One of the things I love most about living in this part of Virginia is that I'm able to hike on Saturday in the Shenandoah mountains and on Sunday take a ferry ride out to the middle of the Chesapeake Bay and get back to the city by dinner time. The above shot is of Chimney Rock at mile marker 90 in the Shenandoah National Park. My husband and I did about a 5 mile hike with the dogs and it was beautiful but hot and buggy. The best part was stopping for lunch in Charlottesville on the way back to Richmond. 
The photo above is of Tangier Island, an hour and a half ferry ride from Reedsville, Virginia. The island feels like is has been frozen in time - what time I'm not quite sure. We rented bikes for $2.00 each and rode all around the island (no cars allowed out there - only golf cars and the occasional ATV). We discovered a beautiful deserted beach and then headed back to the little town for the required lunch of crab cakes. The ferry ride back was not for the faint of heart as we motored through a thunderstorm. My husband and I stayed up top under the canopy and loved every minute of it - most of the other passengers ran for cover and I was ready to as well as soon as I saw lightning. I'm anxious to go back to that part of Virginia for more exploration but the real world was calling us back to Richmond.
Since my last post I'm so happy to report that we now have air conditioning on the upper level. Central air has a way of adjusting every one's attitude around here (mine). I can now sit at my desk without air blowing at the back of my neck and the quiet is most appreciated. The units are sitting on top of the roof as is customary in this part of Richmond. I wasn't around with my digital camera when the crane came to lift them up there. Maybe that was good.
This week the house is getting openings for the new windows for the kitchen. The mason is out there right now chipping away at bricks and mortar.
So, back to the kitchen design:
Above is a scaled drawing of the back of the house (thanks to the prior owner who is an architect) as it was when we purchased the home. Below are plans for the new kitchen.
The new window that is being cut is is to the right of the range to allow for more light in a north facing rather dark room and also to be symmetrical with the current window to the left of the range. We've eliminated the bathroom from the kitchen area and have relocated it to under the front stairs - also typical for these row homes. The laundry hookups are gone as well - moved upstairs.
Just about every house I've ever lived in and loved had a white kitchen. When I go back into the archives of magazine pages that I have torn out over the years the vast majority are white - I especially love this one pictured above and have kept is as my inspiration for our new kitchen. I"m sorry that I didn't keep the name of the designer or which magazine this came from. If anyone knows, please fill me in. In any case, it has all the elements of what I feel a calm and cozy kitchen has - simple off white cabinetry with glass fronts, honed granite counters, bleached beams and pendants hanging over the island. The backsplash is also simple and elegant. I could move right in. My budget does not allow for custom cabinets so I've narrowed our selection down to Medallion Cabinetry. It was difficult to find a white finish that didn't look baked on and that would go with the existing exposed brick wall on the back stair wall. We've chosen the Park Place door style for the wall and base cabinets and the island will be in a rustic Alder wood with possibly a butcher block top. There won't be that many wall cabinets in our new kitchen as we've elected to add a window. I can't have glass fronts on the few that I will have, except on the higher units, as I don't want to look at my mis-matched collection of coffee mugs or my spices. Not that I don't love those coffee mugs, painstakingly collected in our travels over the years - I just don't want to look at them all the time.
The final decision on counter tops has still not been made. Harry the Homeowner has done some research on honed absolute black granite and the results are a little disturbing. From what he reads, they stain easily and are a maintenance headache. There is another stone that is quarried here in Virginia that apparently holds up better - I need to go slab hunting soon. I also love Carrera but I don't think it will work in this scheme.
The back splash will most likely be glass subway tile from Villi tile. I've selected a soft gray color that will sing with the brick and the 36" Wolf range. Other selections are a paneled front dishwasher from Bosch, a Whirlpool refrigerator (stainless) and pendant lanterns (verdi gris finish) from Cape Cod Lanterns. We brought a chandelier from our old house with us that also has a verdi gris finish. This will hang over the farm table in the eat in area. The microwave is going to be installed in the island - a Sharpe microwave drawer. I could have lived without a microwave as all I usually use it for is reheating my coffee but we always have to think about resale as we never know where the wind will blow us. Reheating coffee in a drawer might be a spill waiting to happen - time will tell. The flooring selection is still an unknown until it is determined what lies under that last layer of linoleum - the contractor is very hopeful that we can salvage what's there.
Today the electrical inspector from the city is coming and I'm sure we will pass with flying colors. Next week we get some insulation and then I think I heard someone say drywall. I almost don't want to write this down but we are ahead of schedule. So far everything is going so well and smoothly. Right now I hear a vacuum cleaner - the workers have been so considerate and tidy.
It is supposed to be hot here today - I'd better get on my bike now before I talk myself out of it. Have a wonderful day.
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