Geniuses Live Here

Last November we purchased a new computer that came with a new printer/scanner/copier. At the time I had just put a new ink cartridge in the old printer and reasoned that I'd just wait a while until hooking up the new printer; or until I needed the scanner. Since I had never read the instructions on the new printer/scanner let alone even plugged it in, I did not realize that I needed to purchase a cord to connect the printer to the computer separately. Tonight I attempted to hook everything up so I could scan the first set of drawings to post and realized I couldn't. I'm feeling a little silly right now.

We have an ongoing joke in my family that home improvement projects can be measured in trips to Home Depot/Lowe's/Menards. I think we'll count the trip to Best Buy to purchase the cord needed as part of the project! (crazy as it may sound, we didn't have any cords that I need just laying around in Brian's boxes of tricks)

To summarize our meeting today...AWESOME! I can't believe what we potentially could have. We also made an important decision - live with the ugly bathroom for a little longer. Kevin, the guy we are working with, said they can drywall up the hole in the bathroom (that will be there when the window is removed) and leave us with a smooth wall. Seeing as the ugly tile goes partly around the window I see this as being a big challenge but I can deal with it; I'm going to have a kick ass kitchen and entry way! Really, how much time does one spend in the bathroom? I do not.

We get an island, Brian gets his fancy, decorative hood and I get a coat closet. Plus, we are going to have more cabinet space than we could possibly fill. Don't worry, I'd sure we will though. The style of cabinets are "shaker" and mostly pull-out. Where we are planning on cutting costs is in counter tops and flooring. We both agree that we'd like to spend the big bucks on things that aren't easily updated. Therefore a laminate counter top (which we learned will allow for an above mounted sink, or something, and could potentially save hundreds of dollars for the sink alone) will be chosen and a vinyl floor. If you understood how hard my family is on flooring you'd completely understand this decision. The scratches that have been put in the wood floors from their toys are enough to make your stomach get knots when you think about how much it costs to have floors redone and the inconvenience it causes. We are also going to wait a year or so on one wall of cabinets. These cabinets are just a message center and extra pantry. But really, we'll have enough cabinet space in the meantime. Some things that we are considering are Solar Tubes in the area that is the current kitchen (this now become the middle of the house and potentially very dark), an egress window in the basement and windows with the blinds between the glass (I HATE cleaning blinds). Next week the subcontractors are all coming on Wednesday to start looking at the project so a firm price can be established.