I’m sure with any major project, especially home building, there are plenty of opportunities for little hiccups along the way to add some stress to the process. Since we spent a lot of time in the planning stages, we’ve had a remarkably stress-free process so far. With the roof on and work in the interior moving fast, we haven’t had any problems. Until this weekend.<\/p>\n
It has to do with our kitchen. From the beginning one of the things we really wanted was a tall bar counter to put a couple of stools in front of. We often have a cocktail together after work, and after putting in years of sitting in front of bars we thought it would be nice to have a simple set up in our kitchen\/dining area.<\/p>\n
During the planning process we didn’t spend much time on it, and it seemed like the standard bar counter set up that they have built in similar designs would be fine. But this weekend we were looking at the kitchen (which is in the very early stages) and we noticed that the whole thing seemed kind of low. We took some pictures and went back to the documentation, and found that it was a little low for our taste. Complicating all this is that the measurements are all in millimeters and centimeters, and it is a little hard for me to imagine dimensions.<\/p>\n
Yesterday I went across the street to the Italian restaurant, and even though it was closed the owners let me in with a tape measure to check out their bar counter. They were all smiles as I checked everything, and they even gave me some advice. In the evening Kuniko and even went to Red Spanky to check out their bar. <\/p>\n
So finally we put in a call to see if there was a way to raise the height of the bar, and after some back and forth and deliberation it looked like it would be no problem – and it wouldn’t cost us any extra since we’ve been pretty good customers and the change is relatively minor. <\/p>\n
But now with all this research into bars, we both started to think about other aspects, and decided to take a little more interest in the exact dimensions of this space that has become a minor pet project for us. I found that the depth of the overhang (on the dining room side) was actually quite shallow, and the whole thing is really designed for much shorter legs than mine. <\/p>\n
Now it is finally time for us to make some late night calls to our sales guy – the same guy who would show up uninvited at our doorstep later than 10 p.m. He seems to be taking it in stride, though, and will work with us to get the dimensions the way we want them. <\/p>\n
With all these changes, Kuniko has taken less and less ownership in the project, however, and I think we are close to the point where it changes from being “our pet project” to “Bryan’s pet project”. I’m up to the challenge, though. We’ve got a budget, I’ve got the time to deal with it, and my Japanese language ability is just enough (\u00e3\u0081\u017d\u00e3\u201a\u0160\u00e3\u0081\u017d\u00e3\u201a\u0160) to get the job done. <\/p>\n
Today I’m off to talk to the site supervisor, give him a bottle of sake, and try to smooth things out. Recent trips to the house have found the place buzzing with activity. Kuniko thinks that they are trying to complete the house before our trip to the USA, so that as long as it is sitting around finished it is our responsibility, not theirs. We’d rather take the house after we get and let them take their time, but I guess we’ll have to see how it goes. <\/p>\n
The site supervisor is a surprisingly young guy, and he always has a big smile for us when we visit. I think he likes that he is building a house for a foreigner – and I think he is the guy that I need to be nice to in order to get the bar counter the way we want it.<\/p>\n
The good news is that the rest of the house is proceeding very smoothly. You can tell a lot about the people that will live in the house when the most important areas are the bar and the kitchen…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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