So, you think you can Design?

On Valentines Day, 2010, Mark and I were having our 2nd Annual Valentine's Day lobster roll meal at Sam's in Half Moon Bay. Over lunch I announced my desire to purchase the Eichler home we had just viewed. This was shocking, a huge surprise to Mark. Prior to seeing this particular home, we were having serious discussions about moving back to Denver or maybe up to Seattle or Portland (all 3 locations are places where modern homes are a-plenty and cost a heck-of-a-lot less than here). We called our awesome realtor, Mark Easterday http://www.themeshnetwork.com/ from lunch and said "We'll take it!" Mark and I purchased our Eichler home in April 2010.

In October we embarked on our first home project, the backyard! Mark Easterday referred us to Monika http://www.mscapedesign.com/index.html to design and manage our new yard. We were so thrilled by the result. What was the most impactful was the realization that changes to the space brought positive changes to how we felt about our home. Now, we were ready to take on the Kitchen!!

For the past 2 months, Mark and I have been searching for the materials to be used in our new kitchen. I must say, I anticipated more stress than what we experienced. I attribute that to the fact that we have a shared vision. Generally, we agree on the overall desired outcome and more specifically, we agree on the Feeling we want from the new space. Here is a sample of the wood cabinet, glass tile backsplash and the "Blizzard" quartz counter tops:

So, today we have begun packing up the kitchen. It will be demo-d on Monday. Like, empty. Gutted. GONE. We're setting up a small area in a guest bedroom where we can still have a microwave, mini fridge, coffee maker and single burner. But, for the most part, we will be eating every lunch and dinner out for the next Month!! Stay tuned for updates on how that goes.

On Monday, our contractor, the talented Farid Azari, will demo the kitchen. Then on Tuesday he will lay new flooring in the kitchen and possibly the rest of the house (but we may wait to do that after the kitchen is done). Next comes the building of the Ikea cabinets... all 256 pieces. See Pic:

Those get hung/installed. Then some minor electrical and plumbing will be needed, counters measured, cut and laid, appliances installed, backsplash, underlighting... it's a TON of stuff! And that is why I want to blog about it. I want to share photos of the progress and have an outlet for our thoughts and feelings through this process. Don't get me wrong, I am SO excited to have this done, but it is a bit scary to imagine coming home Monday evening and there is nothing where a kitchen used to be. Yikes and Yay!