Builder Basic to My Dream Kitchen (before & after)
Carrie W
4 months ago
Demo began 10/20/22 on our 2001-built home and the last touches were done on 1/13/22. We worked with a contractor and separately hired floor and countertop installers. This was our first renovation - don’t ask how we decided to tackle the Big One first, it was probably not well thought out. I learned SO MUCH from folks who’ve shared their knowledge on this forum. From big stuff like design choices to little things like cabinet overhang, I figured out what I wanted by seeing what folks here had done and recommended. Thank you! (as I write this there are line breaks, we‘ll
see if they stay when I post…)
In case it’s helpful to others planning their remodels in the future, here’s what we used and some takeaways.
Cabinets- Kemper Choice in Coconut and Tundra (which is not espresso but a warm medium wood tone)
Countertops - MSI Calacatta Valentin quartz
Sink - Kraus 33” Kore work station stainless steel farmhouse sink
Faucet - Kraus Bolden
Backsplash - Bedrosian Cloe white 3x8” ceramic tile
Floor- Arizona Tile Kaplan 12x24” porcelain tile in Marfil
Floor and backsplash grout - Custom Prism in bleached wood
Range - GE Cafe dual-fuel 30” range
Hood - Zline 36” hood
Cabinet lights - WAC strip led lighting
Pendant - Shades of Light
Chandelier - Kichler Harmony from Lamps Plus
Paint - Behr Swiss Coffee
Hardware - Liberty from HD
Things I’m thrilled about:
- My giant stainless farmhouse workstation sink. It is so functional it makes my heart sing.
- Adding trim to windows and sliders really elevated the room.
- Cabinets to the ceiling - I love the look, plus more storage, and no dust-catchers!
- Tile backsplash - I kept coming back to the Cloe tile, and it’s perfection. I agonized over the grout choice and the bleached wood color is a warm white that works for the tile and our color scheme.
- Our new pantry door came in toward the end of the reno when we were anxious to be done. It was too light & orange, so we had the vendor refinish it. Despite wanting to just let it be, I’m glad I held my ground so I wouldn’t be bummed looking at it every day.
Things I learned:
- When creating a budget don’t rely on the cost of the lowest end version products if you don’t typically buy the least expensive products. Be honest with yourself about your taste and choices!
- Adapting to changing changing circumstances is the name of the game. Lots of things will go wrong and you just have to focus on your goal, and problem solve, and try not to get caught up in the roller coaster.
- When planning the island placement leave a little more room to account for the collective impact of counter overhang, door fronts and pulls, and the range sticking out a bit. Ours is fine but would have been even better with a couple more inches.
- Speak up earlier and more firmly about my choices. I found myself going along only to backtrack and have something redone to get it right. I learned to hold my ground and trust my instincts but wish I’d started that sooner.
- You need to be available preferably in person at key points - e.g., when the floor guys and the countertop template guy came by, and at the beginning of key construction points such as cabinet, hardware and backsplash installation.
- We probably did not *need* a solid pantry door (though she’s pretty).
- Think in advance about how your rooms are connected and changes in one area impact adjacent space. I thought we’d just paint one wall; no the whole room, ceiling and entry hallway had to be painted to go with the cabinets and trim.
- Watch out for decision fatigue! I didn’t research what molding I wanted above our cabinets and just winged it after making our cabinet selections because I was tired. Months later our contractor put up what I’d picked and it was too big and chunky. He actually noticed and suggested an alternative option that we liked better. But we spent $ on molding we didn’t use. Blerg.
It really is true that when you redo part of your home you become especially aware of other parts that need to be redone. Next up, the primary bathroom!
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Chisos
4 months ago
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4 months agoRelated Discussions
My dream kitchen is crumbling down around my head.
Comments (19)Thank you all so much! The handholding helps more than I can say. Herbflavor: MA will certainly make the hood a custom size and in fact I am going to tell them to make it 16" high. mtnredux: I decided to leave it at 24" deep. There's a pic on the MA site where a huge hood of the same type I'm ordering is partially under a 24" soffit and it looks kind of neat. So I'm going with the "it will look interesting" idea, not because I don't want to make the GC redo it, but because as you suggested, I slept on it and decided in the am that it would be okay. April_Lorraine, mastiffmom and sioushi: I decided to go with the solid floor for the reasons that 1) once the island is in, we actually won't have a lot of floor space showing, and 2) the range and hood and island will have such big visual impact that I want to give them a nice pale surface to stand out against. I think I have to give up my beloved F&B Pavilion Blue as well (don't think it will go with the hood so much), so I decided that when I have some money again (HAH!) I will redo my foyer with Pavilion Blue and a checkerboard floor. Plus, although he wouldn't have fought me over it, DH slightly preferred the solid floor. willtv: Thank you! It is very helpful to hear from someone taller with even less space between the hood and cooktop that you don't bang your head. And I'm ordinarily not much of a drinker but I'm having a glass of wine right now and boy, is that some good stuff. V. relaxing. Sayde: I know 31" is within the normal range but it just seems so low to me that it bothers me! I'm sure it will be fine. blfenton: Hahaha! One of our cats does behave that way. The other one always has this slight startled deer-in-the-headlights expression. I guess I looked more like her at the time. rosieo: I know, I know...and I really do count my blessings every day and try to keep this in perspective (like, there are people with nothing to eat and I'm worried about this stupid sofft depth?!?). Normally I'm pretty unflappable but this was kind of a cumulative effect thing that got to me. I've compromised on lots of little details and over time it has a way of building up such that I feel that what I had planned and designed won't be anything like what I end up with. But truthfully you're right: It is, after all, just a kitchen. muskokascp: I think I was just exhausted. You're right...one thing at a time. It's tough, though, when you consider changing one major element and you have to think carefully through how that change would effect everything else. It's tiring. johnliu: No, I really haven't made that many changes. This was after we were waffling on the sink being next to the wall, decided to switch it with the DW, and I was so miserable over the thought of it all night that I switched it back in the morning. This GC has remodeled two baths for me plus installed a completely new one and painted my house, and for all those jobs combined, I made exactly ONE change (to replace a window molding that didn't match others in the adjacent rooms). This was just bad timing. SusieQusie60: Hmmm...I don't seem to be able to make decisions piecemeal. I am compelled to consider the whole package. Not sure if it's because I'm a graphic designer and tend to think in terms of "overall packaging" but I have to visualize the entire kitchen and how everything works together. Which unfortunately makes me terribly indecisive! I'm probably my GC's worst nightmare, and here I think I'm so easy to work with. *g* katkatf: Thank you! That helped a lot. I've decided this is like childbirth: It sucks while you're going through it but there's no other way to get there. Although hmmmm...I didn't have any drugs when I had a homebirth. I wonder if I could get my epidural now. aliris: Thank you, that was a great post! It's good to know I can both feel incredibly blessed and lucky and at the same time occasionally pull my spoiled princess act (as long as I don't do it too often). desertsteph: No, not really. I had meant to tell him earlier and just didn't. Lesson learned. I must say that he is a GREAT GC in terms of quality and competence and reliability. His crew has been with him for a long time and they're great too. It's just that most of the kitchens he does--and he's built some very high-end homes--are the same generic thing over and over. So he thinks I'm a whackjob when I propose some new thing he's never done before. Like I told him 15 years ago in another house that I wanted a wood floor in my kitchen and he said that NO ONE does wood floors. I also told him about radiant underfloor heating and he looked at me like I was from another planet. Fast-forward a few years and he's telling me that wood floors are wonderful in kitchens, or if I do tile, I should consider radiant underfloor heating. :-) He doesn't know about my secret weapon, the GW Kitchen Forum! I told him that while he thinks I'm crazy and always wanting to do something he's never done before, look at how much he's learning. (Currently he's telling me that NO ONE does marble countertops. Heh.) So thank you so much, everyone. All the electrical went in today and we're moving along. I'll just keep taking deep breaths and repeating "It's just a kitchen. IT'S JUST A KITCHEN."...See MoreHelp me build my DREAM White Kitchen
Comments (28)HI everyone, Thanks for the responses. I'm going to bug all of you to help with my bathrooms too! The builder finished foundation today so onto framing!!! I'll be making final selections over the next 2-4 weeks!! kawfeeaddict: Do you know the name of the white granite you used? Can you share a photo? Look at my photobucket inspiration pic and you can see the irridescent tile backsplash...its different but really cool! erikanh, thanks for the thread link. I've look at it several times but some of the pics don't show anymore. I research a bunch of the granites online today and i'm interested in seeing some slabs in person rmkitchen. I'm going to search for my twin! I'm excited if I can find her b/c I'm needing some source info from that inspiration picture and hoping she might have it!! And YOUR kitchen....well i've printed out MULTIPLE photos from your kitchen last week. I LOOOOOOVE it! I even told my designer in the last meeting how I wanted to "frame" and paint a chalkboard area on the side of my fridge. Then I found your picture and I emailed it to my designer! I would love to do the inset cabinets like yours.....so cool. Also love the raised DW. Oh, the marble countertops are just so beautiful....I just can't do it. But its so fun to find someone who really has the same "style".....please share any other parts of you home as I'm building this house so its all a "clean slate". My basic approach to my home is I'm a southern girl and love southern, comfortable things. I live inland but the beach colors, textures, clean, crisp, cottage feel is what I'm going to try to incorporate in my home in a classic but fresh way. Did that make any sense? Thanks for finding me and thanks for sharing your AMAZING kitchen....See MoreReveal - before and after NYC kitchen (basically done)
Comments (52)We did not use him but check with C & M Home Improvement (Matt). I wish we had used him. I cannot recommend our contractor. Not only was it a chore managing the GC and his team because they screwed up something almost every day from little things like using the wrong paint color in wrong rooms (and asking us to pay to replace paint, which we did not); to installing items incorrectly (drywall in shower instead of cement board); and using the wrong type of glue for our hardwood floor installation (thankfully, I caught that early & forced them to buy the correct glue per my flooring retailer recommendations); as well as trying to complete an 8 week project in 5 weeks (missed a lot of days due to other jobs booked). In the end, the GC tried to force us to make design changes to accommodate their schedule. We didn't. Instead, I pulled out the contract and reminded him of the $100/day penalty for them not completing the project on time & I had a record of all days that the workers didn't show up since we only moved down the hall on the same floor. The added frustration was using Google translate to communicate with the workers when the GC wasn't around. Only the plaster guy spoke English. I had to call/text the GC when there was an issue and he would call & translate to the workers or come by to translate. I resorted to using Google translate. Months later when it turned out they incorrectly installed an item, he suggested my husband fix it. This wasn't the first time that happened. During the renovation, the GC suggested my husband make adjustments although we were paying the GC for that work. We refused each time. A couple of weeks ago, he sent his dad to reinstall the item after the vendor sent us a free replacement & installation paperwork. A 10-minute installation job took an hour & 4 attempts since the directions, instead of being used, were strewn on the floor and upside down. I wish I did have his tile guys contact info. He did a great job and we gave him a cash tip. He took his time & our bathroom tile came out amazingly well, just as I pictured. If you need hardwood flooring installed, I recommend: Celso at Shine Star Floors shinestarfloors@gmail.com Office assistant is Lorrany http://shinestarfloors.com 109 Jersey Street, Harrison, NJ 07029 Tel.: 973-736-1346 Fax: 973-736-2096 They came with a crew of 5 to get the job done in 1 day but our GC wasn't ready so we ended up not being able to use him. However, I was pleased with everything from communication and customer service despite them not actually doing our floors. When we had an issue after the GC finished, Ceslo told us to buy a humidifier to stop the weird snap, crackle, pop noise we were hearing due to the building heating system drying out the floors....See MoreAdding Interest to a Builder Grade Kitchen Before/After Pics
Comments (18)Nice, I especially like what you did in the kitchen. Too often the advice here is that people should save up to rip out a perfectly functioning kitchen with solid cabinets instead of making incremental improvements like changing the backsplash, repainting the cabinets and installing new reasonably priced countertops. I love the new laminate countertops. They make a huge difference in that kitchen. I am not a fan of the stacked stone backsplash, but as long as your parents love it that is all that counts!...See Morehhireno
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