The "still-to-do" list is long, with things like finishing the kitchen tile/grout, fixing the smallish hole in our bedroom wall, which I hadn't noticed until yesterday (it came from the installation of the shower door - the walls in our building suck) and restoring the electricity that somehow got cut-off where it feeds to my desk/office area, but we are finally able to move back into our apartment over the next few days (as it was promised to me by Christmas). So while we won't be totally finished by year-end, which was my goal, we'll be damn close. The punch list (one or two cabinet panels, touch up paint, floor molding, final finish on the kitchen floor, mounting hanging rails, etc.) is what I'd normally expect a punch list to be. By the way, if I ever do this again, shoot me. You'd think one would learn after doing this once with our full-gut reno of an apartment in DC, but it's amazing what contractors can come up with to give you agita (like how do you lose the Franke stopper for the Franke drain for the Franke sink? Morons.)
The vanity/washbasin nightmare that exists in our bathroom (vanity arrived damaged from Germany, after waiting for it for 10 weeks) has been temporarily solved, as we got a floor model loaner from the plumbing supply store (and it actually looks ok).
The last few days have been crazy; the cabinet/drawer fronts and panels arrived Tuesday, and were installed by Wednesday evening, since no one plans to be here today or during the week between Christmas and New Year's Day (though the electrician may come by on Friday). We still owe a fair chunk of change to our contractors (over 30% of the cost) and "project managers," which won't get paid till the job is done to my satisfaction, so at least I have that going for me - they'll all come back.
And I think it will have been worth the wait. Or at least I hope it will have...
The perspective of the sink in the top picture is interesting, as the sink is actually quite a bit larger than our old one. And all the LED overhead lights have not yet been installed, nor have they been adjusted to the right locations.
That's my trusty 15-year old Miele vacuum, which I think will see a lot of use this weekend. That custom-made 9' wooden shelf in the second picture is gorgeous; it has dimmable LED lighting in a channel underneath, and it will get a hanging rail on the wall underneath it as well. I'm using the Rösle open kitchen rail system, mostly just with hooks.
Oh - two things:
1. If I never see a contractor again (at least not once the job is finished), I won't be upset. 2. Wouldn't it be nice if ceilings, floors and walls in NYC buildings were actually square and level? They're not.
Merry Christmas!
