ttp://www.bhg.com/kitchen/styles/traditional/old-world-kitchen-design-ideas/#page=2

Here it is

Copper sinks are beautiful. Be aware that is is less stretch resistant and you need to be more careful with heat exposure. I would google it and then make your decision. People seem to love them or hate them.

Marq, Its OK to like rich, dark colors, but to keep the room from feeling heavy and lifeless you need to provide some contrast. If you notice in the last two sample kitchens you posted, the right one has all dark finishes except the floor and sprinkling of white and appliances. The contrast keeps the room from becoming lifeless.

I actually prefer the two dark countertops with the macarena, but would def go with painted cabs in a color, but much lighter, to get the contrast.

Expecting this remodel to be current in twenty years is a tall order and i believe your biggest drawback is the ceiling. While the stained glass would be dramatic.....is there not a closet or laundry room in the house where the access can be located so the entire dropped Clg. can be demolished?

I know some would think you need to change to an island, but I think the footprint can stay the same....overhang a little bit so two small stools can work there to be updated. Having one of your two last selections for countertops will show off well on the peninsula.
Change the cabs at the fridge to make it look built-in, if you're modifying any cabinetry.

Are you updating windows? Removing the shelf and going with a pair of casements would also be forward thinking.

Lighting, task and general will be key to making the final design come to life

PS (Refer to last entry) Also, You like me, I think you really like me, too!

Sheila, I usually start off with pretty specific plans. Then, with my ADHD, I see something shiney that distracts me, lol. Or I find out why what I originally wanted can't be done. I end up special ordering something custom made that can't go back. Then I"m scrambling trying to improvise something better than I started off with. It's like a trip to the eye doctor where I'm throwing everything I can find against the wall. And I look at it and say, "Which is better? A or B?" Until I decide which possible option I like the best.

In this case we're ending up with absolute black granite counters. It has no pattern to compete against the floor tiles. Just a VERY deep clear black image that's like looking into a mirror. Can't go bad with basic black right? It matches anything! And, then, team those with cordovan cherry cabinets. Its funny because those are the elements tammy and I really liked. Turns out we aren't Tuscan kitchen people after all. At least not this time.


P.S. Well that's weird. It won't upload the jet black part of the image. So I can't show you how the 3 look together. :- |

Sir, my son has ADHD. If you really have it, you really need someone to help you with this project to see it to completion. Planning and completion would then be their responsibility, with all your wishes taken into account. You must put a deadline date, where you stop changing your mind, and just let the contractors get on with it. Having a professional help you, does not mean a big bill. I redid the kitchen in my flat, plus a hall cupboard, for $5000 ,plus electrician and plumber fees, through a kitchen specialist. It involved me sitting in their office choosing samples and plans, they came out to the flat the first time. They were responsible for all the contractors. There was minimal disruption.

Thank you for your concern chookchook. Yes, I am serious about that. The worst part is that I was told ADHD goes away at puberty. Wrong! I didn't know that adults could even have ADHD until I came across a book about it when I was about 40. That book explained a LOT!

Well the floor is a done decision. And so far I gotta say its looking pretty darn good! I think John is doing an excellent job for me. : - )

Fedup.com

Ya know looking at that it reminds me of one idea I had for the cabinets based on a flamed maple sunburst guitar. That wouldn't be a bad option!

I think the combo is very pretty. I love the Cordovan cherry. Absolutely my favorite!

As much as I love shiny black counters, ( I had them.) But they show every bread crumb and smudge, and you're constantly wiping them down. It's kind like a computer monitor. But somebody I knew had black with white dots here and there, thinking it would distract, but they were sparse enough that they LOOKED like crumbs......................Maybe just a BIT of a swirl, or something a bit more mat? It gets to be a pain cleaning them.

I know EXACTLY what you're saying about how your planning works.

I was cleaning out our basement...................................This was my grandmother's house, so I have about 80 years of stuff, and it's taken me YEARS, even after having six guys fill two huge trucks with junk, etc.

I used to divest stuff when my mom would go to California to visit my sister. I wasn't living here, but I knew I would be responsible for doing it if anything happened to my mom, and that's when I realized seniors think differently.

I would get so frustrated with my mom wanting to hang on to things she would never use again, and why she didn't see the logic. And finally I understood, since she has fewer years ahead then she does behind, the future is rather scary, and the past comforting.

I found my sister's Bluebird vest from when she was 7. It was in perfect shape, and so cute, I wanted to do something with it.

I had it for a long time, and happened to notice about a 20L X 16 W, white window pane frame at Target. I got the frame, and kept that in my studio for a while.

I will usually have a project roll around in the back of my mind, until IT sort of decides the vision is ready.

I remember one came together early one Christmas morning at about 5 AM. I got up and made a fabric doll out of the MANY material scraps and ribbon etc. I painted the fabric, and had it ready by that evening. I had never made a doll before. It's kind of like I"m just following a blueprint. But I digress

I got some blue and white striped ticking material for background of the white frame, and placed the vest on top. I found some tiny vintage glass bluebird buttons on eBay, and glued them between the panes.

I got 2 inch wide red & white polka dot grow grain ribbon, and attached it to either side of the frame in the back, so it was hung with about 10 inches of ribbon on each side, tied in a bow, ready to hand on a white enamel clothing hook I got at the hardware store.

Then I got three little velcro dots, and put a pretty I inch wide strip of white lace across the top of the first row of panes, so it looked like a curtain. and sat a little brass bell with a blue ribbon on top of the frame.

I then went through playbills, from my sister's drama classes. school awards, photos, and made little booklets with photos, and wrote a little memoir.

I backed the frame with the ticking, and also made a separate pocket with it, trimmed with the red polka dot ribbon, and put it everything the pocket that I also velcroed to the back, to be kept for posterity with the frame.

I also found an antique Bluebird manual on eBay from the early 1900's, and referred to that in my sister's bio, and put it in the pocket. Boy those girls back then were tough! There choices for getting badges and moving up in the ranks, included things like roofing a house, if memory serves me.......................

I then took about 4, 3" X 2", balsa hearts with about 1/8" indent, (that I had had on hand for about 4 years) and copied childhood pictures of she and I, and cut them to fit, glued thin red satin ribbon on the backs, and kept them in the pocket, so she could rotate, and hang one under the bow of the polka dot ribbon.

She has it hanging in her office. It was such a fun project, actually using the vest, instead of donating it, or just stuffing it in a box. And the significance would be known since all the information was stored right on the back of the frame, so it wont get lost or separated over the years.

I had to look at that little vest for about a year or two, and then saw the frame, and it just kept evolving, and felt like I'd made a nice gift, and also archived part of my sister's and family history.

Whew! Thanks for letting me use your thread to tell my story!

Your process, like your work on the outside of the house, is so fun to watch, and inspiring, I hadn't thought of that project in years.

I'm sometimes just a little sad when a project is complete, because the process, and seeing where it leads you, is so much of what is exciting and rewarding.

PS Of course, my mom was a Bluebird mother, and when I got old enough, I refused to join! Did not like anything in groups. However, I think it has contributed to me obeying the law, and being a good citizen, therefore keeping me out of prison, since I know I would hate communal living.:) !

Hi Marq,
Every small decision is a big one when it comes to planning your kitchen. If you're in the area, you should join us for breakfast and check out our free kitchen session every 2nd Saturday of the month: http://leichtnewyork.com/how-much-will-your-kitchen-cost-class-registration

All the best with your kitchen design! Let us know if you have any questions.

You can hijack my threads anytime s, lol. Your story reminds me of when my wife's best friend took an old t-shirt of mine that I loved to much to throw away (it had a photo of a mechanic working on a Harley chopper like the ones in Easy Rider and said "Real Men Build Their Own!) and made it into a wall plaque for me. Gotta appreciate a woman who has those kinds of skills. :- )

So summary of kitchen so far?

Thank you, dear!

That is such a cool idea, and yes, a very skilled and smart woman! I could use that idea when my husband retrieves "favorites" (AKA "rags") from the Goodwill bag, etc! before I can sneak it out! :)

PS Do you play the guitar, too?!!!

(Knocking) where is the kitchen at this point in time.

Hi ChookChook! I think I am the only crazy one up, because it is 4:30 am here, and Marq is in my time zone. (PST) I'm going to try to get some sleep though. Are we opposite from Australia? Or is it the same time, but the next day.....................or yesterday? I never can get time zones straight.

be careful of putting too many patterns in one space.

I play guitar. Better than some and not as good as others, lol. This photo comes pretty darned close to what I have in mind!

This is how I plan to do the cabinet doors and drawers.

I'm intrigued. How are you going to get that finish? (Many years ago, I had a sunburst-pattern Gibson acoustic guitar)..

Well, sstarr, first I'll strip the cabs down to bare wood. Then I'll make wooden inserts to fill areas where the lines are on the front of the cabinet (below). I'll cut the edges on a 45 degree angle to give them kind of a jewel shape (see burgandy kitchen cabinets above). Then just glue the veneer (left photo above) onto the inserts. The veneer gives you the design. Then its just a matter of using the right stains and clear coats. And it will still come out cheaper than replacing the doors.

These lines have got to go!

I can't wait to see the results!!!

Me too! :- )

OMG! Photo is gorgeous! The gold floor looks fantastic, too! I think it's distinctive but with a classic look. What a great idea about the cabinets.

The range hood is almost like an art piece. The elegant window treatment is a beautiful and unique look for a kitchen, and the glass upper cabs where the whimsical ceramics are displayed, adds a personal, lighthearted touch.

That's always been a challenge with kitchens for me. I want to be able to have a place for artwork. And like you, I LOVE detail. My eye gets tired very quickly, and I have to be able to change or move things around so I actually SEE it.

We moved in with my grandmother when my parents got divorced, and there was no art in her house. She only had family photographs. Was that common of our grandparents generation?

My dad's house was just the opposite. He had one of the first color AND remote control TV's in about 1958. The remote was really clunky, and actually made the knob on the TV turn, and the screen was round.

My stepmother bought two of those wide-eyed children prints to put above the fireplace, with ethnic and tribal pieces from the early 60's. Remember those Marq? They were everywhere. I'm going to look that artist up. It was Keane, remember him?

I didn't sleep even as a kid. I remember being 8 or 9, Monday nights at 10PM, by myself, drawing bunnies, with flower vines weaving among them, watching my favorite show by myself, "The "Alfred Hitchcock Hour"

Hey Marq!!! I have a great idea! They have a business in Seattle, called Seattle Reprographics. You can create you own designs, and they reproduce them on fabric.

So any kitchen happen yet?

See the photo above. Very pretty, huh?

Hi Mark, I have a hard time deciding too when there are so many choices. I read a book that helped so much. It said to close your eyes and envision your favorite place to be...ocean, mountains, plains, etc. Then take the colors from that mind picture as your palate and use them in the same proportions in your design. The expresso cabinets would look nice, that would give you a dark tone w/ the floor being a medium tone. Now you need light tones for balance. You could take the lightest tone in the tile and use it on your countertops. In the forest there are patches of sunlight. Color has strong emotional impact so look at 50-100 kitchen photos quickly. Don't analyze them, just say like/ don't like. Save the ones you like. You will quickly see a pattern emerge. Use that to create a space that makes you feel good when you walk in the room. When doing a big project like this is easy to fall into " paralysis of analysis". It becomes much easier after you choose the style of music you want to surround yourself with.. P.s. I live w/ 3 ADHD males. This works for them. Good luck.

I'm jealous s! We didn't have a color tv in my house till I was about 15. And for a long time our tv had about a 9" screen. Since you mentioned the range hood here is what I have in mind for that. It will go nicely with my new copper sink~

OMG! You always find the most unique things! That treatment is GORGEOUS, and really not that hard to do. I'm saving that video. I have been looking for something in my kitchen behind the stove, other than tile, and I think that would be beautiful!

Oh, everything is going to be so pretty!

Oh yes, my dad was "Mr. Fun", but I was 5 years younger, and up to 10 years, than the five other kids.

I inherited 3 stepbrothers, (a set of twins) and none of these kids were what you would call "low key".

I don't remember how they got away with it, because my dad would have gone ballistic, but they thought it was hilarious, starting when I was 7 and they were 12 and 14, to pretend they were going to throw me off anything high. The suspension bridge near Vancouver BC, The Space Needle, and Grand Coulee Dam, come to mind, among others.

We stopped the car on top of Coulee Dam. My stepmother, who was a pretty strong woman, but had a fear of heights, would not get out of the car, even though it was a two lane road, with high railings.

I actually almost went over the side up there, because the railings were brass, and at least 5 feet in circumference. The boys didn't take into consideration how slippery they were, (or the laws of physics), and because of the width, it made it very easy for me to slip over the side, and they had to grab my clothes with their fingernails.

My stepmother was screaming so loud she lost her voice for a day or two, saying "
STOP!!!!!!!!" "(My mother's name) IS GOING TO KILL ME!!!!!!!!! My dad had to be right there, but I must have blocked it out.

This sounds awful in print, but I don't think I'm permanently scarred..........................and I actually thought they were fun. I think also because I was the youngest, I could exact revenge, and get away with it.

THEN we had to go down INSIDE the dam, in an elevator packed with tourists.....................and a mouse.

It was a long ride to the bottom, and mayhem broke out when the mouse was noticed. Everybody started screaming and hopping around, which made the poor little mouse more scared, and got caught on a lady's nylons, and ran up a man's pant leg.

When the doors finally opened, it was like a stampede! The little mouse got away, thank god!

When the oldest boy was 16, my dad let him drive when we went on vacation, and we had to take two cars.

My dad really didn't want to do a road trip with a car full of teenage boys, anyway, so my sister and I were in the station wagon with he and my stepmother, and the boys were ahead of us.

One of the twins didn't like his milkshake that we had stopped for, and threw it out the window, which splatted on our windshield, almost completely obliterating any view.

My dad started screaming out the window,(with milkshake splatting on his face and arm) and motioning to pull over. Uh, he was not very happy, and took one of the boys out of the car, and put me in it, instructing me to report back any bad behavior.

And this was just the beginning of two weeks of nonstop fun.

My dad did the same thing when we went to Hawaii, and the boys begged him to let them rent a pink jeep with pinstriped awning, that were everywhere ( to pick up girls). So he agreed, but they had to take me with them everywhere. And I was thrilled to be going along! (I guess the possibility of death had become exciting............) I'm surprised I didn't become a female Chris Angel.

I don't know how my dad stood it. Although, he did like his martinis......................doubles.

I'm telling you, if they had reality TV then, we would be rich today!

Get rid of the recessed lighting , paint the cabinets a lighter color and the walls to pick up the counter top colors. Also change the cabinet hardware.

Looks like all will look super and engaging. Pendants & or Inverted Domes would be a nice touch.

Merry Christmas/Happy Hannukah.

Dear Marq--

Please give ChookChook2 a Christmas present and update her on your progress.

You HAVE made progress---

Right?

Marq?

Oh--a squirrel.

If you plan to keep the cabinets, then I would suggest a 'lighter' color for your countertops, flooring and walls. I just remodeled my 1980's kitchen which had the same dark wood & even though you love it--it is still dark. You want a kitchen to feel light and airy--plus light colors make it look larger. I opted for painting my cabinets and went with granite countertops and love them both.

LOL Halleycomet.

I've read almost every thread in this post and since kitchen remodels can be very costly and you want the best bang for your buck, here are a few suggestions. The low dropped ceiling really dates the space and removing it will open up the kitchen and it will appear larger and modern. Remove the soffits too, as they date the kitchen. I would recommend light cabinets in off white, but if you are set on the darker wood cabinets, do not use the black or gold granite..those colors are just wrong. They are too busy with too much pattern and will make the kitchen dark and cavelike. Countertops are expensive and a big part of the budget, so think carefully about what will stay current and timeless. I would recommend off-white quartz or solid surface like Corian. Very timeless, easy to care for and never go out of style. Remove the vertical blinds and install drapery panels in an geometric or graphic print to bring a pop of color. You might want to work with a kitchen designer to reconfigure the arrangement of your appliances so they are in a better layout - use stainless steel if possible.

Thank you for your interest and for your suggestions Susan. As it happens we are putting in the last of the floor tiles today. And the absolute black granite has been purchased. But you and others may be relieved to know that I've decided to go lighter on the cabinets. We're pretty much moving in this direction (below) now. I've altered the colors in this photo through a filter in photoshop to indicate the wall and floor colors. I'm considering something like a light peach for the cabs. Lighter than the photo indicatesl Unfortunately our budget won't allow for new cabinets. We'll have to settle for just painting them. But we've been very happy with the way its laid out now.

Sometimes its like pulling teeth trying to get a photo to upload!

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/21889708/thumbs/this-one

Marq,
Since you have purchased the black granite for your countertops, please think carefully about the cabinet color and reconsider using a light peach paint. If you use the peach toned paint, it will have pink undertones next to the black granite and I believe you will be unhappy with that color. Since painting cabinets is a "big" undertaking, making sure you have the right color is very important. I would recommend Benjamin Moore White Dove.
A great all purpose warm white that will blend very nicely and look modern and up to date with the black granite. Yes,Benjamin Moore paint is pricey, but it is excellent quality paint and worth the few dollars extra. If your budget allows, consider having the cabinets professionally sprayed...your cabinets will have a flawless finish (no brush marks) and will look as good as brand new cabinets. Google Benjamin Moore White Dove paint and also should have photos on Houzz of this color.

I did a little more photoshop on that last image to view the cabinets in different colors. I agree that white does look the best!

We finally got it whipped into shape.

BEFORE

AFTER

Note: The outdated lighting will eventually
become a display case for some stained glass.

Hello Marq, This is a long shot, still I am doing a remodel project, and need to find some of the same flooring you used, Emser Seville Macarena. It's no long being manufactured. Any chance you have left over from your project of six years ago? Laura