I just looove your kitchen! Be-uuu-tiful :)

Your kitchen looks really great. You must be so excited.

I was considering contacting Dutchwood for a quote. A while back I read that they were limiting customers' geographical area. Do you know if this is still the case? You say you drove 90 mins. We'd be just about twice that far.

Looking forward to reading the other parts of your kitchen reveal.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Can't wait to see the rest!

thanks! Magpier, I think I am on the outer border of their coverage area, but you can always email to ask- jason@dutchwood.net. I highly recommend them, they are artisans.

It looks really great - you must be thrilled.

(as an aside, what photo uploading program do you use that allows you to post more than one picture in a post)?

Love it!! So glad it's coming together so beautifully! Can't wait for more of your journey and pix.

Beautiful. I always love Dutchwood cabinetry. What is the open area to the left of the sink? Looking forward to completed pics.

That is indeed beauty in the making! I have always swooned over Dutchwood kitchens and wished we were close enough to use them. Am so happy for you! Please keep your pics and descriptions coming. It is great fun to follow your progress!

sjhockeyfan- I know I saw the posting instructions for embedding pictures from Photobucket here in the Kitchens forum but google turned up the instructions in the hostas forum. I linked it below.

bbtrix- thank you for holding my hand about the Stages sink install! Turns our that my soapstone installers figured it all out and I did not need to worry about it.

motherof3sons, that space to the left of my sink would have been wasted "filler", it is 4.5 inches wide, and only 16 inches deep due to the under counter fridge behind it, so I had them turn it into a perfect storage for my smaller cutting boards. Very convenient to have it open like that.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to post pictures on gardenweb using Photobucket

This post was edited by scrappy25 on Fri, Dec 5, 14 at 8:58

Scrappy, your kitchen is gorgeous! I especially love the drawer accommodations for the 36" cooktop. Can I ask you about the design process? Did you provide DutchWood with the ideas (cut-down drawers, pull out cutting board, toekick drawers) or did they provide that creativity?

Wow! The cabinetry is just gorgeous and looks so well-made.
Great idea to use mirrors. You're right, I didn't notice!
Also, I like how you've presented your reno as a little story. Very interesting read :-) and am now curious to read part 2.

Great remodel. The change in window height really affected the feel of that space. I'd love to how you feel about working with that sink. I think a lot of people are considering prep type sinks like yours. I wonder how I would adapt to use the sink's features.

Would you post your final cabinet layout? Where did you put the dishwasher?

I really enjoyed reading this post! What a wonderful job you did in your kitchen, it's so beautiful. I have also been considering mirrored cabinets, so it's exciting to see them in someone else's kitchen!

I would love to know more about the "sitting bay window". I've never heard of this. Can you share more photos of it and what the benefits were to your layout? It's really gorgeous looking from what I can see.

thanks for the kind words! I'm just going to reply to those who asked questions but I do very much appreciate your comments.

general note- I've had the appliances all over my house for the past 5 years! Pretty much all of it was closeout/clearance/ebay / or craigslist. Imaging my sigh of relief when one by one, they turned on and worked. I did resell some of the extras that I could not fit in, that I had purchased for a larger kitchen expansion. Having the appliances made it "easy" in a sense to plan the layout since it constrained the choices. I had been thinking about this last plan for a few months already by the time I met with Lorna, the Dutchwood kitchen designer, so I was able to send her all the specs on the appliances and she worked out the details to make it fit into the layout I wanted. I did ask for maximum ventilation height of the induction cooktop above the 30 inch oven.

dccurlygirl- I brought lots of pictures of things that I had pinned - toekick drawers, pullout cutting boards, cut down drawer for Stages sink shelf, cut-down drawers for 36" cooktop over 30 inch oven, dividers in my pots/pan drawer, custom paneled appliances etc , most of them from gardenweb postings, and Lorna worked them into the plan. In their showroom, they had the pullout cutting boards and toekick drawers in their displays already. One thing I did not post is the electric trash opener for the trash drawer under the sink which was also in their display, it is a big hit with my whole family. I provided the "asks" and Lorna either worked it in or told me if it couldn ot be completed for whatever reasons. I am including one picture of just the fridge wall here so that you can see the level of detail and customization in these plans (BTW the fridge wall is partial overlay and again not one person has noticed that) . Dutchwood is used to working with paneled appliances and appropriate spacing- at the end I wrung out another inch or so of space from Jason for my pantry on that wall over a few emails, the last bit he gave me was 1/8 inch by reducing the overlay to 1/2 inch on the pantry only instead of 5/8 inch on the rest of that wall (that happened after these plans). They were super accommodating with my wishes.

{{gwi:2142827}}

lannegreen, here is the "overview" layout , it's a little hard to read but the dishwasher is under the kitchen window around the corner from the sink. It is paneled which is why you could not identify it in the picture. It is at the base of the "U" with 24 inches space on one side and 24 inch space on the sink side. I can stand on both sides and unload dishes. I have the Lemans unit in that blind cabinet between the sink and the dishwasher, so the toekick between the dishwasher and the sink was made removable to install and access the plumbing. This was suggested by the inspection office of my county when I called to explain the problem (before I found a contractor). The removable toekick was the only think that I found surprisingly expensive at Dutchwood but it was more than balanced by the reasonable cost of everything else ($90 for toekick drawers for example).

{{gwi:2142785}}
AineLane, here are more picture of my "sitting bay." It cost slightly less than $5000 all told (including moving electrical and adding foam insulation under the exterior Azek cladding, tempered windows since I have all boys :) ), measures 78 inches wide internally by 18 inches deep. Much cheaper than adding a 40k breakfast room or an 80k large kitchen expansion as I first planned. I have a custom cushion for it now and my teen boys enjoy lounging and napping there. The key is to seat it low enough to the ground to make it comfortable for sitting (16" height). I also specified the weight that it had to be able to carry (600 lb). The style is known as a "box bay" and the brand is Sunrise windows. I purchased their premade "projected frame" window through their authorized contractor and he worked with me on the other details. My good friend and former nanny came by to visit the other day and barely noticed the kitchen renovation, she was so taken with the sitting bay.

Exterior of original windows

New box bay replacing old windows.

Somehow those bay walls bring in a lot more light into the space. We also really like watching all the small wildlife outside that we could not reall see before.

In terms of the layout, it gave us enough "breathing space" and sitting area that I could put 16 inch deep drawers on that side of the peninsula. I added an undercounter fridge (paneled, it is next to the wall) on that side as well with the idea that the "coffee center" would be accessed from that side. The light, animal/ibird watching, and perceived airiness is a huge bonus.

This post was edited by scrappy25 on Fri, Dec 5, 14 at 18:51

lannegreene, I am going to do a separate post on the Stages sink , it is THAT great!

CFFreeman, I have always been happy that you live just south of me, I so enjoy reading your thoughtful posts and the replies to your posts. You really make us into a community!

Part 2 posted

Here is a link that might be useful: Scrappy25 renovation Part 2- Julia Soapstone installed

Scrappy - Thank you very much for your detailed explanation of the window and the additional pics. I'm so grateful for your info!
I have a layout that seems similar to yours and this "box bay" window is a wonderful idea, one that I would have never even heard of without your post.

Thanks again!

scrappy25, Thank you for posting the layout and the details on your window alterations.

Part 3, Kitchen Cockpit (Kohler Stages 45 Sink) posted

Here is a link that might be useful: Part 3, Kitchen Cockpit (Kohler Stages 45 Sink)

Part 4, Final Reveal posted

Here is a link that might be useful: scrappy25 renovation Part 4, final reveal

Hi Scrappy,
I wondered if I could ask you another question about the box bay window?
I think you said your roof overhang is 24". Mine is only 20". Do you know what minimum overhang there needs to be? How did you determine the depth of your window, is it a standard? I'm wondering if I need a 4" roof overhang, then the window would be 4" shallower than yours. Do you see that as a possibility?

Thank you so much for any insight! Your kitchen is truly inspiring.

Hi Ainelane, our roof overhang is just about 20 inches, same as yours, with another few inches of gutters. I just measured and the outside depth from the tyvek (my house is being resided) is 17 inches. Remember you will have a 4 inch or 6 inch wall thickness also (mine is 4 inches) to add to the seat depth. My inside depth is 18.5 inches from the window face to my wall and another 1/2 inch molding depth for a total 19 inches. It could be 17-18 inches and still be quite comfortable. So I think you are good to go! My contractor who carried the Sunrise window brand did the calculations. I told him to make it as deep as he was comfortable with, and the seat was to be 16 inches off the finished interior floor. The width was predetermined by the existing window header so that was easy.

We ordered half screens so that the view from the top would be unimpeded. One surprising huge bonus is that those half screens allow that bay window to be used as a pass-through for parties on the deck! We remove the bench cushion, line up all the dishes on the window seat, and the screens can be moved up and down from either inside or outside to move food and dishes in and out. I keep a deck bench outside the window which can be used in a similar manner from outside. SO much easier than opening the sliding patio door or screen with my hands full! It sure makes outside dining a lot easier./ We also put the sonos wireless speaker on the bay window to pipe music onto the deck.
{{gwi:2142828}}

I'm so grateful for you giving me those measurements and details Scrappy, thank you! I'm thrilled that you have a 20" overhang too, I really feel like this could work!

Unlike your situation, I'm pretty sure I will need to move the window opening to the left. Not by much (probably 6") but enough that it complicates it. I don't know how much it is to move the header, but I assume this will add a fair bit. So, if yours was around $5000 keeping the same opening width-wise, I'm thinking I'd need to add another $800-$1200 or so.
This window is such a great feature that I'm willing to give up the higher end appliances I was planning.

Great point about the pass through for the deck. Our BBQ is right outside this window space, so that would be a really great bonus.