My Kitchen Renovation!!!!!
Here's my starting point (cringing)  And here's the new kitchen:  (taken from the family room--almost the same spot as the first picture)  Here's another shot, so you can see the new kitchen window. This is taken from the pantry, looking toward the refrigerator and family room. I am in the process of painting all the old 1970's cheap paneling yellow. Someday, I will be replacing windows and sheet rock in that room but for now, paint is a cheap fix. Counter tops are soapstone, with maple butcher block on the island. I chose blue for the island because blue is my husband's favorite color. We did a complete gut, floor to ceiling, to the studs. The new kitchen is so much more functional! |
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WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!  You must be love walking into the kitchen every morning!!! I love the upgrade. It's beautiful. I love everything!!!  |
| Ooooh Gorgeous!! My sister and I are looking into new options for our countertops. Soapstone and butcherblock are some of the ones we are looking at. How do you like them so far? |
| Very nice! I love the blue island! |
| OH GOD PLEASE DELETE THIS THREAD NOW!!!! The LAST thing I need is for Kim to see this!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DELETE THIS THREAD!!!!!  |
| Beautiful job. I love the whole kitchen but I really really love your island! |
| It's gorgeous and I do love the blue island. |
Baba wrote: OH GOD PLEASE DELETE THIS THREAD NOW!!!! The LAST thing I need is for Kim to see this!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DELETE THIS THREAD!!!!! I really, really like your kitche redo. Besides looking so much better, it just looks so great to work and be in. But David...your post just cracked me up!!!  How 'bout posting your kitchen pics....then we can decide if Kim deserves a new kitchen??? |
| David, maybe you'd rather send me Kim's email address??? Thank you for the nice compliments. What I wanted was something that is warm and classic and not too tied to any particular point in time: I was hoping for classic and timeless. I do love the soapstone and the butcher block but they are not for everybody. My house was built in 1896 and what I really wanted was for the kitchen to look like it belonged in the house, which is why I chose mostly classic materials: painted cabinets, with a simple style, bin pulls, wood floors (ended up with engineered wood), soapstone countertops and butcher block. We are also not the kind of people who never use the kitchen or who need or even want everything to be pristine and perfect and shiny all the time. Impossible for any of us, much less all of us. I deliberately chose soapstone because I love the look and feel, because it really is a surface you can set hot pans on without causing damage, and because it was a material that was used in houses of this era. Also, it will show aging--it's not as hard as granite so there will eventually be dings in it. It turns out that last year when we did our kitchen that soapstone was actually cheaper than granite or solid surface and so, I got my fantasy. I also was misled by the internet and believed in the beginning, that butcher block would be cheaper than more soapstone or another surface. I was wrong: it cost nearly the same. Again, it will eventually show wear. For now I won't let anyone use it as a cutting board but I am sure that at some point that will change. That said, it is necessary to oil the butcher block and the soapstone. As time goes on, the soapstone will need it less and less, maybe twice a year. Because butcher block is wood, I will need to wipe it down with mineral oil every 2-3 months. (food grade--cheap and easy to find. The company gave me a bottle and would be thrilled to sell me more of their brand but it's much cheaper at the local store, just plain mineral oil, like you might give a constipated person or kid about 35years ago.) My kitchen will develop a lived in look, which was inevitable, given who lives here, no matter the materials we used. The ones we chose will simply make it look homey and worn in not worn out. Or at least that's the idea.] Oh, one choice I made (and I think my contractor thought I was nuts) was to make one end of the island lower, table height (29 inches). I am short and this is a really good height to use to work with dough, etc. I used soapstone on that lower part for this purpose. Also, it doesn't show as well, but the back splash is just subway tile. I really it. If I were doing a more contemporary kitchen I would have used some of the beautiful glass tile that is out there. But for this particular kitchen in this particular house, I like the plain subway tile. |
| Nice job! Kitchen looks great! That WAS a big transformation. |
Wow! It looks fantastic!! Much more inviting and warm - updated yet classic. Perfect!!  |
| Looks like a magazine ad! beautiful job! I recently did my kitchen with the same type cabinets and stainless appliances. Wanted mine to ahve that "old" appearance as well. It is just beautiful...so when are you having us all over for all the baking you will be doing on your lower level counter?????  |
| Beautiful job! I think you achieved your goal of a timeless look--love the blue island! |
| Gorgeous. I want feedback on the countertops in 6 months and a year..... Both are on my to-do list for the lake. |
| Lovely,lovely. I like the blue island against the white cabinets. Good for you with the gut, the best way. We are still working our nerve up, I'm ready to go but DH isn't. |
| I'm a good 6 months in on the counter tops and still really like them. Soapstone and butcher block are not inexpensive, though. And are more upkeep, at least initially, than solid surface or even granite. But to me, it's not a big deal to wipe them down with a bit of mineral oil every once in a while. They aren't supposed to look pristine, the way a polished granite is. Which works for us: we are so not pristine people. This was my big splurge. I am extremely fortunate that I got to do my fantasy project. It was a perfect time to do it: money was cheap and contractors were looking for work. I also got to have my first choice in the entire world as a contractor. He's the best in town, a dream to work with, and very, very good at his job. I had to wait more than 20 years to do it, but I got to do it and I am very grateful. I loved every second. Hubby hated every second. But it was fun and it is a lovely space to spend time in now. I find I enjoy just being in the kitchen. Before, no matter how hard I tried, it was always a poorly lit, badly laid out mess. And not fun to cook in. My new kitchen is just a relaxing space to be in. I am hoping that hubby figures out that good design does that: it adds not only improved function but also makes you feel better to be in the space. So, maybe he will let me do more........ |
| Very nice indeed! Did you get to do any of the work yourself, or did you leave it all up to your dream contractor? Great choices. |
| Ohhhhh Ahhhhhhhhh I was speechless...it's fantastic!!!!!!!! Of course I'm terribly jealous but so very happy for you! Marianne |
| I, too am very happy for you. You have a dream Kitchen. I am waiting for my kitchen to be a dream...right now its a nightmare. Not enough counter space, only room for one person, and its old, old, old. |
 What a great room!!! I love it!! |
Beautiful kitchen!  |
| I think that a good old fashioned kitchen party is called for! I will bring the cupcakes and rum!! You did a brilliant job on building a practical, modern, useable space that fits in beautifully into your older home, and that is not easy to do!!! Oh, and nice try David but I saw the dream kitchen. We need to talk-I just got a brilliant idea.... |
| Most of my work involved planning, picking stuff out, making decisions, convincing hubby, research, shopping, putting my foot down, etc. OH: I was the one who got to actually write the checks, too. Hubby and one son helped with some of the demo. I was sometimes an extra hand but my work hours kept me from being more hands on. That and consideration for my contractor and his crew. Am planning to have an old fashioned kitchen warming as soon as I get the family room all painted and move back in. Archie's illness, followed by hubby's 2 cataract surgeries, hernia repair, holidays, me getting sick, etc. got me off track for a while. Am hoping to get it done or mostly done very soon. You can't see in the picture of the original kitchen but the old, very limited countertops were from the early 1960's. I know this because these countertops were in the house my parents bought in 1963 when I was (let's just say: very young and leave it at that). I hated them then, so for well over 40 years. I almost died when we were looking at this house and I saw the counter tops. I loved the house, minus the kitchen, bathroom (yet to be tackled) and the fact that they pickled all the beautiful oak woodwork downstairs that nice 1970's avacado green (still not tackled). In the old kitchen, the only place for the refrigerator was right next to and at a right angle to the ovens meaning that when I baked a turkey, I had to literally shove the refrigerator back with my hip while I took a 20 lb bird out of the oven, multiple times for basting on T-day and Christmas. And the kitchen sink was at an angle such that woe be to s/he who needed water if anyone was cleaning up after dinner. My son referred to the sink area as The De-Militarized Zone. So, it was way past time to do the reno. |
| You should be proud! I just bought Mike Holmes book on kitchen and bath renos......for those helpful hints. Congrats on the contractor, that's my greatest fear. I've had some real jerks for other home jobs. Avocado green.......don't you "love" that you are seeing it once again in home decor? I too haven't gotten over the first go around. Our first wall to wall was that "lovely" color. Avocado with gold fabric furniture and those ornate pole lamps in the corner. Refrigerator was copper.....of course all is retro now......That's it, we are RETRO!  (that gold fabric ...the couch is what Jack sleeps on...even the dog can't destroy that couch. IF it were avocado green it would have a uranium half life.) |
Congrats on your new kitchen. It looks marvelous! I'm very jealous.  Remodeling my kitchen is my dream project too and will probably be the last on the list as it will most definitely be the most expensive.  |
| WOW gorgeous |
| I love it! It looks soooo much better. I can hardly wait till we get around to doing ours. |
| you did a fantastic job!! couldnt have done better myself |
| High praise indeed! Thank you! I thought someone on here was a designer but I couldn't remember who. I had been fantasizing over this kitchen for at least 20 years, so it's good it turned out well. |
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