Modern-style DIY kitchen remodel @ 99% completion

15 years ago

After just finishing the backsplash this weekend (just need to grout) I thought it'd be a good time to post my progress.

Everything in the kitchen was done by yours truly with the wife's, ahem, 'guidance'. It's taken a solid 14 days of actual work spread out over a few months and we're right at $11,500 for all materials.

We also started painting the whole downstairs with a color named Wish from Benjamin Moore's Aura line. Truly a beautiful, neutral gray color that's a dream to use.

Last few things to be done are getting the kick boards installed and a few pieces of baseboard molding. It's been an absolute pleasure doing this project and many of the ideas come from these pages so thanks to all of you for that.

Now, on to the bathroom remodel!

kitchen

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen remodel

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Comments (22)

remodelfla
15 years ago
WOW! Can you please tell me about your floors?
laxsupermom
15 years ago
Great job! I'd also like details on your flooring. I've never seen tiles like that. You should also post this on the kitchens under $20,000 thread. Only 14 days of actual work? Your wife must be more motivating than I am. ;P
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Blum Aventos HF again: Yes, your cabinets are a little higher on the wall -- and so are mine!! The placement of the Blum Aventos HF spring mechanism is what I was trying to draw your attention to. Inside each cabinet, these Aventos HF hinges are not screwed at the "correct" height as per Blum instructions. I know because I have cabinets with these, and I called Blum several times to ask about changing the height in order to get a different angle when the fronts were opened. No go, according to the Blum people I spoke to. But, I wasn't satisfied that they had ever tested it out any other way, or asked about it anywhere. so it is good to see that yours work well. To stop the cabinet fronts from going too high and hitting the ceiling, Blum sells "angle stops". I got them. They are great. I'll bet your hardware installer doesn't read instructions, take courses, watch videos or ask questions. The two points I mentioned above are two clues, but it doesn't mean I'm certain. Also one more: in your photos I saw some of the unweighted spring arms left in a dangerous position, specifically forbidden in the piece of paper that Blum includes in every box of Aventos parts. No harm done in pointing this out now, I hope. Here is a sentence from one of my emails to the Blum people I dealt with: "Accessories Box #10 has Opening Angle stop 104 degrees part no. 20F7051. Do these come in pairs?" Buy them. It is worth it to have the spring automatically come to a stop right under the ceiling. If you re-install the Aventos lower down on the cabinet side, the spring arms become shorter and this makes the geometry of the two panels totally different when opened. By the way, do you know if you got the spring that is lightest, mid-range, or heaviest? There is a lot of overlap, so it's not critical. Hth!! ---- I mentioned I have the same countertop. Perhaps you might want to look at my backsplash. For now, look on the web for "Random White Hirsch Murano glass tiles". .
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crcollins - I love your kitchen, and can't wait to see the photos when it is completely finished. I am in the planning stages of a kitchen remodel, and I am very much leaning towards the Formica Aqua Dotscreen for my counters. I just sent away for a sample of this and a few of the other Formica 100th anniversary patterns, as they don't seem to have them in stores. I have searched all over, and there don't seem to be any photos online of the countertop installed. In fact, before I found this post, I came across a post from you on another site where Formica responded that there were no installed photos. If you could please post a photo or two of the installed Aqua Dotscreen countertop, I would be very appreciative! I would be putting it on white cabinets as well. I'm also wondering what type of edge you chose. Thank you!
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cosmo_nj
15 years ago
That looks great!
ashrob123
15 years ago
Looks great. I would love to know what type of floors those are as well. Very different and attractive.
ci_lantro
15 years ago
Very Nice! I reallllly like that backsplash. It's perfect!
morton5
15 years ago
Love it! Great "guidance" and great execution!
Yvonne B
15 years ago
Beautiful! Lovely colors, and a fabulous kitchen!
malhgold
15 years ago
What a great job. I love the combo of materials. I too would like to know about the floor! Congratulations on a great job and a great DIY!!!
pharaoh
15 years ago
Just perfect! what is the floor? love the glass backsplash. the white and black contrast is very modern.

Double kudos for DIYers...
mamadadapaige
15 years ago
gorgeous! you must be so proud!!
mustbnuts zone 9 sunset 9
15 years ago
Love the kitchen especially the tile. Just beautiful. Great job! Congrats!
happymommy
15 years ago
I love the combo of materials - the cabinets, the glass backsplash, and that fabulous floor. Everything looks great together. I can't wait to see the finished product. Seriously - only 14 days???? Amazing. I love it!
katmandu_2008
15 years ago
Oooh, I really like it!!! I love the backsplash and the floors (much like others above). They totally add a uniqueness to the whole beautiful kitchen! Congratulations and so impressive it was DIY!
revans1
15 years ago
Very nice. Big fan of the modern.
janran
15 years ago
Very impressive...and even more so, that you did it yourself. Enjoy the fruits of your labor!
busybme
15 years ago
Very nice! Congratulations on a job well-done!

Sandy
adamdonna
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for all the kind words and glad you like it. We were positive we wanted a modern, clean look to the kitchen this time around. I still kind of wish we went the other way with the black and white theme - White countertops and dark wenge-colored cabinetry.

The trick for getting it done so quick was staging just about every aspect of the construction beforehand in the dining room right next to the kitchen and moving it into place. The other big reason was since it's a DIY, I didn't want to spend every weekend working on it (with a family of 4, being out a kitchen can cause havoc) so I took 1 week off of work and worked 14 hours a day on it.

I'm surprised to hear how much everyone likes the floor tiles. They're from a company named Casa Grande. I don't have the name of this specific line but will update when i get home tonight. They're porcelain, 12 x 24, and have a slight texture to them. In direct sunlight they almost have a dark denim look. Oh, and they were pretty affordable - somewhere around $16/sf.

Thanks again for the compliments and let me know if i can answer any questions.
adamdonna
Original Author
15 years ago
They're from a company named CASALGRANDE PADANA from Italy. Check out their site - they have lots of beautiful products.
The line is called Granitoker and the color is Carbonio in 12x24. I bought them from Sam's Ceramic & Stone in White Plains, NY (914-328-3030 or 1-888-709-7267). Hope that helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: Casalgrande
tanem
15 years ago
Love the look. Where did you buy the tile for your backsplash? What is the color. thanks!
ruth98103
15 years ago
Can you give us some information about the cabinets and countertops? Any tips for keeping costs down?
mahatmacat1
15 years ago
Great work! Simple and clean and perfect :) What did you do to bridge the height difference between the kitchen and the adjoining room?
adamdonna
Original Author
15 years ago
Tanem,
Backsplash tiles are Crystal Glossy 1/2 x 2 in Water from Ann Sachs NY. Ask for Setta, she's the best.

Ruth,
All the cabinets, doors, and hardware are from Home Depot. They were relatively cheap since I had to assemble but with some wood glue, a few extra screws, and reinforcing 2x4s to carry the weight of the countertops they're not going anywhere.

The countertops are Absolute Black and from a stone place in Elmsford NY. This was the deal of the century. We fell in love with this type of stone and after looking around found the price to be around $92/sf. In a last ditch effort, I called a random place that had just gotten the contract to do the stonework for all the bathrooms, kitchens and main lobby at a new Ritz-Carlton. Part of winning the contract meant they needed the capability to bang out 12 granite coutertops per day with a water jet cutter. The owner told me they purchased the cutter and just finished installing it so I casually asked if he'd like to "practice" on my countertop and he agreed. Bottom line - $36/sf installed. It looks like a million bucks.

As for keeping the costs down, not having any labor fees was key. But even if you can't do all the work, most of it can be done by the average homeowner, especially demo. The other lesson I learned from this experience was EVERYTHING is negotiable. We did an exhaustive amount of research and found everything we wanted from the appliances to the faucet to the countertops and called around with specific measurements, model #s, etc. and always asked, politely, if they could do any better. In each instance the vendor came down by at least 15%.

I think if you talk to vendors as an educated, polite consumer you can save big money.

Flyleft,
I think i'll just cut a piece of the tile 2 x 24 and mortar it to the edges. Not the most elegant solution but the only one i've come up with so far. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Modern-style DIY kitchen remodel @ 99% completion

Comments (22)

remodelfla

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