We’re moving right along over here… with both exterior and interior work this week. You know, a little of this, a little of that.
Starting off with replacing the soffit at the back of the building, and replacing a few outdated or broken windows, these small changes somehow make the building look so much more legit. Maybe because rotted wood and rusty metal hanging down from the roof line really don’t seem to say “someone cares about me” like brand new metalwork does. I’m really happy with how this looks, especially because I made the color selection standing out on the sidewalk while squinting up at the sky in the dark one evening after work. It sure is hard keeping up with this while working a 9-5, or an 8-7 if you’re me =)
Here’s a closeup view of that soffit… and a good look at that brick work. I love how crisp and smooth the lines are of all this brick. It’s one of those things that continually makes me swoon over this building- headaches and all.
Because most of the windows in the building were semi-updated, most of them are going to stay. We did replace all of the original windows on the 1st floor and a few others that were broken, not operable, etc. The only one that was a big change, though, was the one-bedroom. They started cutting it out last week and this week the window’s in! I didn’t take a shot from the inside yet, (mostly out of laziness- not wanting to move the IKEA countertop that’s propped up against it)
Wait did someone just say… IKEA? You bet I did. We finally got the kitchens ordered and delivered! I was kind of underwhelmed by the pile of boxes- I really was imagining something more … I dunno… large? Well it’s small for good reason, they kind of forgot to bring all of the upper cabinets. Leave it to IKEA to screw that one up. It’s a good thing we actually weren’t planning on installing them this week… sheesh. The good news is I made it in time to get in on their 20% off sale. Apparently they have it every spring. If you’re planning a kitchen remodel and want to use their cabinets, definitely wait for this sale. I ended up getting an entire kitchen’s worth of cabinets for free! Pretty sweet deal. Well, if you’re willing to deal with them messing up your delivery anyway…
IKEA better get their act together fast, though, and figure out where the heck our upper cabinets are. As you can see below, the 3rd floor kitchen is getting closer and closer to being ready! This apartment is just so awesome. Someone’s going to be super happy living here, I can just tell.
Also keeping busy with the drywall, the guys got the bedrooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors all ready to go. Now just for the finishers to come take over next week, then we’ll be well on our way to paint and trim… woohoo!
The contractor also got the basement cleaned out and floor painted… the floor color is definitely not what I was expecting (when I saw it I was secretly hoping it was just a primer) but it’s growing on me. The guys scored some really high-end concrete sealer at an amazing price… bummer is the color selections were uh… let’s call it bright and cheery? It definitely looks better than it did before, back when the creature from the black lagoon popped up. I think I’m going to live with it… what do you say?
That wraps up Week #11… next week we have the plaster finishers doing their thing, the installation of the air conditioning units (which my current apartment does not have and as I write this blog I am definitely thinking of those empty apartments over there that are soooo close to cool (in more ways than one)
Also, get your designer gears turning because we’ve got a new question to pose this coming week… something about removing crazy old plaster vs leaving it there and calling it cool- because it kind of is. ‘Til then-
urbanspace llc 