You have such an eye for color and always seem to know just what you want.....only wish I could visualize as you do, not one of my stronger skills. I am always impressed with your results.

You will have a very beautiful kitchen when it is finished, Lars! Are you planning to install window coverings?

Love it Lars. So much work space and a very happy place to cook in!

Gotta admit, the colors are working a LOT better for me with the black in place. Looking good!!

I haven't decided on the window treatment yet. I'll have to post a photo of the view from the window, which is of a red bougainvillea. Whatever I do will be minimal, and I might make a Roman shade to fit inside the window, but I plan to have the window uncovered most of the time because no one can see in - the neighbors have glass block windows that obscure any view they would otherwise have of our house.

In L.A., the view from my kitchen window was of the neighbor's garage that had no windows, and so that window was also private, and I could see the creeping fig vine on our wall.

At the Salem Rd house, the view from the window above the sink was of the neighbors' back yard, which was not pretty, and so I kept a shade closed at the window at all times, but the shade still let a lot of light in. There is a bay window at the side of the kitchen, which is where we had our kitchen table, and it had a view of the pool, and so this is the best view from any kitchen that I have had recently.

In Venice, I had a view from my above sink window of the neighbors' patio, and I could open my window and talk to them - fortunately they were very friendly (Loyola Marymount students), and I used to give leftover food to them - they would eat anything and were grateful to get it.

In Culver City, before that, I had a view from my kitchen window of Lorimar Studios (before it became Sony Pictures) and the MGM lion, as that studio was originally MGM, until the 1960s or 70s.

Wednesday - cooktop and faucets installed, and so we have a functioning sink again, but they did not turn the gas on until Thursday. Wednesday night I tripped a circuit breaker while using the portable induction burner and a halogen floor lamp in the temporary kitchen, but we were unable to find the switch. The contractor fixed it Thursday morning and turned on the gas to the cooktop and install the under counter lights. We went to Home Depot and ordered a new microwave, at the advice of the contractor, even though the old one still works. It will be delivered Saturday, I think.

Friday (today) I believe the door faces and cabinet doors will be installed, along with the wall ovens. I guess the microwave will be the last thing to be installed.

Wednesday I made lentil soup on the induction burner with my pressure cooker, but I didn't have any potatoes, and so I used penne pasta instead, which turned out like pasta e fagioli, but with less pasta. It was an easy one pot meal, and Thursday I made turkey soup with frozen leftover turkey breast and frozen turkey broth, plus ramen noodles and thinly sliced Napa cabbage. I added garlic, ginger, chili, soy sauce, and black rice vinegar for flavoring. Both of these soups were in fairly small batches, and so I do not have that much in the way of leftovers. I should have everything functioning by this evening.

I'll post more photos tomorrow.

Cooking in your new kitchen already! How does the the ’flow’ of it feel while working in it? Can’t wait to see pics of space with cabinet doors & ovens installed. Thanks for sharing Lars!

Seeing a red bougainvillea out your kitchen window - to me, here in the "frozen north," it doesn't get any better than that! It's good to hear that your kitchen renovations are being done in a timely fashion, without contractor or supply delays. Looking forward to your new photos.

Wow, things are really moving along! Or at least that's how it seems to me looking in. May feel differently to the one living through it!

Can't wait for pics with cabinets done.

Lars, Your kitchen is fabulous!

I hope you can feel the positve thoughts that I, a new Houzz / GW friend, and I’m certain all of your long time Houzz/GW friends are sending your way hoping for positive news for you on your health.

Kathy

Really nice, Lars! No one will accuse you of having a boring kitchen! I hope Kevin is as happy as you are. If I’m recalling his artwork correctly, he likes bold color as well.

Wishing you two many delicious meals from your new kitchen. But more immediately, I hope your scan results are reassuring.

These are essentially the same photo, but I turned off a couple of the under cabinet lights in the second one because of the reflection. The reflection is not a problem in person, and these lights have switches that control the color temperature. I chose the one that seems closest to the overhead lights, and I probably will not change it.

Wow!! looking very nice.

It must be heartening to be nearing completion on your kitchen. I'm sure you are looking forward to using it every day.

Wishing you all the best results possible with your scans.

That looks really good. I like that red. When You first said red I was thinking brighter. I really like this shade. I have nothing against brighter but I really like this and the Fridge and ovens fit right in. Some people want all the appliances to match but I think that variety looks better. Beautiful job there.

patriciae

Congrats! It looks so nice! My feeling about red precedes me, but I have always liked aqua with red. I had just hung this TJ bag in my kitchen, LOL. How nice to be able to enjoy your new space for the holidays, and especially that view.

Hoping too that your health concerns are resolved quickly, that can be so stressful. 🤗

Just in time for Christmas— Congratulations on the new kitchen! Love the sparkle of your counters and the ”updated MCM” vibe I’m getting from thd color scheme. A toast to work completed and, fingers crossed, health restored…. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Lars and Kevin!

I know that most people will not like red, such as I have used it, but my taste is different from most people's.

While red is really not near the top of my favorite colors, we really did enjoy our Ferrari red Bertazzoni stove, which we sold with the house in L.A. Kevin had picked it out (and paid for it), and at first he wanted to take it with us, to switch with our house on Salem, which has a new Samsung range that I also like, which is all stainless steel. I thought that by having the lower cabinets here in the same red as the Bertazzoni, Kevin would not miss that stove so much, and the red color does remind me of that range.

I won't be doing any more major renovations for a while, even though I'm not thrilled with my new bathroom here - I can live with it as it is, unlike the bathrooms we had when we bought the house on Salem Rd, which I renovated as soon as we moved in, as we did not find them livable. Kevin still likes his bathroom there much better than what he has here, but his is better than the one I have here. I do need to change the fittings in the shower in my bathroom, as the diverter to switch from rain shower to handheld is seven feet high! I don't know what they were thinking when they installed this, and I'm not sure how I will lower it, but I can just barely reach it by standing on tiptoe.

That Sardine shopping bag is very pretty!

Here's another photo, showing pretty much all of the red cabinets:

We received the new microwave today, and I hope it gets installed on Monday. After the walls get repaired, I plan to install a couple of magnetic knife holders.

Here is one of the inspirational photos I used:

Cuisine Laquée rouge · More Info

I originally wanted a soft green like in this photo for the upper cabinets but did rejected the first paint sample that I received, even though it was closer to this color.

I'm going to wait for the microwave to be installed before I start moving too many things into this kitchen, as I know the installation will create a mess. They have to drill through the cabinet above the cooktop in order to get the venting to go out the roof, like the previous microwave had.

I "LOVE" that you added a little more room to the kitchen. It's coming together! Beautiful! I also think your new Bosch ovens were well worth it. What will you be baking for Christmas? 👨‍🍳

Wowza, Lars. That is gorgeous. No white hospital kitchen for you!

Be careful with magnetic knife holders. I discovered that they would not hold my good Wusthof knives. Most fell on the ( hated) porcelain tile floor and broke the tips.

The magnetic knife holders work very well with my Shun knives.

If I could manage it, I would roast a duck for Christmas, but at this point, I have not yet read the instructions for the ovens. I think that once I know what they can do, I will be more inspired. I don't know whether they have WiFi, but I think they do not, although the stovetop does, and I'm not sure why, other than to alert me when it has been left on. I think that all it can do is indicate which burners happen to be in use.

I would add that I think the kitchen looks a lot better in person than in photos, and after it is all complete, I will make a video of it.

My ”mid class” GE Profile induction range has WiFi & I’ve never used it & wondered why anyone would. I would never want to be able to turn oven on to preheat while I’m out of my house. I get the help of a warning if burner or oven left on but I’d need an audible alarm to sound on a device to prompt me to look at it. I’m in my house & cooking, I’m probably in the kitchen so why the need for WiFi. If it won’t hijack Lars’ thread, could someone tell me what I’m missing?

@Lars, its been so fun to see your vision come together! I wish you many happy hours cooking in your new kitchen.

Lars, glad to see you are nearing the end of your kitchen remodel. Looks fantastic and so much more efficient. I love the bougainvellea peeking thru the kitchen window. Hope you are able to roast the duck for Christmas and wishing you the best for your health outcome.

KW, there is extensive discussion on Reddit regarding WiFi on ranges.

It seems that the consensus is that the WiFi is there to farm info for the manufacturer. I can somewhat see how it might be useful on an electric or induction cooktop, but mine is gas.

I downloaded the app, and it took me to a Microsoft app that wants to know what I have in my kitchen, but I'm not telling.

I do remember now that my Bosch ovens do not have WiFi, and they are one of the last models not to have it. Kevin wanted to know if they have probes to monitor temperatures of food, but I haven't seen any yet. I think it would have to have WiFi to make that practical.

Great job! Thanks for sharing.

Lars, thank you for that explanation & info. It clinches the fact that I’ll never use the WiFi! I don’t knowingly share info with Apple either from my devices. My oven does have a probe but I’ve never used it. We aren’t big meat eaters so no use for it. If the WiFi function benefits the manufacturer more than consumer, too bad we’re paying the cost of that added bell & whistle.

I just noted when you started this kitchen post & thinking about your near complete status. That’s pretty fast work!

Kathy

I’d welcome wifi on an oven, but it wouldn’t make or break my choice. Now laindry, that’s one I got used to quickly. Washer thet is, the dryer app doesn’t do a lot for me.

I believe best practice is to connect such devices to a guest network.

Microwave oven got installed today, after wall texturing was completed.

This is the new one we bought, and we bought it primarily for looks, as the old one still worked fine. However, the new one is a lot prettier - the old one was solid black and had a handle that stuck out - this one has a recessed handle, and so the front is flush.

I installed the racks in the wall ovens and started reading the instructions. As it turns out, it does have a meat probe, and it must also have WiFi because I can get alerts on my phone. I have not installed the app yet. I have to heat the ovens for an hour at highest temperature and clean the interiors before I can use them.

The only things left for the kitchen are the installation of the dishwasher, painting the walls, and installing the switch plates. I might get new ones if I don't like what the installer uses. I also have knife racks to install, and reverse osmosis filter needs to be installed. We had to replace the old one because it leaked.

Here's a photo of some dots that reflected onto the walls and ceiling:

Some of the dots have stronger rainbow colors than others.

ETA: As I suspected, the ovens do not have WiFi, and I am okay with that. I do not intend to turn the oven on or off remotely, and when what I am cooking with the meat probe gets to the temperature that I set, an alarm will go off to let me know, and the oven will shut itself off. I do not plan to cook something without being in hearing distance from the oven anyway.

The ceiling prisms are so pretty - makes the kitchen feel like a ball room! Very uplifting too. I have some leaded glass lamps in great room that send prism lights to ceiling in summer when sun comes through the front door. I love seeing it.

Your micro is very nice & I love the handles you used. I do like using the same handle on doors & drawers. Beautiful kitchen!

Strikingly BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love the reflective dots as sunlight hits the surfaces. The Bosch ovens are gorgeous. Awesome.....just awesome. And...you and Kevin deserve the best. Wishing you BOTH a very Happy Holiday!

Very nice! You must be so excited to be able to start unpacking in there and cooking/baking. Very happy for you!

Lars, I'm with you on no wifi with the stove. Mine has it and when it first arrived it was easy to set up, although I never used it. When I got a wifi extender I wasn't able to get the stove back on wifi. Initially it was irritating because I don't like to be bested by technology. But there's no way in this world I'm going to have my oven on when I'm not physically present in the house. I don't want the possibility of accidentally turning it on. I'm very happy I couldn't make the wifi work again.

Looking good!!

Wow, your new kitchen looks great, Lars.

Lars, your new kitchen looks really great! I’m so glad you decided to enlarge the peninsula side a bit. It looks so much larger and more efficient now. I admit I was unsure about the upper cabinet color (it was prob the lighting without the doors) but it is so much softer looking now. Everything just sparkles. Nicely done!

We are very happy with it now, and I was also concerned about the color of the upper cabinets until we got the doors put on, and now the color is pretty much just as I wanted it, and it looks very subdued in person. The cool aqua color is restful, while the red is very stimulating, and this makes a nice balance IMO. I thought about doing the upper cabinets red, but I decided that it would be too much.

What really makes the kitchen for me are the sparkles in the black quartz. They twinkle like stars as I move around in the kitchen, which is why I will have to make a video to show this effect. It also makes me smile.

We washed the insides of the double ovens yesterday and heated the upper oven to 550°F for one hour, as per the instructions, but we could not turn the lower oven on at the same time, perhaps because the upper oven was turned on too high. I'm going to have to read the instructions more to figure out how to use both ovens at the same time. I was planning to use the lower oven as a warming oven.

Today I am making Crab Louis with king crab legs that we bought on Monday that were frozen. I took them out of the freezer yesterday and stored them in the fridge so that they would defrost slowly. We usually have Crab Louis on New Year's, but I'm switching it up this year and will try to roast something for New Year's instead of for Christmas, as I need to get more things moved into the kitchen. Shelf paper will be delivered on Friday for all the shelves and drawers, and then I can start putting more things away.

Kevin things that the kitchen looks very masculine, but I just think it looks modern Italian, which is what I was going for. I did a similar color combination for an office design for one of my ID classes, and I did a rendering of it with the Pirelli Tower in Milan showing in the office window.

I wish everyone Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas and thank you for all of your comments!

Very nice! I especially love the sparkly countertops. I wanted sparkles in mine but the one I found didn't go with the other colors of my kitchen. Merry Christmas!

Lars, , I couldnt imagine it , but it is BEAUTIFUL! Well done. So happy for you and Kevin.

Lars, I think you nailed it! It looks absolutely Marvelous and I know you and Kevin will enjoy it for years. Congratulations on having the vision and bringing it to life.

One of the reasons that I was able to pull this off (which I think I did) is that all of the interior walls of this house had been painted white before we moved in, and so I did not have to worry about beige, although the floor is somewhat beige. However, I think the floor is okay and did not feel the need to change it - plus the floor is the same throughout the house.

Here's a photo of a painting that Kevin did when he was getting his MFA at SUNY Albany:

I think we will hang this in the dining room, which is next to the kitchen. We have not yet started hanging art in this house, and there is a lot of it for us to choose from.

The main thing left for us to do now is to get a new chandelier for the dining room. Here's what we have now:

(MLS photo) You cannot tell from this photo, but this fixture puts out a yellow light.

Fantastic painting! I love it.

You and your brother are so talented!

@Lars the kitchen looks fabulous! I'm always impressed with your vision and ability to create such unique colorful spaces. …Not to mention both you and Kevin are such creative artists!

Glad to hear you're settling in.

Love the extra space. Not having the dishwasher next to the sink would of drove me crazy!

I love Kevin's painting and it will look fabulous near your red kitchen!

That painting is a double self-portrait, as it shows Kevin as a little boy in a cowboy shirt, probably about five or six years old, and then as an adult sitting at a desk.

And the clock has no hands as if there is no passage of time. Also, the floor is beautifully done!

WOW! What a pretty space. It is so great to have a space you love to work in. It just gives the extra smile and bit of joy to what ever thing you do in that area.