these what we had before the renovation {in a 6 inch size} but they aren't even installed correctly. I don't think you are supposed to be able to see into the ceiling around the light bulb.
These lights made my cry. I had a stressy week watching trades at work but this pushed me to tears. Mark came over that afternoon, took a look and assured me they would be corrected. Have I mentioned I Thank God for Mark on a daily basis?
The good thing is that waaaayyyy back at the beginning of this renovation I took the owner of the electrical company to my craft room to show him what kind of pot lights I wanted so I know this wasn't my error. Below is a picture of the correct style. It is flush with the ceiling.
GOOD~ My walls are painted and they are so beautiful. The colour is Benjamin Moore Gray Mist. It's a super light colour so I'm showing you this one so you see that there really is a colour to it.
Here it is finished. I could not be happier with this colour. Isn't it just soft and lovely? My designer, Kim, gave me 4 colour choices and this is the one I chose. Have I mentioned I Thank God for Kim on a daily basis?
Oh and there is a sneak peek of my new chandelier for over the dining room table. Mike and I ordered this a couple of months BEFORE we decided to renovate and we are happy that they fit well into the design.
The trim around the opening is done. How perfect is that? We are so happy with how this turned out.
Here's a reminder of what this wall used to look like....with glass railing and not much else {except clutter}.
GOOD - Here is what we ordered for our front entry closet door knobs. Are those not the most gorgeous glass knobs you've ever seen? I thought of putting some crystal knobs in the kitchen but the designer suggested the closet doors instead. She's brilliant and I LOVE these! I ordered them through The Art of Hardware here in Calgary. I love that store.
BAD~~ news. We just found out that the pendants Winslow 3825 will not be here until September 17. They are worth the wait but I am nervous that they will end up telling me they are never coming and stopped production of them or something.
There ya have it! You are now up to date completely. I did spend about 3 hours yesterday vacuuming the hardwood floors twice and dry Swifter-ing them 2 times also. They look beautiful again even though they need a good scrubbing too {and some paint spots need to be removed}. It made me feel more in control to be able to be doing something.
This past week at home was definitely stressful for me. We should have taken Mark up on his suggestion to not come home until Friday because I let the little things upset me {like fingerprints on the brand new ceilings}. However, after talking about a few things with Mark I feel reassured that those little things will be taken care of. Just because we are nearing the end doesn't mean it's final. We will have the opportunity to do a final walk thru with him and any deficiencies will be noted at that time.
Well, our vaca is over and it's back to work on Tuesday. Back to real life. It's a good thing life is good.
