I’ve been pretty delinquent in posting over the last few weeks, but here are the “before” and “after” pictures of the new kitchen sink Chad got me for Christmas!

The "Before" Picture

The "After" Picture

We finally got around to installing the new sink about a month ago and it took the better part of a day, but it was well worth the work (and the wait).  I love how shiny and fresh the new sink looks in comparison to the old one, which was so marred up it never looked quite clean.

Removing the Old Sink

The installation process was pretty easy.  We started by disconnecting all of the drain and supply lines for the sink andremoving the garbage disposal from under the sink.  We then used a razor blade and putty knife to break the seal under the rim of the sink.  It took some prying, but we were eventually able to break it free from the counter and lift it out of the opening.  We then cleaned all around the opening (it was pretty nasty looking with all of the old rusty caulk still there from the old sink) and did a test fit with the new stainless steel sink.  After making a trip to Lowe’s to pick up replacement drain pieces, supply lines, a faucet, and drain trim kits, we decided it would be easiest to

Cleaning Off the Old Caulk

start by installing the drain trim kits and the faucet on the sink before installing the sink in the counter.  Once the drains and faucet were installed, we then attached the clips to the bottom of the sink, placed a bead of silicone around the opening, and dropped the sink in place.  From below the sink, we then tightened the clips to hold the sink tight against the counter top.  We had some trouble with this since the opening in our counter top wasn’t quite centered over the base cabinet, so we weren’t able to get to any of the clips on the left side of the sink to tighten them, but it turned

Installing the Drain Kits

out that the clips on the other three sides were enough to hold it in place, so that wasn’t a problem.  With the sink in place, we then reconnected the drains and supply lines and reinstalled the garbage disposal.  After checking for leaks, the installation was complete.

When we were installing the sink, we decided it was just as easy to install a new faucet as the old one, so we decided to go with something new to match the sink a little better.  We got a Moen “Quinn” style (model 87845CSL) faucet in a stainless steel finish.  I love how tall it is because it makes the sink feel so much larger and makes washing big pots and pans a lot easier, but it does lead to a lot more splashing and water on the counter top.  The only problem we’ve had with it so far was right after we installed it.  The faucet made a noise a lot like water hammer when we turned it on.  Reducing the water pressure at the shut off valve for the sink made the problem less noticable and, since then, it seems to have gone away almost completely and we’ve been able to increase the water pressure again without any problems.  We’re not sure what caused it … just glad that it doesn’t seem to be a problem any more.

It’s probably been a couple of months ago now that we decided to update the look of our kitchen by replacing the cabinet hardware, but I just realized that I never posted follow-up pictures, so here they are:

The "Before" Picture

The "After" Picture

Close-up of the New Pulls

The new cabinet pulls are the Gatehouse Aged Bronze Strap Pulls from Lowe’s, which were on sale for about $2.50 a piece when we bought them.  So, for about $100, we were able to update the look of our kitchen by replacing the polished brass with something that blends in with the cabinets a lot better.  The old handles and back plates are still in pretty good shape (they actually still sell them at Lowe’s for a little more than $5.00 a set), so we’ll probably donate them to our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

For Christmas, Chad surprised me with a new kitchen sink!  We haven’t installed it yet, but I’m really excited about it.  The sink we have now is an almond-colored porcelain sink that’s completely functional, but the finish is all scuffed and marred and I can’t get it to come off.  The caulking around the sink is pretty nasty, too, and needs to be re-done.  As we’ve started to replace and fix-up other things in the kitchen, the sink is really starting to stand out and become something of an eye-sore, so I’m really excited about replacing it.

Nasty caulking on the kitchen sink.

The sink is all scuffed up, too.

The new sink Chad got me is a standard Elkay stainless steel one that I shouldn’t have any problems keeping clean and shiny.  I can’t wait to see what it looks like in our kitchen!

The new sink!

We recently decided it was time to install a new dishwasher in our kitchen. This is the second one we’ve put in (we replaced the one on our old house too) and the process was pretty similar in both cases.

Here’s a copy of the installation instructions for the Bosch SHX43M0xUC dishwasher we just installed. We wound up making a few modifications to the process because of the location of our electrical and water supply lines. Here are the steps we followed in case anyone else finds them useful:

Removing the Old Dishwasher

Remove the kick plate panel by first removing the screws connecting it to the dishwasher.

Removing the kick plate

Flip the breaker for the dishwasher and verify that there is no power going to it. This took several tries for us … we had two breakers labeled “Dishwasher” and neither of them actually powered the dishwasher.

Locating the breaker for the dishwasher

Disconnect the electrical from the dishwasher by removing the junction box cover, removing the wire nuts connecting the hot and neutral wires to the dishwasher, and disconnecting the ground. Then loosen and remove the strain relief connecting the electrical wire to the strain relief plate and feed the wire through the strain relief plate to completely disconnect it from the dishwasher.

Unhooking the electrical connection

Locate the shut-off valve for the supply line and turn off the water supply.

The shut-off valve for the hot water supply

Disconnect the supply line from the dishwasher. In our case, we had trouble loosening this connection from the old dishwasher, so we chose to disconnect the supply line from the copper pipe in the basement and feed it up through the floor in order to remove the dishwasher. We were then able to remove the braided supply line from the dishwasher after it was pulled out from between the cabinets.

Detaching the supply line

Disconnect the drain hose. It’s a good idea to have a bucket handy for this part to catch any water still in the drain hose.

Detatching the drain connection

Remove the screws from the brackets attaching the dishwasher to the counter top.

Remove the Screws Connecting the Dishwasher to the Counter

Adjust the leveling feet and slide the dishwasher out from the opening in the cabinets, being careful not to scratch the floor. We found it useful to use the cardboard from the new dishwasher for sliding the old (and new) dishwashers in to and out from between the cabinets.

Removing the Dishwasher

Installing the New Dishwasher

Unpack the new dishwasher and remove the kick plate panel. It was so cold when ours arrived that the inside was covered in frost.

Unpacking the new dishwasher

Adjust the front leveling feet to the approximate height needed for the installation and connect the drain tube to the back of the dishwasher.

Adjusting the leveling feet

Test fit the dishwasher in the opening to verify that the electrical and water supply line connections can be made. When sliding the dishwasher into place, feed the drain tube into the cabinet under the sink, leaving any extra tubing coiled behind the dishwasher. If necessary, mark the location of new holes to be drilled for running the water and electrical lines to the dishwasher. Slide the dishwasher out and drill the new holes. Then put the dishwasher back in place.

Relocating the electrical and water supply lines in the basement

Make the electrical connection by connecting the strain relief to the strain relief plate, feeding the electrical wire through it, and clamping it tight so that the electrical wire is held in place. Then, connect the hot, neutral, and ground wires to the dishwasher and replace the junction box cover.

Making the Electrical Connection

Connect the hot water supply line by attaching a 90-degree elbow joint to the dishwasher using thread seal tape and then connecting the braided supply line to the elbow joint.

Connecting the Hot Water Supply Line

Connect the drain tube to the drain under the kitchen sink. Our set-up is a little different than the typical arrangement where the dishwasher drains through the garbage disposal or kitchen sink drain, but the idea is the same.

Connecting the Drain

Finish leveling the dishwasher and attach it to the counter. Our dishwasher had a screw in front for adjusting the back leveling leg which made the process of leveling it much easier.

Attaching to the Counter Top

Restore power and water to the dishwasher and check for leaks by starting a cycle and then canceling it so that the dishwasher fills and then drains.
Install the kick plate by screwing it in place.

The Newly-Installed Dishwasher

Last week, we decided we’d finally had enough of the nastiness that was our old dishwasher and concluded it was time to upgrade.  Our old dishwasher was a KitchenAid that really didn’t look all

The Old Dishwasher

that old or particularly abused and we’d had pretty good luck with a KitchenAid that we’d installed in our old house, so we were a little reluctant to give in to the fact that it just wasn’t working right.  After using it for a little more than a year, though, the dishes were still coming out with food particles stuck to them … glasses had always been a challenge, but it was even to the point where the plates weren’t getting clean any more.  So, we decided it was time to give up on the KitchenAid and try something different.

We started our research with the Consumer Reports Buying Guide, which recommended the Kenmore 1374x and the Bosch SHE33M0xUC as “CR Best Buys” under $1000.  Since we’d had problems with the old KitchenAid dishwasher and also because Consumer Reports listed them as a brand more likely to need repairs, we decided to not consider any models of that brand.  Between the Kenmore and Bosch models, we really liked the fact that the Bosch had a stainless steel interior at a much lower price than it was available in the Kenmore models.  It also seemed that the Bosch dishwashers consistently got good reviews and high marks for their ability to clean dishes efficiently and quietly, so we decided to go with a Bosch for our next dishwasher.

Although the SHE33M0xUC model (part of Bosch’s Evolution line) was the model reviewed and recommended by Consumer Reports, we had trouble finding one at Lowe’s or Sears and there weren’t any other local retailers that carried the Bosch brand.  After looking at the models in stores, though, we also decided that we liked the controls being hidden on the top of the dishwasher panel instead of the front, so even if we could have found the exact model reviewed by Consumer Reports, we probably would have purchased something a little different …

We had a little trouble identifying the differences between all of the models in the Bosch product line, but the best we could tell was that the higher priced models were a little quieter, came with more flexible rack configurations, and maybe added a cycle or two.  Otherwise, they all appeared to be about the same dishwasher.  We wound up buying the SHX43M0xUC dishwasher, which is part of the Integra line (with hidden controls) in black.  It’s rated at 54 decibels and is significantly quieter than our old dishwasher (which I didn’t think was loud).  The Bosch has also done a great job of cleaning the dishes so far.  It’s definitely an improvement overwhat we were working with before – I haven’t had to re-wash anything!  One negative I read in a lot of reviews of the dishwasher was with respect to the “Condensation Drying” feature, which others felt left the dishes too wet when the cycle completed.  For us, the drying of the Bosch dishwasher seems as good or better than the “Energy Saving Dry” feature of our KitchenAid and we’ve got no complaints.

The New Dishwasher

The only couple of places where we see room for improvement are the fact that there’s no light on the front of the dishwasher to indicate whether or not the cycle is complete (which is hard to tell since it’s silent during the drying cycle) and that the silverware basket is positioned in the middle of the bottom rack and can’t be relocated, which makes loading the dishwasher a little more challenging.  Both of these gripes, however, are addressed in the upper models of the Bosch line if we’d been willing to pay a little more.

All-in-all, we’re really happy with the decision to purchase the Bosch so far.  It’s an amazing improvement over the old dishwasher, for sure!

I’d like to update the hardware on the kitchen cabinets to something that doesn’t stand out quite as much as what we have now.  I think I’d like to do something with an antiqued finish since it seems like it would fit better with the rest of our house than something real shiny or modern, but I was surprised at the lack of options at the hardware stores.  It seems like most of the ones with an antiqued finish also have some unusual shape or theme to them … or they’re just too rustic.  I found a couple last weekend that I liked, though, so I brought them home to see what would work best and I also tried just taking the back plate off of our existing hardware to see what that would look like.  Here’s a photo of all of the options:

The handle on the right door is how all of them are now, with a shiny handle and back plate.  The right drawer is the same handle without the backplate.  The ones on the left are the new ones I bought to see how they’d look.  I think I’m leaning toward the one on the left drawer the because it updates the finish to something that blends in a little more, but is still big enough to cover most of the area on the cabinets that’s discolored because it was covered by the back plate.  It seems like the discoloration starts to fade after a while, so I’m not real worried about it, but I don’t really like how the narrower one on the left door shows so much of the discoloration now.  I do like the current handle without the backplate a lot better than with it, but I think I prefer the darker finish after seeing it against the cabinets.

When we installed the new binds in the kitchen a couple of weeks ago, we had to take down the old curtain rod that had been there so there would be room to mount the shades.  The old curtain rod was one of the standard white metal ones that was too small for the rod pocket of the valance I’d hung there and I’d been thinking about getting something different anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal that it had to come down.

After we started looking at our options for decorative rods, though, we quickly realized that there weren’t many options with small enough finials on the ends to fit between the end of the window and the corner of the room.  The only rod we found that was long enough for the window, had small enough ends to fit past the corner, and had brackets with enough clearance for the shades was this Allen + Roth “sheer rod set” at Lowe’s.  I saw it online first and was pretty excited to also find it at our local store, so I bought a curtain rod and a couple sets of the clip rings in the iron bronze finish last weekend.

When I got the curtain rod home and started unpacking it to hang it on the wall, I was pretty disappointed in the quality.  The finish flaked off of one of the mounting brackets as I was unpacking it.  We decided it wasn’t worth the hassle of exchanging it, so we went ahead and mounted it with the now shiny silver side facing up where we figured no one would ever see it.  We also figured out pretty quickly that the finish scratches off of the rod really easily just during the process of getting it hung because you have to slide the entire length of the rod through the mounting brackets and the brackets are rough enough on the inside where the set screws go to take the finish off.  If we had it to do again, I think putting a piece of tape on the inside of the brackets before sliding the curtain rod through would have made a big difference.

Once we had the curtain rod installed, I hung the valance from the clip rings (which the finish was also flaking off of), but had terrible luck adjusting it so that it didn’t look like a short shower curtain hanging above the kitchen windows.  Today I finally decided the rings had to go and took the whole thing down again to get the rings off and hang the curtain directly on the rod instead.  Because the mounting brackets are solid circles around the poles, I wound up having to cut holes in the rod pocket of the valance to accommodate the mounting brackets, but once I got it all positioned right on the rod again, I think it looks a lot better.  I’m not sure if I didn’t spend enough time on it or didn’t have enough clips or what, but I wasn’t able to get it to look anything like any of the pictures I’ve seen that I thought looked good … or even as good as what you see on the home shows on tv.  What a disappointment!

I think next time we’re in the market for a new curtain rod, we’ll be trying a different brand, but at least we have curtains up in the kitchen again … and it’s nice to not see the tops of the shades anymore …

I ordered new roman shades for our kitchen last weekend and we spent yesterday afternoon putting them up.  The roman shades I ordered were the Cape Cod shades from JCPenney in the Golden Oak color.  Because we were concerned about keeping the appearance consistent between these shades and others on the front of our house, I also ordered privacy liners from Target.

The privacy liner is velcroed to the top of the shade

Installing the privacy liners on the back of the roman shades was the first thing we did yesterday.  It was pretty simple.  We laid the shades out on the floor with the back facing up and then placed the liner over the top of the shade so that it was positioned how we’d want it when it was attached.  The liners are just a white sheet of fabric with battons at various intervals down the length.  Based on some feedback I’d read on the Target website and a comment in the instructions that came with them, I decided to iron them before attaching them to the shade to give them a less wrinkled appearance from the outside.  The liners are then attached to the back of the roman shade with velcro at the top of the shade and some plastic clips along the length of the shade.  The instructions said to attach the velcro to the top of the

Plastic clips attach the liner to the shade.

back of the shade and then secure it with some tacks that were provided.  Our shade didn’t have a good place to attach the velcro on the back of the shade, so we opted to attach it to the top of the headrail instead.  We also decided not to tack the velcro in because positioning it on the headrail seemed like it would keep the liner in place just fine.  The rest of the liner then attached to the shades with the plastic clips provided, which clipped the liner to the strings on the back of the shade at various intervals.  It only took about 5 minutes a shade to install the liner and I think it was worth it.  They look about like white sheets from the outside, but they do make the window treatments look more neutral, so I think it was worth it to put them up – I think we’d notice seeing the wooden color from outside a lot more and not like it.

The kitchen windows with privacy liners on the shades.

The mounting brackets for the roman shades.

Installation of the shades wasn’t too bad either.  We did an outside mount, but wound up not mounting the shades too much higher than the windows.  I was initially concerned about the fact that the shades were a standard 72″ long while our windows are only 53″ long, but it turns out that it looks pretty natural for roman shades to not be lowered completely, so we decided just to go with it and not try to shorten them or mount them higher to compensate.  The blinds are hung with two brackets that mount into the window trim and provide bolts for the shade to be secured to using a wing nut.  The brackets and nuts provide some room for adjustments as far as centering the shade on the window and even straightening it a little.  Overall, installation of the blinds was pretty easy.  It took longer than we thought it should (as always), but there wasn’t anything difficult about it.

The new kitchen shades!

As part of the installation, we had to remove the curtain we’d had up in the kitchen before because the supports for the curtain rod were in the way of where the blinds needed to be mounted, so they haven’t gone back up yet.  I think we still need a valance of some type, but I’m planning to get another curtain rod that can be mounted a little higher (probably above the windows) so it won’t be in the way of the shades.  I need to find something that has enough clearance for the blinds to be underneath the valance and not interfere with it.  We’re also limited because the windows are right up next to the corner of the room and most of the curtain rods that are long enough to span all three windows have pretty big finials on each end that won’t fit.  I found these on the Lowe’s website that I kind of like, but there’s not much information posted about them, so I need to go to the store to see if I can figure out how big the finials actually are and how much clearance the curtain rod will give for the blinds:

New curtain rod for the kitchen valance?

I’d really like to replace the hardware on our kitchen cabinets with something a little less gold, but we took one of the handles off tonight and discovered that the door and drawer fronts are discolored where the metal plate had been behind the handles.  I’d really like to not have to use backplates with the new hardware, but I’m afraid it will look worse to see the discoloration behind the handles if we don’t put new ones on.

Anyone have any thoughts on how to make it not as noticeable without having to refinish the cabinets?

I finally broke down yesterday and placed an order for shades for a few rooms in the house.  Now that it’s getting dark earlier, I’m starting to feel more self conscious about the fact that we have nothing in the way of our neighbors watching us eat dinner at the kitchen table every night.  So, I decided it was time to finally order some blinds for the windows in our kitchen and laundry room (which have been blind-less since we moved in last fall) and a replacement blind for the bathroom in our attic, which has had a lacy see-through shade until now.

For the kitchen windows, I decided on the Cape Code roman shades from JCPenney, in the Golden Oak color.  I ordered a standard size (since custom is so much more expensive) and I’m planning to do an outside mount with them so I’ll have a little more flexibility about how high they’re mounted.  The windows are only 57″ tall, but the standard length for the blinds was 72″, so I’m not sure if it will look weird to have the extra material at the bottom or not.  It doesn’t sound like they come with instructions for shortening the blinds, but I looked at them in the store for a while and I think it wouldn’t be too hard to do if I needed to.  Because the rest of our shades look white from the outside, I also ordered some white privacy liners for roman shades from Target.  They come in the same size as the blinds and it sounds like they clip on the back pretty easily.  I’m not really concerned about privacy since it seems like the blinds are woven pretty tightly, so all I’m looking for is just a uniform appearance from the front of the house.  Hopefully they’ll do the trick.

For the second floor laundry room, I wound up having to order some custom shades because the window sizes are so non-standard, but there were only two windows, so it wasn’t too pricey.  For that room I ordered 1″ Levalor Mark I cordless aluminum mini blinds to match the ones in the front bedroom just opposite it.  The blinds that we already have in the bedroom were installed by the previous owner, so I took a one of them down yesterday to get the color and style from the sticker inside the head rail of the blind.  The color we ordered is called “White Cap” and it’s a slightly creamier color than the standard shade of white, so it matches the trim a little better.  I just hope they haven’t changed the color over the last few years or we could be in for a surprise!

We also ordered a single 1″ Natural Basswood wooden blind from JCPenney (like the ones in the picture, except for in white) for the bathroom on the third floor.  We have one of these in a bathroom on the main floor and we like it a lot for a bathroom, so we thought we’d stick with something we already know we like.  We were able to order a standard size for this one too and, since shortening mini blinds is fairly standard, I’m pretty sure it’ll work out ok for the bathroom.

Anyway, in the next week or so, we should have lots of blinds arriving in the mail.  I’m so excited to finally get some window treatments up and have some privacy from the neighbors!