Summer 2020 Update

I'm sitting on my back deck enjoying the hot, humid swamp (excuse me, I mean sunny Florida weather) typing this post and I'm thrilled to share....the house is not done. Hey, it's all about the journey right? I always think that if this project took one or two years then when we looked back on the experience and it would be a fleeting memory and so with this being a 4+ year adventure we will remember the process and will remember RV living.

In the past 1.5 years (since my last intended post date), Chip has accomplished a lot and I'm not quite sure where to start so I'll begin with my view point right now in this exact moment on July 21, 2020 at 12:09 pm (and continue typing from there depending on how my fingers lead me):

The siding on this portion of the house being redone again. Sorry and thank you Chip. 

Chip cutting the Everlast siding. 

If you remember from my post, The Floridian's Layout, we have a U-shaped kitchen with an island and a long bench seat along the wall of windows.

Kitchen's original layout.

We were days away from calling for our next inspection and Chip said "Now, are you okay with the bench seat?" and I replied "Yeah, but are you not?" and to my surprise he shared he was never into the bench seat and thought it should be more cabinetry. I walked to where the "sink" was going to be and turned to my left to look out at the beautiful view from our windows and thought "I'm going to be turning my head to look out the windows a lot." I don't make decisions quickly but within 24 hours we were discussing changes needed to rearrange the kitchen so the primary sink could be centered under the windows. The change involved:

1. Removing windows
2. Purchasing 3 - 4' tall windows (I would have loved to keep the 5' tall windows but there wasn't enough space for counter/back splash/electrical and the header couldn't be moved).
3. Reframing the wall to accommodate 1' shorter windows
4. Move plumbing
5. Move electrical
6. Redoing the siding on the exterior of the house

I'm sure you're tired of reading (or maybe already just skipped this part completely) so let me show pictures.

BEFORE

AFTER

The before/after photos don't show much change but, as mentioned, the windows are 1' shorter and the change took a domino effect as we then spent a lot of time on the overall layout of the kitchen and discussing how all the pieces and parts would go together. Were the range and refrigerator still in the right spots? Where would the trash, dishwasher and microwave go? As the primary cook and baker, I believe the kitchen's components should function as a workhorse. We visited kitchen and bath stores in Gainesville and Jacksonville to narrow down the style range, fridge and sink to ensure the flow and practicality were present.

For those that like the details, here's a rundown of what's changed and what decisions we concluded:

• The range is now centered along the back wall. 
• The range will be a 36" pro-style (looking at the KitchenAid and GE's Cafe line)
• The fridge will be built-in (looking at the KitchenAid 24.2 cu ft)  

• The dishwasher will be Bosch 800 series or Fisher & Paykel (New Zealand company; this dishwasher is innovative with two separate washing basins and I'm already in love with it).
• The fridge and dishwasher will have panel integration so it looks like cabinetry. 
• The island will be rotated 90 degrees and be  5' wide and 6' long and the 2nd smaller sink will stay in the island. 
• The primary sink will be a 36" or 45" workstation sink. The depth is still a debate (Chip wants it as deep as possible but with one big basin I think the sink doesn't need to be so deep, plus the deeper it is the more we have to bend over and into the sink, no thanks). 
• Lights moved to fit within the coffered ceiling (hopefully, more on this in a future post) beams.

Project cost: Time, labor, and cost for materials.