Last week, I mentioned that our kitchen counters had a story of their own. A story I really could have done without but have tried to find the silver lining in it and have learned to be thankful for what I do have. Ok… enough rambling and onto the story.
So back on January 7 our new kitchen counters came in. ML left for work that morning so excited that when he came home there would be new counters. Counters that looked like this…
Formica 180FX Dolce Vita.
I was excited too and so pumped when the installers showed up on time and ready to work. I had been a little nervous all morning because thoughts kept creeping in my head like… what if they ordered the wrong pattern? Or what if it doesn’t look good.
Thankfully, the correct pattern was ordered. Whew! And thankfully they looked good amazing. Amazing until the installers took my beautiful Dulce Vita counters outside to cut the sink cutout…. for a double bowl sink that I don’t have. No double checking or measuring before cutting. Nope. They just cut a big hole in my counter and then brought it inside only then to realize their mistake. This was not very “sweet”.
I was heartbroken. Michael Luke was at work but his response to the picture was, “That’s beautiful and hideous all at the same time.” And it was the truth. There was no fixing it because the hole extended over my junk drawer (does everyone have one of those) and my utensil drawer.
The installers felt pretty bad about their mistake so I didn’t give them a hard time. Even though for a minute or two I wanted to scream at them. Especially when one of the guys said that it would only take about a week to get a new counter in.
A week! These took six weeks because they were special ordered.
After the damage was done they left promising to return in a few weeks with my new counters for a single bowl sink. They left. They left without putting my existing counter back on and reinstalling my sink. Was I supposed to just take a break from cooking until my new counters came in? I’ll answer that one for you. NO!
Thankfully, ML stopped by Lowe’s on his way home the next day and explained to them what had happened with pictures for evidence. They apologized and promised to send someone back out to fix me a temporary solution until my new Dolce Vita counters came in. The guy they sent was really nice. He reinstalled my old counter and sink and commended me on being patient the past couple of days… more patient than his wife would have been. I was thankful to at least have a sink and dishwasher back in working order. Especially, since I had been using my half bath sink for cooking and washing dishes for the past several days. That experience reminded me that I should be thankful that I have kitchen with running water and a dishwasher. That I don’t have to walk miles everyday just to find fresh water. That here in America we really do live the life of luxury.
Yesterday, Lowe’s brought my new counters for the second time. I’m pretty sure they triple measured them before cutting them this go around. Everything went smoothly and now I can’t wait to get the kitchen back in order and show you the true reveal pictures of our kitchen with our new Formica 180FX Dolce Vita counters.
Have you had any projects go not as expected recently? Has a mishap in one of your projects reminded you what you have to be thankful for? Or maybe you are just thankful that yours always goes smoothly because any other way would just be horrible. Haha!
P.S. Want to follow along on our kitchen update but think you might have missed a post? Check out these posts where we shared our kitchen idea board, kitchen budget breakdown, new microwave, and new refrigerator and how we chose our kitchen counters.
For more Color Transformed Family follow me on:
Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, or RSS.
For more Color Transformed Family follow me on:
Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Hometalk,
or RSS.
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
I probably would have reacted the same way you did after realizing that the workmen felt bad about their mistake. I’m not the type of person who wants others to feel worse when they’ve already apologized for their errors.
And, yes, I believe we all have a junk drawer! How can any self-respecting household not have one? There has to be a quick catch-all for those things-that-don’t-have-a-home or items-I-can’t-put-away-right-now. However, I’m positive none of us wants our junk (drawer) exposed to the rest of the world like yours was for a few days :). Isn’t it funny, too, how when you move into a new home you don’t say, “Oh, this is going to be our junk drawer”, but it just sort of happens that one random drawer ends up being the junk drawer? Hmmmm….
I swear, Krystle. Almost every project we’ve ever worked on has gone horribly awry! I always tell D that Murphy’s Law applies to him more than anyone else I’ve ever known. Good for you for keeping a good attitude. They’re going to be beautiful!
Thanks, Amy. There may have been some bumps in the road but y’all have had lots of projects turn out beautifully in the end. D is quite the craftsman.
I can’t wait to see the reveal! Where did you order your counters from? It will probably be a long time before we fix up our kitchen, but I’m debating between new countertops or faux finish on the exisiting laminates. And we have about 8 junk drawers and 14 junk baskets.
As soon as I hit “post” I realized Lowes. Silly me. Reading comprehension…
We have lots of hidden junk drawers around the house. I can turn almost any drawer into drawer with my excellent unorginzational skills.
As far as counters are concerned I have seen some excellent faux finish counters out here in blogland. I think if you are looking for the best return on your money though new counters would be the way to go. But I know it all really depends on how much you are really to spend and how the market is doing or will be doing when you plan to sell.
Oh my, how FRUSTRATING!!! At least they felt bad about their mistake, I guess. I can’t WAIT to see the new counters!! Way to go for having a good attitude and choosing to focus on the things that we have. I am having a “I hate my house” pity party and your post reminded me to be thankful for the absolute LUXURIES we have. Thanks!
Thanks Katie. Sometimes we don’t realize how blessed and “spoiled” we are until we are forced to do without them for a while. I am always thankful when God reminds me of everything that I have that I truly don’t “need”.
What a pain! I can’t wait to see the finished look.
Pingback: Resume Normal… Now | Color Transformed Family
I too ordered the Dulce Vita countertops. I have a U shaped kitchen and when they were installed the installer did not match the pattern he just cut the 45 degree angle. I was so disappointed because I loved them. Lowes was great and had new ones ordered no complaint there. The installer came back and fixed the 45’s so now I do not have those seams. This time though the pattern is much darker with a lot more black in them. The beveled edges are really dark too. I don’t like them at all. So disappointed because I loved the first pieces and hate these. The first ones matched my cabinets really well which are painted gray. These make my kitchen look dark the others were really bright. The sample I saw had no black in it so I was surprised at how much black is really in the tops.