Was off my game yesterday. After spending hours looking at different lighting options at Dial Electric (next to Marukai), I must have been overwhelmed. I don’t have a single picture of any of the lights we looked at. 🙁
Thanks to Kerri for her help and lighting advice.
An unplanned overnight layover in Los Angeles was not welcomed but a stay in the Hilton Los Angeles provided these design tips.
The consensus is resounding for kitchen sink selection. Stainless steel, one big partition with no divider. That’s it. The only wrinkle is over mount or under mount. When done well, an under mounted sink has a clean look, clean lines, and doesn’t detract from the countertop.
Some notes about kitchen faucets for home kitchen renovation.
Like the look of this faucet. Matte, brushed nickel finish is clean and doesn’t show waterspots. Nice height to easily move dishes underneath. Curvy and smooth, but…
The height has a bigger disadvantage of splashing water. Since the water falls from higher up, the stream of water hitting dishes is forceful and splatters all over. The handle on the side isn’t so easy to adjust the force of the water. Â I don’t have the feel for getting the water pressure just right. It’s either too much or too little. It is easy to change the temperature of the water though.
Must look up Hansgrohe brand. Â Product feels solidly made.
The connectedness provided by social media continues to amaze me. I’ve mentioned our kitchen and bathroom renovation here and there, and I’ve already gotten several suggestions and recommendations.
From Namesake, I got feedback about flooring for kitchens. Â On Facebook, I got a message from a classmate who’s a talented architect who offered some suggestions.
Most recently, this tweet fed into my Facebook timeline, and I was told to check with 808 Stone.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/geewhy/status/75451784939831296″]
No, 808 Stone doesn’t have soapstone (which I think is rare in Hawaii), but they do fabricate and install granite countertops. Â No promises, but looking good so far working with this family owned business. Â Keeping fingers crossed…
So… Corian toilet seats really do exist. They’re custom jobs, but it can be done.
Maybe this is a roundabout way of fixing my Corian counter conundrum (sans flames) and get my costs over $1000. 😉
Not part of the home renovation project, but our garage door motor didn’t survive the Rapture “end of the world” weekend. The older Liftmaster 2500 motor has “unique” parts that make repairs atypical. 🙁
Fortunately though, H & H Overhead Door of Oahu was able to fix it. Yay! But they really need to work on communicating better with their staff and customers. There were too many unacknowledged (but received) phone messages and an unacknowledged (but not received) phone message that resulted in a scheduling mixup.
Service guy: “Hello, I’m here to fix your garage door.”
Me: “Um, I’m at work. I left two messages saying I couldn’t be there today.”
The company did accommodate for this faux pax, but still not the best experience for customers. On Yelp, I had to soil their company’s 5-star ratings.
Was all set to buy DuPont Corian countertops for the bathrooms when I hit a snag. At Home Depot, there is a minimum counter purchase of $1000, meaning that for one type of countertop material, it needs to be at least $1000 for the store to accept your order. This applies in Hawaii where its Corian fabricator only sells full sheets and nothing smaller.
I wanted Burled Beach in one bathroom and Lava Rock in another. This means each countertop would have to exceed $1000. The smaller bathroom’s countertop did not past this threshold, so now I’m stuck.
There are some options.
Lowe’s isn’t much better, requiring 25 sq ft of countertops before they accept your order.
What to do?
So many refrigerators out there to look at. We’re going big and French. At least 28 cu ft with French doors. Seems like Samsung and LG own the top spots for French-door refrigerators according to my ghetto scouting at Costco.
Today’s Best Buy ad featured an interesting Samsung with a LCD display capable of running apps. Neat but too many things that could go wrong? Samsung – 28.0 Cu. Ft. French Door Refrigerator with LCD Touch Screen and Apps – Stainless-Steel, Model RF4289HARS. The reviews and ratings look iffy and strange.
But a very intriguing choice might be the LG behemoth known as LFX31925ST. Most refrigerators max out at 28 or 29 cubic feet of storage. But LG has figured out how to get 31 cu ft of space in the same physical footprint of a typical 28-cu ft model. So far, looks like only Home Depot carries this beast, but it hasn’t yet hit Hawaii. According to the Home Depot personnel, this LG should be available very soon. Our refrigerator is stocked with various kinds of milk, full fat, non fat, lactose free, so all this space is needed.
Hold up… seems like LG ain’t the only one with a 31-incher. Within the past 30 days, Sears released its Kenmore Elite 31 cu ft French door refrigerator. Wonder if it’s based on the LG model? Must investigate more since there’s a 30% off Kenmore appliance sale!
Still picking out flooring and countertops for our kitchen and bathroom renovation. Here’s my mini design center. Decisions, decisions…
Already locked into KraftMaid cabinets ordered through Home Depot. Liking Corian for the bathroom countertops and can’t compare the quality of Karndean vinyl. Those wooden planks in the center (cedar on the left and bamboo on the right) are actually vinyl.