Granite, part two

If you haven't guessed yet what this post is about, it starts with G and rhymes with Janet.

We moved here with a determination to enjoy any upgrades we did, after frantically finishing home improvements in the last house to put the house on the market for the next owner to enjoy.  We have been saving to do a few upgrades to the house.  As I'm sure you know, kitchens and bathrooms are where you want to spend your remodeling dollars if you think you might ever sell your home in the future. 

Though our kitchen is wonderful, and quite pretty, the counters are not very nice. 

They are white laminate, stained in places and knicked in others.  We investigated putting in concrete, quartz, or granite {again}.  We love the idea of concrete, but, frankly, we have to consider resale, and concrete can be pretty polarizing.  The other two rated equally in all the research we did, and cost about the same, but we love the look of natural stone so much more, so that was what we went with.

We checked out lots of companies, took home countless samples, debated colors, and got several quotes.  Originally, we wanted to have a quiet, monochromatic granite on the outer counters, with something contrasting and vibrant on the island.  The problem was, we couldn't come up with two types that we liked together, and had no help from the sales people here.  When we would ask questions, they would say things like, "Sure, if that's what you want to do."  Not helpful.  We ended up deciding one granite was best for us.  Then the decision had to be, do we stick with a light color to go with our light and airy kitchen, or do we ground it with a dark, bold granite?

To solve the problem, we used a favorite trick.  We googled "kitchens with white cabinets" and selected images.  Then we looked through and saved all the ones we liked in a file.  After that was done, we scrolled through our choices.  Across the board, in kitchens resembling ours - white cabinets, light floors - we preferred dark granite.  It made such a beautiful contrast.  Decision made.

So we cleared the counters, removing the old faucet.

Now, that was sad.  If you remember from this post, we replaced our kitchen faucet only about six months ago.  This was the original faucet,

which we changed to this!

We loved this faucet, but Handsome Hero found a brand new undermount sink at a yard sale this summer {can we say Woo-hoo to saving money!}, but it's shape wouldn't allow for the four holes this faucet takes.  That was a bummer.

Anyway, we plugged the expresso machine in in the dining room {I have my priorities straight},

And the men got to work.

There was this one worker who caught my eye.  What a cutie!  What a looker!  Overalls and everything.

When it was done, it looked like this.

Notice that we changed the shape of the island slightly, curving it so that it's less of a Superman shape.  That was our friend, Drew's, idea.  Here it is before.

And more afters.

The granite is called Verde Peacock.  It has blacks, browns, and greens, with flecks of white.  I love how nicely it compliments the walls.

Handsome Hero will be doing some wall repair and re-doing the beadboard backsplash, of course.  We love it, and, hey, he already has a template!

Our gorgeous new faucet.

I love how substantial it is.  It reminds me of a tulip.  Is that weird?  And I have a soap dispenser!!!!

There you have it.  Our new kitchen.  Are we done?  Well, at least for now, but if you know me at all, you know that I'm never done.  NEVER!!!!  {picture maniacal laughter here}

Granite, part one

When we bought our house in Washington, we thought the tile counters were beautiful. And they were.  Totally not functional, but beautiful.  Tile doesn't get clean. Ever.  Just try rolling out a pie crust on a tile counter.  Not that I was silly enough to try it....

The grout soon started cracking all over the place and little pieces would break off.  Notice the missing tile lip in the picture below.   I thought I was opening the dishwasher and accidentally took off a tile. They all came off that easily.

We decided that we needed a change.  We had lots of friends who worked in the granite business.  Our friend, Drew, a granite salesman, helped us choose the right granite for us - Uba Tuba, or as my friend, Lydia, called it, Ubba Tubba. 

To save money, we {read: Handsome Hero} did our own tear out.  Drew, our salesman and awesome friend, helped knock that job out while his wife, April, and I were shouting at each other over the noise chatting in the other room like nothing was going on.  Wonder of wonders, Ella slept through the whole thing.  Jack had not yet made his existence known, so he was quiet, too.

As insane as it sounds, the guys found that part of the counter had been tiled over a sheet of, get this, styrofoam. 


So posed.  They also found out that the drywall behind the backsplash would all have to be replaced.  Our friends, Tom and Ben, helped Handsome Hero to do the drywall.  Ben has all the tools that have ever been invented, and rather than just lend them, he came with them to lend a hand.  He is awesome.  He's also exuberant and cheerful, even around midnight, which helped to lift Handsome Hero's spririts considerably. 

The granite was installed in a couple of days, and it was beautiful.  Unfortunately, it was also Thanksgiving.  We had invited company, but the plumbing hadn't been put in yet, so we had to get creative.  The girls and I worked on the meal while Handsome Hero and Bob {below} worked on the sink.

Despite the circumstances, we had a wonderful feast with our dear friends, the Jason's.

Then we washed the dishes.

In the bathtub.

Do you know how many dishes are involved in a Thanksgiving spread?

Once the granite was sealed and the new backsplash went in, the job was complete!

Uh, minus an outlet cover.

It's funny how much stuff I had on those counters.

We enjoyed that granite immensely.  It was a wonderful upgrade to the house. 

Hmmm.  I wonder where this is going.  Do you have an idea about the content of tomorrow's post?

p.s.  Our friends were such a blessing during this and other home projects.  Just to push their awesomeness even further, get this.  Handsome Hero's job in Washington had him working to all hours.  Often he wouldn't begin a house project until 10:00 pm.  These guys came over to help and often wouldn't leave until midnight.  That is friendship with a servant heart, my peeps.