Living Room Campout

Day 6
Shop til you drop. DeeDee had to work today so I took the ringing alarm clock as a sign that I too should be productive (or obsessive, depending on your viewpoint). So I was on the road by 9:00 in Chicago's annual first-day-of-spring snowstorm to endure four hours of cabinet 'consultation.' I went down to a big contractor supply showroom out west to embrace some eastern European design aesthetic. You have to respect the Polish girls for coming in to work in miniature fur coats and 5" heels in a snow storm, especially first thing in the morning.

My 'consultant' was way past 50 but still sporting the heels and designed digit-style while we worked. I don't know the brand (Cardell), but she did all the pieces we wanted at two grand less than anyone so far. They have a separate counter supplier there and Anya (sensible shows and no discernible accent) quoted the quartz counter (Silestone's silver nube, fyi) at a good $1500 less than the depot. All in all, a worthwhile journey.

Just to mix things up, I then went door shopping and checked out some other odds-n-ends. This neighborhood (Fullerton & Pulaksi for interested Chicagoans) is a crazy collection of building/remodeling/repair warehouses all dumped together in a random corner of the city. Until a few months ago, I had no idea it was even there. I guess its just one of thousand largely useless bits of information that will litter my brain after this process (like the anti-microbial properties of quartz countertops).

Then it was back to the Depot for another cabinet consultation. DeeDee got hung up at work so I met the designer (Isabel) to work on a plan they had started earlier in the week. She seemed hesitant when I started changing things, but I'm pretty good at getting my way. Another tow hours of weighty comparison between 'honey' and 'cider' finish went by and now we have even more plans that look pretty much the same. At least we know what we want now.

Not including paper-and-pencil guy, we know have four plans and a price gap of over $3000. They all have a wait of like four weeks, so we're going to have to choose and then finish everything else waiting for the cabinets. I'm sure that will be the least fun part.

We went out for Al's birthday at night, although I was completely brain-dead by that point. My tiny mind was incapable of moving past the kitchen, so we passed around phone pictures and swapped 'war stories' about the inconvenience of remodeling. It will probably be months before I'm good company again.

Phase two of life disruption starts Monday, as Jovan is going to reclaim the closet for the bedroom and sand and repair the walls. So we are moving into the living room for real on Sunday. Oh, the adventure.