50 Shades of Gray, TKO version
(disclaimer: I haven't read the book or seen the movie but I think its title describes my kitchen quite well.)
After 7 1/2 yrs of planning and nearly 8 years from that starting point, my kitchen is finished! It went through multiple renditions in that time.
Initially, we planned only a cosmetic update: reface or paint the existing cabinets, replace appliances, replace counters and backsplash. And then (can you guess where I'm going?) I wandered into the Kitchen Forum, began my kitchen educational journey and came to the realization that a face lift would be money poorly spent. There was more wrong with my kitchen than a dated look.
So we waited and planned and saved until we finally began our remodeling journey on April 27th this year. Many of you followed along (buh bye old kitchen! Hello, new kitchen!) and cheered when things went well and offered comfort when the remodel hit a few hiccups, mostly due to our cab makers' snafus on the hutch. We were supposed to finish in 7 1/2 weeks; it was 10 weeks before we were done (not counting the miscellaneous, minor things left to do, including glass for the upper cabinets). I lost 20 lbs in the process. I'm thrilled about the weight loss but I *do not* recommend the method. =)
But the wait, the money and the angst were worth it! I love my new kitchen! Love, love, love it! It functions so well and not only do I have more storage (still have empty space in my cabs) but it's heads and tails more functional than my old kitchen's storage.
Drum roll, please....
I have so many people to thank and I know I'm going to forget someone because the journey here was literally years long. Remodeling does a number on the brain but I'll do my best to remember everyone who helped me along the way.
Without a doubt, rhome410 was the most helpful when I was working on my lay-out (you new people may not know her, she doesn't hang out here as much these days). She not only gave me feedback on ways to improve my lay-out, she provided 3D versions of my kitchen using ChiefArchitect.
My heartfelt thanks also goes to bmorepanic for additional lay-out feedback, gooster and plllog for willingly answering questions and providing photos of their Modern-Aire hoods, beekeeperswife for inspiring the idea to add glass to an upper's side panel, mayflowers and sixkeys who not only answered questions about their Pentalquartz counters but invited me to visit their homes to see their counters in person (lovely kitchens!) ... oh, no, my brain has already drain a blank about the others who helped me plan. So sorry if I've forgotten to include your name.
I can't end this without also thanking all you GWers who cheered me along and commiserated when things went wrong: cpartist, benjesbride, autumn, funkycamper, mayflowers, sjhockeyfan, rebunky, buehl, lavenderlass, blfenton, romy, a2gemini, Jillius, mgmum, Annkh, stephanj, tmy_jax, chelsiyarger, santabarbaratara, beth09, Mama Rachel, jmarino, bmorepanic, mdln, susanlynn2012, bbtrix, desertsteph, amber, oasisowner, anitamo, laughablemoments, sena01, artemis_ma, isable98, Maine Susan, elatsch and aries61. Phew, did I forget anyone? Your support through my remodel was so helpful!
Details and more pics to follow.
Comments (113)
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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
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoThanks, Romy! I should have included you in my thanks since you answered my questions abut cutting boards. I really do appreciate your help!
Love your choice of sustenance. =)
I love my DR hutch, too. I've wanted a place to display my antique plates for so long and now I have one.
Here's a closer shot of my kitchen hutch backsplash. Let me know if you want me to get in even closer.
We originally were going to use a beadboard back and I'm so glad we didn't. I just love the touch of glam that this tile adds.This was my inspiration photo.
Traditional Kitchen · More InfoMy friend and neighbor helped me with the display. Actually, she pretty much did it all after I told her what things I wanted to display and then "shopped" around my home for more things to add. But it was my bright idea to add the wine corks and dried gourds to the antique Ball jars (these belonged to my grandma). DH had recently teased me about why I was saving all the wine corks. I relished showing him my reason why. =)
I stewed about that hutch so much, even after the 4th install. Now I'm over it. So much went so very right with my kitchen and I'd rather focus on all of that instead.
lisa_a
8 years agoHuh, apparently I forgot this view of my "before" kitchen.
The MW was behind the doors above the oven.
Compare the above with the "after."
lisa_a
8 years agoI'll post a close-up pic of a cap door later today for you, beth.
I agree, I think adding box beams to a room with 8' ceilings would really close it in. When the finish carpenter first put the beams up, I did a little freak out because, even though we have 9' ceilings and the beams are only 6" deep, I suddenly felt like the ceiling was much lower than 8'6". I was really surprised at my reaction. It was especially odd because I'm short and everyone else - all taller than me, of course - didn't have that response. They thought I was nuts. Well, ok, I am, but still, did they have to say it? lol Anyhoo, the effect was temporary but I doubt I'd feel that way if our ceilings were only 8'.
Maybe you could get away with shallow box beams in an 8' ceiling.
Park Hill House · More Infolisa_a
8 years agoHere you go, Beth! HTH!
At one time, I knew what the edge detail was called but I'd have to go digging through emails of nearly 3 yrs ago (provided I saved the one I need) to find that for you. But hopefully the pics will be enough for you to show someone if you want to do the same type of door.
lisa_a
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAs promised, here's a close-up of my blue-gray stained cherry cabs.
From a distance, our opaque stained cabinets can be mistaken for painted cabs but when you look more closely, you'll soon realize that you can still see the wood grain.
When opaque stain is applied more heavily (as they accidentally did on hutch #2), it looks very much like a painted finish, even up close. That's one reason why they had a heckuva time getting the hutch top to match the hutch base. Not only did they need to get the color to match, they had to get the application to match.
Now you know why one of the two things I'd do differently (posted above) is "I'd absolutely insist (and then some!) that the cab company spray
the island, hutch base and hutch top at the same time. Opaque stains are
tricky and when hand mixed as our cab company does (which we didn't
know until it was too late), getting pieces sprayed at different times
to match is even more difficult."lisa_a
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cpartist