House Update - Kitchen Hood

When I thought about my dream house, I thought about a house with a huge kitchen where I could cook while my kids did their homework. Where we could entertain, and be both in the kitchen and the living room at the same time.  I love to make food for other people but I don't want to be all alone doing it. Since I spend so much time in the kitchen, I also wanted it to be one of the prettiest places in the whole house.  After my closet that is.  So when I thought of all the things I wanted in this space, one of them was a custom kitchen hood. I've never been a fan of microwaves above the stove. Although functional, they really don't look all that great.  A kitchen hood makes the kitchen look so much fancier and can really change the look from casual, industrial or ornate with one simple piece.  We opted to put our microwave in the pantry instead (which is a whole other issue) but we did end up with a gorgeous kitchen hood.

Last week they finally installed our hood and the carpenter our contractor hired did an amazing job.  It was everything I asked, and gave us the feeling I was hoping for; fanci (er), but not too fancy. Still casual, but with a little class. It really pulled the kitchen all together, and other than a good cleaning, this place is pretty much ready to be cooked in.

And another credit to the carpenter for making some pretty corbels for our island.  I drew him a picture and he delivered. That's what I like to see. =)

BUILDING TIMELINE:

Oct 8 (Day 1) - We signed our contract and everything is official!
Oct 9 (Day 2) - Expected ground breaking - delay with permit.
Oct 14 (Day 7) - Pick out front door (similar to this), interior doors, house molding, door knobs, and decking and siding.
Oct 15 (Day 8) - Fireplace picked
Oct 21 (Day 14) - Faucets, sinks, shower heads, toilets.  Also garage door.
Oct 23 (Day 16) - Cabinetry for the whole house - knobs and handles
Nov 5 (Day 29) - Ground breaking - hole digging and laying some foundation.
Nov 13 (Day 37) - Outside brick picked
Nov 18 (Day 42) - Cabinet place again - Changed our minds of the kitchen cabinets!
Nov 19 (Day 43) - Chose lighting, sort of because that was pretty hard. Still have to finalize some choices.
Week of Nov 24 (Day 53) - Pour concrete base - framing basement - finalize light choices and custom island color, custom hood vent and misc faucets.
Week of Dec 8 (Day 68) - Finishing up the framing and starting the roof. Plywood mostly put up all around the house. It's starting to look like a house.
Week of Dec 15 (Day 75) - Framing complete and ready for siding. Roof almost finished. Electrical walk-through, still deciding on lights.  Electrical rough-in and instal of fireplace. Tubs in bathrooms.
Week of Dec 22 (Day 82) - Inspections. Insulation and drywall will be up this week. Final interior finishes picks.

Week of Jan 5 (Day 96) - Siding, finishing drywall.

Week of Jan 19 (Day 110) - Cabinets being delivered, Trim going up

Week of Jan 26 (Day 117) - Cabinetry installed - Custom cabinetry made and installed - continue trim

Week of Feb 2 (Day 124) - Finish trim - start painting 

Week of Feb 16 (Day 138) - Continue with paint. Counter-tops installed in kitchen, bathrooms and kitchenette downstairs. Install tile backsplash in kitchen and laundry room. Install tile in master bath shower and backsplash. Install lighting.

Week of March 2 (Day 152) - Carpet install. Trim and hardware finish. Faucets & sinks.

Week of March 9 (Day 159) - Slow week at the house. Just a couple of touch ups here and there. 

Week of March 16 (Day 166) - Concrete in the porch and garage, Starting the deck. Starting master shower re-do since they didn't quite hit the mark the first time. Touch ups around the house.  Deep cleaning and paint touch ups.