ABB

Now that my kitchen has reached its first anniversary, this would be a good time for me to say . . . what the heck is ABB? Having been hanging around here for going on two years now, I am embarrassed to have to ask this.

ABB = All But Backsplash

Remind me what The Sweeby Test is? She (along with many other GWers) was extremely helpful to me (on GW) in designing my kitchen before this one (circa 2005-06), and that kitchen functioned very well for the 7 years we lived with it.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. I'm much savvier about which changes really give you the improvements you are trying to achieve both visually and functionally now, than I was when I joined a few years ago. It's kept me from making a bunch of expensive, unnecessary changes. I hope.

Oh, and ever since I read CEF's post on plum-golds, I can't read the word plugmold properly! Maybe they should just change the word :)

Get a quote, it might be less than you think (regarding moving/removing stuff)
Live with it for a bit
Mock ups! (Poor DH, I had cardboard -everywhere- for weeks)
Lick it
Barrier island (seriously, this should be an actual thing in design talk)
Lighting layers

I'm sure there are more, but I hope my next project involves someone that speaks GW!

I also can't go anywhere without looking at the details. DH is very amused when I marvel at an incredible tile installation (with great quality work) or lament a beautiful tile stuck in an ugly install with excessive lippage, uneven grout lines, etc.

Guess I won't ever be the same.

Oh No! I missed

Paisley top and Plaid pants
WWLT (What would Linelle think?)
Cockpit kitchen

Please fill me in!

It has been the greatest education changing me from "I just want a stove that works, more storage, and a frig that opens ALL the way" to "oh zones make sense" and "there really can be functional storage in this space?!" Thank you all for continuing to teach us! I appreciate your willingness to share! There is so much to learn.

GW quirks and perks, I'll add
-barrier island
-design around this
-let's take a poll / or search the older posts to see what garden web thinks (to settle maritial disputes on kitchen issues)
-coffin banquette benches
-sink reveals (still don't understand this one)

What was that movie kitchen that may or may not have started the white kitchen trend?

I don't think I deserve to be included in any list. :) I think we all have some good insights and opinions. I can't really back mine up with, look at me, I did it right. Because I made some rookie mistakes. But I think that's maybe what lascatx is talking about, learning from mistakes and those of others, and being able to cite why it is so. I love analogies and metaphors. I've only done one kitchen update and this may be my last, but I know (or think I know) what looks good and what doesn't. I've becoming more discerning.

I'll add:

Darth Vader (something large, usually black, that lurks menacingly)
Blind cabinets (I may have a few)

Lighting! Who knew it shouldn't look like airport runway lights in my ceiling?

And the necessity of a towel pig.

Boob lights. I never noticed them before, and now they're everywhere (including my family room).

Hollysprings came up with an instant classic just last week. In your next kitchen, you might or might not need a vent hood that can "suck the toupee off Lorne Green's head."

Karate chop pillows
Ceiling acne
Lippage (my backsplash has it and knowing it has a name makes it more embarrassing)
Beaded inset

I now have at least five different kitchen styles I'd love to try...and only one kitchen to work with (LOL)

"Hollysprings came up with an instant classic just last week. In your next kitchen, you might or might not need a vent hood that can "suck the toupee off Lorne Green's head." "

OMG, I laughed as hard this second time reading that as I did the first! SOOOO hilarious!

"I now have at least five different kitchen styles I'd love to try...and only one kitchen to work with (LOL)"

ME TOO! I eyeball every ad for cabinets for sale to assess future "sample kitchen" projects, lol! So many designs...so few houses!

How has GW Kitchens changed me? Really helped me learn to think outside the box, and listen carefully when knowledgeable people are offering exert opinions. But aside from that I have learned so very much.

I have also learned at GW that it is okay to be a little pedestrian in design when function is improved. Also that there are a lot of 'regular kitchen' people like me with smaller budgets, and there is no shame in that. And it does me no good to pine after someone else's kitchen that would never work for me.

I also learned that there are some amazing and talented people out there who have designed some dreamy kitchens...and who are so generous with their time by coming to sites like this to help others through their kitchen troubles.

On the one hand, this forum has given me so much information! On the other, I sometimes feel that it can be tough to design a GW-perfect kitchen when you have certain limitations, be it space or budget. What this forum has given me is a "heads-up" on certain issues that I may not have been aware of before dwelling here. If I break a GW "rule", I am at least aware of it, and can make the determination if it is something that will bother me or not.

"Cockpit kitchen " = came out of a discussion of the OP's desired kitchen layout.

it's a kitchen designed for ONE cook, with everything they use during the cooking process within reach or one step, like an airplane cockpit. Designed to keep people OUT of the cooking area.

I'll add the HUSH from Trebuchet to the list. My contractor will be introduced to this product :)

And my kitchen won't be 100% GW compliant, but I'm cool with that...

I learned that I really could enjoy my kitchen, more than if it was "just a kitchen" as it was before. Meaning, lovely design, décor, fit and finishes, even if in a very small space and on a small budget, really are good for the psyche.

Form vs. Function
Morgue drawers
KAW (Kitchen at Work)--coined by trailrunner!
Kitchen "bling"

Prep area.

When I first read this, I didn't even know what was meant by "prep". Now I can't look at a kitchen without noticing (and judging) the prep area.

Thanks for the chuckles, smiles and the memories reading through these. We all come here with varying degrees of certainty about what we want and how to get there, but it's always fun to see how we've shared all those ideas.

Linelle, you do deserve to be on my list. Anytime someone says something in a way that gives such a visual or makes such a connection that it will always be remembered -- it sticks.

My kitchen is approaching 8 years now. I'm still hanging around because I could do a dozen easy. Maybe a hundred. I've always wanted to build a house and pick everything that went into it. Love the process, headaches and all. I don't expect to ever get to do that though and the current kitchen is likely the only one I will ever had choices on. DH says he's not moving again and how much we like the kitchen is the other reason it would be hard to ever move, so I share your ideas and experiences and am just glad I have something I enjoy. If I ever get to do my bathroom, I hope it turns out as well.

Y'a;; have a great weekend.

lascatx :)

A lot of what I learned in Kitchens helped me when I did my bath remodel. I thought it would be a piece o' cake. And yet, I still made some mistakes, all from which I've learned something. None of the mistakes caused loss of life, maybe just a rap across the knuckles.

Prep area!!! I am blessed with just the right sized prep area for me. I can put up with 4-5 blind corners (true story) and a fridge that isn't counter depth, but a good prep area is essential.

I know I can't look at kitchens or bathrooms the same way ever again.

Linelle, you're needed on Greenhaven's backsplash post.

"CAn't say I wouldn't make the same mistakes..." Reminds me of a couple cars I restored. I made every mistake in the book on the first one. Figured I learned my lesson so the second one came along and I made all the same mistakes...just in a different way! The beat goes on....

"Linelle, you're needed on Greenhaven's backsplash post."

lol!

TKO.
Kitchen work zones.
The one-butt kitchen. (Not to be confused with the positive attributes of a cockpit.)
Toe-kick drawers.
Counters at whatever height works best for the people using them.
Rectangular (non-diagonal) corner pantries.
Do people still add the NeverMT and Plugmold? Those were big on the forum when we did our kitchen.

Who of us can look at kitchens the same ever again? I think TKO leads to Terminal Kitchen Critique Syndrome in which we can't help but look at as many kitchen pics as possible, but immediately see past the shiny bling to the obvious functional flaws... Not enough drawers, inadequate venting, bad work path, no prep sink?! And yes, usually a barrier island!
WHAT are people thinking?! lol

I am still amazed as I look through loudly applauded new kitchens posted on Facebook from decor sites that might include some 'clever new idea' we've discussed on the forum for years, or just 'miss' on all things functional. Sometimes it seems that for the rest of the world, 'the "Something's Gotta Give" kitchen' is just catching on, and color may be just around the corner. After seeing one of those ubiquitous showplace kitchens, I headed back here to see if there was some 'real' kitchen eye candy to view.

I wonder if big blocks of color will ever catch on, Lascatx? ;-D I actually hope not.

The ability to look at a kitchen and see what is there, how it works. And what it could be. All this aside from surface material looks.

Having learned all of this at our previous house more than 10 years ago. I had the ability to "see" the potential in the 1987 kitchen in the home we bought last year. It had broken appliances and scotch tape on the counters, but I could see the good layout, ample storage, proper aisles, and envisioned how to tweak the little things to get what I wanted. I was able to order all the items in 2-3 weeks and even got my sink on amazon. I was Confident. And it is spectacular.

before

after

This post was edited by juliekcmo on Fri, Aug 1, 14 at 21:10

TKO but yet I made A LOT of rookie mistakes, but I'm not much bothered by them cuz I have DRAWERS.
Linelle, I have lippage too but didn't even realize it until just a few weeks ago. The tiler's name was Milan, great accolades from the KD. I thought his heritage would be Italian & he'd be an artist. Luckily, I can only see the lippage when I turn on the blinding hood lights (which now almost give me a migraine since reading the migraine/bright lights range hood thread).
Barrier island? That's a new one. Shoot, I think I might have one.
I hope I someday get to do another kitchen so I can use all this knowledge.
Edit: Paisley top & plaid pants. Love it!

This post was edited by romy718 on Sat, Aug 2, 14 at 20:45

Rhome -- good to see you! I hope the color blocks stay out of kitchens. I did white cabinets and marble both because I loved them and because they were different. Imagine that! LOL

I think I've always had ideas about what I needed in a kitchen and how I wanted it to work, but yes, it gets worse. I look through real estate listings every now and then. I am hard pressed to find even one or two kitchens I'd want to work in and live with at any price.

I still see plugmold (and no plum gold) mentioned a bit -- and NeverMT too, thought not as often. I wouldn't have a soap dispenser without the NeverMT.

Linelle, I hope I've learned enough to deal with the bathroom. I'm more intimidated by the bathroom than the kitchen and the kitchen has more parts. One thing I've learned is that I don't want to hire another contractor, but I know it won't be DIY. At least I learned one NOT to hire.

Oh. Y'all know that y'a;; means you guys too, right? ;-)

Yay, Lascatx, we can keep our color blocks to ourselves. haha

I don't remember seeing any kitchen in any real estate listing I haven't wanted to tear out and redo, even in houses well past our price range. --TKO can also meander into TKS (Total Kitchen Snob). As much as I'm tired of endless DIY, after hiring just a couple contractors here and there, I'm happier to stick with DIY headaches instead.

I do agree with JulieKCMo that all the time here does wonders for vision and confidence, when if/when we do end up with a kitchen that doesn't fit our standards! But it also gives me the urge to have a house with about 5 kitchens for all the styles I like, and appliances I'd want to try! --Maybe not so much ovens, since I've been there, done that in one kitchen... :-/

This may have been from hollysprings too but the funniest thing I ever read on GW was when a person was cutting and installing soapstone themselves and had the slabs laid out on their lawn and it looked like cemetery plot covers. This was an ongoing project and I guess they were taking them in and out of the basement or something because one time hollysprings asked: "So what's Teddy up to in the basement this week" or something like that and I lost it.

This was only funny if you are an old movie buff and remember "Arsenic and Old Lace". The insane family with two spinster aunts who murdered little old men suitors and buried them in the basement. The insane brother thought he was Theodore Roosevelt and was always charging off to the basement to dig locks for the Panama Canal but were in reality graves for the old men the aunts were poisoning. Anyway, that thread kept me giggling for some time. I guess you had to see the accompanying photos of the soapstone slabs along with the commentary, that was a classic. I have a bit of a sick sense of humor so I thought it was hysterical. Fortunately the DIY'er had a sense of humor, too.

I've been noticing kitchens in TV ads lately. Thank goodness for TIVO.

Doing the kitchen reminds me of planning a big wedding. I REALLY enjoyed planning my wedding (first marriage) and this process reminds me of it.

First marriage at 19: Big wedding, fluffy dress, lots of people, every little thing mattered.

Second Marriage in 30's: Drive thru in Vegas.

So does that mean if I do another kitchen, I'll be significantly more laid back about it? Or only if I wait 15 years or so?

"This may have been from hollysprings too but the funniest thing I ever read on GW was when a person was cutting and installing soapstone themselves and had the slabs laid out on their lawn and it looked like cemetery plot covers. This was an ongoing project and I guess they were taking them in and out of the basement or something because one time hollysprings asked: "So what's Teddy up to in the basement this week" or something like that and I lost it."

hollysprings undeniably has an occasionally dark sense of humor. Not everyone "gets" her, but I appreciate it and the community is richer for it. We can't take ourselves too seriously.

Swiss chesse lighting
Barrier islands
Golden oak

More than anything, just the different way that people do things in other parts of the country. And the fact that my way of doing things may not always be ri... who am I kidding of course it's right! :D

1-butt kitchen.
That not everyone is attuned to the wisdom of drawers.
That too many people feel the need to apologize for nothing.
That it doesn't matter that it's taking me now-8 years to get anything done. You're still willing to run with me on crazy ideas.

I laughed hard at the toupee thing, and what's in the basement.

What I like is that there are smart, funny, and kind people here. IRL,the smart part is hardest to find. The funny is a bonus, and the kind ones are where you least expect them. Here, all three are wrapped up together.

I have had the luxury of changing my mind on many, many things (no $$ = lots of time) and have a kitchen GW would be proud of, but many would roll their eyes over. IOW, it's MY kitchen, but definitely better with this forum's input.

Thank you, all!

Here's what GW has done to me: caused me to spend several hours over the past 2 weeks staring at the kitchen in my old house when I was supposed to be cleaning it (sold yesterday, yay!!) and figuring out the kitchen layout that I WOULD have done if I had known then what I know now. I finally got it. Would have totally worked. Man. I spent so much time running around for crap that wasn't where it should have been.

Maybe I should draw up the perfect layout and send it to the new owners... hahahaha.

The best thing I learned here was to drop my precious preconceived notions about what I couldn't do, or HAD to have. Also learned that layout has to be at least as important as surface finishes if not more, and will often drive the surface finish choices.
Another valuable lesson was to explore the possibilities such as "check out local shops, sometimes you can get a better deal than the big box stores, etc" I also learned from my kitchen and watching others do their planning that the problem often turns out to be the solution if enough time is taken to really examine the possibilities instead of looking at it as a dead end.

Easy for me to talk smart now, right?

It eats up your spare time.

I am now completely and utterly terrified of choosing the wrong backsplash. Until two years ago, I had never given backsplashes a second thought.

Deedles. Reveal. We're waiting. :)

This place is amazing. Even on the grumpy days. Some great laughs and free advice. Easily the smartest board I've been on.

It really is a "secret sauce" kind of thing around here! There is a substantial practical element but it is well marinated in an amazing blend of smart, kind, and humorous commentary. There are stories of triumph over adversity, the rewards of clean living, and good fortune windfalls...but disaster in the form of clashing undertones, mis-measurement, and an unscrupulous contractor is always lurking in the wings.
I'm not sure it really changes us, but it is a terrific stage.

Here is a link that might be useful: As you like it

"Hey, what a great towel pig!" came loudly out of my mouth during a benefit kitchen tour a few months ago. Yes, that can quiet a room quickly.

99.9% of my selection decisions and purchases done via internet. Spent endless hours here.

- DRAWERS, DRAWERS, DRAWERS
- *big* increase at final budgeting stage
- didn't know that things like tapmaster existed, although I've had the need for hands-free for the last 7-8 yrs
- ABG options
- ABB, which I'm sorry to say I may be a permanent member
- little important details like how far from wall to place recessed lighting. I think my GC was impressed. He's usually, 'point to where you want lights placed'
- 1 butt vs 2-butt kitchen
- zones
- drove all parties crazy, including DH, with my perfectionist tendencies.
- learned it's okay to move from perfection to 'overall I'm okay with the imperfection'. The 'live with it for a while' mantra
- white kitchens are/were all the rage and some considered outdated. I still don't care lol.
- got a lot more organizing inserts. Just showed photos to cabinetmaker - I want this!
- Oops! For things that were not exactly done as I envisioned due to miscommunication but were not exactly show-stoppers.
- the built-in paper towel holder
- plugmold strips under upper cabinets. When a discrepancy with contractor over the need not to have any outlets/switches in backsplash area, I'd say - then how do all the GW ppl do it? They are tired of hearing any sentence including the words 'GW' in it.