Lost Post: Zodiaq installation

Things were so busy at HH last month, that I never got a chance to get some photos up of the unusual process we went through when our Zodiaq countertops were installed. When they say engineered stone counters, they aren't kidding. Our installers used the latest technology to measure our layout, so the slabs can be cut and manufactured off site. Once we placed the order, they came out and measured with plans to install about 10 days later.

In order to get the proper layout and exact wall dimensions to ensure the counters fit every nook and cranny, their field measurements were done using... a camera? No really! Here's how it works. They had circular stickers about 6" in diameter that were plastered along the backsplash area of the walls above our countertops. These black and white stickers looked like some kind of high-contrast mini dart boards. There were also fancy sliding tools that were laid out at diagonals along the tops of our cabinets.

Witnessing this bizarre process, I asked the measurer guy if I could take some photos for our blog. He replied, "As long as you let me take some photos too." And he pulled out a digital camera and started taking photos from all sorts of angles like mad. It was like some kind of runway photo shoot. The flashes were blinding... but where was Giselle? SIGH ...

In all, there were probably around 50 photographs. Apparently, once the measurer got back to the shop, he simply loaded all photos into a software program, which read the targets and translated them into exact dimensions in a CAD program. My incredulous response was met with an "I've seen this before" look, and once he was done photographing, he took out a tape measure and measured the general dimensions "just to verify," but I think this was really a token effort to appease me.

A week and a half later, when the installers showed up with the actual cut pieces, they slipped into place like a glove. There was only one seam between our stove and sink in the entire installation, which is now hardly noticeable. The Zodiaq counters went in really quickly. Silicon adhesive everywhere, a shim here, a faucet hole there, bada bing, bada boom. And a few hours later, our Cappucino counters were done!

Special thanks to the guys at Sprovieri's for doing a professional job throughout the process.

KITCHENY GOODNESS

We're so close now we can taste it. And by it I am of course referring to the three cakes, 64 cupcakes and two batches of muffins I have successfully produced in the kitchen.

Sadly, I seem to have lost my ability to cook, however. My attempt at Tuscan Chicken with a mushroom wine reduction went horribly wrong (hey, guess what, the smoke alarm works!) and I even managed to burn eggs the other morning. Who knew four months out of commission would kill my cooking memory? Well, maybe once I get used to the BEAUTY of this new space my skills will come running back.

In the meantime, we've got several punch list items left, including finishing the electrical, adding trim to the cabinets, windows, doors and floor, hanging shelves in the nook, getting the couch, stools and tv for the sitting area, and more, but we're this close. Below are some photos to whet your appetite for more - BON APPETIT!




TOPS ARE IN

Now we just have to teach Cosmo about not being allowed on the countertops!!!

Color Me Svelte ...

Well, our kitchen, anyway. We finally settled on paint colors AND countertop choice - YAY! David Gulyas (see post below) brought over the complete Sherwin Williams collection for us to go through with large swatches for each, which was overwhelming but ultimately fun. David coached us through some good color selections. We went back and forth quite a bit, whittling it down to our final choices, but finally have a full palette for the kitchen. Check it out!



We ended up getting the paint matched elsewhere - SW is a little pricey for our dear little pocketbook. (Jay, wanna post about the horrors and the goods?) We're finishing priming this evening, and then Jason's sister graciously offered up her mad skills (and that of her beau) to paint on Friday, which means we'll be ready for hanging the cabinets this weekend! Things are finally coming together, and I just can't tell you how excited I am!!!!

Countertops and Color Schemes

Let the kitchen decorating begin! Over the holidays we managed to get the walls up and prime them to be ready for decoration. We're currently having the original maple floors patched where the rooms were combined and refinished by the fine gents at Elm Floor from Elmwood Park who came highly recommended to us. That leaves us time to decide things that, in all honesty, should have probably been done a long time ago. Well, it was hard to visualize how the space and colors will be working together until we had a blank canvas.
While browsing many kitchen design photos, we noticed that light cabinetry generally is paired with dark countertops, and dark cabinetry generally has lighter countertops. Since we already have elected to go with dark cherry cabinets (currently taking up residence in our living room), we thought we were pretty well pigeoned into a light coutnertop. Besides, its a small space, and we didn't want too many dark colors to become overwhelming and claustrophobic. Another plus is that a lighter surface doesn't reveal how dirty they are as easily as dark surfaces (as we learned from having black appliances in our condo!), so we can wait longer before cleaning it!

We went to our local KDA and looked at some Zodiaq samples, and found a style called "Cappucino" that really was great against Cherry cabinets. I've succumbed to the fact that we simply don't have the budget to purchase IceStone counters, as much as I love the idea of having beer-bottle-based countertops. But Zodiaq is a great alternative that is still green, harder than granite, and requires almost no maintenance.

However, some darker (midtone?) counters, such as a rich green, end up looking really sharp with cherry cabinets. I mean REALLY sharp, as we found out by looking at the "Magellen Green" Zodiaq sample in the store. We didn't think much of this color by looking at the brochure (or web site for that matter), but this just proves that it is hard for the web or print to capture the look of these stone-ish counters, especially the abstract "sparkle factor" that Jen loves so much.


I think we've pretty much decided that it is down to these two counter colors. Kudos to Jen for the awesome mockups of our kitchen space with cabinet layouts with both counters done by hand in Adobe Illustrator. It's good to have a graphic designer in the family! Once we decide on the counters, we can figure out colors on the walls that will encapsulate them.

Reclaimed Vanity

As our new dormer bathroom as nearing completion, we started looking for cabinetry. Although our width was a standard 6 feet wide, we only planned for one sink and it would need to be not centered but right-justified. We quickly found prices for just cabinetry escalating to the $500-800 stratosphere, and that was without a countertop or sink!

So we started scouring demolition sales, ebay, and Craigslist, and lo and behold, a nice marble-topped maple cabinet came up that was 54", but had the sink in place right where we needed it. It had been ripped out of somebody's Lincoln Park townhouse and needed some repair in teh back, but Jen fell in love with the fossilized trilobites and the price couldn't be beat: $200.

Jen's dad came up and worked some cabinet wizardry to get it into shape again, and helped prepare it for our unusual plumbing configurations upstairs. A little bit of glue, extra reinforcement, and a few saw cuts later, we had it in place. It definitely gives an upscale feel to our new bath.

All we need now is a faucet and it will be complete!