Coming Soon!

The "For Sale" sign is up....with a "coming soon" sticker on it (that came after I took the picture).  It'll be ready for showings as of Tuesday November 4th.  Everything is coming together now.  All of the last minute panics have resolved themselves starting with those effin IKEA fridge panels.

The first panic came when IKEA informed me that the fridge panels that I needed to complete my kitchen were on back order indefinitely.  Apparently there is a manufacturing issue with them.  So I reached out in any way I could to get those panels somewhere.  I posted on Kijiji offering to pay double to anyone who had one kicking around.  I posted on Facebook and checked IKEA daily in case someone returned one.  With all of that I got the two that I needed.  A slightly damaged one had been returned to IKEA and I got there fast enough to snag it up and an old high school buddy of mine saw my post on Facebook and offered one of his up to me.  Then, just yesterday, this random person from Kijiji messaged me to tell me that she had seen my ad a while ago and now noticed that someone was selling one so she linked me to their ad.  Isn't that cool?  A random stranger took a few minutes out of her day to help me out.  I'm always saying that most people are good in this world and this is proven to me over and over again. 

The next issue was the countertop.  The granite guy would not measure until those fridge panels were in place because he needed everything in it's exact place before he templated the granite.  Once templated and measured it typically takes 2-3 weeks to get an installation date.  I practically begged Paige at Vespa Marble & Granite to rush this order through in 1 week and she did!!!!  The countertop was installed today and it's beautiful.  I wish I could have splurged and went with a thicker slab of granite but at this point I can't be going overboard.  I am WAY over my planned budget.  It'll be great once the backsplash is on and the walls are painted.

Another issue was my custom shower curtain.  I paid $868 for a frickin shower curtain!!!  And that was a discount, by the way, because I almost fainted when they gave me the original quote of $1180.  I think the designer saw the colour slowly fading from my pale face and decided to ask her manager if they could cut me a deal.  I still would not call that a deal but, again, it's going to look great.  It's hanging in my closet at the moment.  I wouldn't want to wrinkle that thing!  This shower curtain was supposed to be ready in four weeks which would have been last Friday but I got an e-mail from the designer last week saying it was going to be another 2-3 weeks.  I politely flipped out on her and surprise, the shower curtain arrived today. 

The final issue was my porch/deck.  I spoke to my brother a long time ago about building it for me but then he was unexpectedly hospitalized so I lined up another contractor who thought he would be able to get it done in my time frame but I wasn't totally convinced.  But then out of the blue one morning as I'm sound asleep in my bed the doorbell starts ringing repeatedly along with profuse pounding on the door.  That could only be one of two people who would act so obnoxiously - my brother or the other which I'll leave nameless to save face.  I dearly love both of the obnoxious men I speak of though.  I crawl out of bed, open the door and see my brother standing there.  He says "What the hell are you doing sleeping?  It's almost 7:00 a.m.  You wanna build a deck or what?"  I really have no option at this point so I quickly throw on my pants, chug a protein shake and head off to Home Depot with him to load up on wood. I have learned that if my brother is in the mood to work you better run with it because his attention span is about that of a 2 year old. 

 That's my brother carrying the wood. 

So now the final touches.  I have a painter coming in tomorrow to finish off the last few things.  I told him he's not allowed to take the weekend off.  The job has to be done by the end of the day Monday. I am going to rent the staging furniture tomorrow from Shirley at Smart Choice.  God I love the customer service from that lady.  She's an absolute doll.  Last coat of paint goes on the deck tomorrow and this weekend I will clean, hang curtains, hang artwork, clean up the yard and remove the last of the construction debris and then I think it will be safe to say I am done! I took almost 5 months to the day to complete this project. 

If nothing else, I am proud.  I directed the entire project from start to finish by myself.  I sincerely enjoyed every last minute of it.  I learned so much, I met a ton of great people, I had a lot of laughs and I contributed to the value and esthetics of a culturally rich neighbourhood.  I would do it all over again in a heart beat!

IKEA Hurdles

My house is at a complete standstill because I am waiting for a particular fridge panel to come in from IKEA.  Apparently, there is trouble with the manufacturing and therefore no sight of such panels in the foreseeable future.  The only way to get said panels is if someone returns them from a previous order.  That means everyday I have to check the IKEA website and see if any are available at the Ottawa store.  They update their online stock list every 30 minutes.  I need three of them to complete my kitchen.  They are 3'x8' white panels that will go on either side of the fridge and at the end of the counter where the upper cabinets begin. 


A couple of weeks ago when I was in the store I checked if any had been returned and apparently there was one available so I paid at the cash, went to the pick up spot and suddenly no panel.  I guess someone else got to the cash before me.  They simply refunded me and sent me on my way empty handed.


Since then I have carried on with my daily online check to see if anything is in stock.  This morning I went to the gym, came home, took a shower and cooked up some salmon and salad.  I decided while I was eating to check the IKEA website and what do you know, 2 PANELS IN STOCK!!!!  I threw my plate on the counter, threw my shoes on and raced like a mad woman down the highway to IKEA.  I wished I had a red flashing light to stick on my roof actually but I still got there pretty quickly considering it's a rainy Saturday.  I broke all of the IKEA rules today.  I didn't follow that little path with arrows on it that herds people through the store like cattle.  Instead I did hurdles over couches, pretended I was little and crawled through the children's play area, leaped over office furniture and dodged all of the rainy day browsers until I finally landed, barely winded, at the kitchen order desk (because let's face it, my warm up is most people's workout).  I tell the lady the website said 2 panels were in stock 15 minutes ago so she checks and tells me there is only one remaining.  I'll take it!  I tell her what happened last time and she guarantees me that it's being held for me until I pay and get to the pick up location.  I'm sorry but I have trust issues now so, once again, this time with order paper in hand, I hurdle over the couches, serpentine between annoyed husbands and dilly dallying wives, jump over beds and dressers and arrive at the cash, pay for my order, pick up my lone fridge panel, load the precious thing into the back of my pick up and haul it safely into my house.  As I was driving, I came up with a new plan though....


But wait, I should also mention that I bought a side by side duplex this week and don't have any money to pay for it so I REALLY need to complete this house and sell it fast in order to pay for the new one I just bought.  Minor detail, but still.  I have only three things left to complete: the stairs/railing, the building of the first and second floor deck and the kitchen.  The deck will be done in the next couple of weeks.  The stairs and railing pieces I purchased this week at Urban Stairs & Railings on Colonnade and it's an easy installation.  But the kitchen is the biggest issue because the granite counter guy refuses to measure for the custom counter until those fridge panels are in and once ordered the counter takes about 4 weeks.  I don't have time for these delays so I may just have to alter my kitchen plans slightly.  Currently the plan is to have all white cabinets, a black granite counter top, stainless steel appliances, a stainless steel back splash, and grey wall colour.  In the IKEA show room they mix and match different cabinets all of the time and some of it looks rather cool.  So what if I swapped out two of my white doors for grey ones instead (because two of my cabinet doors are on back order too by the way!!) and then bought grey fridge panels to match?   Ahhhhhhhhh, I simultaneously typed this idea and looked it up on IKEA website.  Guess what?  Grey is not in stock either.  I guess I was not the first stranded customer to come up with this genius idea!!  Well, I'm not sure what I am going to do because I really really need to get this done. 


Anyway, as I always say "everything works out in the end, and if it's not working out, then it's not the end" so I am sure everything will be fine.  I have no doubt I will come up with a solution shortly.  In the meantime I lay awake at night planning what I'm going to do with my new duplex.  It's a beautiful old home.  I am actually going to move into it.  I will live in one side and rent the other side out.  It needs a few renovations but I plan to work away at it slowly and turn it into a real gem.  I love fancy woodwork detailing in old homes so I will work to restore some of the original charm that's been lost over the years.  I also plan to re-do the kitchens and baths on both sides but there is no rush for that.  It's completely liveable as is for now.  If all goes to plan (which it rarely does - but that's the part about life I enjoy) I will get it on December 3, 2014.