"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."
Robert Louis Stevenson




Monday, December 17, 2012

New Range, Drywall Repair and Kitchen Update


After much thought, I finally decided against repairing the Kitchenaid range and purchased this new GE unit. I think it will workout much better for me since I do a lot of canning and the Kitchenaid was a glass top and I couldn't do long periods of cooking on that type of unit.  This seems to be a nice stove but the coils take a  little longer to heat up, they sort of sound like a creaking ship, and the surface is not flat so I can't set things on it for added counter space. I did use the oven on Sunday and roasted a big batch of brussel sprouts.  The oven seems to work pretty well, about the same as the Kitchenaid which always did a great job. This oven, like my old one is also a Convection Oven.  I  also like that this model has the controls at the back of the stove instead of the front, this means not having to clean that area while cooking.

I also will be changing out the two black handles on the drawers and put on knobs. The handles are too large for these two drawers.  That means filling holes, sanding and painting again but the handles just don't work here.


I don't think I will be adding a decorative back-splash behind the stove like I was going to do.  You can see in the photo above that there really isn't much space behind it to add a tile design so that will save some money.

I am still thinking of adding some sort of an open cabinet cubicle on the right of the range hood. That will balance out the cabinets on both sides.  



I was able to find a drywall repair person that did the repairs for me on Friday morning to the electrical area and he also repaired the areas around the window and backsplash that had the 8 inch tiles.  When I removed those, they left a ridge that he scraped and then filled and texture sprayed. He did a great job and only charged me $120.00 to repair 5 holes plus the backsplash.

 This shows the repairs to the drywall for the electrical work.

This week I may be painting the walls, that way if I make a mess on the floor it won't matter!  The floor tile will be installed the second week of January (hopefully).  Then we move on to the countertop. We are still deciding on the color of the granite.  We decided against the brown tones and have looked at several slabs of  "Verde Tunas".  This granite has a lot of black in it and just a little green. I will go with one that has more black than green.  I am getting excited as the month goes on, knowing that soon all will be finished and I can start using my kitchen again.  

I have a very small garden this winter, with the kitchen mess I didn't want to have too much to care for, but here are a few photos.

Swiss Chard

Arugula

Red Leaf, Oak Leaf from "Farmer's Market Blend" Botanical Interests Seed

Beets and Cilantro

Radishes
Easter Egg and French Breakfast Radishes from Botanical Interest Seeds

Parsley planted from seed in September

Arugula Blend


Potato Plants 




 Fresh Picked this morning!



Raised beds resting for the winter.

12 comments:

  1. Carla your kitchen is really looking great! I have a blank spot behind my stove too, and debated doing a backsplash of glass tile. Instead, I hung a mirror there. It fills the space, and makes the room seem bigger. Can't wait to see your finished product. :)

    Karyn

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    1. Karyn, I would never have thought of a mirror. I don't think I could look at myself in the morning while cooking! LOL. I bet it would make the room seem larger though and if the reflection is beautiful as I am sure yours is, then go for it.

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  2. Savored seeing your variety of green growing things - With our long winters I really miss the freshness.

    Just my 2 cents but looking at your backsplash area might be similar to ours. Originally it had had some custom stenciling back there but after awhile needed a change & that was not a good area for painted decorative walls We had ceramic tile installed with a small medallion in the center & it was the best decision ever. The ease of cleaning is great & it unified the kitchen.



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    1. I will keep looking at options, I like the idea of easy cleaning! Maybe once I get the counter-top in I will find a design that will work. Also when I was at the slab yard I met a designer that had some good ideas. I hope I can find him again!

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  3. Your kitchen looks good and your garden looks great. I can't wait to see when it is finished.

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    1. Hi Bonnie, thank you. I am so excited to be moving forward. It won't be long now.

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  4. I like your new kitchen stove. Certainly hope that it will serve the purpose for you. Garden greens looks so appealing. Just waiting to go into a salad bowl.

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    1. petspeopleandlife,

      There is plenty of greens for another salad today. I also have two parakeets that love beet tops and swiss chard.

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  5. Thanks for the update on your stove, Carla. We briefly looked at new stoves to (sigh) start work on our kitchen and the choices in our opinion weren't as good as what we have. What happened to the big wide and deep drawer in the bottom? Your choice looks wonderful. They just don't make things like they used to! Merry Christmas to you and your family! xxoo Nancy

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    1. Thanks Nancy. I know the drawer is more shallow than the kitchenaid, which had a really nice size. Also these newer ovens/ranges are so cheaply made. The enamel is not as thick and feels sort of tinny. I hope you find a good one in your search, or like you say you can always keep the one you have.

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  6. Carla, I have been watching your renovation for weeks. Looks very nice. We are going through the same thing, renovating the entire kitchen in the house we just bought. A lot of decisions, a lot of work, but worth it in the end. Your garden looks great. Since we moved out of Arizona, I miss the constant sunshine and almost year around growing. But I am beginning to appreciate the winter break forced on me here in Virginia. I am finding it refreshing to take a couple of months break from gardening as I go through seed catalogs and plan my new gardens at the new house.

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    1. L.Ambler,
      Thank you, it is a long process for me since I am trying to do this on very little money and month to month. It will be nice once it all comes together.

      I will drop by and see what you are up to this week. My husbands family lives in VA.

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Thank you for taking time to visit my blog, I love hearing from you, stay as long as you like, Carla