Finished kitchen: Ikea, walnut, marble and glossy white
My husband and I bought a small fixer-upper, recently moved in and have finished the renovation (in that order). We added about 450 square feet to the existing house, the max allowed by our town's floor area ratio calculation. The new square footage was mostly in an office downstairs and master bedroom upstairs, plus a little bit in the kitchen.
The original kitchen had a small laundry and half bath attached, and a door to the back yard. The kitchen was bumped out 3 feet towards the back of the house and a hallway added from the garage to the downstairs office. The hallway now separates the kitchen from the laundry and a tiny full bathroom, with a small niche for table linens and display. The door to the back yard is now through the laundry room. The new kitchen is approx 14x14.
From start to finish the process took 7 months, with 2 months of planning and permit back-and-forth, and 5 months of demolition/construction. We remodeled the existing full bath, added a master bedroom & bath, added an office, took the kitchen down to studs and enlarged it, put in all new electrical, plumbing and HVAC, new roof and gutters, etc, etc. For the kitchen, we built all the cabinet boxes and my contractor installed them. I purchased all appliances and fixtures.
Design considerations: we wanted a bright contemporary look that was inviting and uncluttered. We wanted mostly light surfaces because we were concerned the room might be dark. The kitchen faces north and the one window has an overhang from the master above. We also needed to be budget-aware which we mostly followed with the exception of one big splurge (details below). We loved the look of grain-matched walnut and after a visit to SemiHandMade in Southern California, we decided to go with their custom drawer fronts. I'm the cook and wanted a good expanse of work surfaces. My husband is the clean up guy so he researched and chose the sink and dishwasher.
The island is 60" x 30". In order to have an overhang for seating, we needed to have drawers that were 18" deep. Ikea doesn't sell 18" deep drawers, so we ordered these from Sherr's in the custom size we needed. The walnut end and back side of the island were made by a finish carpenter we hired who wrapped it with a mix of walnut veneer and solid walnut to our specification.
Things we love:
- the marble island (aka The Big Splurge)
- the grain-matched walnut doors. We were glad we got the end panels for the upper cabinets as well.
- lots of drawer space
- the trash pullout
- the tall pantry cabinet
- the butcher block counter
- dimmable LED lights
- Sherr's drawer boxes
- Ikea's 20% off sale and exchange policy
Things that aren't done yet:
- glass shelves for niche
- need to find lower bar stools
- some tweaking of door alignment and repair of edge banding
Gardenweb ideas used:
- lots of drawers
- offset drain in the sink to allow for a trash pullout underneath
- air switch for garbage disposal
- induction stove
- Ikea boxes and hardware
- under cabinet LED lights and outlets
- over-the-counter microwave
- recessed fridge
- did I mention lots of drawers?
Things we had to compromise on:
- no room for a double oven and separate cook top
- clearance behind the island is slightly less than ideal
- more filler by the upper cabinets next to the sink than we'd prefer, needed for symmetry
Things that didn't work out the way we thought
- the window was supposed to come down to the counter
- the finished sink wall was 2" narrower than planned, which meant we had to cut down the drawer fronts of a 24" cabinet to 18" and leave a little gap at the end of the corner cabinet (not visible)
- the corner cabinet needed a lot more door clearance than we thought, so the stove wall had to be adjusted
- the beautiful Mockett finger pulls needed to be recessed into the tops of some of the drawers just a little so that they would close properly. My contractor used a chisel and hacked the edge band badly on some of them. My husband and I are working on repairing all of them as we don't want the contractor to touch them at this point.
- the Abstrakt doors and deco strips show every nail and ding, and so were difficult to use at the top of the cabinets where they needed to be mitred.
Cabinets
Perimeter cabinets: Ikea
Door fronts on Ikea cabinets - white are Ikea Abstrakt, grain-matched walnut are from SemiHandMade
http://semihandmadedoors.com/
Island and niche cabinets & doors: Sherr's
Toe kicks are from Ikea in a glossy dark gray that looks like stainless.
Counters
Perimeter: Caesarstone in Arctic White. Purchased during the Ikea sale, fabricated by United Marble and Granite (Ikea's fabricator)
Island - Calacatta Oro, honed. Purchased at Da Vinci Marble in San Carlos, CA, fabricated by Marblus Granite in San Jose
Walnut butcherblock counter from Hardwood Lumber Company
Appliances
Electrolux 30" Slide-In Induction Range Model EW30IS65JS (Sears Outlet)
Sharp 1.5 cu. ft. Over-the-Counter Microwave (Home Depot)
Waste King 1HP Eco-Green Garbage Disposer with air switch (Costco)
Hansgrohe Metro HighArc Kitchen Faucet with 2-Function Pull-Out Sprayhead (Costco)
Ancona Tornado II 30" Range Hood (Costco)
Bosch-SHX68R55UC 800 Series 24 In. Stainless Steel Bar Handle Dishwasher
Elkay Gourmet Elumina Stainless Steel 30-1/2" x 18-1/4" Single Basin Kitchen Sink 10" Depth
Kenmore Elite fridge (existing)
Mockett Door pulls 3" Tab Drawer Pull - Satin Chrome (26D)
Floor - strand-woven bamboo from Teragren in Chestnut
Lights - LED undercabinet and can lights.
Pendants - Bruck Rainbow I (dichroic)
Wall color - BM Decorator's White
Kitchen before with dining room beyond
Kitchen during with island mock-up. The original subfloor is on the diagonal. New exterior door/laundry room in background.
6 inch recess for fridge
Looking from hallway; entrance to dining room was enlarged
From the dining room, niche and hallway at right rear
Fridge wall
From dishwasher to plate drawer
Trash pullout
Pullout left of stove
Tall cabinet
Mockett pulls and damage to edge banding (since repaired)
Niche cabinet before mirror was installed
Marble close-up
Here is a link that might be useful: Post with in-progress pictures
Comments (77)
momand3boys
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agodrybean
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
Glossy White Kitchen Cabinets what type of countertop/backsplash
Comments (1)Some photos of your space would help in providing recommendations, as other finishes in the home are likely to affect the selection. However, here is some information you may want to consider. Marble countertops, while beautiful, are prone to staining. Perhaps you could consider a quartz counter with a marble splash such as the Ames #MHLDMS. Quartz comes in a huge variety of color and pattern options, Caesarstone has a quartz option with a marble look (5111 Statuario Nuvo), but something like the 5110 Alpine Mist might be nice, depending on the other finishes in your home. http://storefront.amestile.com/storefrontB2CWEB/itemdetail.do?action=prepare_detail&itm_id=22101&itm_index=10...See MoreWhite and walnut kitchen - need help picking out the countertops/metal
Comments (21)Amauri, signature hardware. Kitchen is from Glen Alspaugh and no it is not finished. One of the directions my decorator insisted upon was the use of warm undertones. Hence the sea pearl quartz countertop. He is a national designer and indicated the cold stone look has never been "in" and is a fad. By cold sone, he meant gray/blue. He indicated my love of walnut meant I tended toward warm colors which is correct. The walls are BM cashmere grey, but you would never know, has a faint green tone. It is a very calm and serene kitchen. The island is very unusual as a quartzite, because its a warm green, but it looks like green ice. So it plays homage to the modern look. It is honed not polished sea pearl...See MoreMinimalist Kitchen cabinet sheet finish: Glossy or Matte
Comments (8)I love the look of both high gloss and super matte cabinets. That said, I really don't like super gloss black/dark cabinetry, as the very harsh reflections make a room look really busy, especially at night with all the lights on, I think that's not at all attractive and imho cheapens the look of a space. Also, high gloss black finishes show every single fingerprint and speck of dust, while I have to look for dirt on my white glossy cabs and never see any fingerprints. If you want to go with dark cabinets, I would hightly recommend the matte kind, as black glossy cabinets are reminiscent of bachelor condos of the 80s, lol! I really like contrast in a space and not only between light and dark or various colors, but also between glossy and matte surfaces. So for now we painted one of our walls behind the cabs a super flat, rich charcoal. Love that juxtaposition. In my mind, I'm playing with the idea to repaint sometime, using a flat dark forest green, yum! We'll see. If we ever install a backsplash we will definitely use matte dark tiles. Much easier to change a backsplash than to change the cabinetry....See MoreKitchen Reveal: White Shaker + Paonozzo Marble (IKEA + Scherr's) - NYC
Comments (22)@Pam We recessed the countertop in front of the wall ovens, to make it easy to stand in front while removing baking. I keep a stool in the recess - it makes a nice place to perch while reading recipes. The "cat" pole is an exposed pipe that I wrapped in Sisal. (Our cat is not impressed, sadly, and ignores it.) The microwave is above the wall oven - it's the IKEA Nutid integrated microwave - IKEA's manufacturer is Whirlpool. The oven is Verona and oddly they have a similar look, though from entirely different manufacturers. Here are some photos that might help....See Moredrybean
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoannkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoannkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agolalithar
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoannkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agodrybean below are a couple pictures of the filler pieces. Starting from the corner is 3 1/2" of filler for the corner cabinet clearance, the 15" pullout, and 1" of filler by the stove. On the right of the stove is another 1" filler piece, the 18" drawer base, and a cover panel.
It's a long story, but none of this was in the original plan other than the two 1" filler pieces. Our architect's drawing was off by 6 inches on that wall! So we had to have the walnut pieces to the left of the stove remade from scratch, and we cut down the drawer panels on the right of the stove from 24" to 18". Fortunately we hadn't assembled those cabinets when we discovered all of this, so we returned the original ones to Ikea and bought the replacements.
lalitha I don't think our little house will ever be on a tour, but you're welcome to come see it. I'll email you.
From Kitchen
From Kitchen
kaysd
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agosthomas6978
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoannkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
a2gemini
9 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
sochi
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoa2gemini
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoannkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoheidia
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agodrybean
9 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
mtnrdredux_gw
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoa2gemini
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoscrappy25
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoannkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoscrappy25
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoannkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoPurpleSquirrel
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoannkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoauroraborelis
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agodreambuilder
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agofirstmmo
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoAnnKathryn:
It's stupendous! I love the mix of materials you used--they go together so nicely: the white perimeter Caesarstone with marble island and amazing walnut cabinets. Love love love the combination you picked! I could move in today!I am especially enamored with your slab of Calacatta Oro that you got from DaVinci. Been scouting there myself for marble. Did you ever consider a marble with a more brown veining to match the walnut? Like the Volakas:
Or the Calacatta Vagli:
I am considering the marble with the brown for my next project and am wondering if you saw these and ruled them out because of the brownish veins. My island may end up being walnut too and I am toying with the idea of using these.
You did an amazing job and all the obsessing that you mentioned obviously paid off. It looks fabulous :)
annkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoLaura12 the plugmold is from Task Lighting, supplied by my electrician. It's tamper resistant, and the strip to the right of the sink also has a switch for the 2 lights over the sink.
Dreambuilder the drawers are all standard Ikea drawers, which are steel with a particleboard bottom. For the tall cabinet I used the basic Ikea drawer dividers.
Firsthouse_mp thanks for your nice comments. Your island was one of my inspirations (was it quartzite?) I didn't see the Volkas at Da Vinci but I did see the Calacata Vagli and another one called Calacata Caldia. DH and I were looking for a marble that had the effect of a river flowing over the side of the island. We weren't focusing so much on the color although we didn't want it to be too gray. The Volkas in your picture looks like it would have been a good choice for us. The veins in the Vagli that we saw looked a little muddy, as did the Caldia. I know they get in new marble all the time, but once we found that slab of Calacata Ora, which is a little creamier in person than in the pictures, we were sold. All Natural Stone in San Jose has gorgeous marbles too.
Here is a link that might be useful: Task Lighting power strips
canicci
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoannkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agodrybean
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoannkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agodrybean I just checked my cabinets. I have 9 Abstrakt drawers and 3 of them had to be notched to allow the Mockett pulls to be inset a little. Two of the 3 were top drawers and the pull hit the butcherblock above. The other was a middle drawer.
The drawers fronts themselves are adjustable about 1/4 inch up and down. If you set the bottom drawer to be on its lowest setting and the top drawer to be in its highest, the middle drawer might be ok if you have a 3-drawer cabinet, for example.
I hope you can adjust so you don't have to cut into the drawer tops.
Since I'm of the opinion that a picture is worth a thousand words, I just took a couple. Sorry they're not in better focus.
Pull installed on the top of the drawer.
From Kitchen
Pull inset into top of drawer (you can see the slight tear in the drawer material on the right side of the pull):
From Kitchen
youngdeb
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agodrybean
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoannkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoHi drybean,
Yes, similar issues with having to chisel into some of the tops of the SemiHandMade drawers too. A good finish carpenter should be able to do this. Unfortunately my GC didn't have one (long story, I won't bore you with the details) and so he took a chisel to the drawers that didn't close all the way and notched out enough room for the pulls. There's a picture above of some of the damage he did. I bought a roll of walnut iron-on edge banding and am slowly repairing everything that needs it.
I felt a lot better after watching a couple videos of the process. Go to YouTube and search on "how to apply edge banding" for more information. I'm also linking more information below.
Do you have your SHM drawer fronts already? If not, maybe you could send them your pulls and have them do the cutting at their shop. I think the drawer fronts are just a hair bigger than their Ikea counterparts, which is good because it covers more of the cabinet box, but not so good when the drawer pulls need such exact clearance.
I was going to use the Mockett pulls on the niche cabinet, but the kitchen cabinets were such a pain that I just used small drawer pulls instead.
I had a custom walnut vanity made for my master bath using the same Mockett pulls. I took the pulls to the cabinet maker and had them do the inset cuts when they made the doors. They look great (picture below).
Also, the roll of edge band I bought is about a gazillion feet, way more than I'll ever use. If you want me to send you some I'd be happy to do so, just message me through this site.
Master vanity:
From MasterBath
Here is a link that might be useful: Edgeband instructions
michoumonster
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoannkathryn
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agoaudreyamelia
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agomichoumonster
9 years agolast modified: 7 years agodecogirl
7 years agoannkathryn
7 years agodecogirl
7 years agoannkathryn
7 years agoThe counters have a little bit of overhang on the drawer side, maybe 1/2 inch. On the chair side we have 11 inches. It's a little tight but workable as DH and I eat all our meals at the counter. We have white leather chairs now, not the wicker ones from the original photo.
The glossy white cabinets haven't dinged at all, the doors are still in excellent shape. The glossy white strips we used for the toe kick haven't held up as well though, and they were difficult to mitre everywhere we used them as trim.
cv2014
7 years agoannkathryn
7 years ago
tamizami
6 years agomelnikovai
6 years agoannkathryn
6 years agodretutz
6 years ago
cv2014