113 Days Later
Who would have ever thought we’d be without a kitchen for almost four months? Not us. But it’s baaaaaack. And it’s better than ever.
First a shot of the kitchen that came with the house when we purchased it almost two years ago:
And now for the dramatic transformation we promised. The granite was totally the icing on the cake. Here’s a shot of the whole shebang as seen from the living/dining room:
And here’s a shot of the left side with that sexy hood that we just used while MAKING DINNER. Sorry for the caps, we just haven’t made dinner at home in ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN DAYS!!! Oops, there I go again.
Here’s the right side with our stainless dishwasher, fridge, and microwave- is there anything we can’t cook in our new kitchen? Well, yes. But at least we’ll burn the filet mignon in style.
This is a shot of the little microwave nook, a really cute little bonus area in a corner of the kitchen that we originally planned to leave bare. Thank goodness for our kitchen designer Nancy Kulik, who convinced us that storage is better than floorage.
And here’s a closer shot of my favorite corner, which sports all sorts of little extras. A cabinet with a glass door (which does wonders for making the kitchen seem less “boxed in”)…
… and a built in double-tiered lazy susan for an insane amount of storage in the base cabinet:
And no kitchen is complete without a little jewelry. Our brushed nickel faucet fits the bill. And check out that undermount sink. Me-ow.
We hope the wait was worth it for all you lovely readers. We’d love to know what you think!
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Comments
No complaints at all! It’s actually super easy to care for (a quick wipe down from time to time keeps it looking like new). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
What does it look like if you have your back facing the sink? My present kitchen is almost exactly like your old one, and we are looking to do it over… so I am curious how you used all of your space!
Good question! When you stand with your back to the sink there’s a super wide five foot doorway that looks into the dining area in our living room (which you can see by clicking the House Tour tab under the header). We widened it from a standard 30 inch opening and it’s such a great upgrade. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
What is the name of the paint color in your kitchen? I love how clean, bright, and airy your space is.
Maybe you already answered this somewhere, but how did you deal with not having a kitchen for so long? Did you eat out every day? It gets expensive (and unhealthy).
Hi can you tell me what type of store you bought the Pashmina counter top from.
thanks
bob
Hey Robert,
We got our Pashmina granite counter through Home Depot but we’ve since heard they have discontinued it! The good news is that almost any local granite shop should have it (but it might not be called by the same name). Just describe it as a white and gray veiny granite with flecks of garnet. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hi Sherry and John,
Maybe you can help clear this up. I know you guys are super into “green” living (as am I) and it really surprised me to find out that you installed granite counter tops in your new kitch. I’ve heard that they emit harmful radon into the atmosphere of your home, which can increase your risk of cancer. We actually had the previous owners install a radon mitigation system before we agree to purchase the place because the radon levels were slightly higher than “normal”. The last thing we want to do is put the dang radon back into our home! So what made you go with granite? Did you research other counter top options first?
Hey Elle,
We actually have a radon mitigation system in our house because our abode was at a level 10 when we moved in (dangerously high, 4+ is considered high so imagine a 10.0!). We did think long and hard about whether we would be adding radon back to the house and did a lot of research that indicated the amount we were bringing in (no giant island, it’s a very small room) would not effect out radon levels very much in the least (but of course we were still cautious because our mitigation system is in our basement so it wouldn’t effect our kitchen- it keeps our house at a very low .01 level by blocking radon in the soil under our house but it wouldn’t protect the kitch). Good thing we did our research because we’re pleased to share that even with the new counters our radon levels are welllll below the .04 that is recommended as safe (last time we tested, since we test each year, they were a .02, which is less than outside air!). We believe that in very large amounts (giant islands and long/wide expanses of counters) you might see a much more noticeable increase (and we always recommend that people test their homes every winter when all their windows are sealed for the 48 hour test) but for us we’re so pleased that we made the choice that we did. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Yes, that did help clear things up :) What about having to seal granite every so often? I’m not sure I want something that high maintenance, though I absolutely LOVE the look of granite!
We actually chose the granite we did through Home Depot because it comes with Permashield protection, which is a patented sealed-for-life finish that we never have to maintain (other than wiping down spills, but no heavy duty sealing ever!). So far it has been awesome. Not one stain or spot. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Woo-hoo!! Granite counter tops are definitely going on my Christmas wish list then! Thanks a bunch!
Your kitchen is B-E-A-utiful! I love your choice of color/texture on your countertops. I am also looking into different types of countertops, Caeserstone being one of them. Are you able to place hot pans on granite? Are they pretty resistant to heat?
Hey Amber,
We’ve heard that granite can definitely stand up to the heat (our friends consistently place hot pans and dishes straight from the oven right onto their granite) although we must admit that it only takes a second to use a trivet, so by habit we still do that with ours. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Great looking kitchen!! Can you give the specifics on your cabinets? I know they are from Home Depot, but which cabinet line specifically (Kraftmaid, Hampton Bay, etc). Also, can you tell me the name of your finish, or were they sprayed on site? Thanks!
Victoria
Hey Victoria,
They’re KraftMaid cabinets in a design called Bel Air through Home Depot and they’re actually Thermofoil (we learned that they’re super durable so they’ll last forever in our forever house). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Can you tell me what height your cabinets are? I’m assuming standard 8 ft ceilings? Thanks! I love your kitchen!
Yup, we have standard 8ft ceilings and we sprung for the extra tall upper cabinets so we could take them all the way to the ceiling and finish them off with crown molding. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I absolutely love your kitchen! Ours is also 50ish years old and I’m beginning to wonder how to get started on remodeling it. Our layout is quite awkward and outdated and I’m wondering if you guys hired someone to “design” the layout of your kitchen or did you know where you wanted each appliance and designed everything around it? Any details would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!
Hey Karolina,
If you look back in the archives between September of 2007 and February of 2008 you’ll come across a ton of posts all about how our kitchen planning process occurred (we actually started this blog with the sole intent of chronicling our kitchen remodel) so hopefully you can find tons of tips and ideas. In a nutshell, we used a Home Depot’s kitchen designer for free with the purchase of our cabinets and counters, and she was actually a Certified Kitchen Designer! We had no idea where to start and she knew all about code and making things look polished and finished and functional. She MADE our kitchen. And we love that her ideas and never-ending brainpower were free because most people have to pay big bucks for a CKD but the fact that Home Depot included her help on the house was amazing to us. Hope it helps!
xo,
Sherry
Thanks!!! I’m new to your site so I’m still attempting to figure out my way around :)
Hey Sherry and John –
I have been searching your site for an answer/some guidance on something but didn’t see anything, so hope you don’t mind me asking here!
We are getting ready to move to a new home, and are looking to re-do the majority of the flooring before actually moving-in to avoid moving furniture twice. The home is all carpeted with linoleum in the kitchen and baths. We want to do hardwood throughout the home including the kitchen (minus the baths). The dilemma is that in a few years we would like to do a kitchen re-do. It is fine for now, but down the road it is something we would like to tackle. I really don’t want to live with the linoleum in the kitchen for a few years as I would like the house to flow with the same flooring, and I also think it would really help the out-dated kitchen. But, when it comes time for a reno, will we be cursing ourselves because we did the flooring first in the kitchen? I have read mixed reviews on line as to flooring under the cabinets, as opposed to it being trimmed to fit, having to remove flooring because of additional cabinets being added, etc… Just wanted to see if you had any thoughts on it?
Also, I know your flooring came from LL – did you find them to be more reasonably priced then HD or Lowes?
Thanks so much,
Kelly
Lumber Liquidators is definitely a TON cheaper than Home Depot and Lowe’s prices. Basically you can get hardwood floors for the price of cheapy thin engineered wood at Home Depot or Lowe’s. We don’t know how they do it! As for our opinion on the order of a kitchen reno, doing the wood floors first when the cabinets are demo’d out definitely is the way to go. It’s the only way you’ll be able to pull out and service your dishwasher (if it ever breaks or needs to be replaced but it’s blocked in by a new wood floor you’ll actually have to pull up the floor!). Hope it helps. Good luck!
xo,
s
Thanks so much guys! Though I think we are pretty set on solid hardwood, any insight that you learned about enjineered wood through your design process, that you would like to share would be sohelpful! Who knew there were different types of hardwood. The more I read, the more I think solid is the way to go, as enjineered just leaves me with the impression of thin, less durability, etc…
Thanks so much!
Kelly
Hey Guys! I have a couple of questions.
1. Did you install the hardwood yourself? I am redoing my kitchen also and asked our contractor about Lumber Liquidators. He strongly suggested I NOT go there. He said the flooring is mis-shapen and very hard to intall. I would save on material cost, but he would charge extra to install. Just wondering if you had any problems like that?
2. Your Arietta hood….does it have to vent outside? I love it and want one BAD!
3. Can you give me an idea of cost of cabinets? How big is your kitchan and what did the cabinets cost? if you don’t mind my asking ; )
Hey Nikki,
If you go back into our archives, the first few months are all about the kitchen remodel so you’ll learn tons about the process. You’ll see that a floor guy came recommended by Lumber Liquidators so we went with him and loved the result. Our flooring has been great- it was easy to get laid down (in just over a day they did our kitchen, hall, den, guest bathroom and laundry area) and looks amazing years later. Would definitely do it all over again and wouldn’t change a thing!
As for the Arietta hood, yes it vents up through the ceiling and out the attic (there are also posts about that in the archives) and the cost of the cabinets is included in a cost breakdown of the kitchen that can be found here and here. And there are lots of other old posts about how we snagged a free dishwasher, got cheap fixtures and faucets, etc (also in those early archives). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hi Young House Love!
I love your blog and the chronicles of all the home improvement. Would you consider doing a post of tips on how to live through a kitchen remodel? We are planning a major renovation of our whole main floor, including kitchen, this summer and I’m looking for some advice on getting by without a kitchen for awhile, especially with two young kids! Thanks. Keep up the great work!
We’d love to do a post if we had the answer! Living through a kitchen remodel isn’t easy and we really don’t have many tips. Get ready for lots of take-out (which is fun at first but gets old fast) and lots of hiccups (deadlines come and go, budgets are blown). In the end when all the dust clears, there’s the kitchen of your dreams right there in your very own house. It’s really not worth it until that moment. Then you’d do it all over again!
In short: brace yourselves, hang on for a wild ride, and enjoy the fruits of all that labor/waiting when it’s all said and done.
xo,
s
I am in the process of contemplating a kitchen remodel. My current layout is very similar to yours…as are the dimensions. I am wondering what the dimensions of your kitchen are. I am contemplating wrapping cabinets around the walls on both sides of the sink as you did. Is your kitchen too tight now? Or is it manageable? How wide is your kitchen between the walls where your sink is?
Thanks
S
Our kitchen is 13 x 11′ and it’s definitely not too tight at all. It actually has a ton more cabinetry than it did before the remodel but if feels more open and spacious now thanks to the smarter layout and the lighter colors. We recommend using blue painter’s tape to tape off where your cabinets will go (and even where your dishwasher and oven will open) so you can “preview” how tight or airy things will feel once they’re installed. It really helps to visualize the space. Good luck!
xo,
s
You know you should totally put a shallow little book case on the blank side of that cabinet with four drawers, the one to the left of the stove in the third pic. It wold look adorable with cookbooks or even display items on it. Altho you are going to start needing to baby proof your house. As it is it looks a little forlorn. Or maybe hang a chalk board on it! When we were little my mom hung chalkboards down at toddler-sitting-down height and it was great.
Hi – we’re getting new countertops (new Bianco Romano) and thinking about backsplashes. It looks like you have the 4 inch granite backsplash and paint above that. Are you happy with your decision or would you add a backsplash that went up to your cabs (for example white subway tile! (-: ). My concern is with the cleaning/protecting walls. Love to hear what you think!
We’re SO happy with our choice. We have not had one instance of needing to touch up the paint in over two years, even over the stove (since we used semi-gloss it’s extremely wipe-able). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
They actually came from one big poster that we got from allposters.com (don’t have the link anymore but it was a large print of a shelf with apples and pears and flour and oil) which we then cut up to fit smaller frames. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hi Sherry & John,
Just wondering how your thermofoil cabinets have held up? I’m researching getting new cabinets and have read a lot of positive and negative things regarding this finish. Any complaints so far (bubbling, yellowing, issues with heat sources near by, etc.), or would you continue to recommend this type of cabinet? Thanks so much for your advice =)
Katie
We love them! We really trusted our certified kitchen designer and she definitely knew her stuff. Over two years of heavy use and lots of high-heat cooking later we have zero yellowing, bubbling or anything else people complain about. We heard that some lesser quality thermofoil cabinets are really the ones that you have to worry about, which is one of the reasons we went with KraftMaid – since they’re so well known and they care about longterm customer satisfaction. Oh and our designer actually had “heat shields” installed between the sides of the cabinets and the stove (they’re unseen since they’re between the appliance and the side of our cabinets, but the seem to really eliminate those issues you mention). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hi youngsters –
Just noticed that you have a polished nickel faucet…I love the look, but I’ve heard that they stain and can tarnish, etc… How do you like your’s? Thanks!