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kazmom1

My Kitchen Reveal - YAY!

8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago

I am finally ready for my kitchen reveal! I tend to be a little wordy so if you are only interested in the pictures feel free to skip down! Most the pictures are in the comments because Houzz won’t let me post them to the actual post.

It took a year of reading, drawing and planning but with the help of an architect, an AWESOME GC and A LOT of advice and rework from the great people on this forum we were able to turn our closed off tiny U shaped kitchen into a wonderful open area where we can all hang out and work without tripping over each other. And we accomplished our main goal, opening it up BUT keeping part of the kitchen (specifically the sink) where it wasn’t visible from the from the front door. Demo started on May 1 and the last major piece was done July 6th. Still have a few punch list items, and we may put In some glass doors in the future, but overall it is done.

Besides expanding the kitchen into the eat-in area we also swapped the sliding door and dining room window, took out another window, extended the stub wall beside the front door and closed in the original kitchen entry in the front hall, to create a more private foyer and hide the sink, fridge and pantry from the front door. We gained a utility closet in the process! We then took out the walls between the kitchen, dining room and living room and raised the 8’ kitchen ceiling to meet the cathedral in the living and dining rooms. We also put wood floors throughout the first floor, on the stairs and on the second floor hallway and replaced the railings and banisters on the stairs.

Given this was a remodel we had to make some compromises and couldn’t work in all the GW “ideals”. That said, we have had as many as 4 people working in the kitchen at the same time and while there is the occasional “excuse me” it has been HEAVEN to have SO. MUCH. SPACE. We love our kitchen so much and I know that I have this group in large part to thank for how well it turned out.

Cabinets are Bertch semi custom, with 1 custom piece. Can’t say enough good things about Bertch! Well made, came quickly, look gorgeous, zero defects or issues. Once small miscommunication on the custom piece (tray cabinet) that the GC is fixing for me. Bertch did exactly what I asked them too, I just didn’t exactly mean what I asked for! We had Bertch cabinets in our old house so I know they will hold up well.

Sink is Blanco Silgranite Performa Super Single. It is the one with the little ledge at the bottom right. Love the sink but if I had to do it over I would get the one without the ledge. Isn’t nearly as handy as I thought it would be And it kept me from getting the offset drain which limits under sink space.

Counter is White Sand granite. We looked at a lot of quartz, quartzite and granite and fell in love with this one. I know it isn’t as “in style” as if we had gone with the quartzite we were eyeing as it has some “speckles” as well as more linear movement, but it is beautiful in person and we love it.

Stove is Bosch Benchmark induction. Dishwasher is also Bosch, fridge is GE and microwave drawer is Sharp. We love the appliances, especially the range, but I wish we had bought the microwave drawer without the handle and put it in a larger cabinet so it could be flush. Live and learn!

On to the pictures! Below are some of the “after” pictures. I will put the befores as well as some of my favorite things and more afters in the comments.







Comments (45)

  • 8 years ago

    Before pictures




  • 8 years ago

  • 8 years ago

    Woo hoo! Congrats on such an awesome transformation! It’s gorgeous and sounds wonderfully functional! So happy for ya!

    kazmom thanked damiarain
  • 8 years ago

    A few of the larger space before it was totally done (hood still covered)

    Dining room

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    A few of my favorite things

    broom closet - ❤️ the space! We use it for dog and cat supplies, extra supplies, pencils, tape, really anything!

    Charging drawer - AWESOME! Got it from https://dockingdrawer.com/ for safety

    Awning window - love no barriers to sight!

    Toe kick vacuum! Works great!

    Love our beautiful island. Even prettier in person, more brown than grey.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    And lastly my favorite drawers! I hear on here all the time that 4 drawer stacks are “useless”, but then I read the thread “3 drawers or 4” and realized they are anything but! We have 2 4 drawer stacks, both 27”. My very favorite is the dish drawers. I don’t have to stack small dishes on top of large and no wasted air space. I have all Of our everyday dishes, plates, bowls, ramekins in the 2 middle drawers, the top drawer is silverwear and the bottom is serving pieces. And it is right across from the dishwasher! I absolutely never would have done this if it hadn’t been for this forum, so Thank you! I love it!

    Second 4 drawer stack - 1) charging drawer - 2)wraps and bags - 3)cat and dog bowls as well as odds and ends 4) baking dishes

  • 8 years ago

    And last, last! Since the whole design revolved aroun the view from the front door, here are some before and afters.

    Before

    After

    standing at front door

    Looking in from foyer (couple steps in from front door) - no sink or fridge in view! Can’t believe it took a year to figure out to just close in the old kitchen entrance!

    We also enclosed the foyer a bit so the front door isn’t as visible from the main rooms - works both ways

  • 8 years ago

    Gorgeous! The granite is stupendous. The wood cabinets are perfect. The layout is perfect. And the over all look is amazing. Congratulations.

    kazmom thanked Rita / Bring Back Sophie 4 Real
  • 8 years ago

    Thanks guys! We love it! Not sure why it is making so many pictures so wide, but you can get the idea.

  • 8 years ago

    Looks wonderful, and glad to hear that you’re so happy with it!

    kazmom thanked Sue 430
  • 8 years ago

    Wow, it came out beautiful! What a lovely, functional ttransformation. Great job!!

    kazmom thanked cyc2001
  • 8 years ago

    Wonderful kitchen, all of your choices flow together nicely!

    kazmom thanked lucky998877
  • 8 years ago

    Beautiful kitchen, and I love your choice in finishes!!!

    kazmom thanked simmtalker
  • PRO
    8 years ago
    Beautiful choices! Love all the drawers.
    kazmom thanked Drawer Essentials
  • 8 years ago

    Lovely job, and thanks for all the wonderful pictures with all the details.

    I hope you and your family will be very happy in the new kitchen for a long time!

    kazmom thanked beckysharp Reinstate SW Unconditionally
  • 8 years ago

    Looks great! Congrats!

    kazmom thanked Hope Davila
  • 8 years ago

    Gorgeous! I love all your drawers!

    kazmom thanked Nothing Left to Say
  • 8 years ago

    Huge difference! It looked so claustrophobic before and now it's light and spacious. I love your granite too.

    kazmom thanked User
  • 8 years ago

    Everything is lovely -- great choices! Enjoy the new spaces

    kazmom thanked ssharris03
  • 8 years ago
    Beautiful transformation! where are your bar stools from? I am looking for something very similar. thanks!
    kazmom thanked sonulya
  • 8 years ago
    Looks great. We are probably going to use Bertch. What wood/finish are your cabinets?
    kazmom thanked mlb418
  • 8 years ago

    This turned out awesome! You have to be thrilled with the end result.

    kazmom thanked rantontoo
  • 8 years ago

    Beautiful kitchen. I didn't read the intro and just went to the pictures expecting to find yet another boring snow storm kitchen. I was pleasantly surprised to find a warm, welcoming, and usable kitchen. Great work guys!

    kazmom thanked functionthenlook
  • 8 years ago

    Yay! It turned out beautiful!! I’ve been watching for your reveal! I’m so glad you persisted to have the entire kitchen area ceiling raised. I love how the foyer turned out too, actually the entire space!! Your attention to detail has payed off. You really did achieve exactly what you were going for! It’s such a beautiful transformation, especially for a Tri-level. It totally changes the functionality and feel of the space.

    kazmom thanked bbtrix
  • 8 years ago

    kazmom - This is lovely!!! I particularly like your second picture. As someone who also has oak floors (and appreciates the challenges the color presents), I love how your cabinets, countertops and elements blend with the floors. Perfect!! Last, I would love to hear more about your toe kick vacuum.

    kazmom thanked oldbat2be
  • 8 years ago

    Yay!!! I've been looking forward to your reveal after all the teaser photos you've shared in threads helping others with their remodel questions. :)

    Your cabinets are gorgeous! They're cherry, correct? The granite is stunning as are your floors.

    So good to hear all the planning has resulted in a space that works for your family, because that's all that matters in the end. Thank you for bringing us along for the journey. :)

    kazmom thanked zmith
  • 8 years ago

    wow, what a fabulous transformation! The cabinets are gorgeous!

    kazmom thanked Midwest (4b IA)
  • 8 years ago

    So pretty and great attention to flow! Man, now I wish I'd done some 4 drawer stacks. I read the same thread but went the other way. I think symmetry got the best of me for my long wall. Ikea is forgiving so I'm going to change it for my dish storage, which is away from most of my cabinetry, after seeing your pics.

    kazmom thanked alex9179
  • 8 years ago
    Beautiful!! Such a great job I love it all. I wish I’d seen this before ordering my 3 drawer stack across from the DW never even considered 4! :/ what brand is your vent hood? I’m shopping for one now :)
    kazmom thanked kim k
  • 8 years ago

    Thanks everyone!

    Sonyula - the bar stools are from a local place called Batstools etc. but they are a brand that would be carried other places, I will look it up tomorrow and post back. We bought these in stock on clearance but you can order the color metal, wood and fabric you want too.

    mlb - the cabinets are Cherry with a Fawn finish. I think you will be happy with Bertch. We had no issues. Quick delivery, everything well packed, no damage. It was a positive experience.

    Kim k - the vent hood is a zephyr. It is one of the adjustable so you can lower the CFM if you don’t want to have to do makeup air.

  • 8 years ago

    Oldbat2be - below is the toe kick vacuum. It gets really good reviews on Amazon and is reasonably priced. The main system and bag sit under the cabinet, and the faceplate goes over a hole in the toe kick. You push a large square with your door to turn it on and just sweep the dirt (ie dog hair!) up to it and it sucks it in. Works pretty well. When it gets full you take the faceplate off and pull the whole thing out and change the bag. The bag is decent sized, about like a vacuum cleaner bag, so it shouldn’t have to be cleaned too often hopefully. It goes off automatically after about 20 seconds which is good because the dog keeps bumping his bowl into it and turning it on! It was an accident at first but now I am getting suspicious that he just wants to see if it will happen again!

    https://www.amazon.com/Sweepovac-Expandable-Hose-Brush-Nozzle/dp/B07FPV1GPY

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Bbtrix - I am really glad that we went ahead and raised the ceiling in the kitchen too. I think it makes a huge difference in the look and feel. I totally understand using the lower ceiling to separate spaces, but I think in an area this small it just looks better all open andraised. So glad the architect was wrong about the cost to do it!!!

  • 8 years ago

    Zsmith - Thanks! Yes, the cabinets are cherry. I have to tell you I thought of you when I was posting the pictures of my broom closet because you were the one to point out that we could use that space for a broom closet! We love the space, for being only 12” deep it provides a ton of space for all the odds and ends of life! One of many examples of how this site made our kitchen better than what we could have done on our own!

  • 8 years ago
    Beautiful kitchen! What do you think about the noise level of the zephyr hood? I've been trying to find a tolerable vent hood, and I need to make a decision soon!
    kazmom thanked notsewmuch
  • 8 years ago

    Notsewmuch - the hood is pretty noisy on the higher settings imo, but honestly I haven’t ever had one that wasn’t. It does work well.

  • 8 years ago

    Notsewmuch - I just went and ran it to see and the first 3 settings (out of 5) are not too bad. The 4th gets loud and the 5th is really loud. For comparison, the 4th setting is 390 CFM and the 5th is 490 CFM.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Alex9179 - I love my 4 drawer dish drawers! In looking at cabinets what I found was that each cabinet brand had different dimensions for their shallower 4 drawers. I would recommend asking for the schematic for the drawers and then measuring your dish stacks to make sure it works for you. We just bought new dishes and the bowls are thicker and deeper, so I now have to have multiple large bowl stacks instead of one that I had with the smaller thinner bowls, so dish size matters. That said, I still have plenty of room and I would rather have 2 stacks of large bowls than have to stack small bowls on top of large bowls to use the deeper space in a 3 drawer stack. It is all preference and what fits your dish sets.

  • 8 years ago
    Really gorgeous! And I love all the storage space you utilized, and the kick vacuum. Awesome!
    kazmom thanked K R
  • 8 years ago

    I am thankful for your four drawer assessment-I'd been planning on doing three drawers, but I do like the idea of the four, and not having to stack things so much.

    kazmom thanked Midwest (4b IA)
  • 8 years ago

    Thank you so much for sharing your kitchen and for testing your hood for me!

    kazmom thanked notsewmuch
  • 8 years ago

    As the owner of three very furry cats, I am so adding that kick vacuum to my kitchen wish list!

  • 8 years ago

    Bryan - we love the toe kick vacuum! I will be adding them to the bathrooms at some point. It makes sweeping SO easy!

  • 8 years ago

    Beautiful. I love your granite! I have been searching for something with brown not gray. I will have to ask around for this.

  • 8 years ago
    Gorgeous kitchen! Congratulations!!!