Lessons Learned

We're happy to report that the kitchen is pretty much done. In saying this, we learned an important lesson in home ownership: nothing ever really feels finished. There was no breaking of a champagne bottle over its bow to bless it. We simply finished up a few lingering projects and stopped putting "work on kitchen" on our to-do lists -- that pretty much marked the end point.


What's Plinth?

Perhaps that previous paragraph makes it sound like it was easy. That's never the case with our team! The last "real" project was installing the plinth and the baseboards. If you want to know what plinth is, just ask the good folk at IKEA (or drop a piece of cereal on our floor and see where it ends up).

Here is Seth, pulling out the plinth that we had so lovingly installed just moments earlier. Why, you ask? Well, we hadn't quite accounted for wanting to open the dishwasher ever again. The worst part was that once it was out (no simple task), we learned that removal was not necessary for solving the problem.

Lesson: Before you undo work, make sure that it is absolutely necessary to do so.

And here is our secret weapon: Gorilla Glue. When all else fails, we turn to it. And sometimes, when nothing fails, we turn to it. We have to be honest: we didn't even try anything else for the baseboards. We cut the boards to size, squeezed on some glue, stacked bricks and soup cans next to them and went out to Barney's for dinner. Sometimes I fantasize about a young earnest couple moving into this place 40 years from now, hating the tacky 2009 decor and ripping out our beautiful kitchen. I like to imagine them saying, "What the f*ck?!?! Did they GLUE these baseboards to the wall?!?!"

Lesson: Sometimes you can get by doing it the lazy way.


Bring In The Moms

During the January "invasion of the moms," Marilyn and Leone joined forces to help us tackle a few vexing projects, such as painting the living room, selecting a new light fixture for the dining area, and finishing up a bunch of little projects in the kitchen. They worked their arthritic knees to their breaking points and, together, we got a lot done.

We couldn't get them to slow down long enough to take a clear photo. Leone did a lot of wall work in the living room, while Marilyn finished the kitchen paint job by doing all the trim and touching up the door.

Lesson: It's amazing what can be accomplished when you double your labor power.

But here's the best part: neither one of them showed even a hint of frustration when, after spending the whole day painting our living room mauve, we decided to repaint. We loved the color -- we just didn't love it in the living room.

It was the first major "back track" moment that we had, and while it's a lot easier to repaint than re-floor, re-cabinet, or re-countertop, we were still disappointed. We spent about a month experimenting with new color ideas and finally landed on a very un-sexy, but sophisticated, beige. Special thanks to Cass Morris, the Benjamin Moore paint consultant for helping us make the final choice: maritime (ahoy!) for the walls, with dove white for trim and closet doors.

Lesson (aka, "The Moms' Tip of the Week"): Our living room has some really weird light issues -- colors look different depending on which wall you're looking at and the time of day. Sometimes it's best to go with neutral paint and jazz the room up with accents.


Bring on the Abbys

About two weeks ago we were treated to a day of service from Abby-Squared Painting, Inc. We cashed in on a birthday gift that Abby C. and Abby N. never thought we'd take them up on. Turns out, the joke was on them.

Abby C. may look sheepish, but she completely transformed our scuzzy closet. And Abby N. was a whiz with the roller. Plus, she only dissolved into a giggle fit once on the job.

Lesson: The Abbys both have impressive painting resumes.

Even the infamous Flat Stanley wanted in on the fun.








That's about all for now. Stay tuned for adventures in crown molding...