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artemis78

It's beginning to look a lot like a kitchen...

artemis78
13 years ago

...soon we'll have a sink!

Then the countertop crew will come

(I'm glad that the walls are plumb!)

There's trim to fix, but first we'll mix a drink...

(With apologies to Meredith Willson...clearly I have been dwelling on this kitchen for way too long!!)

But---yay! We have (some) cabinets!

In general, I'm happy with them. The quality is better than I had hoped for, and our cabinetmaker is being very good about tweaking/fixing (some problems his, some ours, but all getting fixed with no questions). We hit a few kinks---the cutting boards are not quite what I wanted (envisioned fully framed boards, like our old ones---see the other thread on that) so we have to decide what to do about that. The fridge cabinet, which was made an inch too deep, and the broom closet, which was made five inches too deep, both went back to the shop to be adjusted. Still, we got enough installed to tackle the sink so we can get the counter templated, and to have the electricians come finish up this week---yippee! So while these are getting tweaked, we'll get that stuff rolling and figure out/order hardware for them.

The gray cabinets (BM Sea Haze) are lighter than we thought they would be based on the sample (we made an eleventh hour change in paint colors, so had to rely on the BM color sample pots painted on a sheet of paper, rather than an actual sample door like we'd gotten for our initial color picks), but I think it will work. Would have gone darker in retrospect, though. I'm still lukewarm on the wall color (BM Wales Green---not as chartreuse as it looks in these photos, since the lighting is awful right now---more like a "spring green") but not feeling strongly enough about it to repaint---our other option is BM Fresh Cut Grass, which I'm afraid might be TOO bright---so it stays for now. Considering the possibility of painting one wall a darker or accent color, but no clear ideas on that yet either...

But on the success front, I love the BM Acadia White (which we have throughout our house, but I had some last-minute panics about it since we never really opened up the "which white?" debate for the kitchen---would it be too creamy/yellow? Nope!) And the angled cabinet, which I thought I would hate, I LOVE, at least aesthetically. (We'll see functionally when the shelf is in and door is hung!) It absolutely works in the space, though, which was a major concern throughout the process. I was worried the pot drawers would make the room look strange, and that we had brought the cabinets too close to the doorway on the range wall--no on both counts. The fridge and broom closet cabinets, which were briefly in place before heading back to the shop for tweaks, are also perfect (and hopefully still will be when they return!)---I can see straight through from our dining room to our backyard even *before* they shaved off the extra inches, so I'm super excited about that, since it was my other big design worry.

I'm lukewarm on the slab fronts for the deep inset drawers, which I really pushed for. DH hates them (I believe his exact words were "hmm, this might be grounds for divorce..." :) The drawers were supposed to be about an inch shorter, which might have helped, but maybe not. Ah, well. Current dilemma: what hardware to use? We are using thin Mission-style handles on everything else, but I'm thinking these big slabs need something a little chunkier---maybe rectangular bin pulls, or something that would take up some space on the fronts? Any ideas?

Anyway, we're still far from finished and far behind schedule, but getting closer and closer---and still on budget! Dishwasher, range hood, and sink are all queued up for installation this weekend....woohoo! Now if I can just finish up all these work deadlines before then, we'll be good to go.

Comments (20)

  • geraniumeister
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Where do you live that the window is cracked, where I am, snow would be blowing in! I can`t wait until I can have that excitement! Have a few more months to wait, please everyone, pray for NY to have better weather so we can get our roofing shingles on!

  • artemis78
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ha---yes, we're in California, though it's actually raining and cold here in our version of "winter" too...the windows were open because I'd just painted them the night before and was afraid they would stick! I do miss the snow this time of year, though...I'd rather have that than rain and mud. :/

  • dkbc
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    HI artemis78, I could have written your post! Yesterday after waiting since Sept., my cabinets started to be installed. I look at the "broom" closet and cry inside-that is too big! The plan looked great on paper but really takes up too much space(even though I had taped off the floor for the new cab size before I made my final decision) My walking area to the dining room turned into a hallway... The cab guy was upset that I was disappointed but told me he did what I wanted. I said I know that I said I wanted that but it really doesnt work.Hopefully he will be back tomorrow to take it to the shop. Anyway thank you for your post. And I hope your kitchen all comes together smoothly.

  • pinch_me
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Now you won't be sleeping at night for a whole 'nother reason! And best of all, still on budget. Who said money can't buy happiness! What countertop?

    - I do miss the snow this time of year, though...I'd rather have that than rain and mud. :/----

    Are you NUTS!! We had a blizzard Sat/Sun so I baked 3 pans of baklava, 3 loaves of (frozen) bread that I had made into French bread, a couple doz. premade frozen cookies and a pound cake from scratch. Every pair of jeans I own are the same Wrangler size/style. Can you figure out what I'm thinking?

    P.S. We might get above zero tomorrow with a "light" wind. So I'm assuming we'll still have a wind chill. My barn is trashed - snow and hay everywhere but it won't get cleaned until Saturday. I told my girls it would be nice if they would step outside to poop and if they could eat the hay they strung all over I'd sure appreciate it. Ha!

  • hydrangea_luvr
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Woo Hoo! It's coming right along. I am so loving what you all are doing. I read your post on the floor and think you guys did a great job on that one. It's amazing how great it is when you start to get cupboards in. And I can so relate to the two steps forward and one step back on the cabinets.

    I haven't posted about our kitchen since it's been so hectic, but on the day the appliances were delivered, the opening for the fridge was about an inch too small. The opening for the wall oven was about 1 inch too big. And the dishwasher was the wrong color. This was about 2 weeks ago. The cabinetmaker fixed everything so we are good to go there.

    The SS countertops are on. I'm in love. I can't leave them alone.

    And, we have a similar green on our walls. It's SW Hearts of Palm. I really like it in the morning and at night. But when the afternoon sun shines on it, it gets a little bright. But like you, I'm not soooo upset with it to think about starting over here.

    I think we are kindred spirits on this kitchen reno. I can't wait to see what comes next on yours. Hopefully in the next day or two I can post pics of our kitchen.

  • corgi_mom
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It's fun to hear your excitement1 As far as the slab front upper drawers go, in your picture they look good to me. The bin handle idea will be perfect. To me sometimes the top drawers look less "busy" as slabs. Plus it will make them easier to keep clean. The little "shelves" on my doors are real crud-catchers!

  • bmorepanic
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    So happy for you - you did a lot and the cabinets are looking good.

  • artemis78
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    @dkbc, that's funny---we did the same thing with the tape, except we picked the smaller cabinet! (I did go doublecheck my emails as they were working, and indeed, there's an exchange there confirming that the broom closet is shallower and the fridge panel was 25" deep, so I felt confident sending them back with those---luckily those cabs just have cabinets vs. drawers, so they should be pretty easy to cut down, I think.) DH was pushing for 24" deep on the broom closet in the early planning stages, so it was interesting to get to see it in "real life" and confirm that no, it really, really wouldn't be a good idea.

    @pinch_me, it will be Barroca soapstone counters on the gray cabinets and butcher block (probably cherry?) on the white. Soapstone is all ready to get templated whenever we are, so trying to push through on getting the sink in place this week! And, see, all that baking and cold weather really does make me miss the Northeast... (Here, we got a "deep freeze warning last week, which is a rarity. Issued because the temperature was going to hit---wait for it---32! Err...)

    @hydrangea_luvr, so glad to hear yours is coming along too---can't wait to see photos! I can't wait for our SS to go in, so in the meantime I'll live vicariously through yours. ;) And it's funny--I actually really like our wall color in most lights, but it does wash out a bit with the gray cabinets. (My vote was all white and DH's was no white, so what you see is our compromise; since both are painted, we figured they could always be changed by future owners who agreed on things!) We'll see once the real lights are in, though, since we haven't seen much sun since we painted, and the lamps aren't exactly lighting the room well. The boy thinks it needs to be brighter; I actually liked the color that you can see in that last photo by the dehumidifier, which was even less bright (that's a little swatch of BM Potpourri Green, one of the also-rans). And weirdly, in that same photo, the two sides of the wall in the corner are in fact exactly the same color---it just changes a lot in different light, apparently! Color and lighting have seriously been two of the biggest challenges in this whole process---so hard to get right.

  • rhome410
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We used BM Sea Haze on our laundry room cabinets and I love it! I was going to use it on our range area cabinets, but I also did an 11th hour switch...to BM Sabre Gray. Still not sure that was the right choice.

    Your kitchen is looking great! Can't wait to see it come together more and more. I"m excited to see the counters on...Your choices sound beautiful.

  • flwrs_n_co
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oooooh, pretty cabs! Can't wait to see more! I'm so excited for you! I think square pulls would look very nice.

  • John Liu
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Great progress, and very cool vintage range.

  • hydrangea_luvr
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We are kind of on the same wavelength with our kitchen design. I love, love, love my hardware. When I get home, I'll find a picture for you it. It's Atlas Homewares, California Craftsman pulls. We got the pulls for the drawers and then got the knobs for the cabinets. I'm hoping they get installed today. Anyway, the pulls are what drew me in. We got them in ORB. Our lighting is ORB, too, so they really copmliment each other

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pulls

  • farmhousegirl
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love it! Can't wait to see the finished product!

    What is that amazing stove? I'm in love with the vintage stoves...wish I'd done one! Maybe in my next house in 20 years. : )

  • artemis78
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks all! @farmhousegirl, that's a 1954 O'Keefe and Merritt High-Vue 535---it came with the house, but is looking far better these days than when we moved in. I really wish I'd taken some "before" photos, but we replaced all the handles (the original ones had been swapped out for some square 60s handles at some point, which had melted against the stove...oops!) and are in the process of fixing the periscope and having a local restoration company rewire it and fix some wonkiness (the lights and periscope actually work now but it's still taken apart so no photos yet). We actually tried to move it out of the kitchen while demo was happening, but it didn't fit through the door, so I'm at a loss as to how they got it in there! (House is circa 1915, so clearly not the original stove.) Can't wait to finally use it again!

    @hydrangea, beautiful pulls! We're using a similar style but a bit simpler---linked below. Still not sure on the inset cabinets, though.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Our pulls

  • hydrangea_luvr
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I really like those pulls you have picked out. I think bin pulls might be a good idea.

    I like the green by the dehumidifier, too. I can say that as each day passes, the green in my kitchen is growing on me. Of course, my husband is painting our dining room the same color this weekend. I'll probably be shocked again by the color.

  • hydrangea_luvr
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Okay, I've been busy the past month. Any new updates?

  • artemis78
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ha---I wish! We hit the DIY burnout phenomenon and slowed to a snail's pace over the holidays. I think we'll get the range hood hung at last this weekend, which for some silly reason is a requirement for counter templating (why??), so that's been on hold. Cabinets and electrical are now mostly done, with a few glitchy things to get finished on both, so we're just about ABC now---all but counter. But that's not getting done for a while, since we're off on a welcome vacation this month. When we get back, counter templating is first, then sink and dishwasher (yay, functioning kitchen again!) and finally moulding and backsplash. So---closer, but not close enough!

  • artemis78
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    And how did your DR color turn out??

  • kateskouros
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    hurry up artemis! i want to see a finish!

  • hydrangea_luvr
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I so admire the fact that you are DIY. We definitely were not. Demolition was about all we could handle.

    DR color is great. I think once we got past the fact that it wasn't right up against a white wall that it looked better. I'll try to post pics on Sunday of the finished product. We even moved into the bathroom and painted the week after Christmas.

    Anyway, keep us posted.