Finally finished my kitchen
Ashley
3 years ago
Here’s some before and afters of my little kitchen. I’m really happy with it.
Quartzite countertops (blanco superior), marble backsplash (Calcutta gold), coffee bean oak flooring. I didn’t have the budget to move anything, but just about everything else changed: new upper cabinet doors, new cabinet hinges, new hardware, paint cabinets, new backsplash, new countertop, new appliances, new flooring, paint walls and ceiling, paint interior/exterior doors, new door handles/locks, new exterior and interior door hinges, retrofit recessed lighting, new light fixtures, new window treatment, new sink, and added beverage faucet.
One thing I wish I had done differently: getting a counter depth refrigerator. My space allows for a 33” fridge which is kind of hard to find with all the features I wanted. I’m sure most of you know buying anything right now is a nightmare so I settled with what was in stock.
I did about half of the work myself. And before one year ago I had never even used a power tool. A pandemic will certainly push us to our limit.
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Tamara
3 years agoRelated Discussions
What 'oops' worked out well for you?
Comments (13)Some of you may have already read this on on the "Snafu" thread, but I have to say that despite all the problems I've had, in the end most things are turning out better! Can you believe I said that!!! :-O Venting Issue: Yes, it caused a 9-week stop work order and forced us to go with an outside plumber to move a shower drain pipe...but it also resulted in: We ultimately replaced all our polybutelyne water pipes that no longer meet code b/c they get brittle and crack over time (and they were 13 years old). We originally said "No" to it, but the long wait gave us time to think about it and we realized that the last thing we wanted was to have one of the many water pipes in our kitchen ceiling spring a leak and ruin the new kitchen plus it was less expensive to do now b/c the ceiling and walls were already opened up and most of the drywall work is already included in the remodel. A new hot water heater! Can you believe it...we had all the water pipes replaced and the next day our hot water heater sprung a leak! (Nowhere near where the work was done w/the water pipes). It turns out our water heater is under warranty until 6/1 so we got a new water heater for just the cost of labor...and since standards have changed since we bought the defective one, it's a much better one! Measuring error on the cooktop wall: We originally had two 9" standard cabinets (no shelves) flanking our cooktop. We were going to use them for tray storage since they were too small for much of anything else...even though we already have more tray storage than we need over the ovens & refrigerator. But now that we have the 6" fillers on either side and they're pullouts, we now have better storage for that location...mostly spices. [My only disappointment is that Omega's filler pullout...which BTW can be retrofitted since it's one piece...does not have adjustable shelves...so no room for oils there...but that's OK...one side will be spices and the other side will be baking things like colored sugars/sprinkles..still more useful than those extra tray cabinets!] Message Center: B/c of the measuring error on the sink wall that forced us to have a smaller pantry and eliminated our future Message Center for good, we got a niche in the pantry wall now for our Message Center. The future one was going to have to wait a few years until we had saved enough and had made other, more pressing changes. OK, we won't get the full Message Center that I originally wanted, but I will have something now. The jury is out on the granite right now!...See MoreMy sunny, white kitchen is FINALLY finished!
Comments (25)florantha, glad you like it, even if it is white! I do like color and would have done some bright yellow in the backsplash if I could have gotten DH on board, but I also like to change things around, so kept it neutral knowing I can swap out bright accessories to suit my mood. The glass in the cabinets was called "seeded" - lots of random little bubbles. Very subtle and a little old-fashioned. You can see in the cabinets, but it blurs the contents just enough. flwrs - the ROS in the pantry are great - they do make it much easier to find. Even my 10-yr old DS was impressed with the new organization! Hope to see yours soon! jsweenc - it was bound to happen that way! The duct cover came late last week, so here we are. I will say 100% done, although I still need to figure out some drawer organizers for a couple of drawers... (And I can't wait to see yours. You were just waiting on me, huh?)...See MoreMy 'Mediterranean' Kitchen finally finished! (Pic heavy)
Comments (26)Marthavila - I think that is the nicest thing anyone ever said about any kitchen. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Dianalo and Boylanite2 - the stove is my pride and joy. This is what started the whole reno, although for a long time the Blue Star was the forerunner. Of course the hood had to follow. I have to say, I went through so many versions of tiles and marble, and backsplash patterns, and of course, I have been influenced by the white subway tile versions, until I realized that mine was not a white subway tile kitchen, no matter how much I may like the subway tile look, and then I just stumbled upon this tile at some closeout place and it turned out perfect. Andi - Travertine Mart was great to work with. Their pricing, with delivery, was so much lower than anyone local that it took everyone out of the running, and the quality is great. I have looked at lesser tiles locally that cost at least 4 times as much, and that's after you add their shipping costs. I would recommend getting liftgate delivery from them, as it's a minimal surcharge and the truck comes with a forklift to unload everything. This stuff is HEAVY and the pavers are almost twice as thick as my tiles. My tile color is country classic, which is a mix of ivory, noche and what they call blue, which is really a version of gray, in the brushed and chiseled version. It needed to be filled unlike the outdoor pavers. If you use an enhancing sealer, the color comes out brighter and the variation is more noticeable, but I wanted the floor to be the backdrop, so we just used a regular sealer that does not enhance the color. I would highly recommend them shipping costs notwithstanding. I'm already toying with the idea of using the pavers outside, although, budget constraints aside, it may be too cold here in the winter for travertine. Sayde - thank you for the kind words and for all your support throughout this process. We are all looking forward to your "unveiling"....See Morecolor of granite or laminate countertops to go with my kitchen floor
Comments (19)River gold is certainly pretty but I would be concerned that the floor and the countertop would compete.. Both have a lot of movement. I think I would lean toward soapstone, or the laminate version of it. It would also make your stove fade away and not grab any attention in the room. You could do the backsplash in a coordinating color to the floor or add a splash of color there....See Morealways1stepbehind
3 years agoAshley
3 years agoYes absolutely! Here’s a closeup. And here’s the slab when I picked it. It looked much more gray in the showroom. I was surprised at how light it was in my space.
always1stepbehind
3 years ago
raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
3 years ago
KW PNW Z8
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agosalonva
3 years agolindalana 5b Chicago
3 years agocat_ky
3 years ago
Holly- Kay
3 years ago
Painted Peggies (zone 6a)
3 years ago
Cindy Warren Fialka
3 years agoAshley
3 years agoratherbesewing
3 years agoAshley
3 years agojhdouglas
3 years agomxk3 z5b_MI
3 years agoautumncolor
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3 years ago
Ashley
3 years agoAshley
3 years agoTherese N
3 years ago
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