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Prairiestyle's finally in the Gallery...summary and finished pics
Posted by prairiestyle (My Page) on Thu, Jul 21, 05 at 21:21
Prairiestyle's kitchen remodel 2005
History
Our home was built in 1987 from a design created by my brother, an architect, with
lots of input from me and my husband. We bought a lot that turned out to be the
dump from an old farmstead in a mostly already developed suburb of Minneapolis
(Minnetonka). No trees, just a steep weedy hillside on a cul de sac. Our house was our
introduction to prairie school architecture, and architecture has since become an
avocation. The empty lot meant gardening became one, too.
By the time we got to our kitchen in 1987, we had no money left, and chose plain white
laminate cabinets, counters, basic appliances and fixtures. We decided last year, since
we plan to stay here and new houses like ours have fabulous kitchens, it was time to
upgrade.
Process
We hired a kitchen designer to create a plan, which we were very involved in, similar
to our involvement with the original house plan. We had a number of changes we
knew we wanted, mainly in layout, and how we use the space. We weren�t sure about
the materials, and just keep thinking them over for several weeks. Our KD was very
patient and professional, and made suggestions and compromises until we were all
happy. She also acted as our general contractor.
Everything in our kitchen is new except the oak floor and the pantry. There were
minor changes in entry location and the walls to accommodate the wall ovens. We did
only a little of the painting ourselves. Our KD�s bid was quite acceptable to us and we
were willing to pay a little more for smooth ceilings, and a bit less by not having a tile
backsplash.
The whole process took 8 weeks. Our old cabinets went into the basement storeroom
and the garage. We kept the refrigerator in the basement for drinks and party foods.
APPliances
Electrolux Icon refrigerator Side by side counter depth with ice and water. No fingerprint surface slightly more grey than most SS, but truly NO FINGERPRINTS! Larger than most SSs, way cheaper than SubZero and looks great!
Wolf 5 Burner CT36G/S Cooktop So far working well for cooking and cleanup not too hard. Grates stable and easy to move things around on them. Way better than what we had, but not as powerful as you might want for wok.
Ventahood Professional Model PR9, 36 inch, 600cfm Working well. Be sure to get VAH input on ducting. Flap noise appears to be unavoidable. Works well and not a problem to be same width as cooktop, and only 21 inches deep.
Dacor Millenium Double Ovens Excellent results with baking and broiling. Controls take getting used to. Stainless cleans up well. No protruding handles in traffic lane.
Bosche dishwasher SHU 8800 Washes dishes very well. Hidden controls are easy. Steam causes marks along top edge. Does not tolerate skateboard at full speed into door.
GE Profile Spacemaker II Microwave Works well, fits our space. Lots of fingerprints.
Cuisinart 4-slice toaster CPT-180 Looks good and works well.
Capresso MT500 Coffee Maker Thermos keeps coffee from going bad. Preheating it with instant hot water helps a lot.
Franke The Little Butler Hot Water Dispenser Working well. Chose this before reading concerns about malfunctions on the forum.
Fixtures
Kindred Big Single Sink KSS5U Looks good and a good value. Fits a basin and a drain rack, but rack need to be elevated to allow dirty water to be dumped. All water goes down disposal making cleanup easy, and protecting plumbing. No problem with being against the wall�.good view to the left.
Blanco Purus I Stainless Faucet (with separate spray) Matches appliances well. Proportions and style fit sink and house. Very sturdy feeling, including the sprayer.
Halo H1499 recessed lights with Lutron dimmers
Holtkotter Low-Voltage Chandelier No. 5556/6SN Hard to choose lighting for our house, but we are happy with this. Needs a special dimmer, which adds to cost.
Epco Stainless bar pulls Had to convince KD to make them various lengths, but in the end I think it works well.
Rosle Utensil Rack A final splurge. Like putting on your earrings, it really helps out the look.
Materials
Cabinets Custom frameless made from rift red oak. Custom stain with ZAR stain mixing cherry and aged varnish 1:3 ratio. Spray on finish. Numerous features inside including pullouts, super susan, recycling, file drawer, wine rack and spice rack. Blumotion. Clear glass on some uppers.
Counters Honed Persian Brown island and buffet (Brazilian granite). Overhang on island ended up only 10 inches due to cabinet error. Would prefer 12 inches. Caesarstone (in Baja) on the perimeter counter and backsplash. We love both!
Trim Five inch red oak base and one inch along top of cabinets/windows, without stain, to match rest of house.
Outlets Stainless plates. Brown outlets on island and almond on backsplash.
Misc.
Floor Three coats of finish after sanding down original red oak.
IKEA magnet board
Phone charging drawer
Sony undercabinet radio CD player From Target.
IKEA table and chairs Old and filled with memories. May replace with round table someday.
Stools From "The Stool Store" Plan to order one more.
Artwork By me.
Conclusion
We are happy with the results, both functional and aesthetic. Our new kitchen is a warmer place that is easier to use. The process was both fun and work, with a nice reward at the end. Having the forums really helped, and I hope I can be of help here in the future. Thanks to all, and here are the pictures with some new ones added.
Prairiestyle
Here is a link that might be useful: Prairiestyle's Gallery Pictures
Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
Posted by prairiestyle (My Page) on Sat, Jun 25, 05 at 21:49
| Today I finally took pictures and am happy to share them with you here. I will post them in the gallery when I have time to write up some more details for all you kitchen curious people. I will also change the link on "My Page" so they will be available "forever". You will see the Kitchen Forum influence in a number of places. Thank you all for the past year of help. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Link to prairiestyle's finished kitchen
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
| Your kitchen is lovely! You have a very unique style ... that’s a good thing, but the things that caught my eye were your artwork ... especially your watercolor ... Zoe, what a gorgeous creature! ... and your buoy bell, I love that sound! |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
- Posted by: jakensydsmom (My Page) on Sat, Jun 25, 05 at 22:22
| Very warm kitchen. Congratulations! |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
- Posted by: GiftedBasket (My Page) on Sat, Jun 25, 05 at 23:15
| Beautiful kitchen, wonderful artwork, gorgeous views from all of those windows. Great job! Enjoy!!! |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
| While I love your kitchen, I have to admit that my favorite pics were "Zoe" and the "Still Life". However, you have a very lovely layout to your entire area. A very quiet and peaceful flow to your design. I only wish we had that much space to work with. Thanks for sharing prairiestyle |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
- Posted by: NoviceBuilder (My Page) on Sun, Jun 26, 05 at 0:51
| beautiful kitchen! where did you find your wall mounted utensil rack? love it! Lori |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
| Great kitchen! Feels warm and inviting. Congratulations! |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
- Posted by: peachieone (My Page) on Sun, Jun 26, 05 at 8:44
| Really pretty kitchen - I love the cabinets & granite choices! |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
| Why didn't you build in the microwave? |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
- Posted by: pamlicobluebird (My Page) on Sun, Jun 26, 05 at 8:55
| Wow, really gorgeous - good job! You've created a warm setting with awesome aesthetics AND practicality. Love that clutter center! Many excellent details! I'm jealous of your art work! I was reassured, too, by the appearance of your off center cabinet pulls. I wanted mine centered, but our cabinetmaker didn't "hear me" and I was crushed until I saw that yours look just fine! Thanks for the great pics! |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
- Posted by: prairiestyle (My Page) on Sun, Jun 26, 05 at 8:58
| The utensils and rack are Rosle, made in Germany. They cost about the same on the internet as they did at our kitchen store. The rack is 31 inches over the 36 inch cooktop. I take the utensils down if I am frying to avoid the grease. I have a small hanging shelf on order for the other side...coming by boat from Germany! One of the best things about our kitchen is we made the "triangle" smaller, (less than 18 feet from almost 22) and now have the drawers and island just where they should be. Makes a big difference. The still life is in a french technique where the objects are lit from the back called contrajour (against the day) and gives that dramatic contrast. It just happened, and I remembered it was a technique afterwards. |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
| Love the simplicity and elegance and the way the views out the windows are set off. You've created a really beautiful kitchen. |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
- Posted by: prairiestyle (My Page) on Sun, Jun 26, 05 at 9:05
| AAh, the microwave. We had thought it could go to right of the fridge, but then measurements didn't allow that. Didn't want it undercounter, and there are no other upper cab options except to left of cooktop.... too far from where it is used. Plus the fact that microwaves come and go and measurements change. It is working fine where it is. Still could hang it under the dish cabinet, but it would cover our switches. I know many have struggled with similar issues. |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
| Prairiestyle You've built my kitchen! I have similar corner windows but the one over where you have the sink is long and the other is short. Did you pay a designer or do you mind if I ask to blatantly plagarize your design? Do you mind if I ask for a layout diagram? You can e-mail me directly. Thanks |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
| Your kitchen is stunning. The colors are warm and cozy. I parrot everyone's comments about your artwork - truly lovely. Also, I was especially drawn to the ss light fixture (next thing to purchase here). Did you find it online? Enjoy and thanks for sharing. |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
- Posted by: blueginger (My Page) on Sun, Jun 26, 05 at 13:29
| It's all very lovely. I would be so content to spend some time in your kitchen! I have saved the link for future reference! |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
- Posted by: prairiestyle (My Page) on Sun, Jun 26, 05 at 19:10
| Thanks for your kind words. We did pay our KD/GC $2000 for the plans, and also reviewed them with my brother, who was our architect for the house. For this we had several one hour meetings with her and numerous phone calls making changes in the plan she initially presented to us. The key to the plan is that we gave a lot of thought to locations of everything, and to how we use our kitchen. We did cardboard mockups of the island and hood sizes to see how they felt. I don't think having our plans would really help you anymore than the pictures, because you have to experiment with what will fit in your space, and think about what works for your lifestyle. Basically it is a U shaped kitchen with an island. Your windows and doors will be different, so you just have to work within your existing parameters. We started with our appliance choices, since they determine a number of measurements. Our KD then made us an initial plan. Once they were drawn in we could fine tune things. Our light fixture is Holtkotter Low-Voltage Chandelier No. 5556/6, and comes in nickel and brass. The local price was less than the internet price. I did a lot of internet "shopping" but our KD could usually get things for better prices for us. I am so happy I can answer some of your questions now...this forum helped me a lot, and I've had fun telling others to try out the forums for whatever they are working on. |
RE: Finished kitchen pictures....slideshow link
- Posted by: MidCenturyMod (My Page) on Sun, Jun 26, 05 at 21:49
| Great kitchen! It's good to see a classic prairie style, as it's what I'm trying to do in my wannabe (in the sad way) Frank LLoyd Wright house. I'm not being as authentic as you are though, since this house didn't come with any oak, unless it's under all the white paint they sprayed everywhere right before I bought it. Love Zoe, too! I'm still pondering that extra molding I saw when you posted your in-progress pictures. |
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