Cali Kitchen REVEAL! (semi-budget)
Hello from San Diego, long time lurker, first time poster. I wanted to share our renovated kitchen with you all, since your comments and advice have been so helpful to me. I would never have known about Bosch dishwashers or Blanco sinks, so thank you!! I also wanted to give hope to others, as I was discouraged by the high-end kitchens and thinking we could never get something as beautiful as we did. We have an open U shape kitchen with doors on both sides; about 100 sq ft of tile, 95 sq ft of counters, 13 cabs. Total cost: $15K materials, appliances + labor, some DIY, some contractor. This is our success story. :)
Backstory: We sold our condo (previously had renovated the master bath and kitchen) at Xmas and moved into an apartment for 4 months while we house hunted. We ended up buying a complete fixer upper that just happened to be the worst house in a great neighborhood that nobody wanted to deal with (overseas investors + rental property) and we spent 2 month renovating it. New flooring throughout, whole house painted (and walls patched and fixed), every water line and plumbing fixture replaced, and a kitchen gut redo. We didn't have a big budget, but I do appreciate value and doing things once, the right way. Our style is classic modern - is that a thing? The Audrey Hepburn of kitchens, lol!
High Level: We did an Ikea kitchen during their sale, our cabs alone would not have qualified for any discount so we threw in the countertop too ($59/sq ft installed) and got 20% off it all. We could not have been happier with how smooth the whole process was, but full disclosure, my DH lived in their planning software for weeks before we went to the store to buy. We got all our appliances from Best Buy, b/c they price match for 30 days afterward so when things went on sale I called them back and got a refund. We used Lowes for almost everything else. We still can't decide on a backsplash (glass tile), so taking a breather. Any suggestions?
Cabs: Ikea Sektion Laxarby (black painted Birch) with white boxes
Counters: Ceasarstone Nougat (LOVE!)
Dishwasher: Bosch 500 series (LOVE!)
Fridge: LG Counter Depth LFXC24726S (LOVE!)
Stove: Samsung
Micro: Samsung
Sink: Blanco Precis (LOVE!)
Floors: Pergo Max Montgomery Apple (LR, $2.50/sq ft), Style Selections Leonia Sand Porcelain tile in mild wood grain (K, $1.99/sq ft)
Pics in following posts, happy to answer any questions! Thanks for reading!
Before - 1990, moldy birch and white tile. dark grout or dirty...??
Before:
That micro was all sorts of code violations.
Half Demo'd, only pic of fluorescent light box.
Comments (41)
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White & gray kitchen reveal, lots of pics!
Comments (135)The measurement is of the counter, not including the doorway. The cabinet to the left of the hood is 15" and to the cabinet to right of the hood is 27"....See MoreREVEAL on Holy 70s, Batman! condo kitchen
Comments (31)Thanks, musicgal! Tracie, my daughter was told or maybe she read somewhere (here? ikeafans.com?) that the Numerar butcherblock counters sell out very quickly so I should check the website regularly for stock and then go immediately to get them when they had them. So that's what I did. Later I realized I should have ordered another 6' one; i was still within the kitchen sale period so I got a rain check and was able to get the 6' counter at the sale price as soon as they were in stock again. (They don't call it a rain check though---maybe "shopping list"? Something like that.) I don't believe that they're not ever going to get them again, at least not if they're still listed on the website. I've heard so many differing things about this and that at IKEA---FROM Ikea employees! It seems like it's really hard to get consistent answers about stuff. (Just in the past two days I've gotten four very different answers to a question I had about their faucet warranty. Sheesh!) edited to add: it wasn't more than 2-3 weeks that I had to wait for a new delivery of counters. And when I said I went immediately, I did--like within an hour of checking the stock. This post was edited by spanky_md on Wed, Aug 6, 14 at 17:59...See MoreRevealing the new Kitchen
Comments (61)Love it! As many other people have said, the counter tops are great, and I also like the backsplash. It's almost exactly the layout we're going to have, right down to many of the same type of cabinet in the same locations, so I'd like to ask a couple very picky questions: - What're your overall dimensions? What's the length of the counter run with the range? - I see you have the dishwasher on the right of the sink; we were thinking of the left. Any thoughts on this? Would it make any difference? - I see that your peninsula is not extra-deep -- just a standard 24" like the other cabinets? I ask because it seems that most people go deeper ... but then, we're not planning seating on that side of the peninsula. - Upper corner near the range: You have a standard cabinet, which must have a blind spot all the way to the wall, and a pull-out ... we were thinking of an easy-reach L-shaped upper in this corner. Since you're living with it already, what are your thoughts on the two choices? Thanks for any thoughts you may have on the above!...See MoreKitchen Reveal
Comments (127)Oh, believe me, Cyn, I am enjoying it, immensely! Appreciate the compliment. Truth is, I did very little and nothing anyone can't do. And honestly, I did it to save money and so I could rationalize getting the Subzero (which I think everyone can see really is needed in that kitchen!), etc. I should take pics of my dining room and porch. Egads. What. A. MESS! Porch is full of sawdust, saws, empty cans of stain and see, rubber gloves, dried up foam brushed, sand paper, stuff that still needs to go back into the kitchen; DR is littered with tools, kitchen stuff, buckets of joint compound, mastic, mineral spirits, paint, brushes....and there is dust and splatter everyone. Ugh. That is the biggest down side of doing it oneself. You do make a big mess!...See MoreJenn L.
8 years agoJenn L.
8 years agoStephanj - we built all the boxes and drawers and door fronts, then our GC installed rails and put boxes on them and leveled it for the counter templater. After the counter was installed we put in the drawers and hung the doors and did the hardware. He also bolted the peninsula to the foundation for support, and ikea sells a handy kit with monster bolts to do it. We really just learned as we went!
One funny story, as our counters were being installed, the gap for the stove was too narrow and they were going to shave 1/4" off the counter. DH ran in and was like 'let's just move the cab' so we unscrewed the cab from the rail, slid it right a quarter inch, then tightened and leveled it. So easy and it saved our quartz!
I also wanted to clarify the budget was kitchen only, the whole house plumbing fixes and wall patching we had to do were first, and added quite a bit to the overall reno.
Terri- here's a close up of the lights!
rmtdoug
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoJenn L.
8 years agoHey hoffmalr, that was my concern too, so we did two 18" cabs instead of one bigger one. I can reach everything in the one by the micro, but only the bottom two shelves of the left cab. I'm 5'7 but DH is 6'2 so he helps. :) I also got a step stool. Maybe store infrequently used items there?
Rmtdoug - you're right! I'm not sure how I got that messed up, but I looked at the paperwork last night and it's only 40sf. Sorry bout that! Blame reno brain? ;)
Great ideas about taking the quartz up into the window box. It's just a white painted wood now. Maybe I'll start with heavy duty waterproof sealer and repaint then look into that. Thanks!
I really appreciate all the comments and ideas, you guys are the best!
And since I love pics, here's some storage.
hoffmalr_gw
8 years agoJenn L.
8 years agoThanks fldirt! I love the pull out shelving, it's easier on my back to reach the items I put on it. I know people say there is wasted space but it fits our stuff. I also find the shape more accommodating than the lazy Susan. I hope you love yours!
lisa_a
8 years agobpathome put it well: you got ka-boom for your buck! Very nicely done!
Have you considered doing a painted glass backsplash? No idea if that can be DIYed or how expensive it might be but given your kitchen's wonderful, clean lines and modern vibe, I think it's worth considering.
A few inspiration pics for you. You can go bold or soft with the color.
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Sea Cliff · More InfoJenn L. thanked lisa_aJenn L.
8 years agolisa_a
8 years agofldirt
8 years ago
Terri_PacNW
8 years agoAaron
5 years agoJenn L.
5 years agoHi Aaron, I was shocked to get a comment on this thread! Thanks for the compliment, we're still loving and using the kitchen heavily. :) it was a blast from the past to go thru my renovation pics, hopefully these help you.
We definitely attached the cabinet to the wall with the included rail system. I don't remember exactly if we might have cut the long rail down to fit, or we got a short one. I'm sorry, good luck with your kitchen!
Nandina Home & Design