downsy's Kitchen
Kitchen Facelift, complete DIY under $7K
Contact:
downsy (
My Page)
Posted on Wed, Dec 10, 08
Link to kitchen photos:
http://s475.photobucket.com/albums/rr116/downsymom/Final%20Kitchen%20Facelift
Details:
- Cabinets: existing cabinets painted BM White Sand with outline painting in BM Bittersweet Chocolate. Glaze is BM Umber Glaze (L30).
- Countertop: Baltic Brown Granite
- Backsplash: existing old granite tiles painted with bronze paint - added a wood molding to them so they look like tiles.
- Appliances:
~ new Kenmore 5 burner gas range
~ existing GE spacemaker microwave with hood vent
~ existing Bosch dishwasher
~ existing Kenmore Fridge - painted
- Sink: new Stainless steel sink
- Faucet: new Price Pfister Marielle single faucet
- Hardware: Decorite Atlantis cabinet handles in oil rubbed bronze. I spray painted the old hinges to match the new handles.
- Paint - wall is BM Northhampton Putty
I started my makeover about 8 weeks ago with painting my almond fridge black. I refinished the cabinets with a cream paint and umber glaze. I wanted a heavily glazed finish (yes, I know it looks dirty - but I like it!) The only appliance I replaced was the gas range. I was going to keep my granite tile on my island, but decided to put the Baltic brown on it once we got the new granite on the perimeter cabinets. I also planned to keep my wallpaper, but after I got the cabinets finished I didn't think there was enough contrast between the walls and the cabinets so I painted the walls too.
This was a completely DIY remodel and I did almost all of it myself with a wee bit of help from my husband. We also repainted the laundry room to match and added overhead cabinets in there in place of an old closet maid shelf.
My total between the 2 rooms was about $6500.
I put a basecoat of zinsser oil primer on the granite squares before I sprayed them with the bronze paint. I don't know how they'll hold up over time, but I figured the painting was worth a try. If it doesn't work - then I'll have to chip out the old granite square and find a tile the right size to put in there! However, the paint seems to be sticking fine and I don't really get the backsplash too dirty where I'll have to wash those tiles often.
I used Fleck Stone paint to paint the lightswitch plates. I happened to have a can on my shelf from quite a few years ago and it matched nicely with the tiles.
I used the epoxy appliance paint that I found at Lowes. I can't remember now who makes it - but its labeled appliance paint. To be honest - that is one thing I will NEVER do again. It was a major pain - the mist is very fine and carries everywhere. I started out in my breakfast room and realized the fine spray was going under my plastic sheeting and was all over my wood floor. I moved it outside on my deck to finish it. It was very hard to get an even coat and I wound up having to put a poly coat over it to get the finish to look nice. So in hind sight - it was alot of trouble, but it saved me the cost of buying a new fridge.
I added 2 boxes to change the height level of my upper cabinets and put up crown molding. I added decorative feet, boxed molding to the end cabinets and decorative baseboard molding under the granite and decorative baseboard molding to the desk so it looks like furniture. I took out the leaded glass on my corner cabinet door and put in a painted piece of decorative sheet metal.
I sanded the cabinets to remove the old shiny poly coat, then I primed 1 coat of Zinnser oil based paint. Next I put on 3 coats of BM White sand. I painted an outline in all the routed edges using BM Bittersweet Chocolate. I didn't do any sanding to reveal the old stain. I tried that on my test piece and it looked more rustic than I wanted. I did distress them with a hammer, nail holes and hit them with a bag full of lug nuts. I brushed the glaze over the paint and let it sit for a few minutes and then I wiped the glaze off leaving it heavier in some areas than others, and letting it stay in the dented ares. (I found a tip on here from soneone and I can't remember who - but she used Viva papertowels with her glazing and that's what I used to remove my glazing. They were just the right softness.)
Features:
DIY
Bay Window
Cabinets: Base >24"deep
Cabinets: Base >36"high
Cabinets: Wall >36"high
Ceiling Fan
Island: Multilevel
Lighting: Under Cabinet
Message Center/Desk
Reach-in Pantry
Leaded glass
Decorative wire screening
janefan's Kitchen
White Kitchen with Fratelli Oven and Marble Backsplash
Contact:
janefan (
My Page)
Posted on Sat, Nov 8, 08
Link to kitchen photos:
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk45/janefan8/
Details:
- Cabinets: Kountry Kraft Alpine White
- Countertops:
Perimeters: Carrara marble, honed
Island: Cabernet granite
- Appliances:
Fratelli Onofri 36" Evolution—single oven
Kitchenaid 72" French Door Refrigerator
Advantium
Zephyr hood
- Sink: copper sink, 14 gauge, Dark Smoke finish from Copper Sinks Online
- Faucet: Whitehaus New Vision Curved Handle
- Hardware: Rejuvenation Arched Mission Pull in Burnished Antique
- Paint: Benjamin Moore Nantucket Grey
- Rug: indoor/outdoor rug from Ballard Designs
- Floors: pre-finished oak (??) in gunsmoke
- Stools: JCPenney
- Lighting: pendants from bellacor.com.
What I Feel I Need to Justify:
1. My big, huge, barrier island. I posted a layout months ago and rhome410 and buehl both pointed out that my island would be a barrier between the range and the refrigerator. Thanks to rhome, I slid the fridge from the right end of that wall to the left which makes the trip from oven to fridge shorter. Thank you, rhome! My island still would be considered a barrier island, but the fact is that it really works for my space and my family.
2. Outlets vs plugmolds: I was torn here. For me it was outlets vs. hanging cords. I think most people who use plugmolds probably don’t keep the appliances plugged in, and as much as I’d like to say we unplug the toaster and coffee maker, we don’t. So, I just decided—it’s a kitchen, it has outlets. Let it be.
3. Giving up a separate, formal dining room—DH couldn’t care less, he was really the one pushing to lose the wall between the original kitchen and dining room. He doesn’t see the need for a formal dining room for us—we rarely have formal dinner parties. My "vision" was to make the dining area a little more formal. Not sure I pulled it off. Either way, this layout really works for us and we’re hoping to be in this house for a long time.
4. Airswitch—yes, I know the current finish is glaringly silver in a sea of brown! I ordered a special Mocha Bronze finish for the button. Still haven’t gotten the button. It’s on backorder and I was told that they now don’t have any idea when it will be available!! Ugh.
5. Molding oddities—because of the slight drop in the ceiling in the "alcove," the crown molding is at different heights—you can tell when looking at the upper cabinet to the right of the stove. Couldn’t be helped.
What Had To Be That I’ve Grown to Love:
1. Originally, the entirety of the wall between the original kitchen and dining room was supposed to come out; same with that shallow wall next to the doors leading to my backyard. One couldn’t be completely removed because of a major pipe. and the other couldn’t come out because it’s a structural support. That pipe is also the reason for the protrusion from that wall to the ceiling. Though disappointed about this at first, I now love how the cabinets and counter wrap around that wall; and with that on one end and the other wall on the other, a somewhat cozy alcove is created for that space. I think of these things now as architectural details.
2. Island countertop—my original vision was a beautiful, rich wenge edge grain countertop. Got a sample, LOVED it. Literally fondled it for an evening. My GC and DH were vehemently against wood for the island. Despite my assurances of super-durable, water-resistant finishes and the fact that I would welcome some dents and scratches as patina, they wouldn’t budge. I could’ve forged ahead without their approval, but decided to see if I could first find something that would be a happy compromise. I did—a granite called Cabernet. It reads a pretty flat chocolate brown with faint black movement. It gives the same general look as the wood, though the wood would’ve provided such a wonderful warmth that only wood can give. That said, I’m really happy with the granite.
3. The stools—this is very, very minor. Ideally, I would have chosen a dark brown woven stool, probably backless—similar to those seagrass Pottery Barn stools. However, cost, durability, and comfort had to come into play. With little kids, I just couldn’t see having backless stools and I with as much use as they’re getting, I worried about crumbs and such. So, these will do for now.
What I LOVE:
1. The sink—copper sink, 14 gauge, Dark Smoke finish from Copper Sinks Online. Love it. Everyone who sees it loves it.
2. Faucet—Whitehaus New Vision Curved Handle. Retails for over $700, got it for under $300 because it’s been discontinued. I worked directly with someone at Whitehaus via email and he was wonderful…found the matching soap dispenser at a lower price for me, too.
3. Cabinet hardware—ordered from Rejuvenation. Looks ORB, but is burnished brass.
4. Paint color—I just really like the way it works with the browns, greys, and white in the kitchen. It’s Benjamin Moore Nantucket Grey. Reads mossy grey/green.
5. The tumbled marble mosaic. This was a last minute decision when my GC said that taking the carrara slab all the way up to the ceiling (around the hood) was a bad idea. Turns out I LOVE the way the mosaic looks around the hood and I love how the band around the rest of the perimeter turned out.
6. The Fratelli—we’re not gourmets, but I prefer the look of the pro-style ranges. The Fratelli was a great option for us, not a bank-breaker, but great visual appeal and great function (as far as I can tell!). I really love the look of it, the "dainty" knobs especially.
What I Waver On Daily:
1. Pendant lights over island—LOVED these when they were up without anything else in the space and most of the time I still love them, but there are moments when I wonder if they’re all wrong!
2. Carrara marble—while I do love it, sometimes I worry that it’s a tad too grey for the white cabinets; I also think I would’ve been happy with the mosaic between the range and the hood versus the slab, but the slab will be easier to keep clean. I do like the slab under the Advantium—where it’s very nook-like.
3. Using different hardware on the cabinets in the dining space. I fell in love with the idea of a pendant pull, but didn’t want them everywhere. Sometimes I love them, sometimes I think I should’ve just kept everything the same.
4. Pantry Pullouts—when I first loaded these I thought they were a pain—too rigid storage-wise and I wished I had just done tall cabinets with pullout shelves. Now, though, I can see their value and I can reach the top on tippy-toes (I’m 5’6"). Could still go either way on this. Don’t love the hardware placement on them, but that really goes under a new category—Don’t Love It, But Can Live With It.
5. Position of cabinets between kitchen and dining—they’re not centered on that short wall, but mimic the cabinets across from them, by the dining window. I let my GC win this one and I sometimes wish I had pushed for them to be center on that wall.
6. Don’t really waver on this—I wish I had done all drawers on the window side perimeter. I just don’t think I gave it enough thought. Oh well.
Misc. Thoughts:
1. Why the gold/brown finishes vs. silver/chrome? While I love the silver/chrome finishes with the white cabinets, I gravitate toward browns and reds and yellows. These are the hues in our family room that’s open to the kitchen. That’s why I thought burnished or antiqued brass tones would work better for us.
2. I’m still trying to warm up the space. I know I could’ve gone with rich wood cabinets, but that part of the house is so dark—despite all the windows and doors, it gets only filtered natural light. Plus, I was always drawn to the white kitchens in all the magazines. I just felt it was the right way to go for this space.
3. Have contemplated putting corbels under the glass uppers…thoughts anyone?
4. Big blank wall between fridge and opening to mudroom—was originally going to put a black bench there. Now I’m thinking of putting two rows of white magnetic strips there for children’s artwork, holiday cards, reminders, etc.
5. Used magnetic paint on the shallow wall near the doors leading to the backyard (and on one wall in our mudroom). Not very strong, though, so I need to work on getting stronger magnets. Those plastic magnetic photo pockets (if anyone knows what I’m talking about) stick pretty good.
6. Will likely incorporate some window treatments at some point. Can’t decide if I should try to find a fabric that would work for roman shades or do a dark brown woven shade.
7. Though it’s counter depth, the fridge sticks out more than I expected.
Features:
Apron Sink
Beadboard
Blumotion
Cabinets: Base >24"deep
Ceiling Fan
Colorful!!!
File Drawer
Filtered Water Faucet
Inset Doors
Lighting: Pendant
LightingRecessed
LightingUnder Cabinet
Message Center/Desk
Open Shelving
Peninsula with Seating
Plate Rack
Reach-in Pantry
Skylight
Soap Dispenser
Trash Pullout
Tray Divider
Water Filter
Wine Storage
alliern's Kitchen
White/Alder Kitchen with Coffered Ceiling and Arches
Contact:
alliern (
My Page)
Posted on Mon, Nov 24, 08
Link to kitchen photos:
http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc97/alliern1/
Details:
- Cabinets: Perimeter Cabinets custom-built with BM Simply White paint. Island cabinets are custom-built Alder, stained Sherwin-Williams "Walnut Wainscot" SW 3120-B.
- Countertops: Perimeter countertop is Black Minas Soapstone from Dorado Soapstone.
- Island countertop is Honed Statuario Marble
- Backsplash: tbd
- Appliances:
DW, Fridge, microwave/convection oven (Kitchen Aid)
6 burner dual-fuel 36" range (Thermador)
Thermador Traditional Silent 42" Hood w/remote blower
- Floor Owens PlankFloor 6" Walnut with Satin Water Based Polyurethane
- Delta Allura Faucet and soap dispenser
- Danze Pot Filler
- Cabinet hardware: Restoration Hardware's Duluth knobs and pulls in brushed nickel. The knobs are 1.25" and the pulls vary in size depending on the width of the drawers.
- Paint: The kitchen/DR walls are BM Titanium. The Great Room walls are BM Manchester Tan
- Lighting: mini cargo pendants by Wilmette Lighting (for Monorail).
- Fireplace: gas Quadra Fire QFP44
My island cabinet dimensions are 8'3" x 5'1" (that includes base moulding).
The marble countertop measures 8'5" x 5'4".
All of the trim throughout the home is made from MDF. My finish carpenter said that if I had decided to do the coffered box-beam ceiling out of wood, it would've cost 10x's as much! Yikes!
Features:
Beadboard
Blumotion
CabinetsWall >36"high
Dish Drawer
Drainboard
Full Extension Drawers
Glass Doors
Gourmet/Professional
Custom Hood
Inset Doors
Island with Seating
LightingAbove Cabinet
LightingPendant
LightingRecessed
LightingUnder Cabinet
Microwave Shelf
Potfiller
Prep Area (Multiple)
Soap Dispenser
Stone
Trash Pullout
Unique Window
Coffered/Box-beam ceiling
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