Building a Kitchen: Part Two – Installation

Another month has flown by with little time for writing.

When I last left off, we were busily prepping the kitchen for installation.

In early December, we got the floors all finished with a stain that blended well with the floors in the living room and dining room.

Ross Ambler from Ambler Joinery was on-site for two days working away with Ollie to install the cabinets.   There were a few hiccups but nothing that couldn’t be overcome easily.   The cabinets and sinks were finally in!

We were all blown away by the transformation of the kitchen.  It felt huge and it felt quite modern, a far cry from the old ‘bach-style’ kitchen that once was.

But no rest for the weary.   In the following week,  Bruce and Ollie installed all the kitchen cabinet handles,   installed the sink fixtures,  did the wiring for the undercounter lights, installed the range hood and vent, and cut some plywood as a temporary countertop since the granite countertops are not coming until the end of January.

It was no small feat to get all that done before the holidays set in.  The sink faucets proved to be a challenge as we kept purchasing the wrong parts which isn’t fun when the store is one hour away.

We also picked up our stained glass windows for the alcove and Ollie finally got them installed as well.

Then it was another week over the holidays to install all the shelving and wipe out all the cabinets and finally start putting things away!   Oh, my heart sings.  We have a gorgeous kitchen now, while not 100% complete, we’re about 90% there and it is totally operational and joyful to work in!

Here’s a try at some ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots:

Another massive (and perhaps the last) project to just about tick off the list!  Just the matter of getting countertops in, making the chopping block counter for the island,  painting the walls, figuring out a back splash, and finishing up the alcove.   All in good time!