Yay! The Counter Is In.

From Before and After Photos of the Kitchen

We still need doors on the cabinets as well as the new faucet and garbage disposal installed, but we're getting ever closer.

This is the pattern of our new quartz countertop:

From Before and After Photos of the Kitchen

It's really nice. I can't wait to use it to roll out pie and cookie dough.

From Before and After Photos of the Kitchen

The guys had some challenges getting the counter installed because Joe the contractor hadn't leveled all the cabinets. John said he was disappointed in both the counter installers and Joe because 1. Joe should have leveled the cabinets, and 2. the counter guys should not have installed it without Joe having done a better job. However, they shimmed and did magic to make the countertop level.

From Before and After Photos of the Kitchen

I wish the seams weren't as visible as they are, especially at the sink, but I guess it's just the nature of the color of the counterop.

From Before and After Photos of the Kitchen

There also was an issue with the little 9-in. cabinet to the right of the stove. It seems that it's now not nailed/screwed into a stud. The counter guys used silicone to glue the back of the cabinet to the sheet rock, as well as glued the backsplash to the sheet rock to make the little cabinet secure. John and I aren't sure that it's supposed to be that close to the stove, so when the inspector comes to look at the plumbing, I'll ask if that's up to code. It might be, but it makes it awfully tough to get the stove out without opening the door of the oven and pulling by the interior of the oven to get the stove out.

From Before and After Photos of the Kitchen

Ahhh. The new sink. The new sink is now more than 3 in. deeper than the previous sink. We also had to buy a new faucet because the main counter guy discovered that my old faucet was cracked. It was another $225 we didn't expect to spend, but John and I found a nice new faucet that will match our new cabinet hardware (to be installed whenever Joe makes his final visit) much better than the old faucet would. All said and done, I can't wait to use the new, much deeper, slightly wider and longer sink.

In the meantime, we're still making decisions about the new flooring and paint. I'm leaning toward a gold-colored paint, which will really brighten up the place. John and I agree that a much darker flooring will have to be our choice because it will add depth and make the rest of the kitchen really pop. It also seems that we've decided upon laminates instead of vinyl since the vinyl really doesn't look that great.

While I won't be cooking anything to bring to Mom's Thanksgiving dinner, I'm sure that she'll be making a great menu of tasty dishes. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!