Kitchen

Reply to: 30”+ 18” is a standard size in any good cabinet line. Better cabinet lines will produce that pre stacked, as a single transom cabinet.. You need a Kitchen Designer far more than you need cabinet sellers at this point.

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Reply to: 25.5" deep perimeter counters + 48" aisle + 41.5" deep island + 48" aisle behind the seats (assuming there's some traffic but not a lot) ============ 163" = 13' 7" . Island: 1.5" counter overhang in front of the island + 24" deep base cabinets + 1" decorative door/end panel on the back of the cabinets + 15" clear seating overhang (the minimum recommended) ============ 41.5" If no decorative door/end panel, subtract 1"; 40.5" deep . Perimeter: 24" deep base cabinets + 1.5" counter overhang in the front ========= 25.5" . HOWEVER, all of the above depends on what's going on in and around the Kitchen. The minimum width of the aisle behind the island, for example, varies depending on: No traffic ("dead end") = 44" Some traffic, but not a lot = 48" Major traffic: 48" to 54" In all cases, the aisle will need to be wider if the island seating overhang is less than 15". You will need whatever you skimped on. E.g., if the island has only a 12" overhang, then add 3" to the aisle behind the island. What people don't get is that a person takes up just as much room with a skimped overhang as with the correct overhang -- they're just more uncomfortable sitting at the skimped overhang.

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Reply to: Hi live-wire_oak - good question! Here in NYC a contractor is worth his weight in gold. A good 40% of our budget is going to the contractor. I have put together IKEA kitchens myself in the past. I could have done it again. I'm pretty good at the assembling and strangely enjoy it, however, my skills in no way match the carpenters on this job. To name just a few things, they cut Scherr's filler and used it to trim the tops of the cabs to the ceiling—in a low profile way I wanted (crown wouldn't have been right for this kitchen), they trimmed down the above-the-fridge cabinet so that the lower drawers of the paneled fridge would line up with the lower drawers of the base cabinet (crucial to the symmetry of this design), plus, they're giving me a custom broom closet at the end of the pantry run—because 8 inches of filler was abhorrent to them. :-) You've got to admire the craftsmanship! Could someone DIY the IKEA aspects? It depends on two things: their skillset and their persnicketiness about the details. My real wish in posting this is to break through the "IKEA is not quality" barrier and get people to press pause before handing over $40k+ for cabinets —which the next owner is absolutely going to rip out. Do you plan to live in your house for eternity? Then by all means, pay the custom cabinet maker. But the truth as I have witnessed is that 1. if you move, the new buyer will change the kitchen and 2. if you stay, you will tire of the kitchen in 10 years. Truth.

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Reply to: @ Lori thanks for the color tips to use alabaster on walls and ceiling and HRW for trim. Turned out amazing!

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Reply to: If SW Alabaster was used as a trim - what neutrals won't make it look "muddy". This is where a color wheel that illustrates color relationships can help. Alabaster belongs to the yellow hue family - pretty much smack dab in the middle of the yellow hue family. If you partner Alabaster with near neutrals from the same yellow hue family, you have to be super careful about managing the chroma - the amount of grayness. A near neutral from the yellow hue family would have to be more gray than Alabaster. That's how you make Alabaster look brighter and whiter in comparison -- because it literally is brighter and whiter than your grayer near neutral wall color. Going back to the color wheel, near neutrals from hue families opposite (ish) yellow will help Alabaster 'pop' as cleaner and brighter. Managing the grayness, choosing colors that are more gray than Alabaster isn't such a priority using this strategy. Because contrast of hue will do all the heavy lifting to make Alabaster look more crisp. In other words, it's harder to make near neutrals from Alabaster's own and neighboring hue families work so Alabaster doesn't look muddy. The easier strategy is to choose near neutrals from hue families farther away as illustrated in the above image.

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Reply to: I'm painting my house on alabaster by sherwin williams. I need a trim that goes well with it! There's a trick to creating harmonious color schemes out of just whites and off-whites. Two rules: 1. You can not use two whites that are too close together in terms of hue family. 2. However, the two colors of white can't be too far apart in terms of hue family either. Which means you have to first correctly identify what hue family a color of white belongs to. This is where people get stuck. This is why I'm always insisting that the whole "undertones" thing is not just unfortunate, it's wrong. And this is a good opportunity to demonstrate why and how that is so if you're interested. First, we have to acknowledge that the number of whites from Sherwin-Williams is limited so the pool of not too close yet not too far apart colors of white to choose from to go with Alabaster is going to be small. Next issue is Alabaster belongs to the yellow hue family. It's smack dab in the middle of the yellow hue family. Which means most of the SW whites that look "just white" are not options because they also belong to the yellow hue family and they are too close to Alabaster. For example, SW 7005 Pure White is not a good option with Alabaster because each makes the other look gray and dirty - the result of being too close in hue angle and too close in chroma. (see color wheel) SW 7007 Ceiling Bright White, on the other hand, is too far away from Alabaster. so the color harmony is off and clumsy - it's too green in comparison. Yes, it's green-yellow, not blue. All that means your best choices for a white trim color with Alabaster walls are High Reflective White or Extra White. HRW is the more neutral, or most "just white" looking of the two and will look brighter and crisper. Extra White next to Alabaster will have less contrast and have a softer look.

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Reply to: I respectfully disagree with the 15 year mortgage. I recommend the 30 year mortgage. Get a 30 year mortgage that you can pay extra on each month that is applied to the principal. You can still pay it off in 15 years. It gives you a cushion against the unexpected times you might not be able to apply the extra and still make the mortgage payment. Like temporary loss of a job, unexpected illness, loss of a spouse, etc.

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Reply to: Probably the best advice -- Looking for layout help? Memorize this first: Ice. Water. Stone. Fire. and from the Kitchen forum FAQs (all of which you can find here), FAQ: Kitchen Work Zones, What Are They? (scroll down past the first post)

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Reply to: And here are some “after” pictures:

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Reply to: When you buy the standard multi-part recessed lights (shell, insert, trim, and bulb), it seems like 6" has a better price point. However, they now sell complete low profile LED units that don't even require a housing. The entire low profile light is one piece that has a junction box on a short wiring "leash" You just put the right size hole in the ceiling, connect up the wires to the box, and pop it in. The catch is that since the trim is part of the light, there isn't as much variety in styles and trim. Some examples of 4" kits below - and when offered in 4-pack or 6-pack versions they are even cheaper per light. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Globe-Electric-Designer-Ultra-Slim-4-in-White-Integrated-LED-Recessed-Kit-91207/303240039 With angle adjustment: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Globe-Electric-Designer-Slim-Directional-4-in-White-Integrated-LED-Recessed-Kit-91222/303240027 Bruce

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Reply to: For anyone choosing NOT to use an architect, I would certainly recommend reading through as much of the Building a Home forum archive as possible, especially the "critique my layout/plan" posts. These posts will help you to get an idea of what to look out for in online plans, including clunky layouts, wasted space, inefficient travel paths through a house, expensive elements that don't add to the design but WILL add to your budget (jigs and jogs and unnecessarily large/complex roofs). Also Virgil Carter's various posts, including: [What's A Well-Designed House?[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/whats-a-well-designed-house-dsvw-vd~5370217) Tips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home Part 1 of 3 Tips for Buying Land Designing & Building Custom Home Part 1 Continued [Tips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home, Part 2[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/tips-for-buying-land-designing-and-building-a-custom-home-part-2-dsvw-vd~5079485) [Tips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home, Part 2 continued[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/tips-for-buying-land-designing-and-building-a-custom-home-reposted-dsvw-vd~5213136) [Tips for Buying Land, Designing and Building A Custom Home, Part 3[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/buying-land-designing-and-building-a-custom-home-part-3-dsvw-vd~5213150) and also What are you doing to make your house enrich your life? And I'd recommend reading some of Sarah Susanka's books, The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live, Creating the Not So Big House: Insights and Ideas for the New American Home, and Home By Design and also Designing Your Perfect House by William J. Hirsch Jr. Some threads with other good/helpful/useful books, https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/3281434/book-suggestions#n=26 https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2283666/suggestion-on-books?n=7 At the very least these books will help you identify some of the better online plans. Some things to keep an eye out for: 1. Good site planning and development: take full advantage of your site, whether there are views to be had, the size and shape of the lot (for example, smaller city vs. larger rural) 3. Interior efficiency--minimal space devoted simply to circulation: not too much space devoted to hallways, well-planned and efficient rooms with really good flow in each room and between the rooms. This is also a very good way to make sure that your furnishings (whether it's what you already have or plan to buy after the build) will fit -- go to the Home Decorating forum to read about people trying to deal after the fact, making their furniture fit into awkwardly-shaped rooms. 4. Planning for interior natural light and energy efficiency: plenty of light and ventilation (the plenty of light part becomes more important as you get older and the need for reading glasses can increase), and also passive solar, which means you use Mother Nature to help keep the house cool in summer and warm in winter. This can be a huge energy savings. 5. No fat plans; no humongous roofs: A fat plan is a plan that is more than 1 or 2 rooms wide. This results in very dark rooms and huge, poorly proportioned, and very expensive roofs (not just the initial build, but reshingling/replacing too). 6. Simple use of materials: Not going crazy with a variety of materials, and considering the exterior as a whole, the interior as a whole, and the exterior and interior together. Not throwing all of the latest Pinterest ideas into one room or one exterior because it's popular on Pinterest at the moment. It seems counterintuitive, but using an architect -- that is, spending some money upfront on an architect to create the right plan for you -- can actually save you money in the long run by getting a house that is cheaper to build, and more efficient to run and maintain.

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Reply to: These are the hard wax oil finished white oak. If there are scratches I can't see them. And if I can't see them, they don't exist. I know the look isn't for everyone, but I'm loving it.

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Reply to: dan, 3000K is way too yellow for a kitchen. she needs a 4000K and up. however, Costco does carry the retrofit recessed LED lighting. cans/trim kit, in a 4 or 6 pack, for super cheap.

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Reply to: Add two LED panel lights that look like skylights. https://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/led-panel-light/

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Reply to: First of all, please stick with one discussion thread for your kitchen. You are losing good advice if people have to search for your other discussions. With that said, I agree with a "big no" on the backsplash you picked and your contractor should have advised you a little, even through it is ultimately your choice. You have a few issues to deal with concerning colors. 1) Paint your kitchen cream white, including the ceiling. The cabinets and hardware are not offensive and the countertop is a good compliment. The golden yellow paint makes your cabinets look very orange. The off white will tone it down and a lighter ceiling will make the space larger. The floor is beautiful. 2) The backsplash solution: Consider simple glass subway tiles in a light beige or taupe. Make sure the color coordinates with the countertop and natural cherry cabinets. The color cannot be pink or yellow tone or it will look "off" when in the space. Stay away from busy designs as your kitchen is too small. If you feel you want a statement somewhere, over the stove is the place to put it. 3) Get a very interesting ceiling fixture like the one shown below. 4) Install under counter lights. 5) To dramatically change the entire look of the kitchen, consider painting only the upper cabinets in an off white and keep the lower cabinets the natural cherry. 6) After you make the backsplash decision, we'll tackle the window treatment, besides blinds. Hope this helps. ^ ^ ^ Taupe glass tiles. Note the installation with the tiles lined up to achieve a clean design. ^ ^ ^ ^ Staggered off white glass tiles Dynamic ceiling fixture ^ ^ ^ Paint overhead cabinets only ^ ^ ^ ^

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