Project Kitchen: New Counters

It's taken about 5 months of planning, searching, selecting and, finally, our new granite counters were installed last week.

The day of installation, we made sure all the counters and lower cabinets were clear and the drawers removed. The sink and dishwasher were disconnected the day before (hence the cardboard lid over the sink - our visual reminder to not dump anything in there).

Removal of the existing laminate counters and installation of the new granite counters & undermount sink took only a few hours. I missed seeing it all, but the boys were there and Dylan gave me plenty of sound effects as he excitedly retold what happened. Apparently a good bit of power tools were involved. What little boy doesn't love power tools?

We had to leave them alone (i.e., nothing could be put back on top) until the next day to allow the adhesive to set up. This also meant the plumbing wasn't reconnected until then. I did plenty of staring after. It was such a drastic change. I never liked the blue laminate and, brace yourself, the new color name is "azul platino" and is from Spain. Yes, "azul" means "blue" in Spanish so you'd think I would have run from such a color, but really it's a gorgeous gray blend with little flecks within. Add this color change and the shine of the granite - the room reflects so much more light and feels brighter. Also it coordinates nicely with our new stainless steel appliances (still waiting to replace the microwave & range) and helps tie it all together.

We lucked out when ordering our counters that the current special was a free edge upgrade. Any edge option was available at no additional charge. We opted for the "double radius" and are pleased with the choice. It's a nice smooth finish. I'm thinking probably extra good with little ones in the house. No sharp corners anywhere.

Projects to still tackle - tiling of the backsplash, replacement of the island and painting the cabinets. I plan to do the backsplash myself and have to pick a tile. I have a couple of ideas and will hopefully find time to tackle it before my belly gets much bigger! In the meantime, I'm happy to live with the exposed gyp board around the room that was previously covered by the backsplash on the laminate. I didn't want to pay for a granite backsplash that I knew we'd eventually tear out.

The island will wait a bit. The size of the current one and fact it was installed crooked (something that drives me batty) are why we didn't replace the counter on it too. We're looking for options that aren't as deep (right now if you open either the dishwasher or refrigerator, you completely block access to that side) but a tad longer. Thinking we'll do a butcher block top. The other catch is when we do this, we'll have to replace the floor too as the sheet vinyl installed just before we bought the house is, of course, cut around the island. Changing the size, placement of the island will leave an exposed area.

A quick look back & comparison of the before taken last Tuesday morning and an after shot I took yesterday.

Next step - pick the backsplash tile.