Wednesday, December 21, 2005

sutton's Kitchen

Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets



Posted by Sutton (My Page) on Tue, Dec 20, 05 at 14:29
Thank you to everyone who has ever written on this site – I could not possibly have done this kitchen without your help. After seeing how much info was available, I decided to design the kitchen myself, and luckily had a great GC who was flexible.
We’ve lived with the kitchen relatively complete for about 6 months now, so if you have any questions about the brands we purchased, please feel free to ask away!
Brands Used:
- Lacanche Sully range with 6 burners (including French plate)
- SubZero 736 TCI Integrated Fridge
- F&P Dish Drawers (Yes, I really like them!)
- U-Line under-counter fridge
- Vent-a-Hood vent over range
- Mexican Copper handmade copper apron-front sink (interesting to see it change colors)
- Rutt cabinets were in old kitchen, and we liked the design, but not the color (cherry finish). So we had them painted, and had rest of cabinetry custom-built to match (hood over range, sink base, valance over sink, Fridge and Samovar cabinets, Microwave/ minifridge cabinets, most of island cabinets, fireplace mantel & TV cabinet). Had cabinetmaker build "furniture feet" (not sure what they’re called) for all the cabinets. They integrate really well and I think add a little elegance.
- No warming drawer (I know, there are many of you who think I’m nuts, but I really didn’t want it)
- Granite is Tropical Brown (goes with the stone wall so well)
Other things done/chosen:
-The wall that the range is on is the original exterior to the main part of the house, built in 1740. It had been plastered over and hand-painted tiles (scenery from the house including former owners’ horse in front of brown barn - YUCK) installed as backsplash for old cabinets. We had the plaster taken down and repointed the stone. Also, the original stone wall only goes about halfway across the range backsplash, so the stonemason had to cut stone "veneer" about 2 inches thick and stick it up against the original. Bet you can’t tell where old ends and new starts!
- Floors from an old farmhouse in central Pennsylvania (our contractor is amazing at finding these kinds of things)
- Center island is cherry and is 9’x4’. Decided not to put second sink in because didn’t want to mess up the clean look of the big island. And figured we could add a sink in later.
- Samovar (copper coffee-urn thing next to fridge) is from Turkey. I bought it online and it showed up quite dented (which I like, actually). The inside is all corroded. But I wanted it to dispense chilled filtered water. So we worked with the plumber to run copper tubing directly from the chiller to the spigot of the samovar (there’s a pantry behind the samovar cabinet) and I have to say that we drink SO much more water because of this thing. It’s one of my favorite things in the kitchen.
- Rev-A-Shelf garbage pull-outs a must! I got two sets of doubles (so there are 4 hidden garbage cans). One for garbage, one for bottle/can recycling, one for paper recycling, and one for laundry (toddler and pre-schooler clothes seem to come off downstairs a lot, and I go through dishtowels pretty quickly). They’re hooked up so you detent the doors with your knee and they come open. I had to jury-rig this myself, because the Hafele foot-operated door openers DO NOT WORK WITH FRAMED CABINETS, despite the website saying that they do. If you want more info, email me at sfaller@comcast.net.
- Rat-tail hinges are hand forged iron from American Heritage Crafters: pulls are from VanDykes restorers; fridge pull is from Knobs4Less (good source for big & cheap)
- Tapmaster to automatically turn on sink water with foot is GREAT, although I would have ordered the horizontal version if I had known better (the furniture feet on the baseboard under cabinets impedes the full use of the vertical Tapmaster)
- Gas fireplace is the most traditional look we could find (I don’t like the more rectangular ones that are pretty typical), and we LOVE it now that it’s winter! We had the cabinet built above it to hold the TV. No, it doesn’t get too hot because of the fireplace. In-ceiling speakers hooked up to tuner & IPod (LOVE IPod – transferred all CDs to it and now we actually listen to music!!)
- We’ve always had to go from the garage into the living room to get into the house (yeah, I know, it’s a weird layout). And I hated that, so we had a ¼ of a "stone turret" built between the garage and the kitchen, so we can now enter the kitchen from the garage. It makes such a big difference, especially with kids. And the stonemason made it match with the existing stone wall almost perfectly.
Will also post in gallery . . .
Thanks again, everyone!
Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Photos

Follow-Up Postings:

 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

GASP! It's STUNNING! I especially love your dining set - is it new?
It looks new yet lived-in and charming.


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Wow, it's wonderful. It feels both new and modern (ammenities) and old and family oriented. Have a wonderful time with your new space. I'll bet your family can hardly wait for Christmas in the new kitchen.


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Fabulous, beautiful kitchen. I LOVE your Samovar idea -- how very clever, beautiful, and practical. So much nicer than the fridge door dispensers. (Wah! Too late for me to copy...)


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Absolutely one of the best kitchens I've seen. Can you answer a couple of questions?
What color is the paint on your cabinets?
Where did you purchase your Vent-a-Hood?
Thanks!
Nancy


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Simply (and complexly, since nothing that beautifully detailed can possibly ever be simple to do :)) Gorgeous. Question: how do you modify a samovar to filter and chill water?


 o ps RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

I take it back...didn't read the fine print...that must have been a really *fun* innovation and I bet high-end designers who may lurk here will begin copying it and claiming credit for it themselves :). So when you turn the spigot on, am I understanding correctly that it simply relays the request to the refrigerator chiller and there's never any water stored in the samovar, so the samovar is like a decorative spigot, as it were?


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Wow! Spectacular! Enjoy!


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Breathtaking! Well done.


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Wow! Beautiful! I *love* your range.......thanks so much for sharing.


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Outstanding!! I love how you incorporated the fieldstone into your new kitchen design. Have you considered a career as a KD? Remarkable integration of materials. Congrats!!


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

gorgeous. . .the materials you chose are so rich and go so well together and with the rest of the house. good work!


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Fantabulous! I'm coveting your beadboard backsplash and that copper sink. It all works so well together.
What do you store in the patent office cabinet?


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Absolutely gorgeous--looks as though it's always been there--in a good way, of course!
What brand is your gas fireplace?


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

  • Posted by: LizH (My Page) on Tue, Dec 20, 05 at 19:47
Absolutely beautiful, yes one of the best! Elegant and inviting at the same time. I love the cabinet transformation - excellent job. The furniture feet really add a nice touch. I love the light fixture in the 1st photo - do you mind sharing the vendor?
You must love being in this kitchen - thanks for sharing.


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Thanks so much to everyone for the compliments! I’ve been reading this site for a year now, and feel like I know half of you, so these compliments are especially meaningful.
Natsmom – Yes, dining set is new. I can’t remember who the manufacturer is, but we like it – it’s really sturdy, and has an additional leaf so we can seat 10. If you’re interested, I can put you in touch with the woman I bought it from.
Jesemy -
What color is the paint on your cabinets? Benjamin Moore, Winter Wheat #232, oil, low lustre
Where did you purchase your Vent-a-Hood? Local high-end appliance store. I did all the research on what I needed, so I can’t necessarily recommend them for their information. And I don’t think I got more than the standard discount (not sure what that was, but he brought the price down a bit cuz I was buying Fridge & DW).
FlyLeft – The samovar gets its water from a standalone 1 gallon water chiller (with a separate water filter put in the line before it). http://www.freshwatersystems.com/products/index/p1549/1549/71/100
It has a small footprint. The key, though, is to install it as close to the spigot as possible, so you don’t have a lot of room temp water in the line leading between chiller and spigot. But yes, you essentially have it right. The water goes out of the chiller, through a ¼ inch (maybe?) copper tube through the cabinet, up under the cherry platform, through the bottom of the samovar, and connects directly to the spigot. The spigot that came with the samovar was unusable (dirty, not water-tight) so I had to find a different one. It works great, and looks pretty good, too. Other than the range, the samovar is the thing that gets the most comments!
Nancy W: First of all, I have actually been to Zebulon, NC! (I worked in the pharmaceutical industry – you can probably guess where I was!)
1. What color and finish is the cabinet paint? Benjamin Moore "Winter Wheat" #232 (in oil). Low Lustre finish.
2. Did you purchase the range hood locally or on the Internet? I would like to get a 30" hood that has the switches on the underside (for a future dual fuel range when $$ permits) and would like to get a cabinet maker to fabricate some sort of mantel over/around it.. It’s a VentAHood vent, and we had to have the cabinetmaker custom-make the hood around it (non-standard size, and wanted it to match the raised panels of cabinets). I can send you pictures of the inside if you want to see how the hood and vent fit together. Just let me know if you’d like it!
3. I love the cabinet feet and would like to do the same. Are they one piece across the bottom front of each cabinet or is there a separate left and right foot? It looks like there is a strip in the middle. It’s a mixture. There’s a long run to the left of the sink that’s one piece – so it’s the right foot of the corner cabinet, attached to the left foot of the garbage area, to the left foot of sink, to the right foot of sink. Then there’s a break because next in line is the Dishdrawers which need to pull out. Again, I can take close-ups if you want. Just let me know!
Chris P –
1. Did you put something on the stone backsplash to prevent grease splatters from leaving marks, if so what? If not, do you notice the grease splatters? How do you clean them off? We SHOULD have, and it’s been on the To-Do list. Yes, you can see some grease splatters, and you can sorta wipe them off, but really we should seal the darn thing. We have a stone shower upstairs and use a sealer we got from Waterworks in Danbury CT (waterworks.com). It does a great job of sealing – water runs right off and I have to assume grease wouldn’t stain.
2. What kind of wood did you use for the island top? How did you finish it? Do you like it? Does it scratch easily? It’s cherry, and the cabinetmaker made it so I don’t know how he finished it, but it looks like a regular piece of furniture (like a dining room table). Yeah, it scratches a bit, but I’m trying to remember that it’s a kitchen. If I had to do it over, though, I’d probably go with something a little more rustic and less scratch-prone.
Debtslave (love the name) – You know how every kitchen has a junk drawer? Well, we have 80!
JoMarN – Fireplace is made by Mendota (Wellington is the style, but they have tons). http://mendota-gas-fireplaces.com/
LizH – We went WAY overbudget. So I had to cut somewhere, and I figured I should pick things that would be easily replaceable down the road (e.g., light fixtures). I got lucky – these are cheap ones from Home Depot ($125 each!!). I got three of the same (2 over island, 1 over dining table). Hampton Bay is the brand. I just looked online – this is a larger version , but same style (mine were on sale, too) http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1196366703.1135126582@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccchaddgidkgggmcgelceffdfgidgnl.0&CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc/searchResults.jsp&MID=9876&N=2984+4233&pos=n12


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

It's beautiful! Congratulations and enjoy it!
Ivette


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Sutton--I'm glad to hear that your fireplace is a Mendota--it looks beautiful. So far, Mendota is our favorite of the gas fireplaces we've seen. Our builder isn't wild about the idea--I think it's because he isn't familiar with them--but we think they're the most traditional looking that we've seen so far. I'm having a hard time reconciling myself to getting a gas fireplace, but they certainly are less of a headache than wood. The Mendotas seem to have a reasonably realistic flame and I like the red brick interior. Have you been pleased with its performance?
Sorry if this is a bit OT, but that fireplace is in with the kitchen pictures! ;-)


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Beautiful kitchen! Everything just flows. So comfortable looking. Congrats!


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

It's beautiful. Love the range wall - it would've been fun to see a pic of the awful *before* backsplash! You picked an excellent stonemason. Congratulations and enjoy your new kitchen!


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Perfect! A beautiful match to your home. Enjoy!


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Beautiful! What an amazing kitchen - congratulations on a great design!


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

What everyone else said...I love cream cabinets and I'm literally drooling over your kitchen - I think even more because it sure likes like a perfect fit for the style and look of your home. that is what 'really' does it for me.
The way you have decorated your wood hood and counters is lovely.
Fabulous job - truly outstanding.


 o RE: Done! Photos of traditional, integrated, cream cabinets

Oh. My. Gosh.
I'm absolutely floored by your kitchen. It's one of the most breathtaking spaces I've ever seen. Stunning. Just stunning.

2 comments:

Debbie L. said...

Your kitchen is absolutely gorgeous. I have been pouring through decorating magazines looking for pictures of kitchens done with cream cabinets, cherry accents and copper. When I saw your beautiful new kitchen, I was so excited. I would so love to know the color- paint/brand of your walls. The color looks so nice with the cream cabinetry.
Hope you will enjoy your new kitchen for a long long time. I have certainly enjoyed the pictures and thanks for sharing:)

Anonymous said...

Outstanding and inspirational to all those renovating around a rock house.