Kitchen Sneak Peak

Well, in the last post, I said that we had some very exciting news happening in the following couple of weeks.  Needless to say, the drama and stress of building a house took over again and delayed this post.  Unfortunately, we have been hashing it out with our builder recently but, so far the good has prevailed and we are back on track.

top: honed travertine countertops
bottom: potential pantry wallpaper

With that said.....the exciting news is that the kitchen cabinets (aka, my babies since this process began) have finally been delivered and installed. The process of designing my dream kitchen (and yes, I have big dreams) began April 4th when we had our first consultation at R Cabinet Studio. I came equipped with the "house inspiration binder," several samples, and, of course, I dressed in the dream kitchen color pallette to set the mood (hehe). We talked about layout, style, and must haves. We then met several times after that (April 24th, June 3rd, and July 24th) for further designing, and plan revisions. Then, some additional meetings in August and September to sign off on drawings and contracts. One of the greatest moments was the first time we got to see the kitchen we had been envisioning in our heads go three dimensional on the computer screen during our June consultation. Some changes were made since but it as a great sneak peak and got us extremely excited!

The cabinets are now light gray with a white island and the appliances are stainless.

There is currently no door on the pantry to expose the window and wallpaper
(we will see how that goes...)

The window over the sink is about double that size.

We also went with open shelving to the left of the sink.

We went with maple doors painted a light gray in a transitional recessed style with moulding and a complimentary white island with furniture legs and open shelving. The hood was custom made locally with doors to match the cabinets. We also had a lower cabinet installed in the pantry for the coffee maker and toaster oven. I wanted the cabinets to go all the way to the ceiling because I hate having to decorate and dust that open ledge that many cabinets leave between them and the ceiling. I absolutely love the storage that the upper cabinets offer and the crown moulding adds a nice sophisticated finishing touch (I think even Adam will need a step stool to reach the top shelf of these). We went with a gorgeous fireclay farmhouse sink in white and will be installing a backsplash of white subway tile in a herringbone pattern. The white sink and tile will really pop against the gray cabinets!

After much planning and anticipation, the cabinets were finally delivered on September 25th! Even though they were still pretty much encased in cardboard boxes, we were ecstatic! This was also the day that we had electricity in the house for the first time. Something about being able to flip that switch at night and have our home all lit up made it feel more real than it had this entire process. To say we were giddy would be an understatement. I remember when Adam flipped that switch. I immediately had this overwhelming feeling of happness. I could not stop smiling (and jumping around hehe). After all the hard work and and hurdles that we had to jump over, it all felt worth it and we could see our future together in our home!

Tada! They are finally here! 

Let there be light!

Unfortunately, several of the doors and boxes arrived damaged. R Cabinet Studio took great care of us though, and had replacement pieces ordered and on their way to us immediately. The replacements arrived the following week and our wonderful installers finished installing the lowers, uppers, doors, island crown moulding, and moulding under the wall cabinets. They will return to install the hardware, kick plates, and legs for the island overhang once the wood floors and countertops are installed.

Spot for refrigerator and beverage center/wine cooler

Pantry cabinet 

Back wall with range hood and spot for gas cooktop 

Ready for countertops! The sink and dishwasher are to the left, cooktop in the back, wall oven and microwave on the back right, pantry, and the beverage center/wine cooler, and refrigerator with wine rack above.
Whatever wallpaper I put in the pantry will go on the back of the shelves in the island.

Countertops, open shelving, hardware, and appliances still to come. Stay tuned for the finished product. This room is truly the centerpiece of our interior. Until next time...

Labor Day Weekend Scores

Labor Day weekend was a fun filled exciting time for Adam and I and for the house. My parents got to come up for an extended weekend to see the house progress and make a special delivery, we made some great house finds, and we got to revisit our old stompin' grounds. My parents have not seen the house since the framing stage so it was very exciting to get to tour them through and show them how far it has come. During the last week of his summer break, my dad helped us with the oyster shell outdoor fireplace by bringing 5 gallon buckets down to the local raw bar for them to fill up. He would then pick them up at 10:00 at night which, if you know my father, is equivalent to me having to wake up at 4 am (something he does daily with a smile - yuck), clean them the next day, and let them dry out in the sun. He tried to recruit the neighborhood kids for a small incentive per shell cleaned but that only lasted one day. Luckily for Adam and I, my dad was on summer break and is always willing to help us out! This weekend, the 1,000+ oyster shells were delivered to us. I am now a very happy coastal crafter!

Neighborhood kids on oyster duty day 1 

Dad, the master oyster cleaner on duty days 2-5

So may oysters drying in the sun!

To add to the amazing-ness that is going to be our back porch coastal fireplace, I really wanted a large piece of driftwood for the mantle.  Unfortunately, the only driftwood that is readily found around here is protected on one of my favorite beaches at Big Talbot Island State Park. Thus, you can imagine my surprise when I spotted a large, unprotected piece of driftwood on our local public beach that Friday while we were beach combing. The only problem was that it was still a little water logged (I think it was washed up after the storm the night before) and at least 20ft long. In my euphoric state, I attempted to convince Adam that we could carry it to the nearby boardwalk but Adam was not nearly as on board as I was (or just more realistic depending on how you want to look at it hehe). So, that day we left empty handed. I, however, did not forget the gift that had magically appeared before me that day. When my parents got here that evening, I convinced everyone to go back to the beach, saw in hand, and cut off the 7ft piece that we needed for the mantle. This made the wood manageable to carry and allowed us to leave what we did not need in its natural state on the beach to be enjoyed. I cannot wait to share this next DIY project with y'all!

The remainder of the driftwood after we took our mantle piece 

Adam in front of the remaining wood for a size reference

Our piece for the mantle with the buckets and coolers full of oyster shells.
I can barely contain my excitement!

Totally unrelated to the house part of our fun weekend, Adam, my parents, and I got to go back to the Swamp! We managed to luck into tickets on the 50 yard line 24 rows up after we were called and told that our tickets on the 35 yard line 38 rows up were accidentally released to us for purchase. Unfortunately, the cursed Florida summer rain and lightning caused the game to be cancelled and our tickets refunded. We did get to see the one play of the game from those awesome seats and had a great time tailgating with the fam and indulging in a Gainesville staple: Satchell's Pizza!

Also unrelated to the house, but in line with the "scores of the weekend" theme, Adam and I found a starfish that we have been searching for for years at our local fish store. Meet the newest member of our family...Albert! (He is orange with blue spots).

That Monday, my mom and I decided to do some house shopping while the boys went fishing. I needed some lighting fixtures and mirrors for the bathrooms. We did not find any mirrors but did find a great chandelier for the dining room at World Market for a steal $80. We of course also found some things we were not looking for like this amazing cane print rug at Homegoods. Those that know me know that I am somewhat obsessed with caning. I have been searching for a cane print rug for awhile now and have found very little selection and nothing in my price range. So, once again, I was surprised when I saw it hanging up on the other end of the store in all its cream and navy blue glory. It is 8x10 and will be perfect for the home.  Homegoods has been good to me lately. A few weeks prior to the rug find, I found this $300 dollar lantern on clearance for $30! While my mom and I scored in the shopping front, my dad and Adam scored with some delicious redfish, trout, and flounder! That night Adam made us his famous mango fish tacos...yum!

Top left: Dining room chandelier. Top right: cane lantern
Bottom: Cane rug

Nice catch guys!

Left: chef Adam. Top right: mango fish tacos.
Bottom right: impromptu baked apple biscuit with honey and ice cream

All in all, I would say it was a fun and successful weekend (even if we did not get to see our Gators play).  Until next time...