50 Shades of Gray, TKO version
(disclaimer: I haven't read the book or seen the movie but I think its title describes my kitchen quite well.)
After 7 1/2 yrs of planning and nearly 8 years from that starting point, my kitchen is finished! It went through multiple renditions in that time.
Initially, we planned only a cosmetic update: reface or paint the existing cabinets, replace appliances, replace counters and backsplash. And then (can you guess where I'm going?) I wandered into the Kitchen Forum, began my kitchen educational journey and came to the realization that a face lift would be money poorly spent. There was more wrong with my kitchen than a dated look.
So we waited and planned and saved until we finally began our remodeling journey on April 27th this year. Many of you followed along (buh bye old kitchen! Hello, new kitchen!) and cheered when things went well and offered comfort when the remodel hit a few hiccups, mostly due to our cab makers' snafus on the hutch. We were supposed to finish in 7 1/2 weeks; it was 10 weeks before we were done (not counting the miscellaneous, minor things left to do, including glass for the upper cabinets). I lost 20 lbs in the process. I'm thrilled about the weight loss but I *do not* recommend the method. =)
But the wait, the money and the angst were worth it! I love my new kitchen! Love, love, love it! It functions so well and not only do I have more storage (still have empty space in my cabs) but it's heads and tails more functional than my old kitchen's storage.
Drum roll, please....
I have so many people to thank and I know I'm going to forget someone because the journey here was literally years long. Remodeling does a number on the brain but I'll do my best to remember everyone who helped me along the way.
Without a doubt, rhome410 was the most helpful when I was working on my lay-out (you new people may not know her, she doesn't hang out here as much these days). She not only gave me feedback on ways to improve my lay-out, she provided 3D versions of my kitchen using ChiefArchitect.
My heartfelt thanks also goes to bmorepanic for additional lay-out feedback, gooster and plllog for willingly answering questions and providing photos of their Modern-Aire hoods, beekeeperswife for inspiring the idea to add glass to an upper's side panel, mayflowers and sixkeys who not only answered questions about their Pentalquartz counters but invited me to visit their homes to see their counters in person (lovely kitchens!) ... oh, no, my brain has already drain a blank about the others who helped me plan. So sorry if I've forgotten to include your name.
I can't end this without also thanking all you GWers who cheered me along and commiserated when things went wrong: cpartist, benjesbride, autumn, funkycamper, mayflowers, sjhockeyfan, rebunky, buehl, lavenderlass, blfenton, romy, a2gemini, Jillius, mgmum, Annkh, stephanj, tmy_jax, chelsiyarger, santabarbaratara, beth09, Mama Rachel, jmarino, bmorepanic, mdln, susanlynn2012, bbtrix, desertsteph, amber, oasisowner, anitamo, laughablemoments, sena01, artemis_ma, isable98, Maine Susan, elatsch and aries61. Phew, did I forget anyone? Your support through my remodel was so helpful!
Details and more pics to follow.
Comments (113)
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What colour would you paint this kitchen?
Comments (29)- sorry to use your space Lucy but can't find a way to "im" Elizabeth re her question. @Elizabeth, in this photo, I hand traced the wall area with the polygon lasso tool, placed that on another layer, selected a color and filled with the bucket; then with the mask still selected, I tuned the color in via the adust menu for hue and saturation. Does that help? :-) feel free to email me at: akawatermusic@gmail.com if you want more specifics....See MoreVery dark living room
Comments (22)The curtains and blinds will be blocking much more light than the TV. You can see this from how low the shadow comes on the wall below the ceiling. In the third photo you can see light outside just desperate to get in! If you do away with your Roman blind, substituting roller blinds if you need them, you will allow much more light in. Don't let your curtain overlap the window, particularly at the top, it would definitely be worth investing in the longest curtain rail your bay can accept, then make sure you pull the curtains as far back as they can go. Ideally it would be better with a pole the full width of the room straight across the bay, but this won't work if the TV has to sit in the bay. Personally I would paint all your walls and ceilings white and colour the room with accessories. Or if you like coloured walls go for something which has connotations of daylight, perhaps pale blue, pale yellow. It looks as though the wall behind the sofa is grey at the moment and it isn't adding any joy to the room. You can add cushions (or cover the ones on the sofa), in pastel blues/pinks/yellows and this will add the feeling of a summer's day to the room, the colour of your curtains is just right for this. If you can I would change your picture for something the same size but in pastel colours and hang it lower so that it catches the eye as something bright and pretty. At the moment it is sitting in shadow. And one last thought - do you really need all the pieces of your suite in this room? There isn't a law which says you have to keep a suite together - if you don't have room for it all....See MoreI know this CAN be a fabulous room ... I just lost my way a little
Comments (660)So funny! I'm planning to paint the bannister at the new house (TNH) black and am veering towards painting the treads and risers black too... I've been searching for images of black staircases on Houzz and putting them in my entrance hall ideabook. They are few and far between. In your case, I think, with your white walls, maybe the stairs white and the bannister black? (Assuming the white walls continue up the stair walls enabling the b/w contrast.) You've already put black firmly into the equation, adding some more may give more reason for the black rad cab. In my case, there is a very off-centre radiator that could so very easily have been directly opposite the front door in TNH which is rather annoying as it stuffs up the focal point. We are leaving here with every radiator covered with a cabinet - and going to TNH that has loads of radiators ...but no cabinets! Yes, the work ahead is daunting - especially since the area of Ireland we're going to is very basic and not full of DIY resources, etc. I keep thinking I'll paint TNH white - to make things simpler(!) But try as I may colour keeps wandering through my mind! Lovely to be in touch again!...See MoreWhat colour would you paint these cabinets?
Comments (40)Hi Cesca, as your kitchen is quite dark I would go for white cupboards and natural wood worktops, something like your table and chairs. This I would live without changing as I think they looks very nice. I would move the table 50cm from the kitchen cabinets and put some nice carpet just under the table and the chairs to make the space warmer and more cozy. I would paint the walls with light green and add some colourful details. White ir light grey curtains would also make your kitchen look special. If one day you decide to change the floor go for natural wood....See Morelisa_a
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoThanks, Romy! I should have included you in my thanks since you answered my questions abut cutting boards. I really do appreciate your help!
Love your choice of sustenance. =)
I love my DR hutch, too. I've wanted a place to display my antique plates for so long and now I have one.
Here's a closer shot of my kitchen hutch backsplash. Let me know if you want me to get in even closer.
We originally were going to use a beadboard back and I'm so glad we didn't. I just love the touch of glam that this tile adds.This was my inspiration photo.
Traditional Kitchen · More InfoMy friend and neighbor helped me with the display. Actually, she pretty much did it all after I told her what things I wanted to display and then "shopped" around my home for more things to add. But it was my bright idea to add the wine corks and dried gourds to the antique Ball jars (these belonged to my grandma). DH had recently teased me about why I was saving all the wine corks. I relished showing him my reason why. =)
I stewed about that hutch so much, even after the 4th install. Now I'm over it. So much went so very right with my kitchen and I'd rather focus on all of that instead.
lisa_a
8 years agoHuh, apparently I forgot this view of my "before" kitchen.
The MW was behind the doors above the oven.
Compare the above with the "after."
lisa_a
8 years agoI'll post a close-up pic of a cap door later today for you, beth.
I agree, I think adding box beams to a room with 8' ceilings would really close it in. When the finish carpenter first put the beams up, I did a little freak out because, even though we have 9' ceilings and the beams are only 6" deep, I suddenly felt like the ceiling was much lower than 8'6". I was really surprised at my reaction. It was especially odd because I'm short and everyone else - all taller than me, of course - didn't have that response. They thought I was nuts. Well, ok, I am, but still, did they have to say it? lol Anyhoo, the effect was temporary but I doubt I'd feel that way if our ceilings were only 8'.
Maybe you could get away with shallow box beams in an 8' ceiling.
Park Hill House · More Infolisa_a
8 years agoHere you go, Beth! HTH!
At one time, I knew what the edge detail was called but I'd have to go digging through emails of nearly 3 yrs ago (provided I saved the one I need) to find that for you. But hopefully the pics will be enough for you to show someone if you want to do the same type of door.
lisa_a
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAs promised, here's a close-up of my blue-gray stained cherry cabs.
From a distance, our opaque stained cabinets can be mistaken for painted cabs but when you look more closely, you'll soon realize that you can still see the wood grain.
When opaque stain is applied more heavily (as they accidentally did on hutch #2), it looks very much like a painted finish, even up close. That's one reason why they had a heckuva time getting the hutch top to match the hutch base. Not only did they need to get the color to match, they had to get the application to match.
Now you know why one of the two things I'd do differently (posted above) is "I'd absolutely insist (and then some!) that the cab company spray
the island, hutch base and hutch top at the same time. Opaque stains are
tricky and when hand mixed as our cab company does (which we didn't
know until it was too late), getting pieces sprayed at different times
to match is even more difficult."lisa_a
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cpartist