Just heard the carpenter will be here today to finish up his work so that'll just leave the electrician to finish up.  While we can't move into the office this weekend like we were planning I'm still going to move some things in.  I did move in my stationary and ink though I haven't been able to find any of my fountain pens I'm ready to start to get things organized.

I found some really nice boxes at Michael's that I'll be using to organize things (hide them) on my desk but still haven't found an attractive stapler & desk mat.  With the new set up I won't be able to let things lie cluttered on my desk, Mark's desk is right behind me and when he's on teleconference calls the other participants will be able to see my desk.

Anyway, here's a couple shots of the tile with grout.

Woo hoo, the tile guys showed up and got the grout done and it's looking awesome in my opinion.  We still need the carpenter & electrician to finish up but it's coming together.

Two It Yourself: Dollar store trash can makeover

I've decided with the new office we need updated trash bins and came across this.  Now I just need the snow & ice to go away so I can get these cheap bins.





Two It Yourself: Dollar store trash can makeover: What do you do when you're working on a $100 bathroom makeover and you want a dollar store trash can that doesn't look like a doll...

Well yesterday was a bust.  The tile guys never showed up to do the grouting which I must admit pissed me off.  I could understand them not showing up today, after all we got a couple inches last night which pretty much screws up the city here in the south.

There are a few more things that need finishing, the electrician needs to do his thing, the file drawers need to be installed and the grout needs to be done.  Doesn't sound like much but I'm guessing having the three of them working in the office at the same time is not going to work.

Originally we would be done Friday with us moving back into the offices over the weekend, but it's looking like it's gonna be next week.  Yes I'm disappointed but these things happen.  If a remodeling didn't have some glitches it just wouldn't be right.

On Monday, today the guys installed the tiles and I must say they're looking good.  Of course they didn't show up until after 10.  Took about an hour to set up and off to lunch they went.  I was fussing big time but Mark kept telling me to give the guys a break.  They were using a wet saw and while it was 60º out that's still pretty damn cold to be keeping your hands in water.  Milo was really not happy with that wet saw, the sound bothered him enough to wake him from his nap time.

A very cranky Milo

Cut tiles

Wet Saw

 In spite of the late start they got all the tiles up and I must say, I'm liking it a lot.  After the cabinets were up and the handles on I was almost regretting getting the tile, but it does give the room a more finished look.

The tile without the grout

Accent tile, unfortunately this does not do justice to the glass tile

View of the tile & desktop

View into the room, we'll soon be back in our office

Yesterday was a big day, the counter tops were installed.  While I'm not in a chatty mood I wanted to share the pictures.

Lining up the heater before application

Installing the desktop heater

Desktop

Close up view of desktop

View into room

Sorry for the lapse in posting but honestly we've reached the slow down point.  Once the desktop is installed things will start moving again.  I'm hoping the desktop arrives this week but it looks like on the schedule it arrives on Monday.  The carpenter will be back next Wednesday to finish up some trim work and some odds & ends.  The electrician is due back in the next couple of days to finish his work in the office and the kitchen.  Did I tell you he's installing pendant lights in over the sink in the kitchen?

Anyway, here's some pictures of where the office is now.

These are the server cabinet.  The picture above will be the lower cabinet.  You can't see it from this angle but there will be a strip of LED lights so it'll be easy for the wiring and such.  There's also a fan to keep things cool.

The right picture is the upper server cabinet, again it has a built in fan unit.

My cabinets w/handles

Mark's Cabinets

Milo checking everything out

If I could get to some of my stuff I'd be installing it in the cabinets.  But the old desks are blocking my "stuff" especially my inks, pens & note cards.  Foolish me, I still love writing note cards for friends & family.  Just getting something other than a bill is present.

Today Todd is going to do the carpentry work in the kitchen.  He's installing pull out drawers in two lower cabinets (but I told you that already).  What I didn't show is everything we crammed into those cabinets.

All the pots & pans, mixing bowels, crockpot, etc. were crammed into those two lower cabinets.  It was always challenge to find what we needed.  Can you see that big bin?  That's the storage containers I swear they are what socks turn into when they go missing in the washer.

Todd will also be adding the handles to the office cabinets, I'll post pictures of those for the curious (and if you're reading this, you're curious).  Unfortunately, Todd wasn't able to get the handles on because the kitchen took more time than originally planned.


Todd got the pull out drawers installed on the two lower cabinet, SWEET!!!! However we lost a lot of storage but for us it's worth it.  Not having to get down on my hands and knees to dig around in the cabinet makes it worth it.  So because of that I'm getting rid of my two Lodge enamel pans.  I've been so unimpressed by them that I don't have any regrets on getting rid of them.  I'm still deciding if I want to get rid of the Le Cruiset pan as well.

If you look at the picture to the left I've got two cabinets like this that only have 4 shelves, can you say what the he hockey stick, hockey stick?  So we had Todd install additional shelves now I just have to adjust one of them to hold the KitchenAid and since I don't use it very often I'll move it to the bottom shelf and just have Mark pull it out for me.

In the morning I'll start adding things back into the cabinets and clearing off the counters, then it's the "organize" the storage containers.  I'm so tempted to just throw everything out and start fresh but that's not in the budget.

I'm sure I'll rave about the Blue Ribbon team again once the job is done, but I have throw a plug in there for the carpenter and electrician, they've been amazing.

It's been a couple days since I last posted mostly because I was lazy, there I said it, I was to lazy to post.

The office is really starting to look like an office.  Todd (you remember Todd, he's the carpenter) got the doors on and the guys came to template the desktop.  It was really cool to watch, sorry no pictures I don't think they would have appreciated me snapping pictures as they worked.  They used a laser to map the angles and edges of the desktop, then Mark showed him where he wanted the holes drilled for wires.  If all goes according to plan, the desktop will be delivered on Thursday.

On Monday, Todd comes back to make the modifications to the kitchen cupboards.  He's modifying one of the cabinets so it's easier to get items in and out as well as installing pull out drawers on two cabinets, the drawer guides that close the drawers for you and adding some shelves to two tall cabinets that are missing shelves.  The electrician comes on I believe Tuesday to do the office wiring & install the two pendants over the sink in the kitchen (we're also having install the new light in the dining area).

Anyway, that's it for tonight, but here's some of the pictures from Friday.

Bookcase with trim

What's the yellow diamond?
They're where the glass tiles will be placed

Mark's Cabinets

Server Cabinet

Another shot of the bookcase

I think these are the new curtains for the office

The original choice for the curtains but they'll now move to the bedroom

Well, it's been a week since the job started (but only my second post) and I have to say, Todd, the carpenter has been here for four days and it's amazing how much he's accomplished. Yesterday we saw the braces installed for the desktops and I'm loving all the foot space there will be.  This is going to be amazing.

We've been making do with our temporary offices in the sunroom and we're still laughing about the chair bumping but I can well imagine that by the end of the construction there won't be much laughing going on.  Milo is loving having us in here, he's got his cat tower in the corner so he can keep an eye on us and the bird feeders without having to get up.  Once the office is done, we'll be getting a couple of heated beds for the boys next to the windows so they'll be able to sleep in comfort (spoiled much??)

Today they're coming to do the template for the desktop and if I'm remembering correctly we'll need to let them know where we want the wiring holes (I know there's a more appropriate name but whatever).

One of my projects today is to find turntables for the two corner cabinets, they need to have a decent lip on them so things don't fall off but I don't want the "country" look I've been finding.  We also will need to find a two step ladder we can keep in there to get to the top cabinets.

So after much thought and debate we decided that for our anniversary we would redesign our home office.  Oh we talked about going to California wine country or going to one of those all inclusive vacations places, but nothing really said let's go there.

The current set up was completely not working.  Oh we discussed this a few times in the past and got quotes from California Closet and another place, but the designs just didn't seem right.

So we called our friends at Blue Ribbon Residential Construction (www.blue-ribbon-construction.com) to come and help us design a better system.  And as always, John had ideas and suggestions to make this a better office.  As you can see from the picture below the old office was a disaster.

It didn't take long to choose the cabinets (Hickory of course), the tile for under the cabinets and the cabinet hardware.  The tile was a bit tricky this time since I didn't want a kitchen look, but I love the look of glass tiles.  So we compromised, we've got a glass tile as an accent mixed in with ceramic tile.

On Jan. 13th construction began, the painters were here right at 8 am to start work.  They helped move our desks into the sunroom so we could still work during construction.  After an hour or so the office was empty and they began their painting prep.  It was amazing how quickly they got everything done and I'm telling you, the edges are so sharp and clean you could cut yourself on them.  I was worried about the color thinking it would be to dark, but gotta say I absolutely love it.  In less than 4 hours the room had two coats and was drying.  Impressive is all I can say.

The next day the electrician (Dan) and the carpenter (Todd) arrived and the sound of the nail gun and compressor overwhelmed the house.  Poor Manny hid in the bedroom under the bed.  The electrician replaced the halogen under cabinet lighting in the kitchen with LED lighting, it's amazing how bright it is now.  He'll be back in a day or two to do the wiring in the office.  Dan is also installing two pendant lights over our sink in the kitchen.  While the kitchen has decent lighting it's not great for doing dishes and the new pendants will resolve that.  The carpenter is also going to be installing pull out drawers in our kitchen cabinets to make it easier to reach the pans & baking items.  Not a complete kitchen overhaul but some really nice finishing touches.

Here are a few pictures of the progress on the office so far.  In two days we went from this…..

Blank slate

 To This…..

First day's work

Milo checking out the cabinets for us

Server Cabinet

My upper cabinets

Mark's cabinets

Floor to ceiling bookcase