Kitchen Update

189 days after we began this madness, er, kitchen renovation project we are FINALLY moving into the last stage.  All that is left to do now is install the backsplash and we are D.O.N.E!  EEEE.  I honestly cannot believe we have come this far.  Here's a little reminder of where we started....

And - surprisingly - as rough as it has been over the last 7 months, I feel like the time has flown by.  Weird, right?  Perhaps that is just my own way of coping with all of it.  I imagine that it is common for people to compartmentalize their "trauma" in order to remain a fully functioning individual (or close enough to it).  That must be why women have more than one child!  Haha, only kidding.  I heard a friend of mine say that the other day and I thought that it would fall somewhere around the same category of trauma.  I'll report back on that after the birth of my first child though...... 

But, honestly, the best part about all of this is that we can finally USE the kitchen!  The plus side of that being, obviously, that we can cook and entertain, but the down side is that I have lost all momentum to finish the final stage.  Now that it is an officially "functioning" kitchen, who needs a backsplash?  Right?  Well.... I suppose no one ever really NEEDS a backsplash, but it would definitely help to cover up the mess of wall-board patching that we made while installing the range hood (more on that later). Yikes!  It is really just the act of FINISHING the project that it important. 

So, I purchased the tiles and have planned out the pattern that I want....but I just haven't had a full day lately to devote to this project.  Ok, that's not entirely true.  If I have had any free time, I have tended towards sleeping and/or hanging out with friends and family.  Plus we have been travelling a little the last few weekends.  So much more fun.  Seriously.  So, I haven't "technically" had enough consecutive time to get started on this.  And, although I am no expert at tiling backsplashes (or anything for that matter), I think that it is important to lay them all in one day and then grout the next day.  I am just assuming that if I am using Quickset mortar to adhere the tiles, that is would set quickly....but I'm no rocket scientist.  Hopefully I will get to it this weekend though.  We are pretty wide open so far, which means that I have NO excuses.  Yet.

Like I said yesterday though, I just need to psych myself up and throw in a few little promises.  Like.....if I finish it, then I can get a Snickers Blizzard later!!!  I'm sure Dr. Phil would have a few opinions on that kind of reward motivation, but hey....it works!

So, here we are now, before the tiling project begins.....

See, it's not so bad right?  We can live with it!!  Haha.  The picture is far enough away that you can't see how bad the patching job is around the hood.  Look closely and you can see a box cutout of the wall.  Lovely!  It's really less of a concern that other people can see the behind-the-scenes work of our hood installation, but more of the fact that I KNOW it's there and it will bother me until I cover it up.  I mean, with this whole blog thing, the cats out of the bag....so to speak.  I'm kind of exposing the whole cover-up thing anyway.  But hey, that's the whole point of this thing, right?  Full disclosure, my friends.

I will update you with a progress report early next week....hopefully!  Wish me luck! 

For a look back at the earlier stages of the Kitchen renovation process, check out here, here....oh, and here too!  And for all of the before and afters so far, go here!!

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Update: The backsplash is finished!!!  Check it out here.  We have also changed our plan for the backsplash along the way....so for more information on that, go here.

I've also linked up to Layla's Room Re-do party over at the Lettered Cottage.  Check it out!!