Day #5: No More Brady-Bunch Kitchen!!!!

I present to you our "New and Improved" Kitchen!!!

The Sink Area - "Before and After:"

I just *had* to throw in the "Before and After Shot!" Ya gotta have the "Drama!" Check out my earlier blog post for more "Befores."

Sink and Stove Area:

Stove and Fridge Zone:

And detail-shot of new Crown Molding:

The molding actually *does* match the cabinets. I think it's just the angle of the shot that makes the molding look darker. I *really* like the molding! "It's Clee-Assy!"

(And yes, I know the ceiling needs to be repainted - that's an old stain from before we replaced our leaky roof! ;-)

* * * * *

All told, the job took a bit longer than anticipated (five business days - as opposed to three). But then again, it *was* three weeks' ahead of schedule! (Okay, maybe it ended up being two weeks)
("Under-commit and Over-deliver" is a tactic I use, myself, at work!) (It's served me well!)

Anyway - it's all done except for one of the under-cabinet-pull-out thingies. We'd wanted to replace the narrow lower-cabinet (next to the sink) with one that would pull straight-out with built-in-shelves. Turned out that wouldn't work, so we're getting baskets on sliders instead. They should be installed on Friday

All-told. I'm very satisfied with the work. So - if you're in the SanFran Bay Area - I definitely *would* highly recommend Kitchen Tune-Up in Fremont (No, I get NOTHING for the recommendation! I'm just a legitimately happy customer!).

They didn't try to up-sell a bunch of crap we didn't need/didn't want/couldn't afford; No "High-Pressure Sales BS" ("Sign TODAY for the Yaya Bonus"); They answered questions honestly and in a timely manner; They sold us What-We-Wanted for a Price-We-Could-Afford; They cleaned up, every day - and minimized the chaos in the house (Most of the chaos was self-induced!!!).

BTW - They would have "re-faced" without requiring a complete "purge" of the cabinets. But I wanted the interiors painted white (something I would highly recommend if you have soul-sucking dark cabinets like we did!), so the "purge" was necessary (and ultimately a Good Thing - when you consider how much "expired" stuff I found - and had to dispose of!!!)

What was amazing was: I'd planned on taking half-vacation-days through "the ordeal" (and I'd blocked three "No-Meeting" days for the scheduled duration), but it turned out I didn't have to! I was still able to work on my work-stuff alongside the workers who were refacing the kitchen. Most of the work was pretty quiet (Okay, there were a couple of days where the pneumatic nailer got to be a bit much!). But they were also very flexible. When their work ran-over (into Monday-Tuesday of this week), there were several times where I had Client Conference Calls scheduled... I simply asked them if they could avoid using the nail-gun for those specified hours - and they worked with me on it! All-told, it was about as painless as it could be!!!

My final "plug" for Kitchen Tune-Up Fremont: They Did What They Said They'd Do - When They Said They'd Do It! (Gee, what a concept!). And Isaac, the owner, is just an All-Around Nice Guy!

It seems almost weird that what should be considered "Basic Common Sense in Business" strikes me as being such a rarity these days!!! (It really does - particularly after all the pure bullsh*t I went through while I was gathering bids!!!).

Bottom Line: I am a Happy Camper!

Now, if somehow all of this crap would find it's way back into the cupboards.................

:::sigh:::

(There's just no pleasing me!!!)