Thanks raee and Errant :) . Yes, the problem solving hat will have to go on at some point.

After cabinet fronts, big jobs remaining are:
- pulling wire for island microwave
- building in fridge and installing cabinet above
- design/make trash organizer
- install hood and ducting
- repair drywall
- paint
- install living room IKEA Besta "fauxdenza" & bookshelves
- install entrance closet organization and hang mirrored sliding doors

It all looks amazing, feisty! You should be very proud of yourself for doing such a good job. Whatever finish you end up doing will work out great, I'm sure. Your handles are beautiful! Bang up job there! You're so close now. I'm just getting my countertops installed next week! Haven't even ordered my cab fronts because I wanted to make sure the measurements took into consideration of the overhang I was going to have on my countertops. Overhang isn't happening anymore, but that's another story! You'll be thru before I am, for sure, & I can't wait to see the final project. I hear you on this DIY thing, tho! I dont know about you, but I've learned so much from this one, that if i were to do another kitchen, I might just do this again! I think it would be a lot easier knowing what I should do & not do!! As in maybe not doing it myself again!! You need to pat yourself on the back because you've outdone yourself. Bright light at the end of your tunnel now!

I'm excited for you bicyclegirl! Glad that the ball got rolling again. I learned a lot too - but maybe too much in the "don't" category? LOL.

Glad you like the handles - they are working for me :)

It's looking good Feisty! You should be proud of yourself and all your hard work and making your vision come true!

I appreciate that MGMum :) .

LOVED seeing the peek of your cabinets! I'm really glad to see you have progress, feisty68, though from your list, there's still a lot to go. I look through our build pictures and I remember it felt like we would never get there. You will! Remember to take lots of pictures along the way (and please show us too!).

Thanks for the encouragement oldbat2be. It's been a long haul!

It's gorgeous, feisty. You have an artists vision, just like your mother. It is my taste, modern. DIY is very tough and you are so getting there. Good luck.

Hi folks -

Happy Spring from cherry blossom land :) . I am just getting used to Houzz...what an interesting partnership. I trust that everything that makes GW great is ongoing.

In the past two months my life has been very busy doing a contract (they've been rare lately :( ) and homeschooling my two - one of whom is gifted but also has learning disabilities that together cover the "three Rs".

So. Inertia is the enemy now when it comes to my kitchen. My kitchen reno had its first birthday recently <rolling eyes>.

Cabinet fronts:

All are installed except for one drawer front that got ruined, the microwave panel, and the island back and side panels. One larger front needs to be replaced because the pieces of maple that are glued together are separating slightly. I am really pleased that we chose the custom front route. I love that the colour and finish look unique, the solid wood feels quality, and the gaps are narrow (they are half of the gap width of the standard IKEA fronts). The cabinets are reading as a soft olive grey - my photo from Dec 21 gives a pretty good idea. Husband says he "loves" the fronts and I am really enjoying them too. The grain creates a lot of pattern and a patchwork appearance, but I find that appealing with the slab fronts. I am so pleased that I went with the "brass" powdercoated IKEA Tyda pulls in spite of Husband's scepticism. The oversized pulls are so nice to use with heavily loaded drawers. They add the interest that 24-30" wide slab fronts need.

The problem with the finish still hasn't been corrected. This whole situation could have been prevented by more testing of sample boards of my complete finish plan (I tested components of the finish plan, but not the whole package together). I think what happened is that the very wet staining process made the wood extremely porous, causing the recommended single coat of Rubio Monocoat to not create a finish that is enough of a barrier. Dribbles are not wiping off as they should.

I am considering three options:

1. another coat of 5% white Rubio Monocoat Oil (basically clear)

2. a topcoat of Rubio Monocoat Oil in grey (to shift the colour more in the grey direction) or

3. a water-based satin topcoat (risky obviously because would it bond? - but it would create the real barrier that we need in this kitchen)

I need to test them.

24" Undersink Garbage Organizer:

This needs to work really, really well. We finally tackled designing this, which ended up being quite a change of plans. Ultimately we did some hacking - two pairs of IKEA drawer glides and sides form the pullout mechanism. They are not perfect, but the benefit is a rock solid soft close Blum mechanism. But, the bins that I ordered (which were really expensive - yeesh!) don't fit with the new design. There is a lot of space in there but with the sink drain the dimensions are really awkward and I am struggling to figure out the right configuration of bins. Do people ever get custom bins somehow? Also, there is a puzzle of how to keep the bins in place.

Otherwise, my to-do list hasn't changed much since the one I posted on Jan 19. Sigh.

Best wishes to my kitchen reno peeps.

Hey feisty. Great to hear from you. I've thought about you a few times & wondered how you were. Love the cartoon....that's me sitting in the chair! That's right, still not finished!! Big surprise! I do have countertops now, 2+ months after the date for installation!! Beautiful countertops, bad installers! But, they're in!

Has it been a year since you started your reno? It's been a year & 3 months for me & I'm still not finished! We can do this, feisty! Unfortunately, I can't give you any advice on your cabinet fronts or your under sink garbage organizer. Neither of those are my experitise! But, you're in the right place, as you know! I'm sure one of these very talented people will chime in to help you w/ suggestions. And then, you'll get it worked out like you have w/ the rest of the kitchen.

Sounds like you have work & kids keeping the reno on the slow train. I only have work as an excuse! From the pictures you've posted, it looks amazing! I'm so glad you're pleased w/ it all. If you can get these couple of last things figured out, you'll be on the homestretch!

Keep the pictures coming. And enjoy the stunningly beautiful cherry blossoms!

Oh, I'm so glad this older discussion rose to the surface. I, too, am one of the women in the cartoon. DIY takes so much longer. Especially when my skills are limited and I depend on DH for most of the real work and he travels a lot for his job. We're 6 months into it and haven't even finished demo yet, lol. I predict this kitchen will be a multi-year project, too. It's good to know I'm in good company.

Feisty, your custom finish is fantastic. Hope you work out your issues to give it a more durable seal. And powder coating those Ikea pulls is brilliant! Best wishes.

Yay!!! I'm always so happy when I see your thread pop back up! I'm glad you're still moving along, even if it's not at the pace you were hoping. Do we not get a tiny sneak peek?

As for your recycling pullout, how about creating your own bins, by making boxes with thin plywood (painted or sealed for easy clean up)?

Errant, I will see what I can do about a sneak peak. My camera is finally fixed after being in the shop for three months >:( . But I have to pick it up. My phone takes really bad photos.

I don't think plywood would work for us as a material for waste management bins. It's tempting, but I think we really need bins that can be sanitized.

Funkycamper, yeah, I am depending a lot on my workaholic husband for more complicated skills as well. It is what it is. It is actually really hard to get quality hired help in this city anyway.

Bicyclegirl - I can totally relate to countertop installation woes. Hopefully you'll be like me and get steamrollered by life and stop caring about the imperfections. Wait...maybe we won't hope that :) .

I am trying to make a list of things that I can do for the kitchen reno that would be free or cost under $20. I think that if I moved into gear on those items we would make progress even when husband is busy or we have budgetary restrictions.

Hi Feisty - so good to hear that DH is loving the fronts & the pulls. Such hard work you've accomplished & if I remember correctly, he was a bit skeptical?I can't help w/ the trash bins but you might want to post a separate thread. There is somebody on GW w/ words of wisdom for you. One of the things that has been occurring frequently since the changeover is the number of old threads that are popping up. There are many I just don't click on because by the time you read all the posts & get to the current question, it's no longer relevant.

Thrilled to see your post pop up! Enjoy those cherry blossoms.

Yes, you are remembering correctly Romy :) .

OK folks, enjoy the hilarious range hood situation, the unpainted walls and the countertop clutter.

You can see where the former kitchen was in the photo above. The island on the left was actually walls (built-in pantry), and on the right the cabinets only extended to where the range is now. Just to the left of the sink is the dishwasher, in the same position as it was before. Can you believe I cooked from scratch in that claustrophobic little kitchen for 13 years?

The fronts and pulls look great!

Oh my feisty68, oh my!!!! LOVE IT! That's the crazy part - we 'hate' our old kitchens, but when we think of all the happy times and great meals which came out of them, it's definitely something we don't ever want to forget. (And why would we want to diminish those great times?) Huge congratulations to you and DH!! Those drawer fronts (and handles) are FABULOUS.

P.S. Regarding bins, DH clipped out corners of our bins, so they'd work. With the trash bags we like to use as liners (on top), these are never visible. I'll be glad to post pictures if you like.

Oldbat2be, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this home. I would never want to erase those memories, but after a failed marriage I am very pleased to make a fresh start with a new husband in what feels like a new space. I actually had a lot of affection for that kitchen though - for its size it was pretty efficient.

I will definitely consider hacking at some of the bins I already purchased - glad to know that you have done that.

The positive feedback is reassuring after going through a pretty rough process with refining my vision and actually implementing it :) . I can't tell you how many times I regretted not getting standard fronts and pulls. But I'm glad that I stubbornly stuck with my plan because the design is "me", with a ton of input from husband too (his strong preference for solid wood ruled out almost all standard options).

As oldbat said....oh my, oh my! What you've done is amazing! I can completely see your vision in there. The fronts, river white(?) & the handles are perfect together. Love those handles! You're going to make a lot more wonderful memories in this beautiful new kitchen.

Hey peeps, not much has changed since my March 13 photo believe it or not. Kids' dad had a major operation, summer happened, and my husband has been having health problems again. Kitchen reno has been on the back burner mostly. But back here to post progress and ask some questions (separate post).

We got the electrical partially done! Husband got a buddy to help him pull the microwave wire and install the lighting junction boxes (and some junction boxes in closets for utility lighting). They worked together for two Sundays and got it done with the help of lots of Heineken. They did an awesome job putting the lights exactly where I wanted them (centered on the island top, the sink, and the range). We decided against doing a pendant over the island. I may add a sconce but I don't want dangling stuff to mess with our mountain view.

I am delighted with our new light fixtures. They are MP lighting canopy mounted spotlights with an aluminum finish (X01 C3 - 1 NS NA 1 - MC). Currently they are lamped with wide angle Sylvania Tru-Aim Titan covered halogen (but they can be lamped with SORAA LED as well). We found the Sylvania to be much nicer than the equivalent Philips. The lamp (= bulb) is naked so you see colour from the reflective part on top and the Philips threw harsh pink lines on the ceiling. The lights are on dimmers so energy savings are possible there. Because of the wide angle of the halogen, we only needed six fixtures to light our small kitchen.

For choosing ceiling lighting I was inspired by one of my favourite kitchens: Lauren Liess'.

As you can see, drywall & painting remains to be done.

Yesterday it took all afternoon for Husband and I to install one of the end cabinet panels. Finding lost-neglected tools, figuring out how to scribe to floor and wall (nope, nothing is straight or right-angled). Sigh, what a PITA. (Ignore the weird line on the panel in the photo below - it's a cord shadow.)

I am still in love with my "brass" handles. I ended up doing a second coat of Rubio Monocoat because the surface was too dry/porous.

I remember your project from several months ago, glad to see you back! I love the look of your kitchen, unfinished as it may be. The inspiration link you posted is lovely, and I think you have a lot of the same "feel".

So sorry to hear of health problems; best wishes for recovery:))

Looking good! Hope everyone is on the mend soon!

I'm glad you're still making some progress, and even more glad that your husband is feeling better :)

Hi Feisty! I was so glad you to see your thread pop up in my email so I could catch up. Somehow I've missed all your 2015 updates. My grandson was born early January and he, along with other life events, have kept me too busy to spend much time on GW. I absolutely love how your cabs and pulls turned out, as well as how your vision is coming together. No worries on the timeframe; many of us DIYers are still not finished. Ours is going at a snails pace right now. Hopefully, we'll be done by the end of the year! Can't wait to see your space unfold!

Hope your DH's health is on the upswing!

Congrats on your grandbaby Bbtrix :) . Glad I'm not alone on the snail's pace. Done by Christmas sounds fantastic!

Feisty, just a note of solidarity. Our mostly DIY remodel is at five years and counting. I got very sick right after we gutted the place and didn't start feeling more or less like myself again till about a year ago (but I'm still not 100%). Dealing with a torn-up house and no progress and everybody's frustrations while feeling terrible (me) and feeling helpless (my husband) is extremely unfun.

Virtual hug!

Nice to see your progress and to hear how things are going with you and your family. Hope all the health problems are resolved. Everything looks fantastic.

Just so you know you're not alone It's been about a year since demo started. Since the wiring for the only ceiling light was torn out, we have a couple of those clamp-on work lamps on extension cords clamped in two corners for light. The sink light still works but we removed the soffit over the sink so it's hanging from about 18" of exposed wiring. Our peninsula cabinets are sitting in place but the DW hasn't yet been moved to it, nor has the clean-up sink for it been installed. Yup, this DW Nazi still has the DW in the prep area. Grrrrrrrrr This house had no sheetrock when built so the walls are torn down to the original plywood sub-walls. It's a working kitchen but it's sure not a pretty one.

I'm more tired of almost 1/3 of my living room filled with boxes with the new sinks, faucets, DW, hood, and other assorted items.

Oh, well....life goes on. :)

Oh Jillius, I hope you feel 100% soon! Health is more important than finishing a renovation project for sure. But it's demoralizing when you never have the satisfaction of completing!

Funkycamper, it's scary how much we can get used to unfinished!

Best wishes to everyone for an autumn energy boost that gets us nesting and progressing :)

If nothing else, autumn usually brings pie. That would be ok too.

Oh, OH, pie! We have had several apple pies lately and I've canned 8 quarts of apple-pie filling. I used to have to bring in a card table for extra counter space. Not any more! So, yeah, progress. :)

Those cabinets look amazing! I love the finish and while I'm not usually a brass person those pulls work really well with the wood.

Fishcow, my husband was really sceptical about the brass. But the "brass" ended up being a very subtle effect - matte, and a very subdued colour. Thanks for the comments :) . We lived through the 80s so there was no way we were going there with the brass!

Yes, we have lighting now. This happened a while ago. Love these halogen spotlights from MP Lighting. Ignore holes, old paint, etc.

Also, some island panels magically went up.

Slow renovating, it's a thing.

feisty68, I'm hoping you might be able to take a few more straight on shots of your kitchen cabinetry. Going through that process now of trying to determine whether we can get a "Restoration Hardware" look with the maple as opposed to White Oak or Pine and your cabinets look pretty darn close!

Umm. I really am trying to set a record for longest time to renovate a small kitchen! Huge progress this week as drywall is done! Walls in this open kitchen will be Pointing (Farrow and Ball).

Backsplash dilemma now. I was thinking of zellige tiles, but unfortunately they got super trendy when I wasn't looking. I think they would really work with the finishes that I have.

Here's an inspiration photo:

Looks like the same River White granite as I have.

I don't know about trendy, but I love the subtle mix of colors in those tiles. I wanted that effect, which I saw in some travertine tiles, but didn't like the stone and didn't find it in any ceramic at the time

I would do tiles like that. I would do something super trendy if it became trendy after you already liked it, because you liked it when it wasn't super trendy. What happens to your hood? Tile?

I would start a new thread I think, with the picture you posted recently because a lot of people are going to assume this was bumped by spam or some other not really legitimate reason.

If you like it then it doesn't matter if it's trendy. I loved shaker cabinets 30 years ago way before they were trendy and I still love them.

I think the tiles would be great in your space. Trendy or not they seem to fit. fwiw p: I haven't really liked them before.

I'm so glad to see you post. Hope all is well. And start a new thread with updates, please. I only opened the post for old times sake.

Thanks so much for the replies folks. OK, I will start a new thread for sure, I guess this one is stale :/

Pt 3, please. Thread isn't stale. Just long :)

Hey feisty! Long time no see. What great progress you've made. And, yours is not the longest reno for a small kitchen. I'm right there w/ you, still!

Don't start a new thread. Keep this one going so everyone can see the progress over time. I love love the tile! I actually chose blue like that for my backsplash. However, I haven't put mine up! So, as you can see, your reno is no longer than mine! I was moving along & doing well & then I brought it to a complete halt about 8 months ago. I'm now thinking about tearing my whole house down & building 2 on my lot! Keep one for me & sell the other. I'm still not sure if I'm going to do it, but I hate to put anymore $ into the kitchen, & whole house for that matter, if I'm going to knock it down. Still iffy on doing it, but am thinking seriously about it. We'll see.

You have come a long way & it looks great. I think you should do the tile. I don't think it's going to be trendy & date the kitchen down the road. I thought the brass was going to be trendy, but it's still going strong. Go w/ what you like!

I can't wait to see more!

bicyclegirl! [come see me on my Part III thread ;)[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/soft-modern-small-kitchen-reno-part-iii-of-the-ongoing-saga-dsvw-vd~4705752)