I wanted to share with you the table we purchased over the weekend from American Signature Furniture. We were desperately searching for a counter height table to match our previously purchased counter height chairs (purchased a year ago) We finally found one of the greatest tables at American Signature. Its called the Plantation Cove Black Drop Leaf Counter Height Table. Check it out.
Plantation Cove Black Drop Leaf Counter Height Table
Plantation Cove Black Drop Leaf Counter Height Table
Plantation Cove Black Drop Leaf Counter Height Table
Plantation Cove Black Drop Leaf Counter Height Table
Today was a pretty cool day for the house. Chelsea and I took advantage of the Best Buy black Friday sale and purchased all of the appliances for $1,699.00. We picked them up last night and the microwave was installed today. The problem is that the cabinets over the microwave were made too large to accommodate a microwave oven. Unfortunately, I failed to notice this issue until now.
I had the A/C guys proceed with the installation in hopes that it wouldn’t bee too problematic. Once they were finished I moved the range into place and realized there was no working room over the stove. The microwave will have to be raised so the bottom of the micro is flush with the bottom of the other cabinets. To do this, the cabinets over the micro will need to be elevated. I will complete this task myself this week. I will make the problem go away…. no worries 
TO ANSWER SOME OF THE MOST COMMON QUESTIONS I HAVE BEEN RECEIVING ABOUT THIS KITCHEN:
- Yes, We will be adding crown molding to the top of the cabinets
- Yes, We will be adding cabinet up-lighting
- Yes, we will be adding cabinet down-lighting with lower trim
Stainless steel range and microwave
Stainless steel range and microwave
Stainless steel range and microwave: BAD FIT! The microwave will need to be raised to allow adequate working room. To do this we will need to raise the upper cabinets 6 inches.
Stainless steel range and microwave: BAD FIT! The microwave will need to be raised to allow adequate working room. To do this we will need to raise the upper cabinets 6 inches.
This photo shows the view from standing in front of the range: Notice you are unable to see the stove controls. The microwave will need to be raised 6 inches
Stainless steel microwave installation photos
Stainless steel microwave installation photos
BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE LOOK WE WILL BE TRYING TO ACHIEVE BY RAISING THE CABINET OVER THE MICROWAVE
Raised cabinet over microwave
Raised cabinet over microwave
Today I did my very first tile installation and it was a great SUCCESS! I used many of the materials that were left over from the kitchen subway tile back-splash. I purchased the trowel, grout trowel, sponge, and grout / adhesive combo from the local home improvement store. I also had to purchase a small tile cutter (manual) and it actually worked pretty good. My biggest fear was making the 45 degree cuts on the bull-nose tiles. Luckily they were not as difficult as I imagined. The end result is a clean 3 course high subway tile back-splash to compliment the beautiful 3cm granite counter-top. I hope to put this bar to use when making cocktails and pouring drinks for friends and family.
P.S. I know the picture quality is HORRIBLE. I took them at 4:30 this afternoon and its been very dark and stormy all day (no light). I will take better photos tomorrow with the Nikon!
Subway tile installed. DIY Project
Subway tile installed. DIY Project
Subway tile installed. DIY Project
Right Side
Well Drilling Begins
Well Drilling Begins
Well Drilling Begins
Well Drilling Begins: Well casing shown
Well Drilling Begins: Actual well shown
Well drilling truck
Well drilling truck
Classic well drilling truck Ford F-600
Classic well drilling truck Ford F-600
Classic well drilling truck Ford F-600
Wine / Coffee Bar Granite Top
Wine / Coffee Bar Granite Top
Wine / Coffee bar almost finished
Our water well is taking longer than normal to obtain a well drilling permit. Because we are waiting so long, our plumber decided to come into the house and begin the fixtures and water heater. Once the components that run on electricity are installed by the plumber we can get the electrician out to finish up the final electric. This will help speed up the construction process.
Moen faucet in master bathroom: Final plumbing
Moen faucet in master bathroom: Final plumbing
Moen faucet in master bathroom: Final plumbing
Moen fixtures and hardware in master bathroom shower
1.6 GPF Toilet shown in master bathrooom
Rheem 40 gallon water heater shown in garage with presure maintenance tank above
Rheem 40 gallon water heater shown in garage with presure maintenance tank above
Energy cost sheet for the water heater.
Picked up the wood floors today. They look amazing. No, they are not installed. I laid about a half a box down to see what they would look like. The look great! I can’t wait until they get professionally installed. The floor was purchased from Lumber Liquidators. The specs on the hardwood floor are: REAL Brazilian Chest Nut Wood (from Brazil) pre-finished 5/16 x 2.25 premium cut and finish.
Bella Wood Brazilian Chestnut real hardwood floors
Bella Wood Brazilian Chestnut real hardwood floors
Bella Wood Brazilian Chestnut real hardwood floors
Bella Wood Brazilian Chestnut real hardwood floors
Bella Wood Brazilian Chestnut real hardwood floors
Bella Wood Brazilian Chestnut real hardwood floors
Bella Wood Brazilian Chestnut real hardwood floors
Here are a few more photos that I took before I loaded the wood floors in the truck. Good times! I was pretty impressed by the Honda Ridgeline. The wood floor was 1,800 lbs. The Ridgeline did pretty good hauling it back to the house!
Lumber liquidators Brazilian Chestnut hardwood floors
Lumber liquidators Brazilian Chestnut hardwood floors
Lumber liquidators Brazilian Chestnut hardwood floors
Lumber liquidators Brazilian Chestnut hardwood floors
Lumber liquidators Brazilian Chestnut hardwood floors
Lumber liquidators Brazilian Chestnut hardwood floors
Brazilian Chestnut Hardwood Floors
Brazilian Chestnut Hardwood Floors
Brazilian Chestnut Hardwood Floors
Brazilian Chestnut Hardwood Floors
The white subway tiles in the kitchen turned out great. Today I polished the back splash to bring out the shine on the tiles and to wipe off the excess grout haze. I am very satisfied with the final result. The only thing I am worried about is accidental splashes of red sauce on the stove when cooking. I’m sure keeping this back splash clean is going to be quite a feat. We love making sauce from scratch, after all… we’re both Italian!
A quick note on the photo quality: I promise I will take some photos with the Nikon to show the detail of the tile. Currently I am taking pictures with the Iphone (not too shabby for a phone camera)
White Subway Tile in kitchen
White Subway Tile in kitchen
White Subway Tile in kitchen
White subway tile, white cabinets, black granite countertops
White subway tile, white cabinets, black granite countertops
White subway tile, white cabinets, black granite countertops
White subway tile, white cabinets, black granite countertops
White subway tile, white cabinets, black granite countertops
White subway tile, white cabinets, black granite countertops
White subway tile, white cabinets, black granite countertops
Today we installed white subway tile in the kitchen to act as a back splash wall. The tile turned out great. I apologize for the bad photos. We ran out of day light and were running on generator power for the last half hour or so. I will take better photos tomorrow.
Some details on the subway tile selection: We picked up the tile at our local Home Depot store. It is around $16 / box and we used approximately 4.5 boxes of the tile. The color of the tile is snow white and the size is 3″x6″ The tile has a built-in automatic grout joint which means the tile can be set next to each other without the use of spacers and still maintain a nice even and thin grout joint. The gout used was a standard bright white grout.
Subway tile in the kitchen over black granite counter tops
Subway tile in the kitchen over black granite counter tops
Subway tile in the kitchen over black granite counter tops: BEFORE WHITE GROUT
Subway tile in the kitchen over black granite counter tops: BEFORE WHITE GROUT
Subway tile in the kitchen over black granite counter tops: BEFORE WHITE GROUT
