Friday, December 19, 2008

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

1 comments:

loves2cook4six's Kitchen

Eclectic Contemporary Kitchen with Two-Tone Cabinets



Contact: loves2cook4six (My Page)
Posted on Thu, Nov 20, 08
Link to kitchen photos: http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r26/LaniKaye221/Kitchen%20remodel/complete/

Details:
  • Cabinets custom built by AYR Cabinetry out of Nappanee Indiana (they ship country wide). They're a mix of maple and Cherry with walnut accents. A shameless plug for them - they were FANTASTIC to work for, nothing was impossible and I don't have a single filler or wasted inch in the entire kitchen!
  • All new custom cabinets (slab doors) in 3 finishes (maple, cherry and walnut) with mortise-and-tenon cabinet frames and French dovetailed, hand-fitted drawers and catalyzed hand wiped finishes. All cabinet backs are 1/2" and all shelves are 3/4"
  • Custom color finishes to match (eyes downcast) laminate chips whose colors I liked together
  • Boxes are all maple and the inside stain is the same as all the other maple even where the doors are cherry
  • Nearly all drawers in the base cabinets except for corner units, under the sinks and trash. Drawer depths were 100% customizable to fit the contents. (HD could not accommodate this)
  • Panels for the fridge, freezer and two dishwashers
  • Two way trash pullout accessible from both sides of the island (HD could not accommodate this)
  • Pullout pantry tower with toe kick release
  • Angled pantry cabinet with two doors
  • Angled base cabinet and angled upper display cabinet
  • Angled corner cabinet
  • 30" deep cabinets in the base and ALL the space is usable as custom made drawers go all the way back
  • 15" deep upper cabinets
  • Spice drawer with "hidden drawers" above to maintain line of drawers visually
  • Bread drawer with Plexiglas cover
  • Glass inset doors on some of the uppers with glass shelves in those cabinets
  • Wine glass rack in upper cabinet
  • 4 Toe kick drawers
  • Custom-made can storage drawers
  • Soft close Blum blumotion drawer guides on every drawer
  • Soft close on all the doors
  • 5 Custom cherry/walnut intarsia doors
  • 2 Magic Corner II units
  • 2 tilt outs under sink
  • Tray storage above ovens deep enough to hold trays in double depth
  • two hidden cutting boards that pop out - one next to the fridge and one above the microwave
  • Instead of a cabinet filler, I also have a small area where I store a step stool. The door from the trash cabinet was made wider to cover this storage area.
  • 3 cm granite – Marona Cohiba - gorgeous, with floating bar and custom stainless steel corbels
  • Plugmold which we installed on angled trim
  • Miele all refrigerator and all freezer - originally GE Monogram but we had huge issues so we replaced them with Miele units.
  • Plumbing to move freezer water line
  • De Dietrich induction cooktop from Salon Blue Ridge (fantastic to work with)
  • Miele Double ovens with tray cabinet above
  • Futurofuturo hood with 900 cfm,
  • Relocated every appliance except fridge. Put separate freezer in butler’s pantry
  • Relocated cleanup sink and installed prep sink,
  • Ran water supply and drain for a prep sink,
  • Built out a butler’s pantry into the garage space
  • 2 Miele dishwashers (one was our old one which we repanelled and the new one is the Optima
  • Sharp Microwave drawer,
  • Kludi(prep) and eBay faucet (Cleanup)
  • Blanco Sigranite sinks
  • Water chiller and instant hot dispenser and tank
  • Dual hot/cold water faucet
  • 4 built in soap dispensers Delta Brizo
  • 2 air switches
  • Dual tapmaster works prep sink from both sides of island
  • Tapmaster for clean up sink
  • Recessed lighting as well as pucks in the upper cabinets,
  • Undercabinet lighting,
  • Custom glass island light pendants,
  • 21 knobs and 60 pulls in stainless steel
  • 1 Soho Manhandle – a total splurge!!
  • Moved and replaced the kitchen window
  • Moved the sliding patio door and rebuilt the concrete step on the patio
  • Custom can storage (the two upper drawers are hidden behind the lower one so it lines up with all the other drawers)
  • Pot hanger
  • My absolute fav cabinet - the pullout pantry next to the ovens. It holds the Tupperware containers perfectly and when I pull it out I have EVERYTHING I need for baking right at my fingertips
  • Cab above the ovens. It's 30" deep and holds SOOOO much
  • Pot drawers
  • Corner unit
  • Two way trash pullout
  • Toe kick drawers
  • Cleanup area and fridge
Features:
Air Switch
Baking Center
Baking Drawer
Bar with Seating
Blumotion
Bread Drawer
Butler Pantry
Cabinets: Base >24"deep
Cabinets: Wall >12"deep
Cabinets: Wall >36"high
Colorful!!!
Counter >28"wide
Counter-depth Frig
Counter-to-Ceiling Cabinet
Cutting Board Storage
Dish Drawer
Drawer Dividers
Filtered Water Faucet
Frameless Cabinets
Full Extension Drawers
Garden Window
Glass Doors
Gourmet/Professional
Induction Cooktop
Instant Hot Water
Lighting: Pendant
Lighting: Recessed
Lighting: Tech
Lighting: Under Cabinet
Microwave Drawer
NeverMT
Peninsula: Multilevel
Peninsula with Seating
Plugmold
Plug inside Cabinet
Pot Rack
Prep Area (Multiple)
Prep Sink
Pullout Pantry
Reach-in Pantry
Rollout Trays
Sink tilt-out tray
Soap Dispenser
Spice Storage
Step Stool Pullout
Stone
Tapmaster
Toe Kick Drawer
Trash Foot Pedal
Trash Pullout
Tray Divider
TV
Unique Hardware
Water Filter
Custom can Storage
Haefele Magic Corner II units
Base drawers
Custom 28" drawers to fit 30" cabinets
Wine glass storage

2 comments:

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

3 comments:

karalouise's Kitchen

Black and Ivory Kitchen with Antique Brick Arch



Contact: karalouise (My Page)
Posted on Sat, Nov 15, 08
Link to kitchen photos: http://s308.photobucket.com/albums/kk337/Karalouise703/finished%20kitchen/

Details:
  • Cabinets: Shiloh cabinetry. The perimeter is Oxford painted maple in ivory with pewter glaze and the island is painted black with weathered, distressed, sand through.
  • Countertop: 3 different granites - Red Dragon, Absolute Black and Black Mosaic Gold
  • Cooktop: Jenn-Air from the new Pro-series line. It has a downdraft eliminating the need for a hood or worrying about one of those periscope draft thingies breaking! http://www.jennair.com/catalog/category.jsp?cat=12&N=56Purchased from http://www.bridgevilleappliance.com/
  • Sink: copper
  • Brick beams and columns
  • Floor: Minwax dark walnut

Part of our remodel included a 400 sq. ft. addition to expand the size of our family room and kitchen. The biggest thorn in my side for this whole project was working around a dropped beam and 2 columns that had to stay because they were the structural support for an upstairs bay window. We have decided to arch out the structure and will be covering it in antiqued brick......this is my best hope at being able to (as another GWer said) "Embrace my beam"!!


Features:
Apron Sink
Bar with Seating
Beadboard
Counter-depth Frig
Exposed Stone/Brick
Island: Multilevel
Island with Seating
Lazy Susan
Lighting: Recessed
Lighting: Under Cabinet
Microwave Drawer
Trash Pullout
Walk-in Pantry

1 comments: