Laundry & Dining Room Progress

Handan’s birthday is coming up, so I went out and did the most sensible thing I could think of: I bought myself a new camera.

Eh? What’s that now?

Oh! What about Handan’s gift? Oh, well, I’m sure she’d want me to have this new camera instead of buying a big gift for her, right? I mean, the joy that the new camera gives me should be gift enough for her, right?

Yeah, I think so, too.

When I got my new camera unwrapped and loaded with a battery and lens, I followed the solemn ritual that photographers have been doing since the invention of the single lens reflex camera: I swiveled in my chair, pointed the lens at my dogs, and took my first two pictures.

As you can see, Penny was thrilled with my new acquisition.

And Pepper could barely control her enthusiasm.

I can’t wait to use the new camera for all our project beauty shots! In fact, I already started using for the last post I did about the Gilded Bowl Centerpiece.

Okay, enough about my new toy serious work tool, let’s see what’s happening with the laundry room renovation and the dining room makeover.

Laundry Room

The laundry room is moving along slowly but surely. We started by removing the old counter that I had built.

Then we tore out the two little closet wings, and we removed the drywall from the walls we’d be working on and around.

As you can see, we removed the basement door. Our original plan was to make the door swing the other way – into the stairwell – but we decided a pocket door would look even better!

You never know what you’ll find when you rip down some drywall. We certainly didn’t expect to find a framed window in the exact spot we were planning to put one! What are the odds of that?

There are some plumbing pipes that need to be moved a little, and the utility sink will need new plumbing lines installed. For that job and the window installation, we’ll get a professional to help us out. I know my limitations and my propensity to measure twice (incorrectly) and cut once.

We looked everywhere for cabinets that would fit what we were looking for, but we came up empty. There were a few options that came close, but the look wasn’t what we were going for. In the end, I’ve decided to design and build the cabinetry myself. What can I say? I’m all about self-torture! I will also build the enclosure for the stacked washer and dryer.

Oh yeah, speaking of the washer and dryer, I want to tell you a little story.

Handan and I were 80% sure that we wanted to stack the washer and dryer when I published my Laundry Room Renovation Plan post last week. There was still a chance that Handan would change her mind, but in the end, we went with the stacking plan. They are even stacked in the mood board she made.

The Samsung washer and dryer she used in the mood board were not the same model as we have. They are much newer, but they look pretty similar and the color is the same. Once we were committed to stacking them, I ordered a stacking kit for Samsung 27 inch front-load washers and dryers.

The kit arrived two days later, and we tried to attach the brackets to the bottom of the dryer as shown in the instructions. No matter what we tried, we couldn’t get the bracket to fit. Stranger yet, it wasn’t like the fit was off by just a little, we couldn’t even find the holes they were referencing!

I measured the machines again. Yep, 27 inches. Then I measured the depth. It was 30 inches. I went back online and saw they made a 30 inch kit. Perhaps they meant depth instead of width for their measurement? That had to be it, so I ordered the 30 inch kit.

When that arrived two days later, we again tried and failed to install it. What the heck was up with our stupid machines? They are only 4 years old. Is that so out of date that we couldn’t source parts for them? Handan went directly to Samsung’s website, bypassing Amazon. There she found the answer. Though our machine was indeed 27 inches wide, and though that is how they are measuring for the stacking kits, apparently there are two different 27 inch stacking kits, for two different ranges of models. Ours obviously was not the model that the kit we bought was designed for. Handan put the other 27 inch kit in her cart, and was about to buy it. But she wanted to be sure, so we both went to the laundry room to check our exact model number. We found it inside the door of the dryer, but it was written small, so Handan had to take a picture with her phone so we could read it.

Anyone with just a fragment of brain matter should be able to figure out why we were having such issues with the Samsung stacking kits.

Fortunately, Handan realized our boob-headed blunder before buying a third Samsung stacking kit. We laughed ourselves silly over our shared brain fart and ordered the correct stacking kit. From General Electric.

Dining Room

It’s been a while since our last dining room makeover post. You probably thought I forgot all about it.

I wish.

Just kidding. Things slowed down a bit, as we were waiting for some materials to arrive. I’ll be building a console for the wall behind the dining table. The console will be built around some awesome turned legs that Handan ordered a while back. They look amazing, and I’m looking forward to putting them into use. I’ll be planning the rest of the console and building it later this week, I hope.

I bought a beautiful piece of cypress for the top. I think it’s going to look fantastic. I can’t wait to show it to you!

Oooooh, speaking of “can’t wait to show it to you,” I’m this close to finishing the restoration of this antique cabinet we bought 3 years ago.

It should have finished yesterday, but for another one of my bone-headed mistakes. The new cabinet will feature glass shelves. I had them custom made about a month ago, and they’ve been wrapped tightly ever since. Yesterday we brought them out to install into the finished cabinet.

Handan put on rubber gloves so she wouldn’t mar the surface. She approached the cabinet and carefully laid the glass shelf upon the metal support pins.

Except the glass didn’t stretch from pin to pin. It was too short. An inch too short. Somehow I’d botched the simple job of measuring the cabinet.

Give a monkey a tape measure, and you’ll get a more accurate measurement than I could ever give you.

So it’s back to the glass store today with hat in hand while I plead my case.

But here’s a little teaser just to whet your appetite. Because this project is dynamite. I really can’t wait to show you. It’s a knockout.

I know, I know, I’m hardly showing you anything but wooden boob. Well, I did say “teaser,” didn’t I?

Click here to see this awesome restoration!