Kitchen Remodel Update, Finally!!

Many months have passed since I finished the kitchen, I just never took the few minutes to load the photos to the blog.  The summer kept me busy with a few projects, one being the Thrift Store Cabinet that went through a few changes before I finally converted it to open shelving and a wood top.  Originally I wanted to keep the two side doors and at least one of the drawers, but after sanding and painting they just didn't fit right. I don't think they ever did but I just didn't notice when we bought the piece.  The drawers wobbled when you opened and closed them.  They were not designed to hold a lot of weight and with the sliders that were on them they fell forward when open. The finished unit is working out really well for all of the produce.

Click on any of the pictures to enlarge them

 

We are still going to put wood shelves on the bottom section, the wood is very nice and I think having that on the bottom will make it have a nice finished look.  If you know me at all you know I always have some sort of project waiting to begin or finish; probably the reason the kitchen took me so long in the first place.  I really enjoy projects! 

Now for some photos. If you would like to check out my first blog entry at the beginning of this project, click HERE. 

The kitchen measures 20 feet from the refrigerator to the wall the hutch is on and from the sliding glass door to the wall by the thrift store cabinet measures 13 feet. It is a nice, large space now that it is all opened up.

This photo shows the thrift store cabinet and rolling island.  This summer the top was covered with tomatoes from my garden; that was the main reason I wanted this long cabinet.  The cabinet looks smaller than it's length of just over 7 feet. It is 20 inches deep and 36 inches high.  The rolling island is 48 x 24 inches on top and 37 inches high.  I have so much counter top space now!

Right now the two lower shelves are used for onion, sweet potatoes, potatoes, citrus and hard squash.  Of course this will change with the season.  Our citrus will start coming in some time in November and go until June if we are lucky.  When they really start to produce the top counter will be used for citrus and I will hopefully have shelves above this cabinet to holds the jars of dry grains, beans, etc.

The granite counter measures 13 feet from one end to just past the sink.

The island that originally was stationary and used where the thrift store cabinet is now, was re-purposed with industrial  casters and moves about the kitchen freely.  It also has a cabinet on the one side that I use to store flours.

If you follow my blog you will know that this area originally had a round table that had a few color changes, three to be exact. Once I had the thrift store cabinet in place I decided I didn't need the 48" table in this area any longer. I always used it for tomato time, but since have moved it to the dining room and donated my really long dining room table with eight chairs to the thrift store. We just don't need it any longer.  

I painted (of course) this little garden table the same color as my cabinets and it is working out perfect for Tony and I do dine at. I love to sit here, planning my garden day and having my breakfast. It is also a special spot to have tea in the afternoon.  Did you notice the donkey and Mexican man along the wall/floor,  I found it at a local antique store and repainted it.

I am cooking up a storm and enjoying my "new kitchen" even though it is not what a lot of people would think is a remodel, if you look at what we had and what we have now, I think you will agree that it is a "new" space.

A few links you might enjoy on my kitchen remodel: Slow and Steady, I'm Painting Cabinets, Making Progress, All Smiles Today, New Range, Drywall Repair, New Windows, Tile Installation

   

Kitchen Remodel Update, Painted Chairs, Thrift Store Cabinet

 Here is the dresser I bought at a thrift store for $40.00.  I removed the four long drawers in the front and also the doors. I first painted the drawers and doors along with the cabinet itself in the sage green color, but since have decided to leave the drawers out and keep the doors off.  I removed the upper and lower braces from the drawers and will put in 2 pine shelves.  I also cut two pine boards for the cabinet sides to use as shelves.  The top will have a nice pine plank top. 

It originally had four drawers. I was going to keep two for linens, but they were not very secure so out they came. I removed all but one of the braces. The photo below shows one on the bottom half which I have since removed.  The shelf will sit on the center one.

the photo below shoes the cabinet with two drawers still in, but these have since been removed and the shelves added.

I painted the old green chairs this color. I used Behr's Chipotle Pepper then antiqued them with the custom Poblano Pepper color I had them mix up for me.  That is the color I painted the island. The white table in the picture is one that I painted last fall and now I am going to paint it again! I will use the same chipotle and poblano colors I used on the chairs, but may make it a bit more of the poblano color just to mix it up a bit. 

I also found this fabric that I will use for the glass door drapery and may also use it on the kitchen (sink) window. I want to get a nice textured blind for that window so I may just make a valance out of this fabric or may use it with the stripe fabric that is on the chairs. 

My Never Ending Kitchen Project

Have I told you how much I love to paint?

Last week I painted this ROLLING ISLAND.  This is a custom color that I had Home Depot (Behr paint) make for me.  I took in a Pasilla Chili pepper for them to scan.  Look how beautiful this color is, it is a red chocolate brown and looks really nice with the floor.  The light was coming in strong from the skylight this morning when I took these photos, so everything is bathed in sunlight and appears lighter than the rich color and is not picking up the red/purple tone.  My granite counter-top has a dark amethyst stone in it and is the same color as this island.   

In this photo you can see my white table and a green chair, I will repaint my table CHIPOTLE PASTE (from Behr Paint) and then I will paint the two green chairs the same color as the island.

The fabric below is one I found at an estate sale for $2.00, I think it is about 6 yards.  It is designer fabric that is very good quality and will look really nice once I cover the cushions on the chairs.  The reddish stripe is very much the same as the Chipotle Paste paint color. All this pepper talk is making me hungry for MEXICAN FOOD!

Kitchen Update! We have a Counter, Sink and Faucet!

March 11, 2013 counter-top and sink installed

This has been a long process but we are finally about finished.  The counter-top was installed on March 11th, the sink at the same time and then the faucet and new garbage disposal was installed on March 13th.

I still need to sand, and paint these filled holes from the old handles and I need to paint the trim along the floor.

This photo makes the counter look pink, but it is the color of the one below. I took these pictures early this morning and we have overcast skies so the sunlight was not coming in from the skylight like it usually does.  My kitchen has a lot of natural light sources and I rarely need to use the overhead lights throughout the day.

I like the way the granite trims the back splash on the windowsill.  When we had a tile counter the window was always getting splashed with water, the new faucet helps too because it is so high and the sink basins are deep.

I love my new faucet! We chose one that looked like an old hand pump from Moen, called Wetherly.

My granite guy found this sink out of New York, it is really deep and perfect for all the vegetables I grow. New York must not have a water shortage because I couldn't find one like this at the local home improvement stores.

I need to find a stainless cover for the overflow, this one is from my old sink.  I found one at Home Depot but it didn't fit, I will contact Moen and see if they have one or shop the salvage yards.

 I still need to organize what will be on the counter but front and center is always my coffee!

My next project is painting the rolling island. I wanted to find a dark amethyst color to go with the granite.  The red color is supposed to be a dark red Chipotle color but it came in really red and not at all like the color swatch from Behr paint.  I finally took a dried Pasilla Pepper with me to the Home Depot and had them scan it for color. It came out perfect, a nice purple chocolate color. The one in the middle is the color I will use. Then I may do some sort of artwork on this end, or I may add a towel rack or something.  

Dishwasher is finally back in.  At first we weren't going to put tile under it because I was not sure if it would clear the granite, after making some adjustment to the feet, we went ahead and had the tile installed.  

I am still deciding on a back splash, may or may not do it but for now my Sedona Sun will greet me when I am cooking.

 Another project waiting is this wrought iron grill.  I picked this up at an estate sale a few weeks back for $33.00; it is an old window guard but this will be my new pot rack, not from the ceiling but hung on the wall above the granite. I still have plans for the opposite wall that doesn't have any cabinets.  I found a nice old cabinet at the local antique shop but it was priced at more than I wanted to spend so I will keep looking.

Happy Spring and Happy Cooking, Gardening and Estate Sale Shopping!

The Tile Is In! Kitchen Update.

It took two days to complete the job. Photo above shows the cuts for the accent tiles.

Accent tiles in and Jobe is working on the perimeter, measuring, cutting and setting; that took a long time to complete.  He and his cousin Mark, really did a nice job.  They installed a total of 246 sq ft of 6.5 x 6.5 inch tile.  It took approximately 900 tiles for this area. I still have 18 boxes (30 per) of tile left over.  I may do our master bedroom (Mexican Patio) patio with the rest.  Of course I need to keep some for repairs that may come up over the years.

All grouted and sealed, this was done last Monday.  I absolutely love my new floor, and the way the kitchen is coming together.

I also had new quarter-round trim put along the base of the cabinets and new baseboards around the walls.

Pippy on the rug, back in her favorite spot by the glass door. She spent a lot of time under the bed the last few weeks; not wanting to make an appearance with all the noise, people and power tools.

Close up of one of the accent tiles.

Here are a few more ideas I am thinking about.  I like the idea of open shelves along the one wall that my china hutch is now on, but I also like the cabinet with all the drawers. It wood be nice to have something similar.  I have always liked the European style kitchens that have furniture included with the cabinets. Also the lack of overhead cabinets appeals to me.  I do have some overhead cabinets in my kitchen, but only on the one wall.

This calls for a flea market, estate sale and antique mall excursion!

This photo shows a couple of window treatments I like.  Also look at the cool pot rack made out of copper pipes and fittings.  I have the empty wall above the (green) cabinet and the dishwasher area that a rack like this would look and work great in.

Now we wait for the granite countertop. I still don't have a confirmed install date. Hopefully sometime later this week, I was told 10-14 business days and that would put us at Thursday.

Cookie Crumble back in her favorite chair.  Cookie can not tolerate any visitors to her house and spent the time under the bed with Pippy. The only time they spend together is when they are frightened or if strangers are in the house, that includes friends of mine!  After all these years they are still not the best of friends.  Cookie, even though she is half the size of Pippy, dominates her and is the Matriarch of the two.

Kitchen Floor Tile Installation Day!!

Floor Tiles

It's finally here, the day the tile goes down on the kitchen floor!

Accent Tiles

I moved the 48 boxes from the garage to the front entrance yesterday afternoon. These tile boxes have been stored for 4 to 5 years waiting for me to finally decide on what to do with the kitchen.  I am an optimist and never give up on my dreams.  I knew one day I would have this tile in my kitchen, bath, entry, hall and laundry room.  I think when this is all in I will have accomplished the look I was hoping for.

We cleared out the kitchen last night, moving the china hutch, dining table, rolling island, stove and refrigerator.  

The stove and kitchen table moved to the living room.

Refrigerator moved into the entrance so I could keep it plugged in, the island was moved into the dining room with the microwave oven and the hutch is sitting in the hall.  Looks like we will be dining out for a couple of days. 

The crew of two arrived around 9:00 AM and got started right away.  You can see here where he is joining the new tile to the existing tile in the entrance and hall. The accent tiles are shown here in the entrance.  He will use the remaining 24 accent tiles around the perimeter of the kitchen.

This photo shows a better color of the cabinets in the natural light. The others seem to make them a darker green, but they are this light, sage green color. I love the color!!

It won't be long now! The tile will be completed by the weekend. By the end of the month I should have the granite counter top in and my kitchen ready for some serious cooking!

New Windows! Granite Slab, Kitchen Update

Finally something to post about.

We decided to have new windows and glass doors installed before finishing up the kitchen.  The old ones were original to this house that was built in 1975, aluminum and heavy with lots of drafty areas.  One of the glass doors sounded like scraping metal to metal when you opened it; I won't miss that sound at all.  The first thing I thought about after I used the new door was how quiet they were. My neighbor's dog always heard when I opened the door and would come running down the bank to the fence, looking/waiting for her treat. I don't think I will need to buy as many milk bone for her now, you can barely hear it open.

The install was this last Friday, a big job, 11 windows and 2 glass doors.  Getting ready was not all that bad, I just removed all the drapery and blinds from the windows and doors and moved some furniture.  Moving all my potted plants from around the patios and entrance was the most work!

Windows Delivered

The two tall ones are for our two front windows.  Those were 10 feet wide!

Front window and side window, so weird seeing all the windows in the house out. But the views were great!  I kept expecting birds to fly through the house.  This is one of the installers giving me the high 5.  Not one window broke and they did a fantastic job of cleaning up afterwords.  We had a crew of 5 men.  It took them about 5-6 hours for the entire job. 

Front window before

and After

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

Inside Kitchen being installed

Patio Door off Kitchen, before

and After

Entrance (dining room window) Before

After (dining room window)

Mexican Patio Before

Mexican Patio After

another view of Mexican Patio

Kitchen window after installation

Kitchen Sliding Glass Door from inside.

 I love the way they look now and hopefully this will save some money on the heating and air conditioning bills. Last month the electric (we have an all electric house) was a whopping $408.00!

On to the kitchen update:

Saturday we found a granite slab that we liked for the kitchen counter.  Here is a photo of that, it is called Cafe Creme, we bought it at Arizona Tile in San Diego.
 

Cafe Creme Granite

This granite is quarried from bedrock in India. It has a lot of tan and brown tones with some garnets, and a bit of gray too. This was our third trip to Arizona Tile, we looked at a few other slab yards but they all were too high priced.  My guess is that Arizona Tile has such a huge slab yard that they have more room to negotiate.  Choosing the granite took me more time than the cabinet color.  Oh, this also has just a slight hint of sage green to it.  I love it and can't wait until I get this on the cabinets.  I still have to have the base cabinet that I moved, secured to the wall and leveled. Then I can have our fabricator out to take measurements, make the template and cut into this beautiful slab!!