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!!