An assortment of tasks was completed this week.

++ The flooring transitions were installed between the kitchen ceramic tile and the dining room, foyer, and basement openings.

++ The laundry closet door – a pocket door – was installed.

++ The cabinet toe-kicks (lower trim) were finished.

++ Beadboard was installed on the two walls in the laundry room. I wish I’d had this when the boys were young – it’s so much easier to keep clean than sheetrock.

++ The dishwasher was installed and we used/tested it! But without a sink the prework still had to be done outside.

++ All cabinet shelves in both rooms were installed.

++ The mudding & sanding in the laundry room in preparation for painting walls was done.

++ The wall cleats in the corner behind stove were installed to support the countertop to come.

++ The washer and dryer connections were lowered so they won’t be visible once the appliances and the counter above them are in.

++ The spice cabinet inserts and the pull-out shelf for a lower cabinet were installed. I am so thankful that the contractor offered to do this for me. The pull-out shelf instructions looked complicated and some of the spice shelves required cutting to fit. I’m proud of the spice cabinet – I wanted one set up so that I can see all the spices at once without rifling through layers of containers.

I received a bit of bad financial news on the project this week. The countertop company mistakenly based their pricing on the stove being a freestanding appliance rather than built-in. Because it is built-in, the countertop needs to go around it. As (bad) luck would have it, this change was enough to require a second slab of the quartz and that has an additional cost of nearly $3000. Ouch. There was no point in getting upset – it’s the reality of the situation. From sewing I’ve done in the past, I understand the concept of arranging the pieces to cut out on the fabric and knowing when more material is required. I know they weren’t trying to snooker me and I surely wasn’t trying to be sneaky with them. Just a miscommunication. The woman at the countertop company thanked me multiple times for taking the news so well and that made me wonder what reaction she’s accustomed to receiving.