Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Happy New Year... the kitchen progresses nicely!

Happy New Year! I hope this year is a good one for everyone.


Ahhhh.... The kitchen is finally at a point where I can use it happily and slowly finish it up.

The major, visible changes include new flooring, countertops tiled, the peninsula changed to include the high ledge and the eating ledge, a new sink, and the stone on the walls.

One thing that still needs to be done is enclosing the space where the wine fridge is. I didn't put stone on the wall there since I knew we'd enclose it later. Additionally, the front part of the eating ledge needs oak trim.

Here's another view of the stone tile we used on the wall which opens to the screen room. We got it at Home Depot - it's real stone, just cut to tile thickness. The thickness varies from stone to stone and they are heavier than you'd think. Each stone had to be individually "buttered" with mortar, affixed to the wall, and then had a little nail hammered in underneath. If I didn't do that they slowly slid down the wall. If you look to the left of the furniture about midheight along the beadboard- you can see a tile I forgot to put the nail under! It slid down until it rested on the stone underneath. It had already dried in place when I found it... oh well - I wasn't aiming for perfection!

For grouting I used "Biscuit" colored grout. I applied it with what looked like a giant pastry bag (ow, ow, ow to holding that carefully at arm's length when it was full of wet grout) My fingers ended up being the only thing that smoothed the grout well. Lots of work and mess, but I'm pleased with the result.


The other side of the "high ledge" has this row of cubbies facing the kitchen. I wanted open storage spaces, visible from the kitchen, but not visible from the dining area. They still need a bit of oak trim at the front of those uprights.

The 20+ year old mauve formica counters were resurfaced with these Stonepeak tiles... made in Tennessee. The decorative tiles at the front are American Olean tiles from Lowe's.

The cabinets got knobs and pulls. I think 20+ years of having none contributed to their messiness!

I LOVE the new sink. The old sink was a problem when trying to wash giant stock pots. Since I've always had a double sink (that I can remember) I wasn't sure how I would feel about the really big single. I was hoping I would like it... and I like it more than I could have imagined. That grid on the bottom is great - the water sloshes right through it and down the drain. No more dishes sitting on the bottom as dirty water pools around them.

It's a Blanco Silgranite in Anthracite. We considered insetting it into the tile counter but opted for the easier "drop in" installation.

Here's another view in the other direction. It's where the most work needs to be done! The beadboard wall needs to be finished. The wall was started a few years ago (we are not fast renovators) and separates the kitchen from the den. There is a pocket door and those are doors enclosing storage on the left awaiting their beadboard facing. The room started out 42 feet long - I prefer smaller spaces.

There isn't much plain wallspace in the kitchen anymore... but what there is is now painted "Swiss Coffee"


One last closer look at the kitchen area. If you look closely through the kitchen window on the right you can see some large banana leaves. Unhappily they will be mush by morning. FL is having an "Arctic" blast tonight and the temperatures will be in the 20s. Very annoying when it will be back in the 70s in a couple of days. A few hours below freezing wreaks havoc on my landscaping! That banana is about 20 feet tall - I live in a stilt house!

My husband and I did all the changes ourselves, with a bit of help from our teenage son. Lots of work, but we are happy with the results.

5 comments:

maryskid said...

Your kitchen remake is inspiring. I really like the eating ledge and the counters. How did you do the counters, Did you just tile over them? What about the backsplash? Anyways, found you from Ravelry, and the kitchen is wonderful.

KR said...

this is absolutely inspiring! i love all the details! way to go!

Christina said...

Absolutely amazing! This is definitely something for you and your husband to be extremely proud of! Congratulations!

Heather said...

The kitchen is beautiful (I thought I had posted this before, but I guess I didn't) Where are you? Hope all is well!

spinndiva said...

Hello Diane!

Please get in touch with me!
My email addi is in the side bar of my blog!
Need some info! :)
Love your kitchen, but I already told you that!
Sending hugs!
B.