50 Shades of Gray, TKO version
lisa_a
8 years ago
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Will you PLEASE post a link to your kitchen??
Comments (131)Since we're posting links to our kitchens this was the partially finished reveal back in 2010 to my condo. It showed the before and after. I sold the condo this past May. Here are a few pics from it completely finished and staged. (What's missing are the Mission studio lights over the bar area and the Arroyo Craftsman sconces in the dining room, since we removed those and put less expensive lights for selling. The Mission Studio lights will be going in our new build)....See MoreWhat do your stained or natural wood cabinets look like?
Comments (38)I just saw this. I have to tell you, stained cabinets never spoke to me. I'd come across a painted kitchen and "ooOOOoooooo," I'd softly quiver. ("quiver?" OMG. I said "quiver.") Anyway, that was until the day I stripped some vintage, beaded inset cabinets down to bare oak. Holy moly were they pretty. I antiqued them with a gray stain, then 2 different tones of brown to reach an incredible finish. Then, I stripped some of those horrible dark red/black cherry cabinets, again, down to bare wood. So absolutely beautiful. I've actually done the same finish now on 4 antique doors, too. LOVE IT. Now I have such a mix of wood in my kitchen it probably looks stupid, but I call it "eclectic." (No, it's not nice just because I did it. It's just that I can't decide now what to do!) But I don't want to repaint them. My point in all this? I love the pictures this question is provided. Thanks for asking. Also, don't be shy about Citristripping the finish off your cabs and restaining. It's a PIA, but incredibly do-able in place with Citristrip. Messy, but no longer flesh-eating. Just a thought....See MorePlan of kitchen as is, suggestions welcome.
Comments (14)This long, narrow kitchen came to mind as soon as I saw your space. The designer used a peninsula - with seating - to divide the room into 2 work zones. I adapted the above idea for you.Here's what I did; structural changes are marked by orange circles/ovals: I changed the powder room entry to open onto the garage hallway. I swapped the office closet and kitchen pantry. I recessed the fridge into the pantry just enough to have room for a 12" deep, floor to ceiling pantry cab between powder room wall and fridge cab. I added another 12" deep floor to ceiling pantry cab to the side of the fridge. If you use your stairs frequently, then change this cab to a 12" pull-out pantry cab facing the window wall. Because the fridge doesn't take up the entire depth of the pantry, I added bookshelves to the office. Or you can reduce the depth of the office closet and make the office about a foot larger, front to back. I moved the clean-up sink and DW to the other side of the pipe wall. Not quite as convenient to the DR but this move makes it possible to have a cooking zone where you currently have the sink & DW. The counters on both sides of the pipe wall are 30" deep. If you're doing custom cabs, ask for them to be made deeper with longer drawer guides. That will give you more storage, plus it helps to camouflage the pipe wall (keep reading). If you're doing semi-custom or stock, pull the base cabs out from the wall a few extra inches (talk to your GC in advance about this) for the deeper counters. The upper cabs at each end of the window are to the counter that face each other across the window. These will be for glassware and dishware. If you add a drawer just above the counter, you can store dish towels in one and silverware in the other. The cabs would be like the glass-fronted cabs in this kitchen: I'm suggesting glass fronts, too, but that's up to you. I added a matching depth cab that sits on the counter on the other side of the pipe wall, facing the DR wall. Once you add a decorative panel to the side of these two cabs, you'll completely hide the fact that there's a wall there. I added a peninsula between the 2 areas with a seating overhang so that you can sit and prep in the kitchen. You could add a 2nd stool (the red dotted line and red stool) or you can change the overhang's location to the end of the peninsula. Either way, you'll have a nice view out towards the mature trees when you're sitting and prepping. I'm reusing the current sink's piping for a prep sink under a new, wider window, MOL matching the size of the other window. I did not center the prep sink under the window. I wanted to give a decent amount of counter to the left of the sink for your husband to work. You share the sink but you each have your own work area. The 36" induction cook top is against the DR wall with a hood (42" wide recommended) above it. There are upper cabs (green) on either side of the hood. Instead of putting the ovens below the counter, I moved them to a cab column by the DR doorway. This way, you can be at the cook top and not be in hubby's way when he wants to get to the ovens, or vice versa but the ovens are close enough that if move items from cook top to oven, you only have a few steps to go to transfer a dish. I spec'd a MW drawer below counter. the counter between entry door and ovens will serve as landing surface for items coming out of the MW and ovens. It may also be wide enough to serve as a 3rd prep area or as a beverage center when you have company. I debated whether to put the ovens next to the DR doorway or next to the entry doorway. I opted for the former since it's only you and DH. Having counter next to hallway entry instead of between ovens and wall is nicer, IMO, but you could definitely swap them if that fits your needs better. I didn't work out all the cab sizes, etc - I'll wait to do that once you give us more exact measurements - but this gives you a pretty good idea of what you can do. A variation on the above would be to move the double ovens to the fridge's location and move the fridge to the oven wall, up against the hallway entry. I would leave the MW drawer MOL where it is since many items often go from fridge to MW. Anyhoo, that's my idea for you....See MoreWhat is the real advantage of honed granite over soapstone?
Comments (24)After so long of going back and forth between granite and soapstone, we finally decided on Alberene Church Hill soapstone. We saw several honed granite slabs (almost went with Jet / Virginia Mist) but ultimately fell in love with the matte, almost cement look of the soapstone. We like the gray look and believe it gives our kitchen the rustic farmhouse look we were going for. We do not oil or wax the counters. There is a little veining throughout, but the slab we picked had a nice big vein on the end, which we loved. The soapy texture of the stone is amazing, and everyone feels the need to constantly run their hands across it. Everyone asks what the countertop is, because it is not something you see in a lot of houses. It is definitely not for everyone though. We did so much research before committing to this stone, and were aware of the scratches, chips, dents, darkening, and patina that would ultimately come along over time. Believe me, they do come, but it goes with the look. Grease marks also show, but are easily removed with dawn detergent and a microfiber sponge. It has been quite some time since we installed them. We are thrilled with our decision and do not regret a thing. Good luck with yours!...See Morelisa_a
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