This past Friday we, er Ben, installed the kitchen sink and adjoining cabinets.  Then he called it a night.   First order of business on Saturday: install the stove cabinets and range.  So, Ben hauled out our old clunker and brought in the box with the shiny new stove.  We carefully unwrapped the packaging to discover this:

Yep, a dent on the right side.  Fortunately, this will be hidden behind the cabinet.  Speaking of cabinets, here’s the new beauty sandwiched between two drawer large bays.

Isn’t she pretty?!?  I love the sleek stainless, the industrial style handles, and the huge top.  But installing this baby wasn’t a snap.  The old gas line came out of the floor right behind the left back leg, so the range couldn’t tuck tightly against the wall.  And we encountered another issue because we’re planning on two-inch thick countertops.  Our counters will make the cabinets 1 inch taller than average counters.  The adjustable range legs only go up to one inch.

As a temporary solution until we install the counters, Ben placed the range on wooden blocks.  After the counters are installed, we’ll search out a better solution.  We’re thinking of buying furniture legs for a less trashy custom look.  But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

Now let me brag a little.  First, I love the front left burner.  It’s three-tiered and gigantic.  And the grates cover the entire top to maximize the space.  Oh, and if we ever want to get fancy, we can flip the grate insert for easy wok cooking.  But, the best part is something I didn’t even know about.  Smarties at KitchenAid designed the range to sit just above the counters for a seamless surface.

No more junk falling down the crack.  Wait, that sounded bad.

And here’s what everything looks like right now from the back door.

We’ve got cabinets, but only one drawer installed so far.  But, everything is functional, so we’re a okay.  Now I’m itching to get the rest of the drawers in so I can get everything out of the guest bedroom and start organizing.  Nerd alert.

We’re chugging along, but we still have so much to do.  How about a list to show what’s left to do:

• Install the new dishwasher, which we’re hoping to get on Thursday
• Sand the ceiling and walls smooth
• Build the five remaining drawers we’ve waited on (we needed to see how things were in place before we could build one drawer in the dining room, the trash can pull out, and the under the sink drawer)
• Fill, sand, prime and paint said drawers
• Install every drawer, 16 total
• Buy the wood for the counters which should be in tomorrow
• Haul the wood slabs to a cabinet shop to have them sand both sides smooth
• Cut the wood to fit and install the counters
• Hang the upper cabinets
• Add decorative face trim to all cabinets for a smooth, pretty, even front
• Fill, sand, prime, and paint all cabinet faces
• Build the drawer and cabinet fronts, including two glass front doors
• More filling, sanding, priming, and painting of the cabinet fronts
• Install the drawer fronts and hardware pulls
• Prime and paint the kitchen and living room.  Probably the dining room too.
• Add lights: sconces, recessed light halos, and the rope lighting
• Trim out the posts and door frames
• Add crown molding to the top of the cabinets
• Decide whether we want to add decorative trim to the vent hood or paint it to match the wall color
• Install the pretty new marble tile backsplash
• Put everything back in place and enjoy

Miss a step in our renovation progress?  Read through these posts to get up to date.  

In addition to the kitchen updates, we thought we’d share our Halloween fun.  How ’bout a peek at our pumpkins first?

The eye on this guy popped out while carving, so we made it look intentional with some pumpkin guts hanging out.  Kinda looks like a pig in Angry Birds, no?

He’s just happy.

And this guy’s up to no good.

While we went Trick-or-Treating, Ben was busy installing a few drawers.  We’ll share as we finish more.