Drawings of Our New Kitchen

Here it is!  This is our kitchen:-)  Well, this is what we're calling our "hypothetical kitchen" because it's just an idea in our head right now.  Now that our designer has created these plans, we can execute them and have the actual kitchen soon--and we can move in finally!  It's been such a loooooooong journey just to get to this point. 

We're really happy with the way the kitchen turned out being a perfect blend of function and form.  These renderings do not contain any of the decorative elements we've added to give it the French Country flavor we love, but it shows the layout plan and cabinet placement we wanted.  I can't wait to see the real-life version with all of the pretty furniture features (crown moulding, backsplash with niche, appliques, valance, etc).

The first drawing below is the view coming in through the rear entrance of the house.  The room is cut in half and the island separating the kitchen from the dining room is connected on the left hand side to the wall.  We wanted to remove the entire wall, but there is a concealed chimney within that small portion of the wall that can't be removed, which messed up our master plan.  That was the big disappointment.  We had to completely alter the layout plans, but our designer Rebekah really knew what we wanted to create and she designed a great looking and functional kitchen anyway with plenty of storage. 

We were hoping to have an eat-in kitchen with a small sit-down prep area for me to sit down to prepare food/chop veggies because of my back problem.  I swear I spend half of my life chopping veggies LOL!   I'll have the island to do seated prep and we can also eat there, but can dine in the dining room since the entire space of the dining room and kitchen will function like one big room.  We're happy to have a dining room since we didn't have one before.  I think we're going to get a glass top to cover the dining table so if I want to prep on that table it will be protected.  I cook & prep like a crazy person, so I'm kinda rough on my kitchen;-) 

 This view is from the center of the kitchen.  You can see one of the rear doors of our house and the expanded window we're adding over the sink.  We wanted to bring in more natural light because we wanted a spacious & airy feel since we spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  Right now there is another window where the range is drawn, but we sacrificed that for a more functional space.  We wanted the stove to be a focal point since you can see the kitchen from the front entry since we're opening the space up.  We're planning to create a recessed decorative tile niche in the backsplash where I can keep my olive oil and a few seasonings I use daily.  There is a roll-out spice rack to the right of the oven, which is convenient.

We're adding under cabinet lighting and rope-design stacked crown moulding all around.  The corner glass display cabinet will be lighted and have vintage looking bubble glass.  The sink will probably have brushed nickel fixtures or oil rubbed bronze.  Not sure yet.  We decided against a copper sink because of the maintenance.  They sure are lovely though. 

The deep drawers to the left of the stove are for pots and pans.  The corner base cabinet has a dual lazy susan.  The base cabinets by the sink have 2 roll-out full extension drawers.  All drawers and doors have the soft-close mechanism.  That might not be as satisfying as slamming a door, though;-)  Every now and then you just feel like slamming something LOL.

 This view shows the island that divides the kitchen from the dining room.  There is currently a wall there that will be removing soon to get ready for cabinet installation.  I love the extra counter space this affords as well as the storage.  There will be seating on the reverse side of this "bar" area as well as storage cabinets.  We're going to add a wall niche on the left side of the island where it joins the part we cannot remove.  If it has to stay, why not put something decorative there?

We wish we could have found a different location for the refrigerator, but there was no other feasible place with the limitations of the space we were working with.  We like the built-in nature of it though--and love, love, love the built in pantry.  It has 4 large roll out shelves and 2 additional ones.   

This is the view from the dining room looking into the kitchen.  I'm shopping right now for a dining table.  I really like this one:

Mirren Harbor Dining Furniture



Photo from Gardiners.com



Progress Has Been Made

I'm happy to report that yesterday we finalized our kitchen design.  In 6-8 weeks our materials will arrive, so now we have to demo the old kitchen.  I'm happy to have that hurdle behind us!

We also went to the slab yard again and selected our granite.  We selected a pale stone--Valley White.  It's gorgeous white with some pale tones of tan/gray and a little bit of bordeaux spotting here and there.  A decision on the window estimates is coming very soon, so things are moving along.  It's looking like move in time will be in June.  I don't want to venture a guess at what time in June because I will just be wrong and then feel upset when it doesn't happen.  If there is one thing we've learned on this journey it is to always expect a delay.  It's been a hard lesson, but spending more time in the planning stages will make for a better result later.

I'm so impressed with the way Jeff is jumping in and acting as the general contractor.  He's very confident and even when he's doing something he is unfamiliar with.  He is one to always handle things with grace.  He knows how to get things done, and I respect that quality in him so much.  If he doesn't know what he's doing he will research the heck out of it and eventually figure it out.  I wish I had that kind of patience.

Happy demolition this weekend:-)

A Decision Has Been Made!

We met with our designer today and made some final decisions about the kitchen design.  We had fun choosing the little details that will lend a French country flavor to our kitchen (corbels, appliques, furniture footing, etc.)

The final design will be a U-shaped kitchen with an expanded double over-the-sink window with room for my herbs and violets.  There will also be a decorated valance to highlight this beautiful feature.  The 3-d images look amazing, so I can just imagine how it will look when it comes to life.  Thanks to our designer, this kitchen will have lots of counter space, pull-out spice drawers, a large pantry with pull-out trays, a corner lazy susan cabinet, corner lighted display cabinets, and hardwood cabinetry with full extension soft-close drawers, pull-out trays.  We've designed everything down to the last detail to make this kitchen functional and easy on my back injury while still being beautiful--it's a custom kitchen for the way we cook and entertain. 

Our design involves removing a wall and replacing it with a storage rich island separating the kitchen and dining room, and we are removing another window to make room for the stove to be the focal point of the room.  We're also making sure that the look of the kitchen will be congruent to the classic look of our historic home. 

We're very excited about this!  We're starting to see our dreams come to fruition, and we're starting to see the light at the end of this tunnel we've been going through since 2006 when we decided to move.  It's been a long road and seeing progress means so much to me.  We have started to see that it was all worth it. 

If we had bought a house in a higher price point, we would have had to live with whatever kitchen was in it as-is.  This will truly be a personalized/customized kitchen that we will enjoy for the rest of our lives.  I absoloutely love, love, love this house.  I want to move in now!

We've been very humbled by our experience in moving so far.  We sold our house before we bought another one.  We waited way too long on a short sale to come through and needed to end up renting for what we thought we be about 8 weeks.  8 weeks turned into a year and a half.  We moved because we needed more space, and the rental available to us that would allow our pets was smaller than our old place.  We're so grateful to have found a roof over our head, and we have enjoyed our time here.  We never unpacked anything but necessities, and it's been quite a challenge to live in tight quarters this long.  I've learned so much though, and this experience will make the new place even sweeter because I know we will appreciate it more. 
The next step is to choose the countertop stone and figure out what type of backsplash and flooring would look nice while respecting our budget.  The official order of cabinet materials will be processed probably later this week.  From that point it will be 6-8 weeks before work starts.  There is a lot to do in the meantime, but with this added impetus of good things awaiting will surely fuel the work.

Discoveries at the New House

Fierce winds forced us to go to the new house and pick up the broken tree aftermath laying in the yard today.  We made two discoveries while we were there; one discovery was really cool and the other was really, really not cool.

The neat discovery was a small historical sign stating that the giant White Oak at the corner of the property is 235 years old.  Wow!  That tree has been there for a long time.  That tree was the first thing I noticed when we went to see this house for a showing.

The not so cool discovery was that previous owners painted over wallpaper.  Everywhere.  Yuck!  It's going to mean more work:-( 

Today we also bought a lead tester kit to see where lead paint is on the interior.  We knew we would find some, and it's mainly in the window grids and base molding.  I went from room to room making plans in my head and trying to visualize how everything will look when it is finished. 

I was really excited to go to the house today--more excited than I had ever been to go there.  I was really happy until a friend dampened my spirits with "I don't envy you" with all the work we have ahead of us, and "It's going to take about 5 years to get this place finished."  Not what I needed to hear today.  We've barely begun, and it's so hard to try to stay positive.  I'm trying.  I just want everything to be done yesterday.  I can see that this is going to be an exercise in teaching me patience, a virtue that I surely lack.

Kitchen: Still Deciding...

We're still choosing between 2 designs, but now we are simply waiting on price estimates before we make a final decision.  The sticking point is whether we want an eat-in kitchen or not.  Without it we can eat in the dining room or at the island/bar and have a design that's more visually appealing and yielding more storage space for all the kitchen gadgetry I love so much and use every day.  We're also trying to decide on stone color for the counters and what to do about the backsplash.  We've spent so much time choosing appliances and cabinet design that we've ignored the other elements.  I guess we should start thinking about this holistically. 

In the meantime I've been planning other details to make living in that kitchen more pleasant.  I just purchased several sets of cloth napkins to be more green, and I prefer using them anyway because it's nicer to enjoy a meal with a cloth napkin.  And, I can never resist a bargain.  I bought 36 high quality white napkins for a little over 40 cents each online.  The dealer has wonderful reviews so I am hoping these napkins are as good as other customers think.  If not, they can't be any worse than paper napkins!

Green is good.  More green is better.  Jeff & I have always been careful to do things as green as we can, but there was one area that we need to change--we use too many paper towels!  I've been a victim of convenience and I don't want to continue being wasteful.  My goal is to just stop using paper towels which is why I was so happy to find the items below on sale.  I didn't have to pay full price:-) 

Don Aslett 50 Piece Microfiber Cloth & Towel Set

Love these.  I have a few already and they work wonders, but I need more.  They really make cleaning easier.  I like that they scrub, absorb, and polish in one step, and you just need water and no chemicals.  I have severe chemical sensitivities I usually so I can only use natural cleaning products, and I use them with these.  I think they are better for your health/home environment and clean just as well.  I'll be using these everywhere in the house, but most often for the countertops. 

Fuller Brush 22 piece Microfiber Hand Scrub Pads With Holders

Washable!  These will make my life easier, and I already know that microfiber is wonderful for cleaning (quality microfiber that is).  It’s good to invest a few extra dollars for the good stuff because I’ve tried the cheaper ones and they just don’t work well.  I like the hand-held novelty of this to help get into the corners of sinks and tubs or to use when I scrub my pans.

Art

Just got a great deal on 4 poppy oil paintings art for the dining room.  I have a hard time finding things that I like enough to keep on the wall, and these are gorgeous!  These particular paintings have a lighthearted and casual elegance which is the feeling I want to create in the dining room because that is where family and friends will gather.  These canvases have that rustic aged feel that we like and poppies are such happy little flowers that have always been a favorite of mine.  And to me a house is not a home until there is art on the walls.

These paintings also coordinate with the poppy painting I've had in the kitchen for years.  I bought 2 sets so I can create a large grouping of 4 to ground the bar area I'm going to create in that room.  So, I got $400 worth of art for $180.  Not too shabby:-)  So far everything we bought for the house has been a floor model, closeout, or extreme sale price.  That makes us happy and leaves more savings to use on the actual renovations.  Now, if I could just find the furniture for that room.  Can't seem to find a white table that seats 10-12.