The Kitchen Project

Where we’ve been:

The week following the installation of the countertop and our first joyous cooked meals, loads of laundry, and washed dishes in the kitchen, we went to Cape Cod for a vacation. Even though we surely know all of our readers, I am too conservative to broadcast over the Internet that our house is going to be empty and free for the taking. Hence the silence.

The following week, our contractor took his vacation, as we waited for the tiles to come in from the West Coast. Michael, the electrician, stopped by to do some work, but we had nothing new and dramatic to report.

This should be the final week of the project, and everyone involved would like it to be so. This morning, the floor people appeared to apply the second and final finish. Our tiler should arrive tomorrow to put up the backsplash, a task of no small concern to me because glass tile can be difficult and there will be cutting of glass tiles and wood trim to make it work. Our outlets and switches need to be installed. Greg has to make a final decision about the cat 5 wire which now links our kitchen to the basement space immediately below it, and not to our cable.

And then that’s it.

Well, those of you who’ve been following along know about my desire to put a computer in the kitchen. We call it the “pony” since it would be nice to have a pony, but why do you really need one? Says the man who doesn’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I’d use it to handle recipes, shopping lists, browse the internet, manage the A/V system during parties, check email, etc. Anyway, last night I saw a commercial for a new HP computer with a touch-screen interface, and realized it was the perfect solution. No need to build a system from my own components. Here’s the description:

All-in-one multimedia PC with integrated 22-inch touchscreen for living room or kitchen 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 processor, 500 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM (max), dual-layer DVD-R drive, NTSC/ATSC TV tuners, PVR capability, Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS HD graphics (up to 2047 MB total memory) Tri-mode Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet, 5 USB, 1 FireWire, 1 ExpressCard, 5-in-1 memory card reader Pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit version); includes wireless keyboard and optical mouse.

It’s not available yet, so I’m not holding my breath, but it does mean it’s on the horizon. It looks really slick, too. Maybe if I’m really good, I’ll be able to get one this fall.

Always a good thing when you’re spending this much money.

This New York Times article on how to renovate your kitchen for resale caught me eye, and it says what I’ve been hearing from the few friends and family members who’ve responded to our ideas for glass tiles. The fact it pretty explicitly calls out colored glass tiles for obsolescence gives me pause. I absolutely, completely stand by the idea of the 4×4 field tiles, but am getting cold feet about a bold decorative element that would be very hard to remove in the future.

I’m not worried about resale because we have every intention of staying in this house at least until the Green Line arrives (current date: 2014) and it has everything we want or need: sufficient space for two of us, a good layout, great sunlight, a yard, and off-street parking in a decent neighborhood with very good access to Boston. We’re designing for us, and the kitchen will date regardless. I know resale is always a possibility, but Prospect Hill is not Manhattan, and it’s possible to overthink what the future market will demand or live with. I know what we lived with when we bought.

However, where I stand now is that I feel this is going to have to be a feature I’m going to really love and strongly regret omitting in favor of neutral beige tiles in order to proceed. I don’t understate this factor. I’m also considering that the feature is limited to one spot and not all that crazy.

We have a while to go before ordering tiles; it’s one of the last pieces of the puzzle. I see more trips to Home Expo in our future.

P.S. Mom, don’t think you’ve won 100% on this one. The article recommends hardwood floors.

I think we’re going to see a lot of progress today. At least I hope so. The electrician is hoping to finish up his stuff, including putting in a network connection so I can hook my laptop up in the kitchen. [Okay, so I really want to do a flat-panel touch screen monitor connected to a mini computer so I can hook into the net and manage recipes, shopping lists, music, etc. Mark said "That's sound like a nice idea. Just like having a pony."] Billy said he’s hoping to get the electrical inspection done by Friday, so things are moving nice and quickly.

The plumber is in today to finish his vent work, and re-route Craig’s water supply lines and drain. Most of that work has been done, and we were lucky to find an old vent in Craig’s closet so we could tie right into that without having to create a new hole in the roof.

In the basement, the guys are digging through the barely 2″ of concrete to set new footings for the lally columns, and they’ll work to put the beam in after all that’s done. I was assured that we do have a foundation thicker than 2″, but the builders probably conserved on concrete (read: were cheap) where they didn’t need it. Who put things in their basements in 1905, anyway? It does keep our wine nice and cool.

According to Billy, we might have walls and floor next week, then we wait for the cabinets to arrive. We’ll take that time to paint, I imagine.

Today’s pictures include: shingles on the outside, the old door (in the dumpster), some electrical work.