The Ground Is Uneven. The Sun Was in My Eyes

(I can't remember what that is from, but I remember laughing about it with Lisa Riccutti back in the day)

So the other night I thought I found the first SNAFU. It was bound to happen right? I mean, I've been so lucky & everything has been going really well ...

I noticed that the kitchen counter to the right of the stove was about about 1/5 to 1/4 of an inch higher then the kitchen counter to the left of the stove. Panic immediately set in. I called Greg to try to process how this could have happened. Did Rocky not measure properly? Did the cabinet place send the wrong size cabinet? I was trying to take a Buddhist approach & not completely bug out.

I went to the Merle to talk to Rocky the following morning. As it turns out, this was no accident. It seems that the floor in the hallway on the fridge side of the kitchen is slightly higher then the floor in the in the dining room on the other side of the kitchen. In order to have the hardwood floor on either side of the kitchen be completely flush with the kitchen floor, the had to raise the right cabinet side. I don't 100% understand this engineering justification, but I do trust Rocky & Freddy. Rocky has really done a great job with the apartment. He has an eye for detail & it's clear to me that he takes pride in his work. So ... it is what it is. But is it as bad as I think it is? Will other people notice it? Will it make me crazy in 6 months to the point that I hate my kitchen?

Greg came to see it. He looked at it, looked at me & said, "done. this isn't even close to what I thought this was going to look like. It's totally fine. You will never notice this once the kitchen is finished." I'm sure he's right.

Here is a little aerial shot of the stove top with the left & right counter tops. Note that once the kitchen is complete the stove will be flush against the wall.

OMG. This is Almost Over!

I'm thinking it will be about another week or so of odds and ends before the Merle will be ready. I can't believe it!

• The kitchen is basically done
  
• The bathroom is basically done
• The new hardwood floors are in
• and I'm really happy with all of it

Merry Christmas Merle!

The Merle got her very own customized notepads this Christmas!

Cha Cha Changes

BIG DAY!
So every night I go though some what of the same process.

• Go the the Merle after work
• Look around for what's changed
• If it's something major, I will take a quick look at and then avert my eyes
• I ask myself, "Do you hate it?"
• Gut response (which so far has always been NO)
• I then go in for a closer look. Sometime I will just stand in silence and look for a good 20 minutes just to soak it all in
• Then I try to figure out if I LOVE it

At the end of the day, I'm either really liking, or loving everything that has been done so far. (Thank goodness!)

I've been carrying around my granite sample like it's a pet. Now there are 2 several hundred pound slabs on top of my cabinets!

And the bathroom ... so far j'dor it!

Good Morning Merle!

I was at the Merle at 8am Tuesday morning for my Benson Tile delivery. It's the first time I've been at the Merle that early.

Just One of the Boys

I took Monday, 12/17 off from work to host a series of deliveries

• Appliances (Fridge, stove, microwave & dishwasher)
• Shower door
• The glass fronts for my kitchen cabinets
• Bathroom tile

The drama started promptly at 8:39am when GE's local delivery service called to confirm the delivery for TOMORROW. Rather then going through every detail of the 5 different phone calls that ensued, I'm VERY happy to report that my appliances were delivered on time! :)

I hung out with the boys all day. It was great. We ordered in Chinese food & sat on the floor. It was my first meal (chicken & broccoli with brown rice) in the Merle. We cheered with a 2 liter bottle of Coke. I loved every minute.

For most of the day I pretended like I was on some HGTV design show. I painted these amazing vintage outlet covers I found on eBay. I told Rocky he could put me to work. The truth is I wanted to work with some drills or heavy machinery, but he wasn't loving that idea. So he just set me up in the corner with my little paint set.

Benson Tile was a no show, so it's back to the Merle tomorrow at 8am for the delivery.

Making Progress & Looking Good

Begin installing kitchen cabinets - check

Map out which paint color goes on which wall - check














Have Rocky do the 1st coat - check!!
































Delivery of hardwood floors - check

I Never Thought Merle Reskin Would Look Like This!

There is a compelling openness about Merle Muskal Reskin - more than enough to conceal her shyness. She would much rather be talking about a myriad of other things than herself, but she must because her husband, Harold, has bestowed an enormous honor upon her: the gift of a theatre in her name. ...

... This magnanimous gift came about through Harold's friendship with DePaul University president the Rev. John T. Richardson, C.M. "Fr. Richardson and Harold became friends when Harold attended DePaul's College of Law (Harold graduated in 1953) and they have remained very close friends. He came to Harold a couple of years ago and told him the Blackstone Theatre was available for sale and was in danger of being torn down. At the same time DePaul's Theatre School was in need of a professional performance space and training ground for aspiring theatre artists. Harold loved the idea of making a contribution in order to help DePaul save the Blackstone." He and Fr. Richardson decided to name the theatre for Merle.

Read more about Merle Reskin and the history of the beautiful 1910 Merle Reskin (formerly the Blackstone) Theatre.

Kiss the Cook

My appliances arrive on Monday!
(fingers are crossed)

Meet You In the Ladies Room

Geeze. Where is Rocky going to the bathroom?
Actually, I don’t want to know.
(He goes to the restroom in the lobby of the building. I had to ask.)

She Comes In Colors ....

As someone who has always in cream or while walls ... the idea of having COLOR on my walls is exciting & terrifying all at the same time.

In all of my rush to get to the finish line, complete the renovation & move in -- I haven’t taken any time to enjoy the whole process. I had a clear moment of zen while I was painting the swatches on the wall. It was about 8pm on a Monday. All was quiet. No people, no phones, no music, no traffic. Just me painting, then standing 5 feet back to think, ‘could I live in this color?’. I had never had the opportunity to ask myself that question before … and after I pick my color it might be a very long time until I ask myself that question again. I was an awesome moment.

At the end of the day I spent about $50.00 in Benjamin Moore paint samples & I ended up not going with any of them. But I had a great time playing!

I Can See Clearly Now

One element which needs no enhancement ... the view

All That Glitters ...

Some of my recent purchases for the Merle.
Think cozy, warm, clean lines, modern and vintage.

Dining Room ...




"Foyer" (but I think I'm going to take off those little dangly crystals) ...

Bathroom faucet ...

Move Over Stallone, There's a New Rocky in Town

After the first 7 days ...

• The kitchen was gutted
• Window treatments removed
• Crown molding was put up (and plastered them, so they look much nicer then the picture)
  
• Cable was run down the wall for new outlets
• aTON of plaster work on the walls & ceilings & prepped for painting
• The new kitchen floor is in
  

Rocky took me to Benson Tile on Woodhaven Blvd on Friday 11/30, and on Monday 12/3 the kitchen floor was done. It looks dirty in the picture, but its actually really nice. Hooray!

Architect Shmarchitect

Please. With skills like this who needs a professional ...

My Bitchin' Kitchen

On Sunday, 11/25 Greg & I went to the kitchen cabinet place & I ordered my new cherry wood cabinets. The whole process was very cool. The guy takes the spec of your kitchen and projects it on a wall -- then you design your kitchen together. The best part ... it's the same price as Ikea kitchens, but unlike Ikea these are semi-customizable. I'm VERY excited about the caddy corner open shelves!

Now, when Rocky told me he was going to "start" on Monday I had no idea that I was going to come home to this.

No turning back now.

Lots of decisions to make & lots of things to order ... hardware for the cabinets, tile for a new floor, granite for the counter, mosaic tile for the back splash, paint color and appliances! Thanks to Mary & Consumer Reports for all of my appliance shopping needs.

Welcome to The Merle Reskin Project

After an exhausting real estate hunt and Co-op application process I am finally a homeowner. Before moving into my new home I had planned on making some cosmetic changes to the apartment.

• Hiding the cable wire in the baseboard in the living room and bedroom
• Changing the lighting fixtures & installing dimmer switches
• And of course, painting

I had always planned on renovating the bathroom & kitchen somewhere down the road ... but several people "warned" that doing a kitchen &/or bathroom renovation after moving in would be a HUGE mistake. So the scope of the project has changed.

• Hide the cable wire in new crown molding
• Install new hardwood floors though out the entire (currently parquet)
• Renovate the kitchen -- new cabinets and new appliances
• Re-tile the bathroom, new show & sink faucets, new lighting, new medicine cabinet & installing a shower door
• Changing the lighting fixtures & installing dimmer switches
• Install new window treatments
• Possibly install new closet doors in the bedroom
• And of course, painting

My contractor (Rocky) has scoped the project at being roughly 30 days. I know. I laughed too. But I have to say; and I don't want to jinx anything, so far so good. If it weren't for this silly Christmas thing getting in the way of my project I would feel a little more confident in meeting the 30 day count down ... none the less I'm working on a 30 day plan.

And so begins the journey of my renovation project ...

MERLE RESKIN BEFORE PICTURES