Eat, DINK and Be Merry

We are the first owners of our home, which came with some nice features, but nowhere to put books.  We decided to have some bookcases custom-built in the living room.  This is what the living room looked like when we moved in:
There’s some funky perspective happening in that photo, but you get the idea.  We thought that wall was a good place for books, so we decided the fireplace should be flanked by floor-to-ceiling bookcases to preserve the tall feeling of the room.  We knew we wouldn’t be able to reach whatever was at the very top without a ladder and we have some art items that don’t necessarily fit anywhere in the house, so we wanted the top portion to be a lit display area.

So who was going to build these bookcases?  When we moved to Houston, we immediately registered for Angie’s List.  If you haven’t heard of it, you must not watch television; if you haven’t used it, you’re missing out.  We’ve found a number of excellent service providers through Angie’s List, and we always contribute reviews of local businesses/providers that we love (one month we were the top contributor for Houston, and we got a gift certificate to a local restaurant!).  You have to pay for it, but I figure we have saved the membership cost many times over by finding providers who do good work.

Angie’s List has categories for everything, so we started with cabinet makers.  We saw a lot of photos and read a lot of reviews, and got an estimate from DJ at Quality Millwork (nothing to see there yet, but if you’re in Houston and need something built, there’s your contact info).  He told us how much business has increased since he started getting ratings on Angie’s List, which is good incentive for me as the customer to write a positive review for someone whose work I like.

Anyway, he took measurements, did a sketch, wrote an estimate, and we sent the deposit.  We went out to his workshop to see the bookcases before they were painted and give him the paint chip, and we were pretty excited.  Finally they were painted and the day arrived for installation!

Then we hit the first snag.  The bottom cabinets were installed, but the workers couldn’t get the shelving sections around the angles in the stairs that go up to the living room.  There was nothing to do but cut them apart, hide the seam with decorative molding, and try again another day.  This was not what we had expected or wanted, but devoid of other options we agreed, and waved goodbye to the bookcases as they headed back to the shop.

There is a famous quote about laws and sausages — that it is best not to see them made.  I would amend that to ‘laws, sausages, and anything you’ve hired someone to do to your perfectly good home,’ and after overhearing all sorts of power tool sounds from the safety of my bedroom, I would add that is best not to hear them being made, either.  This is what we looked at for the next week:

It’s hard to see, but there are all sorts of holes and cut-outs and cut-outs that have been reattached and lines on the walls, some with wires protruding.  But the cabinets look great!

Fortunately, the story has a happy ending.  The size incident was a lucky mistake, because we really like the look of the molding that frames out the bottom of the display area.  The electrician that DJ brought did right by us too, by suggesting the right kind of bulbs to suit our needs and positioning them so they wouldn’t shine in our eyes as we sit on the couch.  That’s the kind of overlooked detail that thrills me when someone else thinks of it.  So, without further ado:

In conclusion: use Angie’s List.  But unless you have an iron stomach, try to be somewhere else when you’re having something that ain’t broke fixed.