Finished kitchen! Lots of pics and saga to share...
It was supposed to take two weeks, it took three months. To the bitter end, we were waiting for the shelves to be remade for the 'appliance depot' (love that concept!) because our contractor still hasn't picked up a tape measure. The shelves were finally delivered this week (only a week late!) and I wrote out the last payment. We are done!
Before:
Now here's the finished OTK:
To be fair about that OTK slur (marcolo, are you out there?), we kind of had an OTK from the beginning, at least in the white cabs, which we always planned to keep. They are old but well-made and perfectly functional. A few add ons from Bed Bath and Beyond - dividers for cookie sheets and cutting boards, a roll-out drawer for pan lids - and we were good to go. Okay, we don't have soft close. But we recycled! The cost to have new cabinets made would have taken up our entire budget - and was too wasteful for the frugal Yankee in me!
We redid the countertops (okay, okay, honed Black Absolute - but I love it!), including the island top (walnut), replaced the appliances, and we are guilty of putting in white subways, though they're hand-made and a little unusual. Honestly, by then I had decision fatigue. We stayed under budget. Almost half went to the appliances.
A million thanks to GardenWeb for helping me choose our appliances:
Subzero 36" bottom freezer - total love
Electrolux 27" double ovens - meh. Made-in-China shiny on the outside, don't love the styling, or how they bake, or the super complicated dashboard (nitpick: why is the Cancel button so close to the Start button?) Best thing I can say is they were affordable
Miele 36" induction cooktop - jump up and down with joy every time I cook (and I've burned plenty!)
Perrin and Rowe faucet - not worth $1,500. My cheap old faucet was better.
Blanco stainless sink 30 x 10 with grate - it's a sink. Very nice. Probably not worth it.
Top Knobs knobs and pulls - is there any other brand?
Miele dishwasher - retained from old kitchen - fabulous dishwasher, but at least ten years old, so I can't evaluate what they're making now
I had to buy all new stainless cookware, but I will post my recommendations on Appliances, not to take up even more space here.
Here is the Appliance Depot:
This was the only cabinet we custom made, and it took three tries to get it right, even though all the cabinet maker had to do was take a picture with his phone of the existing cabinets and copy them. I wish I had taken a picture of the first cabinet he made. Beautiful - but in whose kitchen? After the contractor fired him - second cabinet was even worse, and a month late - we had this one made, which - wouldn't you know it? - isn't as high quality as the first, but is perfectly functional, even if the doors are slightly off plumb (my personal curse).
Here is the island top:
I posted a lot of my unhappiness about this on GW a few months ago. We were told it was going to look like a 'beautiful dining room table.' That was before they forgot to measure for the overhang. When the top came back, it had one portion with six narrow planks, and another with two wide planks. I don't know any dining tables that look like that. The contractor said, "Oh, no one will notice." Do you? I do. But life is too short. I live with it.
This is one of the steel braces I had to ask for - that is, demand - after the overhang was installed without any support (probably because they totally forgot about it).
There were supposed to be three braces, somehow I only ended up with two. I never seemed to get what I asked for with my contractor. I got plenty of 'You really think you need support under there? Really?'
This is the sink run:
I love the honed Black Absolute. I read plenty of posts here about how high maintenance it is, but we have had zero problems with dust or stains. The sink splashes plenty and we wipe the counters down every night after doing the dishes, but we did that with the old Formica counters, too. I think the black and white looks sharp! OTK, anyone?
The worst part about the granite was that the contractor failed to level the base cabinets before installation and the sink run was definitely on a slant. Thank you to everyone on GW who answered my post, complete with a picture of my level resting on the counter, and encouraged me to stand firm. Don't let anyone tell you 'In a month you won't notice,' or 'You're using the wrong kind of level,' or 'It's your floors that are the problem.' Bottom line, I made him redo it. He didn't have to remove the granite - though he knew, by that point, that I would insist - but he did spend almost an entire day under the cabinet, making adjustments with an electric saw. I think he was as shocked as I was that he worked so hard, and got it right.
I know some people might think I'm a harda*s or a nitpicker or too demanding (those are my good qualities) and some might think my OTK is boring (I see your point, believe me, I wish I had more time to get creative) but for those of you who can benefit from my mistakes, or take advantage of the decisions I made, or just take heart that you'll get through it - that's exactly what I got coming here, many times over, from all the incredibly informative and entertaining (you know who you are!) posters on GW, so I'm happy to give back.
So thank you, all! I could go on (and on) but I don't want the distinction of having the longest finished kitchen post in history!
The kitchen is finished, but I'll check back in to see what's cooking. Happy New Year!
Eugenie
ps - here's how the kitchen looks IRL when it's not prepped for its close up
Comments (37)
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Your kind comments are making it all worthwhile! Thank you!!
mtnfever - thank you for the link to soft close - I almost wish I didn't have it on the appliance depot drawer -then no one would know how nice it is!
motodetroit - I inherited the piece on the side cabinet from DH's mother (I couldn't believe his sister didn't want it!). She got it in Norway in the '50s, and it's a great piece of vintage kitchen ware that sat on her counter for years and always makes me think of her. It has glass compartments (some are broken now) that I assume were used for sugar, flour, spices, etc. We fill it with M&Ms, almonds, popcorn kernals, tea bags and Emergen-C.
Here's a better picture:
Madeline616 - do you know how long I've tried to get my dog and cat to pose for pictures? Forget about it. And then they just wander into the photo shoot... I'm glad I got a picture of Zelda, our airedale. She's old now, and she doesn't like having her picture taken.
taggie - comments like yours remind me that we did the right thing keeping the old cabinets. Two KDs I talked to, but didn't hire, immediately wanted to rip them out and I couldn't understand why, they were classic, worked fine (I realized later that both KDs work for cabinet makers; I don't know, maybe they all do). And keeping them saved me from making all those thorny layout decisions everyone struggles with here. I really had it easy, but thank you for your compliments.
dilly ny - I wish I could take credit for the range hood, but it was the only one that would fit our specs. My ceilings are low and, if you notice, the ceiling above the cooktop is lowered even further (there is an upstairs bath above, but no one seems to know why the ceiling descends seven inches above the cooktop) - it narrowed our options in range hoods to this one - sorry, I should have ID'd it - Electrolux 36".
dianalo - you are a better man than I. Actually, I know you aren't a man. I have followed many of your comments on the forum. You always have the best attitude. I have to say - cranky and demanding as I am - one of the things I love about reading GW commenters is how MELLOW you all are. In the midst of hair-curling disasters! How do you do it? I want what you're having!
westsider40 - "Something's Gotta Give" was on TV in our area today! I ran in and said to DH (who loves that movie) - there it is! What I've been telling you about! The OTK! I had to explain the whole thing to him. But honestly, that kitchen is so completely SWOON-worthy. The whole house. Diane Keaton's turtlenecks. I wish!!! At least we have our easy-care induction, right?
liriodendron - here are some pictures of the built-in drawers. I don't think they're anything special, but I'm sure if I were replacing the the cabs, I would have had to pay quite a bit extra to have a set of drawers like these installed. Helped us decide to keep the cabs we had. We keep container lids in the first drawer, the matching containers in the second, napkins in the third and table cloths in the bottom. Great storage. Keeps everything nice and tidy.
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eugenie11Original Author