Kitchen Improvements

As the days countdown until closing, it seems like the days are shorter, every minute is filled with something. Its a very busy time at work, the train I commute on is under construction, and we are getting all packed up at home.  There is so much to do, the weekends are not overly restful but there is certainly excitement to get us by.  On our latest visit there has been a lot of things done, lets take a look at the improvements in the kitchen.

Appliances

The base options in the kitchen are very basic, functioning but very much an entry line of General Electric (GE) appliances.  We choose an upgraded appliance package that included upgrades to the microwave, dishwasher and range.  This was primarily for the range upgrade so we could get a glass top electric range, but an upgraded microwave and dishwasher came with the "Feature III" package.

The microwave is installed into the wall above the range and has an exhaust fan which can suck steam and air up from range and vent it outside the house through the vent we saw in the kitchen in the post from before the walls being closed up.  The microwave is a sharp looking GE device which contains a metal rack in the center.  This is odd to me as we have always been told no metal in a microwave.  I guess there will be some owners manual reading in my future.

Microwave

The microwave had a note taped to the outside, a sort of checklist of items which needed some TLC.  It appears that Bob left some notes for the crew to take care to correct.  Just below the microwave is the space for the range.  Our glass top range also a GE appliance in jet black.  We had become accustom to the electric cooking, but not the typical exposed coils you see. This caused for a two level upgrade to get the glass top.  The upgrade is worth it the glass top range has two large elements up front, with the one on the right variable in size and featuring a speed boil option.  The back row is filled with three smaller elements. While the range was delivered it had not yet been installed on our last visit. 

Glass Top Range

Refrigerator

A refrigerator is not included and can either be bought through Ryan Homes and installed prior to closing or you need to go out and get it on your own after the fact.  In our case we decided to go with the Ryan Homes option "F" a large black side by side with ice maker, ensuring it matched with the other appliances in the kitchen.  The ice maker has a dual function single spot for ice and water.  Its a really nice refrigerator with variable ice settings. 

Dishwasher

The final appliance featured in the kitchen is the dishwasher.  The same as all the others is a jet black GE product, upgraded from the base model as part of the package deal to bring in the glass top range.  All the devices are energy star rated.  It will be interesting to get back into a house with a dishwasher, as our current house doesn't have one. 

Counter Top

Based on reading other Ryan Homes blogs, one of the incentive offers provided is a granite counter upgrade, however this was not the case in our development.  I am happy it wasn't, while a granite top would be fantastic, look great and last a long time it was certainly not on our necessity list.  Our incentive as you know was drastically price reduced finished basement.  The base option counter top is a laminate featuring about 8 to 10 selections.  Its been a while since we made the selections so I can't recall the exact number, but it was sufficient with varying color options.

Close up of Kitchen Counter

We chose a granite look featuring browns and blacks.  Dark enough to provide some variation from the oak cabinets, but not too one colored looking really dark option.  Our current house's counter top is a speckled dark counter top so we wanted something a little different.  As you can see from above it came out great, had you not know it was laminate and not granite you may not have been able to tell from the picture. Not going with granite was a huge cost savings option and it was definitely one you can hold out for until some point in the future, the base laminate is nice.  

Here are a few different views of the counter top, including a panoramic look at the counter.

Kitchen Counters as Viewed from the Morning Room

Kitchen Counters as Viewed From Family Room

The nice part about the laminate is there is no seems, if they have them they are impossible to see.  From the looks of it they brought one piece to cover from the gourmet island around to the microwave.

Kitchen Counter Top - Panoramic View

Kitchen Counter Against Oak Cabinets

The final kitchen item which was new on our last visit was the seating of the kitchen sink atop the counter. The laminate counters come with a stainless steel sink.  It sits above the counter not recessed like the ones that are installed granite tops.  The only complaint is the depth of the sink, it is very very shallow, and we are coming from a deep sink, which will be a tough adjustment.

Kitchen Sink

Also completed the last time we were through was the carpet installation, which we will take a look at in the next post.  Bare with me as there is a lot going on these final weeks to prepare for the move its become tougher to get the time to keep up on the blog.

Plumbing Fixtures Mostly Installed

The previous post took us through the first of three new items we encountered, the laminate floors.  In this post we will continue to look at those items installed last week by taking a look at the plumbing fixtures, well at least the ones that are already in.  Since the kitchen counters are not in and therefore the sink is neither, there is no kitchen plumbing fixtures.

All the plumbing fixture we selected were the base option, no upgrades.  It didn't make a whole lot of sense to us to roll plumbing fixtures into a mortgage and pay for them for thirty years.  Its very easy to fall in love with upgrades of this type as they add some life to the house but, be cautious they do affect the sale price but not the appraised value.  If the appraised value is below the mortgage amount you will run into issues with the mortgage.

In the powder room on the main floor the bathroom features a white pedestal sink with a silver look Moen faucet. The toilet was a little shocking to us as it appears quite small, the back tank is much smaller than what we are used to seeing.  This must have to do with energy efficiency, as it will utilize much less water than older and larger tanks.

Powder Room - Plumbing Fixtures

The master bathroom features some of the same plumbing apparatus as the powder room, as it has the same silver look faucet and same toilet.  The sink setup unless you upgrade to the double sink, is a single sink on the outside closet to the toilet with a large open counter on the other side.  The counter top is a porcelain white look.

Master Bathroom - Sink and Toliet

The master bathroom also features some items not found in the powder room.  There are a few layouts of the bathroom which are the base options as you may remember we choose the double shower. If you choose the garden tub and small standing shower, you will have some extra fixtures not seen here but the shower fixtures will be the same. 

Master Bathroom - Shower

I love the way the shower all came together, with the tile and bright silver fixtures, it just pops.  In an up close look you can see the bright polished fixture against the deep tones of the tile.

Master Bathroom - Shower Dial Up Close

The shower head is quite small in size, and might be one of the fixtures that is replaced early on, possibly a detachable one.  We will have to see how the pressure holds up and how good the water flow out of the current one is before we decide.  

Master Bathroom - Shower Head Up Close

The last place to with plumbing fixtures is the second floor hallway bathroom, it features the same toilet and faucet seen in the two other bathrooms and the same shower head as the master bathroom.  The counter is the same bright white as seen in the master bathroom.

Hallway Bathroom - Sink and Toilet

The shower dial looks the same as we saw in the master bathroom but it is just above the spigot and overflow setup as seen in your typical tub shower.  The bright silver fixtures are still shiny bright against the white tile on the wall.  These items are definitely ones you can upgrade at a later date in my opinion.

Hallway Bathroom - Tub Fixtures

The next item up is from our same visit through the house, where we will look at electrical fixtures some of which are base options and some are upgrades.