Electrical Outlet-less

When I first came to see my apartment it was basically an empty box. The owners had just bought the place a month before and told me to come to the viewing with an “open mind”. I was definitely feeling a time crunch and ended up agreeing to live here based on what they said they would do renovation-wise (side note: the agreement was completely verbal, because while I’m trusting, I’m not totally crazy). I came by every week for the next 3 weeks to make sure good progress was being made on the renovations. I signed my lease a few days before moving in (there were just a few slight finishing touches they needed to work on) and got my stuff ready to move on a Saturday. I brought in my first load of boxes and placed them in the living room. I was showing a couple of my friends (who were helping me move – very nice friends!!) around the place when I noticed there were no outlets in the kitchen. Not a single one.  What the….?? I would’ve expected to see 2-3 outlets on the backsplash – 1 to the right of the sink, 1 between the sink and oven, and maybe one between the oven and the fridge.


So I called down the landlords. They’re a married couple – she’s pretty young (my age) and he’s.. I dunno.. late thirties? Anyhow, her brother did all the kitchen and bathroom renovations while her husband did all of the cosmetic stuff (painting, etc). If you just groaned at the very likely sketchy nature of my electrical work – you are. not. alone. I asked them where my kitchen outlets were and they just looked on, as dumbfounded as I was lol. Then she said, “Well can’t you just use one of the outlets in the living room?” Uh…no. Dear readers, how many small kitchen appliances do you have on your counter? Probably a microwave, a toaster and a coffee maker/kettle, right? How about all of those other small appliances? A blender, stand/hand mixer, food processor, waffle maker, slow cooker… the list goes on. While my landlords are very nice, I firmly let them know no outlets in the kitchen was a total deal breaker and if they want to ensure good quality tenants in the future (not people who are okay with plopping their microwave on the floor in the living room), they should fix this issue now.

Within 3 days, an electrician came by to scope out the job of adding outlets. I eavesdropped on his and my landlord’s conversation. According to the electrician, the electrical work definitely was not up to code and is shoddy work at best, as I (and probably you) had suspected. The lesson here is to definitely get a proper electrician!! I creepily took this picture of the unknowing electrician while he was drilling a hole in my wall… muahahah!


The electrician originally planned to add in 3 outlets, but couldn’t make that happen. I ended up with one outlet (2 plugs) between the sink and oven that is on its own dedicated line and is grounded. It’s definitely an improvement, but I think this is a case where it would’ve been worth the extra cost to do it right  (with a licenced electrician) the first time!

I Need Help With My Oven

What a great post title, eh? But seriously, I don’t know how to work my old school analog oven. I’m pretty sure it’s older than me. I asked my landlord for help, but she’s the same age as me (re: also younger than the oven).

So in my desperate plea for help, I’ve uploaded some pictures. Maybe one of you grew up with one of these and knows how to use it! To be specific, I mostly can turn it on, but don’t know how to keep it on. I’ve set the clock and know how to use the timer, but it’s the two buttons on the right in the raised rectangle (close up below) that are messing me up I think. I also tried to find a manual/use guide online, but I’m pretty sure this oven is older than the internet too.

Here are the dials up close. The two buttons on the right – what the heck are those for??

Here are the “instructions” when I flip open the top of the oven.

I have salmon in there right now and the oven just turned off… argh. I keep having to check the light to make sure it’s still on.. and right now it’s off again. Soo frustrating!

Please help!

Fridge Door Switcheroo

I’m finally (mostly) moved into my apartment. There have been a few hiccups because the place was newly renovated by the brand new owners so I’m the first tenant, but things are coming along now.

One issue was the fridge door. The fridge is in the left corner and fridge door opens from the left side…not very functional.

I was lucky enough to have Monday off, so I took the opportunity to switch the doors so they open from the right instead of the left. I’m also lucky enough to have a Dad who gives me tools at Christmas, so I had everything necessary to make this switcheroo happen… a ratchet set and a drill were my main tools of choice here.

So with my drill and ratchet set in hand, I removed all of the bits and bobs…

Until I ended up with this… Fridge and freezer doors on the floor and my fridge (still full of food) and freezer (full of frozen veggies and booze) sittin’ naked. In hindsight, I maybe should have emptied the fridge/freezer before starting, especially considering I had to stack the fridge on a pile of books to get to the screws on the bottom… but meh! Nothing fell out, no food spilled… all’s good in the neighbourhood.

After removing the doors, I removed the handles and switched them to the right side. Following that, I reattached the doors. All in all, it took me about 40 minutes. Not bad I’d say. Here’s my new functional fridge doors!

Have you ever switched the opening on your fridge/freezer doors? Apparently you can’t switch all doors, so I’m happy these doors are reversible!

Appliances: Debating White versus Stainless Steel

Once again, Kevin and I are divided on what colour we want for our appliances. Through our builder we can choose between standard white, standard black, or upgraded stainless steel;  or upgraded white, upgraded black, or further upgraded stainless steel for all the kitchen appliances. When I say “standard” I mean there’s no added cost and when I say “upgraded” I mean there’s an added cost.

Here’s our kitchen. Don’t mind the markings on it. The kitchen is just off to the right of the front door. The window is south facing.

We haven’t officially chosen our finishes yet, but we’re toying with the idea of white cabinets and dark (probably polished black granite) counters. If we go with that counter, the sink will be stainless steel and under mounted. The tiles (the gridded area in the floor plan) will be greyish-brown and the floors (non gridded areas) will be walnut.

Given that information, what is your opinion on the colour of the appliances?

Kevin (obviously) wants black. That guy prefers everything in black. Unfortunately for him, black is out.

White could be a contender because the cabinets are white so the appliances will have a seamless look. When spending the same amount of money, you can get nicer white appliances because there is a premium cost for stainless steel ones. The downside to white is that people think it looks “cheap”

Stainless steel could be a contender because it’s better for resale value and looks “more expensive”. The downside is that it will visually break up the space with the white cabinets, and stainless steel is infamous for fingerprints and smudges.

I found two pictures of kitchens with white cabinets and dark counters that are laid out very similarly to what we have. The pictures are from different angles, and I realize with everything being equal, the stainless steel appliances are nicer than the white appliances in the pictures I have, but try not to let that bias you!

Which one would you go with? I need help choosing.

I kid you not, I’ve literally dreamt every single night about condo finishes for the last 2 weeks. I’m dreaming about laminate versus engineered hardwood, cabinets, counters, appliances…. I need to get a life!

Photo sources: SS Appliances, White Appliances