Silgranite Sink

I also really like our sink. It's a composite called silgranite. In this picture is dirty but it's black and so far, no problems keeping it clean. It doesn't ding or scratch so I'm a fan.

Insinkerator Evolution

I forgot another appliance that I love. Our garbage disposal. We got the cheapest of the Evolution Series from Lowe's but it's quiet, it can chomp just about anything - potato peels are like baby food to this guy. It says it can even do chicken bones...I'm not quite brave enough to try this one. Although I should before the warrenty is up - I have four years. It has an auto reverse if it gets stuck and what else... nothing really. But, that's why I love my garbage disposal.

Appliances, etc.

Caution - The information in this post may cause covetousness. You have been warned.

(most pictures are from the manufacturers websites)

The fridge - Electrolux Wave Touch Side by Side. I loved this fridge the minute I opened it's doors in the showroom. The "luxury" lighting that increases from dim to bright captivated me. Unfortunatly, the $3000 price tag wasn't in our budget. We were hoping to stay between $800-$1000 until we realized we were going to have to get a counterdepth fridge due to the congiguration of our kitchen. Counterdepth fridges are less deep, resulting in less cubic space and while smaller, are more expensive. Long story short, persistance and research led us to get exactly the fridge I wanted at nearly half off from the Sears Outlet. And unlike many other specimens at this store there was nary a scratch or dent. It was simply a returned unit. Yea for me.

Note- About a month after having this I started noticing the lights on the electronic panel showing when they should have disappeared. I called Electrolux and no questions asked was sent a replacement motherboard and the name and number of a repairman who would fix it at no cost to me. Now that's service!

Note - We also got a second, what I call "Costco" fridge for the mudroom from Craigslist. $170

Ovens - I already made a post about these a while back. We got a floor model knocking a measly $1000 off of the price. Actually we were supposed to get the floor model but the one we got was brand new in the original unopened packaging. But we only paid the floor model price. We got the GE Monogram convection oven and Monogram Advantium Microoven - it's a microwave or an oven depending on was plate you use in it. It also cooks with halogen lights.

Cooktop - 5 Burner Gas Bertazonni. This fancy sounding italian cooktop had great reviews and the best price by a long shot. $650 plus (or minus) a $50 rebate.

Note - There were a couple issues with installation - like the guy put something on backward and another valve seemed to be leaking. Again, customer service was excellent. Fast and no charge. Works like a champ.

Meet Pilar, our kitchen faucet. She is magic. She turns on with the tap of a finger, the back of the hand, an elbow etc. She also knows the difference between a touch and a tap so if you want to move it while it's on she doesn't go crazy and turn off on you. If you want to go old school and use the handle, you can do that too. Ben thinks this just might be his favorite feature of the house.

Originally we had picked out a pretty faucet from Hansgrohe. But it was expensive and I started having a real problem spending $600 on a faucet when there are people starving. Unfortunately while on my search for a more reasonably priced faucet that conserves water and performs well I stumbled across this video. Although $400 is still a lot to pay for a faucet, at least this one does tricks. And, it makes for good conversation.

Laundry - Whirlpool Cabrio I am very excited about these machines. They do the equivilant of three standard washer loads at one time. It really does. Sometimes I am bummed because I have a huge pile of laundry and I only get to do one load. And then I am bummed because I have to fold a giant load at one time. What I also like about them - they are not front loaders but they are energy efficient. (I have issues with the front loaders b/c of mold and the fact that they lock so quickly) This one actually locks too but it doesn't have to drain if you want to add something. I also like that the washer has a see-thru top because it is mesmerizing to watch the machine work. it has no agitator so it is quite interesting to see how it moves the clothes around. And the dryer is supposed to have a steam function for enhanced touch ups. It does spray a burst of water b/c it dampens the clothes a bit but I'm not sure how well it removes wrinkles compared to a regular dryer and a wet washcloth thrown in.

Dishwasher - We went straight Consumer Reports on this one. I really wanted the Electrolux, but Ben wouldn't give me the extra $150 bucks for it. So we got a Bosch. It works fine. We had the same one in Hawaii in White. I didn't realize this until I ran my first load. No bells and whistles, very few options, but quiet enough (I actually like the sound of a dishwasher) and gets the job done.

Pantry

We finally got shelving for our pantry and closets. It took a good three weeks to get an installation date. Looks like Miles found where I keep the good stuff.

Countertop Issues

Our stone countertops were installed today. But of course, nothing in construction is simple. First of all, we got a great deal. I had originally wanted quartz (manmade - Ceaserstone, Silestone, etc.) counters in the kitchen b/c I didn't want to have to worry about stone maintenance. Polished stone is pretty easy to maintain, but honed, which is the look we like, can be burdensome. We had honed black granite in Hawaii that looked like soapstone and I loved it - the look of it. Cleaning it was so hard. Every fingerprint showed and there were always streaks left behind. Hence going for the manmade, supposedly indestructible stuff.

Fast forward to a few months ago when we made the mistake of stepping into a slab yard. We instantly fell in love with at least 20 pieces of granite/limestone. We thought the cost might be prohibitive on some of our picks so we started shopping for remnant pieces. Basically we got a list of fabricators from the stone importer and started calling and visiting. We found a location that had the seagreass limestone slab that we were dead set on for our bathroom. Full price - $2400. remnant price $1200 - still too high. We continued our search. In the meantime I got quotes for an all quartz kitchen in dark gray. $7000-$8000. Wow. We started looking at other options - including formica - they have some really nice stuff out with different options for edges which look nice. Plus I thought - my 20 year old apartment has the originally formica and it looks pretty good...but I really want to be able to set hot pots on the surface.

Then after a long day of looking at stone and tile I decided to follow a sign and make one last stop while I was in Seattle. Not only did they have a remnant of the limestone we wanted. The owner said he would do our whole house in any instock stone he had for $7000. This was to include two bathrooms, the kitchen, a fireplace surround in matching limestone slab for the bathroom and two miscellaneous wall pieces. I thought this was too good to be true. Also he hadn't even seen our plans. So I sent him our plans and he came back with the same estimate in writing. I took Ben up to the yard to make sure I wasn't getting duped (he can tell you about the vibe of the place - a whole nother story) and again, same price same promise. He even offers to throw on a false edge in the two bathrooms to make the slab look thicker. Hello! He has a million chances to jack up our price - everyone else does with the nitpicky details. He refers to this offer as his "stimulus plan" and says a year ago, same deal would have been at least double.

Long story long - he comes out does the template and even offers to hook us up with a kitchen backsplash (we eventually decide on glass tile) AND he will through on a matching limestone seat in the kids bath/shower after I explain to him our difficulties trying to tile it. Still too good to be true.

Back to the slab choices. For the bathroom we got our Seagrass limestone and fireplace surround (which is actually Cafe Pinta limestone - but close enough), the kids get Lagos Azul limestone and for the kitchen we chose to do the upper island in Antique Brown (looks black) honed granite and the lower island in a Quartzite in a color called Cocoa Nova. It's the color of a light cardboard with faint faint light blue waves. Were we swayed by the beautiful slabs - absolutely. Do I have some trepidation about putting a light colored Quartzite/Sandstone in my kitchen - yes. Am I going to seal the heck out of it. Of course. Especially as I watched two teeny droplets of Dr. Pepper be sucked up instantly by the stuff.

So now to the installation issue at hand. (Sorry for all of the details but I am trying to record so I can remember down the road) We were instructed to put down plywood under the upper island piece for support - the granite we picked is super heavy and has tons of fissures through it - not an integrity issue but just in case. Our millwork guys did so - on the bathrooms as well b/c they were getting a false front. Everything gets installed beautifully. Except that the plywood layer is showing on the island. And not just if you bend over and look. Like from any angle. It looks terrible. (see picture)

We call to express our concern over the job being left like this. He says to put on a finished piece of wood to cover it. No! That would look terrrible in our house. We go back and forth with phone calls, I even went up there to talk to them about it b/c they have to have a solution for it. They do this all the time. He says that the guys who put the plywood down should have made it smaller so it wouldn't show. I say his guys should have cut it back to the right place since we weren't given any instruction about the dimensions of the plywood to be installed. He says he gave us a good deal so.... So what?! It's not a good deal if you get a subpar product. I tell him that everything else they installed looks so great but that this is a focal point and it's what people will see of his work immediately. His guys are coming on Thursday to fix it.

Sneak Peak

What was supposed to go in on Saturday and what had better be going in today...

Cabinets

Usually my first reaction when something new happens is the house is oh no, did we make the right choice. But this time it was instant approval. I love the cabinets. I love the color, the style and the full extension soft close drawers and my window seat! By pitting the cabinet makers against each other we got a steal too. Entire house plus bookcase, entertainment center, window seats - $14,000.

Cabinet Stain

After two missed tries we finally got the color we want for our kitchen cabinets (see center of stick). It's not that we're extremely picky, we just found a door we liked and wanted it matched. They had to go to the "stain-guru"* in Seattle to have him come up with our color. Looks good to me.

* This is apparently the same guy who did the stain for the Shultzes who own Starbucks. Fancy.

Range Hood

This beauty arrived today.

36" Spagna Vetro (also marketed as Cavaliere and another brand) Glass Canopy Range Hood.

$469.95