What is the one thing you built the kitchen around?

16 years ago

I knew I had to have the Kohler Hawthorne farmhouse sink. I built the whole kitchen around it-well sort of....I already had my perimeter cabinets and flooring so I had to start with them....but of what I changed...and if I had started from scratch I still would have built it all around the sink!

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Comments (69)

cotehele
16 years ago
I should have scrolled up, duh. Thanks Trailrunner. It is a good compromise for the painted cabs I want and the stained cabinets DH likes. He won't be in the scullery, I am sure. :D
jenanla
16 years ago
This fireplace (still under construction) is a focal point of our kitchen?dining area.
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I agree that granite makes it outdated. The cabinets are of a darker shade, so I would recommend you to pick a lighter and brighter looking countertop, like white or light gray marble -looking quartz or some of the white granites, like River White. That would create a very nice contrast and open up the space considerably. Also, I would get rid of the granite on the walls. White marble tile (like Carrara marble) backsplash would add a touch of glamour and lighten up the space even more. Staining or painting cabinets may be pricey, so I would invest in painting only the island. By changing the hardware you can give the cabinets a totally new vibe.
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ajpl
16 years ago
I love this thread! There are so many great centre pieces!

I always wanted a red, distressed island. Like for a really long time. I don't have it yet but I've designed around it. I also bought an antique kitchen scales that I just love and I'm planning to find more pieces to fit with that for decor.
sue_b
16 years ago
Also the view, so that means a whole wall with no cabinets or counters. That layout led to a 10 foot long island. Then my KD showed me a red marble with a nautilus shell fossil. I do love love the look but this is a senstive marble that etches and chips.
ktkitchen
16 years ago
Hostagrams and cotehele: We're practically neighbors with both of you! We're about 43 miles southwest of Nappanee. We just had our kitchen completely remodeled by Ayr Cabinets and Locke Construction. I highly recommend them both. They were wonderful to work with and I truly have my dream kitchen.
Flowerchild
16 years ago
Thanks trailrunner. Your kitchen is very nice, such great attention to detail and it's unique. I love the stained glass windows. Wonderful job repurposing materials. That is so much fun.
redroze
16 years ago
That would definitely be our granite, Bianco Antico. The moment we saw it we knew we had to have it!!!

{{!gwi}}

And everything else in our kitchen pretty much stemmed from it. The crazy thing is, the scope in our kitchen reno expanded just yesterday when we decided on flooring and it's all due to the granite. Our kitchen opens up to our family room and most of our main floor has a golden hardwood which we have never liked. We had it refinished a few years ago and regretted not staining it to a medium brown back then (we were swayed by the hardwood person who warned us about cost). We just didn't know how the transition from family room to kitchen would work given the golden floors, and we always wanted hardwood in our kitchen. Long story short, we are refinishing all the floors on our main floors, adding unfinished hardwood to our kitchen and entryway, and staining it all a medium brown as we've always wanted!!

All because this granite wouldn't work with the floors!! (I'm oversimplifying, I know, but I thought it would be a cute story).

Here's a shot of the floors:
{{!gwi}}
cotehele
16 years ago
KTKitchen, we can be quite geographically anonymous. Glad to hear you are close by, too.

I went up to Ayr based on recommendations on GW. The estimate was far beyond budget, so I have taken some time to redesign. I hope this time we can afford their superb craftsmanship. I would love to see pics of your kitchen. Would you mind posting?
houseful
16 years ago
I'd have to say "my family." Besides the fact that everything is over 30 years old, we are tired of tripping over each other and the pile of shoes coming out of the so-called mud room.
rhome410
16 years ago
Sue_b...Gorgeous! So wonderful to have all the beauty of outside and feel like you're standing in the woods without being cold or wet!
dscheidt
16 years ago
coppes napanee cabinet is still around, unless they got knocked out by the tornado. They're a fraction of what they were at their peak, but they're still doing very nice custom work. (And the name isn't mispelled. They pre-date the town of nappanee, IN where they're located. I don't know why they're spelled differently.)
nlcl
16 years ago
A black 44" Aga Legacy. We were going to just update the surfaces (paint, countertop, etc.) and then I found the Aga I had dreamed of for years on sale (floor sample at closing Home Depot Expo) so bought it, trucked it up from Houston to Austin and gutted the kitchen to fit it in :)
cotehele
16 years ago
Ooooh, I need to contact them. It would be wonderful to have a complete Napanee Kitchen! I just LOVE GW!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Coppes Napanee Co. History
mysterymachine
16 years ago
The layout was built around how I cook and all the recommendations here on GW (as well as minimizing the number of things that were "expensive" to move like plumbing)

But the choices for everything other than the layou was all about the granite :) (so I am so glad I didn't have anything happen like igloo did recently with her granite)

{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: My remodel thread
3katz4me
16 years ago
I think this window since it's the only element we kept from the previous kitchen - otherwise started with a blank slate and very few preconceived ideas - other than staying within the same footprint.

{{!gwi}}
scubated
16 years ago
Wow first of all I am envious of the high ceilings and huge windows those of you with great views have to build around.

We also have a great view but need to break it up because our 36" bluestar with a 42 inch hood and adjacent cabs can only go on the main exterior wall so we designed the kitchen from that out. I have two windows flanking that setup. Luckily we will have another window, full glass door and a picture window in our eating area all to enjoy the view.
igloochic
16 years ago
Gibby you live in a freaking magazine.

Mystery...here's a funny...the granite yard suggested Capella as a substitute and they're pulling a slab for me LOL (so was that expensive? heh heh too late now).

It's really fun to see the inspiration here. Cotehele...smother DH for the life insurance, rob a bank, do whatever it takes...I love your hoosier and having a kitchen built by the same company...geeze that would be priceless :) And SOOOO gorgeous, not to mention a great tribute to your family history and the love you have for that piece (which I completely understand...it's the one antique I'm "missing" in my life right now).
cotehele
16 years ago
Igloochic, DH said that's why it's wise always to be worth more alive than dead, LOL!
muscat
16 years ago
I'm not done, but I built mine around using natural mahogany cabinets, and wanting a unique, serene look without making the kitchen "too much" for my old ranch-style dull house. I think you are asking a great question, because I worried the whole time that the only thing that was going to unify my kitchen was that it was made up of parts that "I liked." I didn't have a clear style.

{{!gwi}}
mysterymachine
16 years ago
Yeah I am envious of all the views as well.. I have a view of the neighbors house..

Igloo... if you have to ask its too expensive... just kidding - I never saw the price tag but according to my contractor "it wasn't too bad". He said it was 7 out of 10 or so on the price scale. (however I have seen some webpages lump in into the expensive categories).

Its the Gibby kitchen! Haven't seen that one for a while but I recognize it instantly becuase it was in my picture folder of "kitchens I love" on my computer that I stared at for hours when trying to decide on the look for my kitchen.

Jenanla, wow... now I am really curious to see what a kitchen designed around that fireplace will look like. Make sure you keep us in the loop!

Lookin good muscat!
acountryfarm
16 years ago
Wow, I really just need to say how beautifully different everyone's kitchen is. How great it is that people can share their wonderful spaces without threat of harsh criticism.
I love how some cherish their view; igloochic, flowerchild, lynninnewmexico. Others dream of beautiful cabinets; muscat & buehl.
Family for rhome410 & houseful.
Appliances & wonderful antique treasures did it for; nlcl, cotehele, farmhousebound.
Gibby & Zelmar love their windows.
So many others that I didn't mention but with equally great design focus.
I think this has been my favorite thread since I have been here. I find it interesting, intriguing and very personal in this techno world we now live in.
Thanks!!

OH yes, I built my kitchen around my dishes & silver. I love anything to do with tabletop. I knew (as did dh) that I needed space to have it all in cupboards and buffets, so while they aren't actually in my kitchen my dining room and breakfast room both have built-in buffets. Ample storage in kitchen as well.
Another big thing was my scullery, I have so many children and am cooking for many, that sometimes I would say "I just wish I had a separate room to throw these dishes into". Well now I do, although not a separate room, definitely out of the rest of the kitchen.
Now I can cook as I love, use all my beautiful dishes & silver, then clean to my hearts content in my scullery.
3katz4me
16 years ago
muscat - I really like your kitchen - it does have a serene, unique look - I like how you did the tile by the range. What's not done - it looks great.

igloo - just so you know, that photo isn't what my kitchen really looks like. That's how it was staged when my KD had photos taken and it's the only photo I had that showed the whole window (don't have the necessary wide angle capability on my little camera). It was interesting to see just how much staging gets done for professional kitchen photos - or maybe just mine since I don't have much around in the way of "accessories".
piasano
16 years ago
Focus for us was always on the arched window over the sink. Then, yesterday, we chose our granite.

And I think we fell in love.

At first, we didn't even know enough about granite versus Formica versus Corian to know why granite would matter.

Now that we do, I think that granite is going to be the thing we love most about the kitchen ~ and maybe, about the whole house.

Even the style of cabinet we chose is more about what feels right with the granite that we liked than it is about the cabinets.

We are absolutely surprised at ourselves.

For anyone who has not yet visited a granite yard, I can't begin to tell you how seeing those slabs and the endless possibilities will change how you come to view your kitchen.

Knowing what I know now, I might have chosen the granite before planning the kitchen ~ I would absolutely have put in an island, instead of a peninsula, so I could have that whole, wide expanse of granite to look at and feel everyday.

:)

Barbara
igloochic
16 years ago
LOL Gibby...I'm having a photo shoot in mine as well (actually the house too) which should be a hoot. I'll have to save those and hang them so that when reality hits (looking around my termporay living room I see a train set large enough to fill Manhatten) I'll remember the "magazine days".

Acountryfarm...that space is so inviting :) I can't wait to see it finished. I understand your desire to build around your dishes :) My dining room is entirely built and decorated to highlight my love of venetian glass, amber glass in particular. The furniture is chosen to compliment it as well as the cabnetry. The paint is a focal point, but again ties into the glass. I can't wait to see my collection displayed again :)

Muscat...you failed...that kitchen is too cool for most houses :oP
muscat
16 years ago
thank you, I think ! :)

I completely agree about visiting granite yards, or tile stores, or whatever "element" get you excited. So many ideas start flying around when you see all that beautiful stuff, and the hardest thing is narrowing down to one!
ricklish
16 years ago
Our Shaw's apron front sink
... and the truly integrated Sub Z frig and freezer
... and soapstone counters.
This project has evolved so much since we began thinking about 'updating' our kitchen 2+ years ago. If you would have told me then what I was going to end up with, I'd would have told you that you were absolutely CRAZY! But I love the design we've ended up with!! Special thanks to all the advice from this forum!! It has been so helpful!!
theresab1
16 years ago
definitely our granite:
laurap_2007
16 years ago
Hoffman, I am about to start renovating my kitchen, I have chosen the same green subway tile backsplash, and this is what I am building my kitchen around! Good choice, and your kitchen looks beautiful.
debsinthepink
16 years ago
Gibby3000, igloochic was right the first time, "Gibby you live in a freaking magazine." Very sophisticated, just love it!

trailrunner, hoffman , I could just move right in to your kitchens, they both have the feeling of home.

acountryfarm, can't wait to see yours complete.

theresab1, mysterymachine, wild stone!

muscat, love your color choices, very soothing.

lynninnewmexico, sue b, love the views.

cotehele, acountryfarm, you have me dreaming of a scullery, I would have never thought I'd be trying to figure out where I would put a scullery.

jenanla, you nailed my "one thing", but mine would be a pizza oven like Jamesk, but alas we will have to wait until the housing market turns around.
So, I continue to lurk here and live with my 80's kitchen.

Other things I want: soapstone, and marble, a bluestar 60 inch range, banquette seating, a walk in pantry or maybe even a scullery, It's good to dream!

Here is a link that might be useful: Jamesk's Kitchen
raehelen
16 years ago
Very interesting... in a voyeur sort of way- it's why I love driving home at night when everyone's lights are on, and drapes open, and I can see inside... :>)

Biggest reason to get a new kitchen, I was sick of how hard it was to work in the old kitchen, swore I was never going to lay down on the floor to reach something in the back of my base cabinets again!

First thing I bought was a chandelier on auction- and it resonates with me in such a clear way- very surprising as I bought it on a whim seeing only a 4" picture online! Everything else was chosen to reflect the same eclectic style, old worldish- but yet modern and I hope well-designed!

Am only including a pic of DR, with just a tease of kitchen, as we're on the home stretch, and I wanna wait to post pics of my 'finished' kitchen!
{{!gwi}}
By the way, that granite will be history Monday- getting replaced finally! Yahoo!
User
16 years ago
deb: thank you that is very nice to here as that is what I wanted to project.

This has been one of the nicest and most useful threads. I think it clarifies what the essentials are...and that is that they are different for each and every one of us. What is great for you won't work for me...and that is the beauty and fun of the project.

I have really enjoyed seeing the kitchens , both finished and not completed, from this aspect. Great and lasting impressions. c
reno_fan
16 years ago
I desperately wanted a big arched wood hood. I made my DH get a few more gray hairs because I started tearing into cabinets to create space. We had to reconfigure an entire wall of cabinets (we were working around existing cabinetry, so it was hard to remove some without damaging others.) and have a new fridge cabinet built. But dangit, I wanted that wood hood to be the focal point of the whole kitchen!
yanalg
16 years ago
My 48" range! I always wanted one ever since I was 19! My undergrad research adviser was completely obsessed over a Viking Stove (I had no clue what it is), so I had to check it out. I knew then it had to be mine! My adviser ended up with a gorgeous Dacor and we got the Monogram, but the idea is the same.

The 2nd thing would be the cabinets. We love dark red cherry color, and nearly all our furniture throughout the house has this stain. I was very particular about getting the right shade, which is partly the reason we went the decora cabinets - Arlington cherry hit the bull-eye!

3rd would be the granite. Love my green with cherry spots :)
mustbnuts zone 9 sunset 9
16 years ago
A French Bistro kitchen inspired me. Wanted carrera marble, black cabs on the bottom and creamy ones on the top. Then reality hit with my budget. No painted cabs. Can't afford them. Wanted carrera marble but knew that granite would be better for me. All black cabs on the bottom would be too much for my tiny kitchen. I knew I wanted shaker style cabs. Simple and clean. I am so sick of arched door cabs. I also knew I wanted light cabs for the majority of my kitchen as I was tired of medium to dark stained cabs.

Then I saw my granite. Wasn't sure at first as I stated I wanted a nice, quiet, cream granite--similar to carrera marble. Not what I got at all. Very busy. Lots of motion. Don't like blue. Lots of blue veining in the granite which I love. Did not want rust in there. There is rust veining.

So, I am having the sink cab in a black espresso stain (much cheaper than paint and basically the same look). Natural maple cabs for the rest. Full backsplash in the granite with the granite going up to the ceiling of the hood area above the range. Was going to panel the appliances but am going with stainless instead. Still need to chose the floor.
abbycat9990
16 years ago
We built the kitchen around the window wall. We all love the view of our yard, especially the birdfeeders:
cotehele
16 years ago
debsinthepink, Keep looking for scullery space. I think it will be worth it. Good luck!
rmlanza
16 years ago
This beast...

Because before the kitchen remodel, if he was doing this...

then there was no room in the kitchen for a human. Seriously...the floor space was THAT small. And there are 5 humans and 2 cats in addition to that beast in this household.
vwhippiechick
16 years ago
cotehele We have a Hoosier Cabinet maybe like your friend's. It was a wedding present from my DH's grandmother. He can remember not being able to see over the pullout countertop to get the cereal. We love it. This is just after we got the flooring down so we don't have the brass/porcelain casters back on. While this wasn't what we "built our kitchen around", we definitely tweaked the design to leave room for this cabinet.
sombreuil_mongrel
16 years ago
This reminds me of the commercial for some faucet, where the female client is meeting with the name architect who has walls adorned with beaucoup awards; after his presentation she whips a faucet out of her bag and declares "I want you to design a house around this!".
My kitchen was designed around my busy and exhausting work as a carpenter, my overblown ego regarding my "talent" for same, and my ongoing identification with my house and surroundings.
The one thing about my kitchen that was an obstacle was the window by the prep sink; a low Victorian window that interrupted the cabinet "flow".
The one preexisting condition that I embraced was the space/sightlines/light that I tried to exploit.
The idee fixe of the project was "Edwardian Kitchen"; IOW what could have existed in 1905, although modernized with high tech appliances. That meant natural materials, lots of wood, soapstone quarried 125 miles away, polished nickel hardware, etc.
Casey

Here is a link that might be useful: my photobucket/mostly kitchen
marthavila
16 years ago
Casey,

Your kitchen has always been one of my overall favorites! Tonight is the first time, though, that I've studied your entire photo album detailing the work you have done. All I can say is: your ego is by no means overblown regarding your TALENT for carpentry! Your skill is clearly superior as can be seen in the over-the-top work on your home. As you have identified with your house and surroundings, they have clearly and majestically "defined" you back!
sombreuil_mongrel
16 years ago
Martha,
All of the work seen in the pictures is mine, but not all of the homes are; some things are projects for clients; I don't have a double staircase and 12' ceilings, for instance.
Thanks for the sweet words; my cup runneth over.
Casey
marthavila
16 years ago
Well, yeah. Just based on what looked like clearly different spaces, I kinda figured that some of the work in your album was in homes/places other than your own. But that still doesn't take away from the quality of the craftwomanship-- wherever it occurred though! :)
cat_mom
16 years ago
That's a tough one! Once we got started and picked our cabs, we wanted to find a granite that was beautiful in its own right, and complemented, but didn't detract from the wood grain on our cabs. Same thing when we looked for backsplash tiles--we didn't want ones that would steal the show from our granite or cabs.

However, the initial things we built the kitchen around were gaining storage space, and gaining a bigger stove and a bigger fridge than we had in our old kitchen, while staying within the same sq. footage we had started out with (in the old kitchen). Doing that saved us a ton of money that would have gone towards building an addition.

Also, the one thing I made sure we'd have, right from the early planning stages, was a feeding zone for our cats. Too many water dish spills made that an A-#1 priority in this house!
keaata
16 years ago
Custom made granite and wrought iron island we had made when living in Italy.
cotehele
16 years ago
wvhippiechick, what a lovely story. Your Hoosier hutch comes with wonderful memories! It looks in very good condition, and the colors all coordinate nicely. I like the combination of painted and stained pieces in your kitchen.

Our hutch is white now, but originally was painted gray. "Gray" is stamped on the back of the hutch, and gray enamel is easily visible under the chipped white paint. FIL said his mother painted the Napanee Kitchenet about once a year. a la Antiques Roadshow, I can not decide whether to strip and repaint, repair the existing paint or leave it just as it is.
jynxed23
16 years ago
The floors. We bought two pallets of flooring. Then I decided that I wanted a stark white kitchen with black granite tops and sage green walls. But it would have clashed with the chiseled edge travertine. So I went with a vintage white, had most appliances covered with panels, and chose the sinks and granite to fit into an "old world" kitchen.

Recent pic of the floor (please excuse the mess)
{{!gwi}}
igloochic
16 years ago
keaata!!!!! SHOW US!!!
User
16 years ago
Jynxed23, your workers are soooo much cuter than mine! Is there anything better than a carpenter in a onesie?

And your cabinets are great, too.

My kitchen was desinged around the concept of practicality. Cabinets go in today. I'm hoping to post some pictures soon.
vwhippiechick
16 years ago
Cotehele Our Hoosier also had at least 12 coats of paint and the base coat was milk paint. It looked very bad when we got it home. We tried to strip it ourselves but ended up having a professional do it. He also rebanded the "rolling doors". We really enjoy it and all the memories. All of his grandmothers other beautiful antiques, a mahogany sleigh bed with chifferobe, dressing table and dresser, piano etc were lost to a house fire several years ago. This is the only piece that survived.
pbrisjar
16 years ago
I don't know if there really was one single design idea. I guess if I had to pick one thing that would be natural materials. Other than that we didn't really have a set design idea going in. As things developed, we came to a much better idea of what we wanted the kitchen to be, this, along with our granite:

became our design idea.

What is the one thing you built the kitchen around?

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