My kitchen facelift about to start- would love another set of eye

11 years ago

Here is a run down of what we plan to do and if you see anything Im missing please share, I have not used a kitchen designer so I would love feedback from GW!

I am posting my current kitchen so you can see what I am dealing with. This is a total face lift project- I just want to update my kitchen and brighten it up.

Where the middle cabinet is on the short wall it will be replaced by a Wolf 30" range and hood above so two 30 inch cabinets with glass will sandwich the range. The black double wall oven will be taken out.

The cabinet above the sink will be shortened to 33" (all uppers are 42" now) and inset a bit. The doors on that new cabinet will be glass too with lights in them.

The island will be 3 new (dark espresso) base cabinets and will house a single wall oven facing the sink. The island top will most likely be carerra marble (much anguish over the counter decisions!!) and the perimeter Im stuck on but most likely another light color quartz surface.

New stainless appliances : Viking refridg, stainless dishwaher- SO EXCITED to get the black out! My kitchen doesn't get much light so I think the painting of the cabinets a slight off white shade will brighten up the space.

So with all that said, this is where I am and where I need some serious feedback.

1. Danby or Carerra in center island- for best durability is honed the only way to go? My heart doesn't sing over honed but if I must I will.

2. What to do with perimeter? I like the suggestion of doing a solid white on perimeter but what? I will be honest I am not necessarily drawn to solid white and Im afraid solid white is going to show everything.If I could get something with some subtle movement it might be easier to maintain. Any suggestions?? Has anyone used another material on perimeter other than black soap stone or wood? I really want to keep with the off white/ white.

3. 12" over hang on island on two sides- do I need to get some type of "leg" or support. I hadn't thought of that when I ordered the bas cabinets. We are trying to increase out seating by one so the end of the new counter will hang 12" over to accommodate one more chair.

3. Anything jump out at you kitchen Gods and Goddesses that I am missing? Flooring and lighting is staying and back splash can be decided later.

Thank you!

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Comments (4)

enright5
Original Author
11 years ago
oops, forgot to mention the new sink will be stainless apron front and new chrome pull down faucet. Will most likely do carerra back splash or white subway.
raenjapan
11 years ago
I don't have answers to any of your questions, but I think your ideas are great and it's going to be gorgeous!
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OK...so you're also opening up the "lower" wall. The cooktop is much too close to the wall, I'm not even sure you have room for handles on the left, let alone emergency landing space. You should have at least 12", preferably 18" to 24" on both sides. You have a 36" span of wall and you're putting a 36" cooktop there. You don't even really have sufficient space on the right side of the cooktop as well...by recessing the bay window run of counters you're eliminating workspace directly adjacent to the cooktop. I'm not a fan of recessing so deeply...it constricts your workspace (both surface and floor) and eliminates useful workspace & storage. I would probably add a prep sink in the bay window area b/c right now you will prep on the peninsula...but there's really not enough room for it...plus the DW is in the way of the Prep Zone (to the right of the sink b/w the refrigerator & sink and across from the cooktop). Prep Zones usually end up near the closest water source to the Range/Cooktop & Refrigerator and right now your sole source is on the peninsula. The counters to the right of the cooktop won't get used much b/c there is no water source convenient for prepping....so you have quite a bit of wasted counter space on one side and nowhere near enough counterspace on the sink side (if you prep there). I would also consider moving the refrigerator to the other side of the sink/opening...right now it will bring outsiders deep into the working area of the kitchen and they will get underfoot! If you move it to the other side of the sink/opening, it will still be in the kitchen but when outsiders come looking for a snack they will not be underfoot. The other reason for moving it is to make it more convenient to the eating area(s). You don't show a MW...but I would locate it either next to the moved refrigerator (other side of the opening from the sink) or on the bay window run on the far right...it should be on the periphery for the same reason as your refrigerator...easily accessed from the kitchen but also located so outsiders looking for a snack (like MW popcorn or reheated leftovers) will not be underfoot.
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Hi, I'm back again. I'm sorry I have been away from my computer for awhile and did not realize there was still some interest in this post. My 4 year old had surgery to remove a benign brain tumour on the 13th (she is doing awesome!), so I have been occupied with other things. I am also getting our current house ready to sell, so I have been a cleaning, trim-painting, de-cluttering machine. They had a meeting about my kitchen and the builder agreed with me that too many things had been changed. The kitchen company is going to fix things at their cost. We went through each thing and I had to say which I would compromise on, and which HAD to be changed and what I should be compensated for financially. Basically, they will be removing the upper cabinets and installing 36" uppers and the remaining 6" to the soffit will have moulding and trim work - similar in look to kitchenkelly's. (This forum has been so valuable for pictures and ideas. Even though I mostly lurk I find so many helpful things). They are also fixing the microwave shelf, the baseboards on the island and installing some beadboard trim on the island that was left off. They refunded money for granite, the custom wood hood and the 42" uppers. Anyways, the kitchen won't look EXACTLY as I had wanted, and a big part of the problem is that soffit. However, it will be very close and I think it will still look very nice. As my husband pointed out, I am the only one who knows exactly what it was supposed to look like! We are disappointed with how inflexible the kitchen copmany is in regards to doing NOTHING custom (the original company was more custom) and we would probably have not signed on with this builder had we known. However, the rest of the house is WONDERFUL and I think in the end the kitchen will be great too. It's just not what we would have expected. I will post pictures when it is finished. They will be installing the new cabinets in about 2 weeks - and I will definately be keeping an eye on it to make sure it is done right :)
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Congrats on making progress. I second Lake Girl's suggestion, though. You probably should still do what you need to stack things for new flooring--just in case your husband might end up listening to a voice of higher authority, like some guy covered with concrete dust who's happy to help him save money by promising the old tile can be made to work. I.e., bring in your own authority--first--and supplement with properly coached friends and family. Surprising things can happen during a remodel, especially when time issues, even modest money issues, and a gang in agreement coalesce unexpectedly. BTW, in construction, the subs virtually ALWAYS feel whatever goes in fastest and on schedule is what should be done. Also, with the right (wrong) DH, just what constitutes an authority whose opinion outweighs one's own can be surprising. In the case of our tiny vacation home it was the voice from beyond of the previous owners being channeled through an old folding tray table they'd kept standing in the miniature kitchen to hold...absolutely nothing worthwhile. I was emptying this mess to join the mountains of other stuff headed for Goodwill when DH told me we should keep it there, basically because they did. I laughed, but he wasn't joking. Sigh. Unlike your problem, mine (the table, not DH) fit into the waiting garbage bag quite nicely.
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Greenhaven, I think it depends on how you grow up. My dad was a jack of all trades because his dad was that way. Well long story short I was a big tomboy and tagged along with many of my dad's jobs (metal fabrication, machine fixing, electrical, plumbing, small building jobs like decks and garages. Also at home I was the one that helped him bleed the breaks on his old 1952 1 ton box truck. I also helped him rotate the tires, change fluids and general maintenance. I was also in awe when he had to get out his engine lift (doesn't every one have one?) to put a new engine in his old truck. DH is also very handy because he grew up on a small farm and learned woodworking from his grandpa. I even felt competent enough the other day to fix my leaky S trap all by myself. I fixed up the front porch on our old house (have to sand again and paint since winter came early last fall. :( It will be pretty when I finish, and I can transplant my little seedlings outside. I agree with everyone else though that learning to be handy seems to be a lost art, and I told DH we will have to teach little DD everything we know. It won't be hard though since he loves to help with everything. I am looking forward to your second thread and hope it goes as well as the first one.
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bahacca
11 years ago
Only concern I have is this:
When you install the oven in the island, how far will the door open and how close to the sink will it be? Because say you are preping Thanksgiving dinner and you are washing potatoes at the sink while you ask someone to baste the turkey. Will they be able to actually reach down and baste the turkey, or will you have to stop using the sink? ALso, will there be ample room to actually take something like a turkey out of that oven comfortably without hitting your butt or hip on the opposite cabinets/sink area?
enright5
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you for getting me thinking about the oven door- I hadn't really even thought of it. I think I will be OK there is 48" from the island to the sink perimeter. Is there an optimal distance between oven and cabinet? I tested it out just now and although no one will be able to walk behind me when I am taking the turkey out of the oven it is plenty of clearance for me to bend over and take something out. I do see an issue with the dishwasher essentially being across from the oven door, but we just won't be able to be loading dishes while taking out a pizza- not a huge deal.

thanks for getting me thinking!

My kitchen facelift about to start- would love another set of eye

Comments (4)

enright5
Original Author

raenjapan

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My kitchen facelift about to start- would love another set of eye

Comments (4)

enright5Original Author

raenjapan

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bahacca

enright5Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

enright5
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enright5
Original Author