This is quite a tease. Now give us some photos!

LOL!!! that's so great - very happy for you and all of your clean dishes!

Pretty cool!

(There are pictures, somewhere. And it IS cool!)

But do you have a dishwasher? It sounds fabulous - can't wait for pictures...

Good for you, charlikin! It sounds like you are really enjoying that nice, new, MODERN kitchen! I intend to do the same when it finally happens!

OK, even if you've shown us photos before, it is mean to tease without at least a reminder pic. ;-) It does sound cool, and I'm glad you're so happy with it and can appreciate it so much.

Charlikin,

Thanks for the positive reminder about how great our new kitchens are (foibles and mistakes aside)! I can identify with every single issue- though my old coiled electic stove didn't need to be lit, it only had two burners that worked- (can't believe I put up with that for over 10 years!!!)

Have a great day- you helped make mine! :>)

Pix please!!! Your old kitchen sounds like something from the Stone Age!

Tracey you are so funny ! I love the way you write. Sounds just like being there with you. I am so glad that you are enjoying 1-10. Now we want pics of you using all of these GREAT new appliances in your GREAT new space. c

Caroline, you would have cracked up if you'd seen me and my attempts at cooking last night! Let's just say that the results didn't much resemble the astonishing dishes you posted on another thread... ;-)

But I very much enjoyed playing with all my new toys. :-)

I've been posting photos on various threads (including this one) so you may already have seen these. The *real* photos will come after I paint & get window treatments - when I get to do my triumphant "finished kitchen" thread!!!

In the meantime - it's a tiny 7x10 galley kitchen in a NYC coop apartment, doorway at one end, window at the other.

{{!gwi}}Â Â Â Â {{!gwi}}

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(There's a dishwasher behind that panel next to the sink base!)

{{!gwi}}
The fabled stove.

{{!gwi}}
Countertop!!!

And to give you some idea of what I was coming from - I don't have the real "before" pictures uploaded, but this is an early-demo photo. The right side of the photo had a broom closet and upper/lower cabinets that only went halfway down the wall. On the left side, there was a cabinet over the sink, and an inaccessible one over the fridge (blocked by the microwave). Nothing over the stove. Oh, and the sink base was inaccessible too because the metal doors had warped closed. :-)

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: Not quite finished kitchen (lots of photos)

Who knew bliss could come in an 18" appliance? I loved reading your list and after seeing that before pic, I have to say you deserve every bit of glee and then some. Can't wait for your official finished pics.

I'm going to have to play with my photobucket account...didn't I get to play with the design in this kitchen at one point???? I seem to remember that pipe in the corner. Gad what a great outcome. I see you worked out all the kinks and made yourself a wonderfully functional space!

I guess I can throw away this photobucket folder now LOL You've brought it to life :) I remember that DW was a big danged deal you really wanted to fit in! I'm so glad did and possibly you love having it LOL

I love how you brought it all to life. Now what color will that back wall be????? RED!!!!!! heh heh

Igloochic! Hey girl, how are you? Yes, you gave me a great deal of help with my initial design! And you were only one-armed at the time, too. And on pain meds. But you had so many great ideas. My favorite part was still your "kitchen-in-a-box". It was perfect - four square feet of everything you could ever want to do in a kitchen. Too bad my kitchen was too big!!! LOL!

Couldn't do everything we talked about... but it still came out pretty well. And the 18" dishwasher - not a problem. As laxsupermom said, 18" of bliss. :-)

Funny, the things we stress about early on vs. the things we stress about later after we know better.

Oh charli... I long to be like you posting pics and humorous diatribes about how I love my kitchen... now if I could only get to demo...

Can I say again that I LOVE your taste in kitchens!

*chuckle*!!!!

Love the kitchen! What are your pulls?

I'm so happy to see you happy about it and appreciating it so much, after all you've been through! Dishwashers are awesome, aren't they? We first got one about 10 years ago and it still seems magical to me.

What fun to enjoy all of your hard work and
decision making! You made such a huge change
and it looks very cool...get cooking and enjoy!
vic

Remodelfla, someday you will have your beautiful new kitchen! I know it will be beautiful because it will look very much like mine! LOL! Heck - yours might even be painted!!

Robin! Are you laughing at me??? Too bad we didn't have more group lunches. I could have kept bringing pieces of my new kitchen for show 'n tell. (I brought my countertop sample to the first, and a sample door to the second... I guess at this point I'd have to bring the fridge or something!)

Krissd, the pulls are Top Knobs M1131. There's a slightly smaller version M1128. I liked the big ones - didn't want my fingers to get cramped (?!) and they're big enough to work well as an appliance pull for the dishwasher. (Did I mention I have a dishwasher? ;-))

SO - next up - paint. I'm not going to feel like things are truly done until I paint the kitchen, bathroom, and living room. (Which means doing something with the kitties again. They seem to have come out of the renovation process remarkably untraumatized, but they haven't woken up and smelled the paint yet. My painter tells me that's going to be about a two-week process - there's a lot of skim-coating to be done in the living room. Guess they're going to go live with their reluctant auntie for a while...)

Then new carpet for the living room; some new furniture to replace my ancient, never-was-good-quality-and-now-is-crumbling sofa & dining table; window treatments... I am so sick of shopping.

But gotta choose paint colors... Getting closer. I've got two candidates for the living room, a couple for the kitchen. I'm finding the bathroom tile particularly hard to match (or at least coordinate) in a paint color. Off to Janovic to buy more 18" sheets.

Not laughing at you, laughing with you! Those first months with a new kitchen are such fun! (ok, months later--still fun!)

At this point you'd probably be required to bring food prepared in said kitchen to a get-together! If you wait 'til Caroline's up, I'm sure you could cajole her into doing some baking/cooking.....! LOL

I love your beautiful new kitchen. It looks like a great place to work. I'd bring a little stool in there and just sit and enjoy it.

bump

Your posts are so enjoyable! Your enthusiasm for your new spaces comes right through the computer. I love your kitchen and think you did a fabulous job with all your choices. Having been in many NYC city kitchens yours is enviable!

Thanks so much for the pull info. I may copy you...although they won't look as lovely on mine, i'm sure!

Congrats on the dw by the way!

Robin, I'm glad to know the fun doesn't go away after six months! It'll take me at least that long to get the rest of my apartment together, and I'd like to think that once I've redecorated and am no longer embarrassed to have guests over, I'll still be able to enjoy cooking for them. (Whether or not *they* enjoy my cooking is another issue... oh, Caroline(trailrunner)!!! ;-))

Maureen, it had better be a very little stool. It's a very little kitchen! (Though I confess, I do go in there and just *stand* and admire how pretty everything is! Everyone does that, right? Stand in their new kitchens and just sigh?)

Susan, BUMP to you too!!! ;-)

Ptyles, thank you for your kind comments - NYC kitchens are a challenge! LOL! And Krissd, those pulls will look glorious in your kitchen too! Can't wait to see photos!!! (Be prepared, though - they're BIG.)

Hey, I remember this one in the planning. Looks good! While this deviates from some of the planning guidelines or goals, it was done for a reason and balanced with that counter run behind - an easy turn from any spot. I bet it is a dream after your "before" kitchen. Enjoy!

Thanks, lascatx! But - planning guidelines??? Are you talking about something like a triangle workspace? I have a single point workspace - requires minimal swiveling - maybe an occasional sideways shuffle, but that's about it. ;-)

In fact, unloading the dishwasher is sweet. I stand in front of the sink with the d/w door open. The dishes go in the cabinet over the sink. Glasses go in the cabinet over the dishwasher. Coffee mugs go in the cabinet opposite the dishwasher. Silverware goes in the drawer opposite the sink. I can stand in one spot and swivel no more than 90 degrees in either direction and completely unload everything and put it away. Can't imagine anything more efficient! ;-)

Could you please share the brand/model number of the faucet you like so well. I'm shopping for one now and haven't ever had a pull out.

Your kitchen is beautiful. Mine is in the demo stage. Even though I never thought we'd get to this point it is a real mess to live in with insulation from the attic coming down as the sofits are taken out. Drywall dust everywhere. But I know most of you have been there; can't wait for the finished product. Cindy

Yeah, I was talking about the kitchen planning guidelines that say so much space either side of each appliance and such. The work triangle isn't as big a deal as it used to be. We're learning that the magic is not in the geometry so much as the flow. But that's for the TKO crowd. I still see a lot of new kitchen that are much larger and would be worse to work in than yours.

I think you've packed it in, gotten the most you could from your space and balanced all your function issues to maximize the payback. And it is nice to look at. I was showing DH the photos of your kitchen and he thought so too. You actually do have the functional issues addressed -- they are just on a smaller scale, and that's perfect for your kitchen.

I think I was mostly agreeing with you and igloochic in the planning, but it was fun to see this come together. I saw the eearlier photos, but I didn't put them with the plans until igloo posted them here. Hope you have many happy years in that kitchen. Ya done good.

Helllloooo! I'm here . Yes I will have to make plans...we are going to bake at cat_mom's house so there is no reason we can't also bake at Charlikin's house too !! So get ready....Summer 2009 is looking to be a LOT of fun ! c

Very nice!!! What is the tile on the backsplash?

Cindy, the faucet is the Blanco Aires. It reminded me of the KWC faucet I was lusting after, but which was *much* too expensive. I love the way the sprayer works. The top of the faucet head is one big sprayer "button", and you can gently press it with the side of your hand while you're holding other things and it locks into place. You can unlock it by turning it, or it unlocks automatically when you turn off the water. Soap dispenser is also Blanco - it fills from the top, which is nicer than having to unscrew the bottle from underneath. Very happy with both items.

Lascatx - ah, space on either side of the appliances! That would have been wonderful. I actually had to shove my stove over a fraction of an inch so the sink base doors wouldn't rub when I opened them. Just about makes it now. My tiny kitchen is a mass of compromises. :-)

Rrs626, the backsplash is Rex Touch Stone Ivory 3x6 porcelain tile. I liked it because it bridged the color gap between my warmer cabinets and my cooler countertop (most tiles seemed to coordinate with one or the other), and because the swirly variation in it reminded me of the Durango limestone that I loved (but which didn't go color-wise, I felt).

Caroline, my kitchen awaits you! It might even be painted by then...maybe. ;-)

Can't eat paint ! All we need is stuff for the Challahs...we will be all set ! :) I am SO looking forward to this ! C

Caroline, I'm not kidding....you haul your purty arse up here to alaska any day if you're planning on baking marathoons!!! I don't mind if I'm the last leg of the, but I want in on them LOL (And since my mother worships you, we'll have to fly her up too LOL)

Oh, that sounds like fun! I'm not in any of that geography though. Y'all have fun!

And the answer is--
Way way cool.
I am so happy for you - it is wonderful and it is most enjoyable seeing you enjoy it- kvell a bit!

Charlikin, I am so happy for you being so delighted with your very functional and beautiful kitchen. My dishwasher is on the brink and so is my stove so I will love to know which ones you bought that you love so well. I know I dislike my old stove so much that came with my home and is supposed to be self-cleaning but when I moved in there was pizza cheese and sauce all inside that I could not get out. I changed my refrigerator at the end of 2006 to a LG French Door Stainless Steel Refrigerator when my tiny almond Whirlpool Refrigerator died on me. I love the French Doors only because they do not bump into my small table's chair that is right in front of my refrigerator. I remember moving into my prior apartment that had a dishwasher and I was so happy. In fact my requirements for my townhouse was dishwasher, washer and dryer hook-up, and central air/heat. But I see now that I wish I had hot water heat since the air is so dry in the winter time despite a humidifier running all day and night.

I am really happy for you. I am glad all that hard work designing the kitchen and making sure everything was done right paid off. I always love to read your posts.

AK ??? I don't know ig...that is a long way. But we'll see. Would be easier for you to plan a trip to NYC this summer...where is your Mom ? c

Yeah, come to NYC over the summer to see Tracey, me, Caroline....., i-chic!!!!!! Just not the week of 7/10-7/18 (family obligation on my part!).

I think it looks great but I wish you were more excited about it. I understand your regrets about not keeping the original layout and elements but you are going to have to let it go. Beyond the dishwasher what else would you not do the next time?

Kidding, congratulations!

Well, you know how it is, Caryscott... another day, another kitchen. Ho hum. LOL!

Hmmm...Trailrunner's GardenWeb Tour of Finished Kitchens. Maybe we can get GW to sponsor it? And then we can publish a cookbook afterwards of all the delicious recipes she prepared in everyone's kitchens. With photo spread. And calendars! And contracted design services! I see a financial empire here!!!

First, the kitchen. Then - the WORLD!!! (megalomaniacal laughter)

Wait, I think Martha Stewart did that already.

Okay, slightly giddy because I may finally be narrowing in on paint colors. (Man, that bathroom tile is hard to match.)

Tracey you are CRAZY !! Well maybe the calendar.....cat_mom and I have a couple pics that would be ....hmmm....cute might be too strong a word !

You have got to get control of this paint issue...move on...calm down...maybe a nice soothing beige....c :)

Giddy because you've narrowed in on choosing a color, OR from breathing in the paint fumes from all the sample jars....hmmmmmmmm??????

LOL

You're *not* supposed to breathe in the fumes? Then how are you supposed to get in the right frame of mine to choose a color???

Caroline, all the colors I'm looking at *are* a soothing beige!!! It's just that BM makes so many different shades of soothing beige... (Sigh. I keep thinking the best color to paint my kitchen would be a very soft green - except I don't really like green. And I'm going to have a green sofa. None of it makes any sense. Pass the paint jar... I think I need some more fumes!)

You don't like green and yet you are having a green sofa...I never ever liked green...have you seen my kitchen walls ??? !! I love the deep rich green. So maybe you really need to go with a color that has more richness. Forget the soothing. How about you look at a card that has the sofa color on it and then move a direction or two away from it....deeper or lighter.

I like the rooms in my home to move from one to the next as far as color but they all have to make sense as they go. DYKWIM? I think we talked about this at lunch that especially with a smaller home the rooms have to tie in together. I really would get a card with the color that matches something you are definitely getting and then move up or down the spectrum.

Have I helped or hindered ??? c

But I don't know what I'm getting yet! I still have to buy the sofa, and I haven't identified which one I'm buying. I've just decided it's going to be a sort of sage green (in a microsuede that can withstand my cats). With a burgundy chair (maybe striped). There will be blue and gold accents. Lots of rich color in the furnishings against this neutral background.

I'll probably paint the kitchen the same color as the living room, and then do a rich colored shade. (I have visions of some gathered kind of roman shade, no matter how impractical everyone tells me that is for the kitchen, particularly next to the stove.) That would probably look good with soft green walls, too, but while I can handle a soft green sofa, green on the walls (even the minimal walls of my kitchen) is too much for me.

I had a thread here where people suggested a smokey blue for the kitchen. I *loved* the idea, *loved* the mock-up, and then *hated* the 18" square I tacked up on my wall. It was very disappointing.

Most people don't obsess this much, right? I think I need to paint just so I can stop obsessing about what color.