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The Curbly House: A New Kitchen and Master Bedroom in Progress

by on May 24, 2013


Our last Curbly House update was a while ago, so I wanted to check in and let you know how it’s all going. If there were one sentence to summarize phase two of our home renovation, it would be: Damn you, winter.

Weather has not been on our side this time around. In fact, weather has been our nemesis. We had (too optimistically?) hoped to dig the foundation for our addition in January. But it was freezing, so we thought February would be the golden month. But that was even colder than January. So March was our month. Even once we started, things went in fits and spurts, because every other day this happened:

Snow is covering the grown near a building.

Or this:

A cream and red house has a plywood building next to it that has not been completed.That’s April in Minnesota for you.

Or this:

Cars parked on a snowy street in winter.Pretty … annoying!

And it went on like this until mid-May. No joke. Or, rather, BIG joke on us.

Bruno spent several hours a week just shoveling off the un-enclosed addition:

The top floor of a house doesn't have a roof, and has been snowed on.That’s our bedroom, in case you can’t tell.

Exactly a week after our last snowfall of the season, we had our new roof installed. It was 90 degrees and every time I walked out of the house one of the roofers was lying on our lawn in a semi-conscious state. Those poor guys. I feared the project might kill them, but they pressed on and completed the 2-day project in 3 days. And, it looks great. The exterior of the house will eventually be painted. In the meantime, I’m smitten:

A two storied house stands in a yard near bare trees.Our new roof (also check out the new sunroom windows … more on those later)

At the moment, the future kitchen and master bedroom look like this (progression):

A house being created.

A house has a partially constructed addition on the side of it.(That’s from the outside; kitchen on the lower level, bedroom upstairs. Exterior framing, sheeting and roofing is complete.)

Next week, the entire kitchen will be gutted and framed, and we’ll be moving in with my parents for a short time to avoid me having a nervous breakdown. It’s an incredibly exciting time around here, but the noise and mess and chaos are a tich overwhelming. Fortunately, our kids are taking the craziness in stride, and the end is in sight. Who knew having a construction project going on in the back yard would be better than a babysitter?

Girl looking out window at a small tractor next to boy sitting in chair looking out window.Kids love watching heavy machinery … it’s a fact.

This weekend we packed up our kitchen …

A kitchen floor is covered with items in boxes.

… and moved it into the dining room:

A black tarp is thrown over a doorway in a kitchen.(That plastic is up to keep the mess from the kitchen demolition out of the rest of the house.)

The thing we’ve missed the most since we moved in is a functional kitchen. Our crockpot, toaster oven, hot plate rotation has been exhausted, and we are looking forward to countertops and appliances. Once a week we have a daydream session about the first meal we’ll cook in the new kitchen. 

We have a beautiful kitchen planned, and we’ve been working with a wonderful cabinet sponsor (Aristokraft) to make the space our own. Our kitchen designer, Jeannine, is a gem and she’s helped us create a space that will be the heart of this house. 

Two women sit at a long table in a media room with a large TV and a laptop.Here were are with Jeannine designing our kitchen on a giant flatscreen TV. Awesome.

Our preliminary floor plan:Blue print of a kitchen and a bedroom with toilet.

And an elevation view of the west wall of the kitchen:

A diagram shows the parts needed for a kitchen.

We’re still vaccilating about cabinet colors and countertops, and we have several images that are inspiring us:

A kitchen has bar stools under an island, and hanging light fixtures.Papyrus Home Design

A large kitchen has an island, stools, a small dining table, and a lot of cabinets.Aristokraft

A kitchen is looking very beautiful and elegant.Better Homes and Gardens

A white door opens into a kitchen with white counters and cabinets and grey walls.Aristokraft

A black and white modern kitchen.Aristokraft

We’ll also be working with Sherwin-Williams and Kohler as we cook this kitchen to perfection. We’re excited to add color to this space, and completely open to color recommendations (tell us your idea in the comments).

In the meantime, I have been watching this video about the most amazing sink in the world for two-days straight. I mean, this sink … seriously. 

A recessed kitchen sink is in a black kitchen counter.?

We plan to be back with some progress updates in the coming weeks. Stay tuned, and thanks for sticking with us!

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