Trying to keep my head above water

Okay…I realize that I’ve been slack.  I haven’t posted anything here in weeks!!  (How DARE I?)  But the reason for that is that I’ve been trying to unpack boxes in the new house whilst traveling for work….and also preparing for the impending renovation that begins on the 14th.   Did you hear me?  THE 14th!!! 

Let the demolition begin.  I can’t wait since I don’t have a shower at the moment.  But in the meantime, I’m furiously trying to buy things like faucets, toilets, tile, garbage disposal, paint, etc.  When I signed up for a project, I didn’t realize just how big this one was going to be.  Don’t even get me started on the giant mulberry tree in the backyard.  I’ll save that for another post.

How do you feel about hardwood floors in a kitchen?

I’ve only had limited experience with hardwood floors in a kitchen, but with the reality of an impending kitchen renovation looming I realize that I’m going to need some ideas on what to do with my new kitchen floor.  Currently it has disgusting linoleum floors…and the floors are slightly uneven so tile is not an easy option.   My friend has a source for me to get recycled pine barnwood floors at a reallllly good deal, but I wanted to get some feedback first.  Any thoughts?

More refrigerator talk on the web

So if you’re like me and you read Apartment Therapy on a regular basis, then you’ve probably been reading about Liesl’s Fridge Saga or another reader’s question about small refrigerator brands. Well, I have my own refrigerator drama these days. I just sold my current house…and have bought a new one. One that needs a lot of work…and a new kitchen. The one that’s there now has the following issues:

1. 12″ deep wall cabinets. (I don’t even know if that’s deep enough for a plate?)
2. A seriously icky mold problem under the sink
3. A weird DIY “textured-spackle” backsplash
4. Heinous vinyl flooring
5. Floral wallpaper
6. A sink that’s stained beyond belief
7. No dishwasher, garbage disposal, or working vent
8. A stove & refrigerator that would be fine if I was renting…but let’s face it…I’m not
9. Not a ton of space to work with

Sooo…basically my plan is to start ripping out and putting back in as soon as I close on the house.  I’m hoping to eat takeout until it’s done so that I never have to clean that disgusting fridge.  (Ha!)  Anyways…because of the relatively small footprint of the kitchen, I have been looking for a small counter-depth fridge.  It turns out that those practically do NOT exist.  Ugh!! I’ve been combing the internet looking for possibilities that don’t blow my entire budget, and have found very little.  But one of the biggest things I noticed during this process is that virtually no websites have good detailed photos of appliances.  It’s SOOOO frustrating.  How can a retailer NOT show you what you’re about to purchase when you’re going to spend thousands of dollars?!  It’s frustrating…to say the least.  It’s this way with stoves, refrigerators and basically everything.

So as usual I went to the Philadelphia Home Show several weeks ago, I checked out the 24″ freestanding stainless Liebherr refrigerator.  It was soo great.  And had the bonus of having a tiny footprint.  I love that it was TALL, but was not very wide or deep.  Obviously you sacrifice some cubic feet for style & compact size, but it’s pretty amazing.  Unfortunately it cost over $3500.  Therefore it didn’t fit my budget, but I did take photos of it so that if anyone else is looking…it would be there to help them out.  Meanwhile, the search for MY perfect small counter-depth fridge continues.  Here’s the exterior & interior.

Small Bathroom Problem solving

So in my [new] place, there’s a teensy, tiny little half bathroom off the laundry room. Currently it only houses a toilet because…well…it’s really only big enough for one. Unfortunately there is no room on either side of the powder room to expand either due to the fact that one wall is exterior and the second wall is the stairwell to the basement. I don’t mind the fact that it’s so small necessarily, but I DO mind the fact that it has no sink. That just seems weird…and unsanitary.

So…tonight I ran across a post over at Apartment Therapy about Space Saving sinks and was surprised at some of the interesting options out there. There’s this tiny Block Washbasin by Lacava. It’s really cute, but too expensive at $800+. This tiny corner one by Porcher is also really cool, but I’m not sure if I have a corner in the new house. It’s $325. Much more affordable, but still more than I was hoping for. And lastly, this wacky one that fits on the back of the toilet is super space saving (and water saving too!), but isn’t very aesthetically pleasing. I don’t like the fact that it’s made of plastic and automatically comes on everytime you flush the toilet. Watch the video of how it works here. What do you think? Too weird? Get one of the more expensive sinks….assuming it would actually fit? Or just forego the sink altogether and hope people use the kitchen sink instead?