frenchkitty's Kitchen

frenchkitty's finished kitchen

Contact: frenchkitty (My Page)
Posted on Wed, Nov 29, 06
Link to kitchen photos: http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o269/frenchkitty_photos/

Details:

• Cabinets: Cypress cabinets were made to look old, and I put old style hardware on them from Antiquehardware.com. I distressed the cypress with assorted tools, gave it a light stain and sealed with Briwax. Cabinet paint is SW Ivoire in satin latex.
• Granite is New Venetian Gold granite
• Backsplash: tumbled travertine from Lowe's
  
• Floors are Old Chicago split brick.
• Knobs are ORB Emtek as were all my glass doorknobs throughout my house. I love old things, but I wanted modern convenience!
• Viking Stove all gas 48"
• Viking range hood
• Bosch dishwasher (love, love, love it!)
• KitchenAid fridge
• Rohl Shaw's original sink
• the spice rack is Thompson's Spice Carousel (http://www.zaccardis.com/olde-thompson-revolving-spice-rack.html)
  
• My doors in my house are old cypress doors from tear-downs in New Orleans (found BEFORE Katrina)
• Walls: SW Blonde, Ceiling: SW Navajo White, trim SW Dover White, cabinets I did myself with SW Ivoire, chocolate glaze, and Minwax Sealer. Island is SW Black Iron with a gold glaze.
• curtain: Butterick Waverly pattern- B4760
• The pigs came from Hobby Lobby

We did almost everything ourselves that we could do including paint, flooring, trim, etc. There was a LOT of blood sweat and tears from DH and myself and our 2 kids.

Cabinets have three coats of SW Ivoire, sanded in between. Then I mixed three to one glaze to chocolate colored paint and wiped on and then right off (up and down strokes) with cheesecloth. I concentrated the glaze in the cracks and corners to make it authentic looking. I went through a huge box of cheesecloth I bought at Wal-M. Then three coats of Minwax poly, which gave it the creamy sheen. I have been using it for over a year and have no chips. A lot of steps, but really not hard, just waiting for the drying is the hard part because of the two sides. Oh, and the glazing is not hard. The trick is to not go over it more than once, because when the wet glaze hits the glaze already applied, it comes off! Once I realized that, it was a cinch!

joanp's Kitchen

Finished Kitchen, including backsplash!

Contact: joanp (My Page)
Posted on Wed, Nov 15, 06
Link to kitchen photos:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=hpn1rwp.bswa36b9&x=0&y=-8p6f7h


Details:

• Cabinets-- Shaker style, but with 3" stiles (slightly thicker than usual). Material is maple with tawny stain.
• Countertops-- Tunas Verde granite from Walker Zanger.
• Backsplash-- glass tile from Waterworks. It's a glassy thin tile and it's back is sandblasted. The field color is Frosty Meadow.
• Knobs are Top Knobs --from doorandcabinetdepot.com, which has an excellent return policy for items you don't want.
• Wolf 36" all gas, with center grill, which we love and use often. Honestly the cleanup isn't as bad as I feared.
• Hood-- best by Broan, 42", 1200 cfm with commercial baffles, which pop into the dishwasher as needed.
• Thermador 30" electric oven is in the island, which works fine for us. Honestly, we use this one more than the Wolf. The electric oven doesn't generate much heat, it heats up relatively quickly, cooks evenly.
• Bosch dishwasher --love that it's so quiet.
• KitchenAid 42" side-by-side Architect Series with ice and water dispenser. The water comes out a bit slowly and the ice comes in bursts, so it's not perfect but it's fine for us. We use it all day long.
• Sink is a Kindred Big Single Sink, with grid. Love it. -bought on eBay with no problems.
• Disposal is Waste King.
  
• Instant Hot is Franke Little Butler
  
• Faucet is Grohe Ladylux with soap dispenser.
• Microwave is GE Spacemaker JEM31 800 watts --ordered from ABT.
• Floor-- we kept the red oak that was already here.
• Pendant lights-- Bojo Pendant, Tornado Red from lighting universe.com. (I tried one, knowing I could return it, then ordered the other two.)

What we like most about the kitchen is that it is comfortable to work in. We decided that what we needed was not 2 sinks, but more counter space. I wanted two ovens, and we use them both. I do love having both an electric and an all-gas.

Table is 48" round. We are a family of 4, but usually pull up an extra chair. 5 is ok, but 6 is a squeeze. (The table does have a 2-foot leaf, making the circle into an oval, but we haven't used it for a while.)

We added the 10- x 10' space to the house so that the table and chairs would fit comfortably. I asked for the desk and file drawers, so it's not quite 100 sq ft., but close enough. To sit at the desk, I just pull up one of the kitchen chairs. (We also keep a box for paper recycles under the desk.)

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