Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Exercise in indecisiveness and second guessing
I'm so completely not meant to be a blogger! I'm about as consistent at this as I am at dieting, oh well... Between family, work and obligations, not to mention way to many projects blogging certainly falls to the bottom of the list.
This project has proven to be an exercise in indecisiveness and second guessing.
I think my husband will shoot me if he hears, but wait, what about, or are you sure you like it, one more time.
We have made really good progress (as we should have in this amount of time) on the kitchen. No thanks to my slow decision making process and over analyzing of each and every selection. The only remaining task is to select and install the backsplash. We also need to carry the new ceiling and wall colors throughout the open space (living room, entry and dining), that will happen later this winter.
On the note of indecisiveness, and to keep consistent with my project methodology, I'm adding some pictures so that I can solicit even more input on the backsplash...
This project has proven to be an exercise in indecisiveness and second guessing.
I think my husband will shoot me if he hears, but wait, what about, or are you sure you like it, one more time.
We have made really good progress (as we should have in this amount of time) on the kitchen. No thanks to my slow decision making process and over analyzing of each and every selection. The only remaining task is to select and install the backsplash. We also need to carry the new ceiling and wall colors throughout the open space (living room, entry and dining), that will happen later this winter.
On the note of indecisiveness, and to keep consistent with my project methodology, I'm adding some pictures so that I can solicit even more input on the backsplash...
Friday, July 1, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Island
Looking into the kitchen from family room
standing in kitchen toward deck (new island that needs light)
New Island
Another view into kitchen
TILE (Now, that's Italian!)
So, our kitchen hardwood floor was a mess. Tiny scratches from moving chairs across, shoes and our precious Savannah. We also had warped and darkened floor around the fridge and dishwasher from intermittent water spills/leaks. We considered having them refinished, even brought in company to give us an overview of their process and an estimate. In the end, Ron didn't want to invest the money to have the wood floor look the same in another 15 years. So the search for tile began.
Problems:
1) It needed to coordinate with the granite we already purchased
2) It needed to coordinate with the tile in the mudroom which blends into the kitchen via a doorway
3) It needed to coordinate with the wood floor that is adjacent (and staying) in the living room, dining room and hallways.
We searched everywhere and found a few possible candidates but one tile really stood out. We got a quote and the price was reasonable enough that we were all set to go with it - when we got the call.
"You know that porcelain tile that you really like, well put it out of your mind..." WHAT! Turns out the distributor that convinced the showroom to display their tile, didn't stock it, as guaranteed, and it would take a minimum of 3 months to arrive from Italy. Argh!
We searched some more, but could not find as good a fit as that tile.
So, I did what any good web user does - googled for it. I found the manufacturers website in Italy and contacted them to find all USA distributors. There were 5 that had it in stock. 3 on the East Cost, 1 in the Midwest (where we are) and 1 in Florida. 2 in the east coast do not ship out of state. The third, New Jersey, was about 1200.00 more. The Midwest store was about a 1000.00 more than our original quote, but we were seriously thinking f going with it. I went ahead and tried Florida, just in case, and they were LESS than my original local quote, including delivery!
We ordered the tile and waited anxiously for the 10 days it took for processing and delivery. I was so afraid it would come damaged.
The delivery man wanted us to sign right away, as soon as it was off the truck but we insisted on looking at each case because once you accept it's yours - damaged or not. He wasn't very happy, wanted to get "trucking" so to speak. We inspected each case and they were all in perfect shape.
After a lot of hard work we (Husband and I) installed and grouted our porcelain kitchen floor. Here are some pictures.
Before with sheet rock down
Problems:
1) It needed to coordinate with the granite we already purchased
2) It needed to coordinate with the tile in the mudroom which blends into the kitchen via a doorway
3) It needed to coordinate with the wood floor that is adjacent (and staying) in the living room, dining room and hallways.
We searched everywhere and found a few possible candidates but one tile really stood out. We got a quote and the price was reasonable enough that we were all set to go with it - when we got the call.
"You know that porcelain tile that you really like, well put it out of your mind..." WHAT! Turns out the distributor that convinced the showroom to display their tile, didn't stock it, as guaranteed, and it would take a minimum of 3 months to arrive from Italy. Argh!
We searched some more, but could not find as good a fit as that tile.
So, I did what any good web user does - googled for it. I found the manufacturers website in Italy and contacted them to find all USA distributors. There were 5 that had it in stock. 3 on the East Cost, 1 in the Midwest (where we are) and 1 in Florida. 2 in the east coast do not ship out of state. The third, New Jersey, was about 1200.00 more. The Midwest store was about a 1000.00 more than our original quote, but we were seriously thinking f going with it. I went ahead and tried Florida, just in case, and they were LESS than my original local quote, including delivery!
We ordered the tile and waited anxiously for the 10 days it took for processing and delivery. I was so afraid it would come damaged.
The delivery man wanted us to sign right away, as soon as it was off the truck but we insisted on looking at each case because once you accept it's yours - damaged or not. He wasn't very happy, wanted to get "trucking" so to speak. We inspected each case and they were all in perfect shape.
After a lot of hard work we (Husband and I) installed and grouted our porcelain kitchen floor. Here are some pictures.
Before with sheet rock down
After Tile is down but before Grout
Next step we tackled was cabinet installation!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Granite: Oh, So Many Beautiful Options
We knew we wanted to upgrade our kitchen counter tops as part of this remodeling process. What we didn't know was how overwhelming the options and choices would be. Wow - what a process!
Marble, Granite and Quartz Oh My!
I love the look of marble and always find myself flipping back to a picture of a kitchen with a marble counter top, especially the bakers station done in marble. However, with our perfectionist tendencies, and our lifestyle, I know that marble is just not the right medium for our family. Oh, but how I love Calcutta marble and Emperador Dark marble. My thought is to incorporate it into our home by doing a honed Calcutta gold marble subway back splash or a combination of honed Calcutta and Emperador Dark strips, with colored glass.
We really considered quartz, as based on everything we were read, it sounded like the super material for kitchens. We just couldn't find any colors or patterns that really inspired us. So much of it looked like the corian we had on our island for the last 17 years. We loved the corian at first, but with time it had a dull patina that didn't look like a nice honed dull, more like a 'I'm worn out and aged' kind of dull. I found one quartz that I really considered for the perimeter, it was the Caesarstone Espresso, and is a wonderful rich brown with a little bit of black in it. In the end though, I was afraid it looked a bit "plastic" and that it wouldn't have the depth that we wanted our counters to have.
Granite was always the choice for Ron. He loves the granites that have natural beauty with lots of variation and movement. I knew that we wanted to do two granites in our kitchen. On the perimeter we wanted a granite that looked more solid and consistent (thus the consideration for quartz) and in a brown tone, or black if we couldn't find a brown. For the islands, we wanted creamy white with neutrals such as black's, taupe's, beige's.
I searched the Internet tirelessly for inspiration photos and names of granites. I had lists for the perimeters, separated into browns and blacks, and lists for the islands that varied from the whitest granites to darker and even green variations.
My primary resources were the Granite Gurus (http://www.granitegurus.com/), Gardenweb (http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/), Houzz (http://www.houzz.com) and HGTV Kitchen designers portfolio (http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/ ).
I felt well prepared to start the search so Ron and I headed out, on my birthday, to the Granite Suburbs of Chicago. I don't know exactly how it happened, but all of the granite warehouses seem to be primarily located in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. Wonderfully convenient for those of searching for the perfect granite!
Boy, did we get an eye-opening. We started with 4 appointments set up for the day. After a 3 1/2 hour drive and a quick bathroom stop, and we stepped into our first granite yard. Stone Designs. We signed in and took a look around at the tile samples that were all around the walls. From those we added to the list of granites we liked to see, from the previously called in granites from my Internet searching. We were given our hard hats and we proceeded in to the giant warehouse of row after row of back to back granite slabs.
She quickly darted us in out of rows, stopping at those that were on the list. We were given a moment and then we moved on. At first we were just sort of following her lead, but as we progressed I realized that this is our kitchen, and our granite we are looking for, so we slowed her down and asked to go back and look at previous stones so we could get a clear picture of it in our minds. I think she realized she had been moving too fast as she changed her pace, and demeanor, and the remaining "tour" was much more relaxed and informative. We brought our door samples with us and took pictures of our favorite 2 granites with the cabinet doors.
That appointment went a little faster so we actually had time to sneak in another granite yard between Stone Design and our next appointment, which was to be T&M. So we stopped at ASD next, and saw some more beautiful granites. We brought our cabinets in and took more pictures. They had a gorgeous Bianco Antico, a Scurry River and a beautiful Olive Gold Macalla (Spelling?) that Ron really liked. (I had to remind him that we need to stick with the vision.)
Next stop T&M. Diane at T&M was amazing and walked through our kitchen plans with us before taking us into the showroom. She wanted to have an idea of our overall vision so she could assist us better. We looked at all the granite stones that we provided her with ahead of time, as well as stones she thought had a similar style. Again, we took pictures with several of the granite slabs with both our cabinet door samples.
We continued on to 2 other granite yards on this trip and 4 additional granite yards on a subsequent trip. We saw some beautiful stones and met some wonderful people that really do want to help you find the best granite for your project and are not at all offended it they don't have the right stone for you. We had one granite yard, Damar Stone, that saw our dog Savannah, a bishon-poo, in the car and told us to bring her in! I wanted to find a stone their just because they were so nice!
As I said earlier, I felt prepared for our search, and I was; somewhat. I felt comfortable with the granites, and most were familiar by name to me, so due to my searching on the Internet I felt less overwhelmed by the day. Ron, on the other hand, was completely out of his element. He has a great eye for design and especially for things like tile and paint color, and so would be true for granite. But when the exact same stone, by name, looks like 2 or sometime 3 completely different stones in different granite yards, it can be quite confusing to keep it all straight.
We also thought we were so smart to bring the camera so that we could take pictures. I filed all of the pictures, by granite yard, by name and lot in our digital library. But the camera doesn't do the granite justice, and it's not really the best medium to go back to for helping to make a decision because the colors are really not truly representative. Your memory of the slabs is probably your best guide.
However, making multiple trips, and reconfirming our love of the granite choices we made, proved to be worth it, just for sanity sake, so that we quit the second guessing.
Of all the stones, at all of the granite yards, Delicatus and Bianco Antico were the granites that were foremost in our minds for the islands. Delicatus has a wonderful creamy white with the neutral blacks, taupe's and beige's that we were looking for. Bianco Antico has a cooler white, but wonderful shiny mica chips and taupe's running through. Some of the Bianco slabs had too much pink, with the warm cinnamon that runs through but others just had thin strips of the cinnamon, adding to the warmth as the white is so much cooler.
We really liked the Delicatus offering at T&M but the slab in the main show room had a large variation from side to side and if we took both of our islands out that stone it would have looked like the islands were from two different granites. They happened to have three other lots of Delicatus so they lifted two slabs out of each lot to show us. The slabs from the first and second of the new lots were not at all what we were looking for and I was beginning to get quite frustrated. They didn't even look like Delicatus, or at least my vision of Delicatus. As they started to hoist up the slab from the third lot I could tell the colors were what I was hoping for. When it was fully exposed I was thrilled, and hoped this was the stone I was looking for. Ron and I both knew immediately that this would be the stone for our islands. Success!
Our Delicatus for the Islands:
Finding a stone for the perimeter was another challenge. All along I had my heart set on Brown Antique, in a satin finish. We really felt that all polished throughout the kitchen would give too much of a contemporary feel, where our decor is more traditional/muted tones/antique.
The Brown Antique in a polished finish is the perfect brown. Rich and elegant. In a satin finish you have to be very careful because it can pull more grey depending on the undertone of the slab. We found if the slab is more red on the rough edges, vs. silver, it pulls more brown when done in a suede finish. T&M had two gorgeous slabs of Antique Brown done in a satin finish. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the stone, they both had natural white fissures that ran the length of the stones. I knew that every time I walked into the kitchen, or when I was preparing my tea, I would do a double take, and have to remind myself that it wasn't a crack. Ron said he could just hear me every time someone stopped by to see the kitchen, "Oh, that's not a crack, its a natural element" - even when they didn't say anything. He is so right. Alas, we couldn't go with that antique brown. Thankfully Diane knows her granite and pulled out a Kodiak Brown, done in a satin finish, that has the same tonal value as the Antique Brown. It has a consistent pattern, not the wonderful variations like Antique Brown has, but when the light hits it, the particulates vary in shimmer, just like the Antique Brown does. It has no natural veining and looks like a perfect stone. Perimeter problem solved - 2 slabs of satin Kodiak Brown.
Our Kodiak Brown:
I have to admit, that my heart still desires the antique brown as I see it in pictures but I know that the Kodiak Brown will look wonderful and rich against our creamy white cabinets and stainless steel sink, and will provide a great backdrop to the Delicatus Islands.
Our granite has been shipped to our fabricator and awaits the remaining components of our work that have to happen before we can begin the templating. We selected a Crescent edge on the Kodiak Brown for the perimeter and chose to do an Eased Ogee edge on the Islands. In working with our fabricator we are also going to do a window sill. The window sill is 14" deep and 48" wide and sits above the sink that will be surrounded by the Kodiak. We need to decide which granite to do the window sill in, but as we aren't in agreement we will put that final granite decision off for now.
Marble, Granite and Quartz Oh My!
I love the look of marble and always find myself flipping back to a picture of a kitchen with a marble counter top, especially the bakers station done in marble. However, with our perfectionist tendencies, and our lifestyle, I know that marble is just not the right medium for our family. Oh, but how I love Calcutta marble and Emperador Dark marble. My thought is to incorporate it into our home by doing a honed Calcutta gold marble subway back splash or a combination of honed Calcutta and Emperador Dark strips, with colored glass.
We really considered quartz, as based on everything we were read, it sounded like the super material for kitchens. We just couldn't find any colors or patterns that really inspired us. So much of it looked like the corian we had on our island for the last 17 years. We loved the corian at first, but with time it had a dull patina that didn't look like a nice honed dull, more like a 'I'm worn out and aged' kind of dull. I found one quartz that I really considered for the perimeter, it was the Caesarstone Espresso, and is a wonderful rich brown with a little bit of black in it. In the end though, I was afraid it looked a bit "plastic" and that it wouldn't have the depth that we wanted our counters to have.
Granite was always the choice for Ron. He loves the granites that have natural beauty with lots of variation and movement. I knew that we wanted to do two granites in our kitchen. On the perimeter we wanted a granite that looked more solid and consistent (thus the consideration for quartz) and in a brown tone, or black if we couldn't find a brown. For the islands, we wanted creamy white with neutrals such as black's, taupe's, beige's.
I searched the Internet tirelessly for inspiration photos and names of granites. I had lists for the perimeters, separated into browns and blacks, and lists for the islands that varied from the whitest granites to darker and even green variations.
My primary resources were the Granite Gurus (http://www.granitegurus.com/), Gardenweb (http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/), Houzz (http://www.houzz.com) and HGTV Kitchen designers portfolio (http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/ ).
I felt well prepared to start the search so Ron and I headed out, on my birthday, to the Granite Suburbs of Chicago. I don't know exactly how it happened, but all of the granite warehouses seem to be primarily located in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. Wonderfully convenient for those of searching for the perfect granite!
Boy, did we get an eye-opening. We started with 4 appointments set up for the day. After a 3 1/2 hour drive and a quick bathroom stop, and we stepped into our first granite yard. Stone Designs. We signed in and took a look around at the tile samples that were all around the walls. From those we added to the list of granites we liked to see, from the previously called in granites from my Internet searching. We were given our hard hats and we proceeded in to the giant warehouse of row after row of back to back granite slabs.
She quickly darted us in out of rows, stopping at those that were on the list. We were given a moment and then we moved on. At first we were just sort of following her lead, but as we progressed I realized that this is our kitchen, and our granite we are looking for, so we slowed her down and asked to go back and look at previous stones so we could get a clear picture of it in our minds. I think she realized she had been moving too fast as she changed her pace, and demeanor, and the remaining "tour" was much more relaxed and informative. We brought our door samples with us and took pictures of our favorite 2 granites with the cabinet doors.
That appointment went a little faster so we actually had time to sneak in another granite yard between Stone Design and our next appointment, which was to be T&M. So we stopped at ASD next, and saw some more beautiful granites. We brought our cabinets in and took more pictures. They had a gorgeous Bianco Antico, a Scurry River and a beautiful Olive Gold Macalla (Spelling?) that Ron really liked. (I had to remind him that we need to stick with the vision.)
Next stop T&M. Diane at T&M was amazing and walked through our kitchen plans with us before taking us into the showroom. She wanted to have an idea of our overall vision so she could assist us better. We looked at all the granite stones that we provided her with ahead of time, as well as stones she thought had a similar style. Again, we took pictures with several of the granite slabs with both our cabinet door samples.
We continued on to 2 other granite yards on this trip and 4 additional granite yards on a subsequent trip. We saw some beautiful stones and met some wonderful people that really do want to help you find the best granite for your project and are not at all offended it they don't have the right stone for you. We had one granite yard, Damar Stone, that saw our dog Savannah, a bishon-poo, in the car and told us to bring her in! I wanted to find a stone their just because they were so nice!
As I said earlier, I felt prepared for our search, and I was; somewhat. I felt comfortable with the granites, and most were familiar by name to me, so due to my searching on the Internet I felt less overwhelmed by the day. Ron, on the other hand, was completely out of his element. He has a great eye for design and especially for things like tile and paint color, and so would be true for granite. But when the exact same stone, by name, looks like 2 or sometime 3 completely different stones in different granite yards, it can be quite confusing to keep it all straight.
We also thought we were so smart to bring the camera so that we could take pictures. I filed all of the pictures, by granite yard, by name and lot in our digital library. But the camera doesn't do the granite justice, and it's not really the best medium to go back to for helping to make a decision because the colors are really not truly representative. Your memory of the slabs is probably your best guide.
However, making multiple trips, and reconfirming our love of the granite choices we made, proved to be worth it, just for sanity sake, so that we quit the second guessing.
Of all the stones, at all of the granite yards, Delicatus and Bianco Antico were the granites that were foremost in our minds for the islands. Delicatus has a wonderful creamy white with the neutral blacks, taupe's and beige's that we were looking for. Bianco Antico has a cooler white, but wonderful shiny mica chips and taupe's running through. Some of the Bianco slabs had too much pink, with the warm cinnamon that runs through but others just had thin strips of the cinnamon, adding to the warmth as the white is so much cooler.
We really liked the Delicatus offering at T&M but the slab in the main show room had a large variation from side to side and if we took both of our islands out that stone it would have looked like the islands were from two different granites. They happened to have three other lots of Delicatus so they lifted two slabs out of each lot to show us. The slabs from the first and second of the new lots were not at all what we were looking for and I was beginning to get quite frustrated. They didn't even look like Delicatus, or at least my vision of Delicatus. As they started to hoist up the slab from the third lot I could tell the colors were what I was hoping for. When it was fully exposed I was thrilled, and hoped this was the stone I was looking for. Ron and I both knew immediately that this would be the stone for our islands. Success!
Our Delicatus for the Islands:
Finding a stone for the perimeter was another challenge. All along I had my heart set on Brown Antique, in a satin finish. We really felt that all polished throughout the kitchen would give too much of a contemporary feel, where our decor is more traditional/muted tones/antique.
The Brown Antique in a polished finish is the perfect brown. Rich and elegant. In a satin finish you have to be very careful because it can pull more grey depending on the undertone of the slab. We found if the slab is more red on the rough edges, vs. silver, it pulls more brown when done in a suede finish. T&M had two gorgeous slabs of Antique Brown done in a satin finish. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the stone, they both had natural white fissures that ran the length of the stones. I knew that every time I walked into the kitchen, or when I was preparing my tea, I would do a double take, and have to remind myself that it wasn't a crack. Ron said he could just hear me every time someone stopped by to see the kitchen, "Oh, that's not a crack, its a natural element" - even when they didn't say anything. He is so right. Alas, we couldn't go with that antique brown. Thankfully Diane knows her granite and pulled out a Kodiak Brown, done in a satin finish, that has the same tonal value as the Antique Brown. It has a consistent pattern, not the wonderful variations like Antique Brown has, but when the light hits it, the particulates vary in shimmer, just like the Antique Brown does. It has no natural veining and looks like a perfect stone. Perimeter problem solved - 2 slabs of satin Kodiak Brown.
I have to admit, that my heart still desires the antique brown as I see it in pictures but I know that the Kodiak Brown will look wonderful and rich against our creamy white cabinets and stainless steel sink, and will provide a great backdrop to the Delicatus Islands.
Our granite has been shipped to our fabricator and awaits the remaining components of our work that have to happen before we can begin the templating. We selected a Crescent edge on the Kodiak Brown for the perimeter and chose to do an Eased Ogee edge on the Islands. In working with our fabricator we are also going to do a window sill. The window sill is 14" deep and 48" wide and sits above the sink that will be surrounded by the Kodiak. We need to decide which granite to do the window sill in, but as we aren't in agreement we will put that final granite decision off for now.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Plan, Plan, and Plan Some More
I have been thinking about this kitchen remodel for years now, but seriously planning on it for the entire year. I have designed and redesigned the layout countless times in my sleep.
Planning is critical to a successful remodel though. You have to go through this phase no matter how painful, and tedious, it can be.
In my approach to remodeling and redecorating I have to think through the final result enough so that through my dreams, the vision of the final project becomes a rerun. Whenever my night time thoughts result in a different concept or view of the finished room, I know I am still in the planning phase.
I wake up and jot down notes, I dart to the computer and find some pictures to support my "night visions" and then I try to fall asleep again only to hear the alarm beeping as I get out of bed after another night of restless designing.
I am happy to report that we have moved through the planning phase and have moved onto design and product selection.
Here is the overall plan and objectives:
Warm up the look of the kitchen
Upgrade the kitchen with granite, stainless steel sink, new light fixtures and new hardware.
Replace the warn, scratched and in some places warped, wood floor with a neutral tile or hardwood that matches as it runs into the living room, through the hall and the dining room.
Replace some of the perimeter cabinets to allow for new Advantium wall oven.
Replace Island and add new Island for more storage and more casual seating.
Install Crown Molding that was purchased when we originally did the house in 93' but was never installed.
Incorporate a TV into the kitchen for evening and morning news.
Our current kitchen has Crystal Cabinetry in Frosty White Aurora. These cabinets have held up beautifully over the last 17 years. Our objective is to add some warmth to the kitchen, but we can't afford to replace all of the cabinets, and would hate to as they are in such great shape. So, the perimeter will stay fairly in-tact with the current microwave cabinet (the crux of it all) and the adjacent Pantry cabinet being replaced. The MW cabinet will be replaced with a standard depth and height (12" and 30") cabinet. The 24" Pantry will be replaced with a 27" Advantium Wall Oven cabinet/pantry. We are so excited about the new speed cook/convection/microwave oven! The white center island will be replaced with a warm wood stained island. The kitchen table will be replaced with a new second island, also done to match the center island. (We have another dining table in the dining room where family meals and special occasion meals will be held.)
The new Islands are done by a different cabinet manufacturer, Wood Harbor. We worked very closely with a dear friend of mine, Nancy, and after several get "appointments" over a glass of wine we settled on the design for our island replacement and our new island. The goal of having the second island allow for conversational seating arrangements, but still accommodating my additional storage requirements and a new pull out trash (for clearing up after dinner and projects) were all met!
We chose to go with quartersawn oak, not your typical or most popular choice these days, but as the kitchen is open to our family room we wanted something to tie the rooms together. Our family room is finished with a beautiful antique quartersawn fireplace mantel, we have a newly made 'antique look' TV hutch that is also done in quartersawn oak and an antique mirror/mantel that hangs on the opposing wall - also done in quartersawn oak. We think the look of having the quartersawn oak in both rooms will really be nice.
We found the perfect stain that matches the finish of our antique pieces. Clove. The biggest dilemma, glaze or no glaze. If we do use glaze, black or chocolate. Ron and I weren't originally on the same page on this particular issue. I felt the glaze gave it that worn character that fit well with our antique pieces. He wasn't sure it was worth it for the cost of the glaze upgrade. In the end, the glaze grew on him and he decided it was the best way to go as well. The decision between black and chocolate was difficult. The black was more pronounced and stood out, the chocolate was subtle, but so subtle that you could barely see it. If they would have had an option between the two it would have been perfect, as such we went with the black. I'll post pictures of both options.
I'll post pictures of the cabinet door samples and what a beautiful match they are with our mantel.
Cabinets are ordered - Yay!!!
Next Post - The Granite Selection Process!!
Planning is critical to a successful remodel though. You have to go through this phase no matter how painful, and tedious, it can be.
In my approach to remodeling and redecorating I have to think through the final result enough so that through my dreams, the vision of the final project becomes a rerun. Whenever my night time thoughts result in a different concept or view of the finished room, I know I am still in the planning phase.
I wake up and jot down notes, I dart to the computer and find some pictures to support my "night visions" and then I try to fall asleep again only to hear the alarm beeping as I get out of bed after another night of restless designing.
I am happy to report that we have moved through the planning phase and have moved onto design and product selection.
Here is the overall plan and objectives:
Warm up the look of the kitchen
Upgrade the kitchen with granite, stainless steel sink, new light fixtures and new hardware.
Replace the warn, scratched and in some places warped, wood floor with a neutral tile or hardwood that matches as it runs into the living room, through the hall and the dining room.
Replace some of the perimeter cabinets to allow for new Advantium wall oven.
Replace Island and add new Island for more storage and more casual seating.
Install Crown Molding that was purchased when we originally did the house in 93' but was never installed.
Incorporate a TV into the kitchen for evening and morning news.
Our current kitchen has Crystal Cabinetry in Frosty White Aurora. These cabinets have held up beautifully over the last 17 years. Our objective is to add some warmth to the kitchen, but we can't afford to replace all of the cabinets, and would hate to as they are in such great shape. So, the perimeter will stay fairly in-tact with the current microwave cabinet (the crux of it all) and the adjacent Pantry cabinet being replaced. The MW cabinet will be replaced with a standard depth and height (12" and 30") cabinet. The 24" Pantry will be replaced with a 27" Advantium Wall Oven cabinet/pantry. We are so excited about the new speed cook/convection/microwave oven! The white center island will be replaced with a warm wood stained island. The kitchen table will be replaced with a new second island, also done to match the center island. (We have another dining table in the dining room where family meals and special occasion meals will be held.)
The new Islands are done by a different cabinet manufacturer, Wood Harbor. We worked very closely with a dear friend of mine, Nancy, and after several get "appointments" over a glass of wine we settled on the design for our island replacement and our new island. The goal of having the second island allow for conversational seating arrangements, but still accommodating my additional storage requirements and a new pull out trash (for clearing up after dinner and projects) were all met!
We chose to go with quartersawn oak, not your typical or most popular choice these days, but as the kitchen is open to our family room we wanted something to tie the rooms together. Our family room is finished with a beautiful antique quartersawn fireplace mantel, we have a newly made 'antique look' TV hutch that is also done in quartersawn oak and an antique mirror/mantel that hangs on the opposing wall - also done in quartersawn oak. We think the look of having the quartersawn oak in both rooms will really be nice.
We found the perfect stain that matches the finish of our antique pieces. Clove. The biggest dilemma, glaze or no glaze. If we do use glaze, black or chocolate. Ron and I weren't originally on the same page on this particular issue. I felt the glaze gave it that worn character that fit well with our antique pieces. He wasn't sure it was worth it for the cost of the glaze upgrade. In the end, the glaze grew on him and he decided it was the best way to go as well. The decision between black and chocolate was difficult. The black was more pronounced and stood out, the chocolate was subtle, but so subtle that you could barely see it. If they would have had an option between the two it would have been perfect, as such we went with the black. I'll post pictures of both options.
I'll post pictures of the cabinet door samples and what a beautiful match they are with our mantel.
Cabinets are ordered - Yay!!!
Next Post - The Granite Selection Process!!
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