Kitchen photos

[lindag]

11 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

Thanks, Elsie! I'm still thinking about the fridge. If I can find the right cabinet-depth one (ie one with enough storage capacity), I might go for that, as it would probably look nicer without a fridge sticking out. But I'm holding off on a decision until the floors are all done and I have a chance to sit back and ponder things, ha.  🙂

 

When I was designing my new kitchen I wanted a counter depth fridge. However, I discovered that in order to get enough space in it I’d have to go with something like a subzero which would’ve run me about $10,000. I decided against that and got a GE café French  door fridge which is great and really doesn’t stick out all that much and is not  not really noticeable

[FauxPas]

37 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I'm still impressed at how quickly it's coming together!

 

I know! We did quite a bit of planning and juggling and cajoling but we were also a bit lucky! And it helps to have a good relationship with a few tradespeople. There are still some pieces missing, but I hope to have all the various renos completed by the end of May. (Secretly, I'm hoping mid-May but allowing a bit extra, just in case.)

 

We have flooring being put in this week - kitchen and laundry and the baths were done yesterday. The plumber will be here this afternoon to reconnect the water lines to the fridge and dishwasher.

 

Electrician tomorrow morning to finish off kitchen outlets and install the OTR microwave. He already installed the under-cabinet lighting and updated all the pot lights to nicer LED fixtures. Tomorrow afternoon, the flooring installer is back to start work on the rest of the house. That will take at least a couple of days. 

 

Then we have to focus on baseboards, as we have gaps where the electric baseboard heaters were removed. We're having trouble matching the existing baseboards exactly so we may have to remove the ones from the small bedroom and use them for patching the gaps and then replace with a similar trim in that bedroom. We can match close enough that it won't be noticed in another room. We have a finishing guy to do that. And then the painter will come back and fill and paint the baseboards and do any other touch-up needed. 

 

For sure, I set up a tight schedule but as usual the planning starts a long time beforehand, as I'm sure you and others here know.  🙂

 

The single factor that expedited things the most was the turnaround time by the countertop folks. I can't believe how quickly they completed fabrication and installation of the quartz after the final measure. They aim for about 1 week between final measure and installation, which is amazing. In our case, it was about 10 days, but there was a holiday weekend in there, ha. And yet, they were very thorough and made sure the measure was right and the installers took their time to make sure everything was level and seams were minimized. I never felt anything was rushed with them. No wonder several people raved about them. I'll certainly recommend them!

 

When we redid the kitchen in the last house, the countertops were a huge hold-up. They were done by one of the large specialist countertop companies, with multiple locations in BC. We had to wait several weeks between final measure and installation. Initially we were told it would be about 2 weeks and then they said it would be closer to 5 weeks. It was only a laminate countertop, so not a tricky install. They were disorganized and it was very frustrating. 

 

We're still going to be very happy when this is over and we can just relax. Especially the cat, poor little thing. He keeps getting shuffled off to Cozy Cat Cottage for short-term stays. He's there now, as we have to do a bunch of furniture moving tonight to make room for the flooring install tomorrow and there's no way he would want to be in the house with all the commotion that will happen over the next few days. He's in very good hands there though and he'll be back home with us for the weekend. 😺

[FauxPas]

1 hour ago, lindag said:

When I was designing my new kitchen I wanted a counter depth fridge. However, I discovered that in order to get enough space in it I’d have to go with something like a subzero which would’ve run me about $10,000. I decided against that and got a GE café French  door fridge which is great and really doesn’t stick out all that much and is not  not really noticeable

 

Yeah, I'm really back and forth on the counter-depth thing. And I'm certainly not in the market for a SubZero, ha. 

 

I do think the current fridge does stick out a bit much and I hate it anyway due to its crappy storage configuration but I'll keep an open mind when it comes to shopping for a new one. I may delay that decision for awhile, unless I run across something that seems perfect and is on sale, to boot. 🙂

 

[lindag]

2 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

Yeah, I'm really back and forth on the counter-depth thing. And I'm certainly not in the market for a SubZero, ha. 

 

I do think the current fridge does stick out a bit much and I hate it anyway due to its crappy storage configuration but I'll keep an open mind when it comes to shopping for a new one. I may delay that decision for awhile, unless I run across something that seems perfect and is on sale, to boot. 🙂

 

And if the price weren't  enough of a deterrent, my research said that repairs were a frequent problem.  Where I live?  Ha!  I could see myself without refrigeration for a very long time.

[Okanagancook]

The thing is, if you have the space you WILL use it.  If not, then one can get more selective.  We went from a regular bottom freezer fridge, an all fridge, and two freezers to our current condo configuration of a 40 inch counter depth refrigerator with bottom freezer.  The kitchen also has a ‘beverage’ centre for drinks.  I threw out stuff that was looking a bit old and bought some little lazy Susan’s to hold things like Chinese sauces, horseradish, etc.  We just cut back and are having no trouble.

 

 So an idea might be to look at your current refrigerator contents with a critical eye.  I do like the shallowness of the shelves..things don’t get hidden at the back.

 

I should also note that there are just the two of us and don’t make large guest meals much anymore.

 

the kitchen looks fantastic.

cheers

[Porthos]

21 hours ago, FauxPas said:

 

Yeah, I'm really back and forth on the counter-depth thing. And I'm certainly not in the market for a SubZero, ha. 

 

I do think the current fridge does stick out a bit much and I hate it anyway due to its crappy storage configuration but I'll keep an open mind when it comes to shopping for a new one. I may delay that decision for awhile, unless I run across something that seems perfect and is on sale, to boot. 🙂

 

My Sweetie and I have a refrigerator that is anything but counter depth, but we could never imagine having less refrigerator space. For that same reason a side-by-side wouldn't work for us. We actively use the width on a regular basis.

 

Here's how it fits in our current kitchen, and will be in the same relative position in our new house in Arizona:

 

 

[FauxPas]

19 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

So an idea might be to look at your current refrigerator contents with a critical eye.  I do like the shallowness of the shelves..things don’t get hidden at the back.

 

Yes, I have been thinking that I can use the space better. And I do hate throwing those hidden (and forgotten and past due-date) items out, ha.   🙂  I do think a counter-depth might work for us, if I find the right one. Unfortunately, it can't be more than 36" wide. 

[FauxPas]

5 minutes ago, Porthos said:

My Sweetie and I have a refrigerator that is anything but counter depth, but we could never imagine having less refrigerator space. For that same reason a side-by-side wouldn't work for us. We actively use the width on a regular basis.

 

Here's how it fits in our current kitchen, and will be in the same relative position in our new house in Arizona

 

A deeper fridge suits that spot in your place, partly because of that partial wall on the left side which really balances the look. We had a similar situation in our last house and an extra-deep fridge worked well there. But this house is different, the fridge is in the middle of the wall. I'll have to take another photo once some stuff gets cleared out. 

 

I agree with you about side-by-side models, I think the narrowness can be an annoyance at times. 

[RWood]

When we were looking for a house, we had a lot of things we wanted in a kitchen, but we knew we wouldn’t find all of it. I love the look of our kitchen, but it’s smaller than I wanted. We got a baby Wolf, which I do like. I wanted at least a Mama Wolf, so it had another oven. Maybe down the line it might get changed. And it was funny, the guy we bought the house from was so sad he was losing his pot filler.

I feel like the sink should have been on the other side. It feels backwards when I’m emptying the dishwasher. I do like having the warming drawer for dough rising. 

We have a MIL half kitchen that we just use as our beverage center. It worked well for our wine fridge, and to keep the espresso and coffee makers in one spot. And it’s nice having the extra refrigerator nearby.
We use the MIL closet as our pantry. 

 

[FauxPas]

19 minutes ago, RWood said:

We have a MIL half kitchen that we just use as our beverage center. It worked well for our wine fridge, and to keep the espresso and coffee makers in one spot. And it’s nice having the extra refrigerator nearby.
We use the MIL closet as our pantry. 

 

What is MIL, is that a mother-in-law suite, by any chance? 

 

Your kitchen and your house both look gorgeous! It's funny that you find the kitchen smaller than you wanted but my first thought was that it was quite spacious, ha.   🙂

 

[RWood]

11 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

What is MIL, is that a mother-in-law suite, by any chance? 

 

Your kitchen and your house both look gorgeous! It's funny that you find the kitchen smaller than you wanted but my first thought was that it was quite spacious, ha.   🙂

 

Yes, mother in law. 
Thank you, we really like the house, and for the most part we are done with decorating except for the dining room. It’s giving us issues. 
The kitchen has room to move, but I’m always wanting bigger, more storage, ovens, counter space, when it comes to a kitchen ☺️. 

Edited April 27, 2022 by RWood (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

1 hour ago, RWood said:

drawer for dough rising. 

We have a MIL half

I did a double-take when I saw your light fixture. I had to blow it up to make sure it wasn't a Birdcage. I once catered in a house that had a Birdcage right over the cooking Island with a huge parrot inside. Yuck and double yuck.

By the way, I love your pantry space and I agree with you on the dishwasher. Too far away from the sink.

Edited April 27, 2022 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Beautiful kitchen. I sympathize with your need for more counter/work space. My kitchen is fine, but in order to get maximum chopping and mixing space we installed a 3' x 5' butcher block counter over a new cabinet. The cabinet holds large items like my bread machine, large kettles, my clay bean pot, and miscellaneous small appliances, and the counter is one big cutting board. We brought it down with us--well, the movers did--when we moved into our house. It always takes some time to find decent cabinet makers when you're relatively new in town, but I'm very pleased with the result. We made it a couple of inches taller than the counter height to make standing and working a little easier on my back. One big space with doors on each side, two smaller spaces for condiments, etc., and two drawers.

 

I covet your pantry. We had to have a carpenter make a free-standing cabinet that we put outside under the deepest portal in order to consolidate the various places where we'd stored food--most in our closet, the rest in a bodega (storage room) in the back of our property. Very inconvenient. Of course the pantry is full, and was from the beginning, unfortunately. We bought metal shelving from Costco to avoid having to have wood shelves and the resulting dark corners. My spouse installed lighting so I can find stuff in the dark.

 

I couldn't tell from the photos, but is there room for a small-ish island for additional work space? In my old kitchen I had a much smaller island (but it was a real lifesaver. I don't know how I survived without it.

Anyway, enjoy your beautiful new kitchen!

[JAZ]

On 4/26/2022 at 1:47 PM, FauxPas said:

 

Yeah, I'm really back and forth on the counter-depth thing. And I'm certainly not in the market for a SubZero, ha. 

 

I do think the current fridge does stick out a bit much and I hate it anyway due to its crappy storage configuration but I'll keep an open mind when it comes to shopping for a new one. I may delay that decision for awhile, unless I run across something that seems perfect and is on sale, to boot. 🙂

 

 

Before we remodeled our kitchen, we spent a few days with Dave's brother and sister-in-law, who had recently remodeled theirs. They had a counter-depth fridge (Sub-Zero) in the kitchen, but a regular depth Frigidaire in the pantry, and much preferred the Frigidaire. We found the same model on sale so we went with that. But the placement of the fridge is such that it doesn't seem too awkward (to me at least) that it sticks out. The "wall" between the counter and fridge is a full sheet of our cabinet material and the shelf above the fridge is the same material (we both hate cabinets above the fridge). Our cabinets along that wall are actually less deep than standard cabinets; our kitchen is on the small side, so we went with cabinets designed for a bathroom. That gave us more space between those cabinets and our peninsula, but meant that the fridge sticks out even more. 

 

 

[FauxPas]

1 hour ago, JAZ said:

But the placement of the fridge is such that it doesn't seem too awkward (to me at least) that it sticks out. The "wall" between the counter and fridge is a full sheet of our cabinet material and the shelf above the fridge is the same material (we both hate cabinets above the fridge). Our cabinets along that wall are actually less deep than standard cabinets; our kitchen is on the small side, so we went with cabinets designed for a bathroom. That gave us more space between those cabinets and our peninsula, but meant that the fridge sticks out even more. 

 

I agree. Your fridge looks great there! The gable end on the left frames it nicely and you have that partial wall on the right so it's very balanced looking. And I like your idea of a matching shelf above the fridge, too.  🙂

 

Our fridge is positioned near the kitchen entrance and though there is lots of room to get by, it does protrude a bit more than I would like. It wouldn't have been practical to extend gables on either side. The pantry on the left side is embedded into a finished wall and an extension on the right would have looked odd. The new opening will fit a 36" wide fridge, but don't you think it would look nicer if it was more flush with the cabinetry around it? This is not the most recent stage of the kitchen, but you'll get the idea. (All the flooring has been replaced.)   

 

I'll take more pics once I can get in there. I should make sure that the fridge has been pushed back all the way, etc. 

 

 

 

[heidih]

Heck of a kitchen window view

[Shelby]

Love love love

[FauxPas]

 

@JAZ, forgot to ask you this. Does the right door open as widely as you would like, given that the fixed wall is fairly close? Looking at the photo, it does look like you have several inches there, so it's probably fine.  🙂

 

 

2 hours ago, JAZ said:

But the placement of the fridge is such that it doesn't seem too awkward (to me at least) that it sticks out. The "wall" between the counter and fridge is a full sheet of our cabinet material and the shelf above the fridge is the same material (we both hate cabinets above the fridge). Our cabinets along that wall are actually less deep than standard cabinets; our kitchen is on the small side, so we went with cabinets designed for a bathroom. That gave us more space between those cabinets and our peninsula, but meant that the fridge sticks out even more. 

 

 

 

 

 

[JAZ]

1 hour ago, FauxPas said:

 

@JAZ, forgot to ask you this. Does the right door open as widely as you would like, given that the fixed wall is fairly close? Looking at the photo, it does look like you have several inches there, so it's probably fine.  🙂

 

 

 

 

Yes -- no problem opening the doors. There are a few inches from the wall; we positioned it that way both for the door and also so we can store a broom between the fridge and the wall.

[blue_dolphin]

2 hours ago, FauxPas said:

The new opening will fit a 36" wide fridge, but don't you think it would look nicer if it was more flush with the cabinetry around it?

I don't think that looks bad at all and I think it would also be fine with a 36" wide fridge of that same depth. 

That said, I wouldn't want it to stick out any further and I do think it would look a bit nicer if it were more flush.  I totally agree that when the fridge is at the end of a run of cabinets, it's barely noticeable if it sticks out but when it's in the middle, it's more obvious.  I think it also matters if that side view is one that you often see from other vantage points or just from within the kitchen while cooking.  The former is more bothersome to me than the latter.  Gorgeous kitchen in any case!

[FauxPas]

Next to the kitchen peninsula today. We are busy moving furniture from room to room (and some to the garage) to accommodate the new flooring installation. We are going to have a REALLY big cocktail when this is all over.  🙂

 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

1 hour ago, JAZ said:

 

Yes -- no problem opening the doors. There are a few inches from the wall; we positioned it that way both for the door and also so we can store a broom between the fridge and the wall.

Our LG fridge is up against a wall on one side, and I can't open the right-hand door enough to pull out a tray called the "Glide-and-Serve Drawer" where I guess you can store party platters or other wide but shallow items. I can't even pull out the drawer enough to get to the back of it, which creates some interesting science projects when I finally get around to rooting around back there. This is where cheeses and things like sliced salami live. I like the LG very much, especially since the icemaker is so compact that you don't really know it's there. Unfortunately local water is too unreliable for us to use it. 

[weinoo]

10 hours ago, JAZ said:

There are a few inches from the wall; we positioned it that way both for the door and also so we can store a broom between the fridge and the wall.

 

Yep - similar to what we did...

 

 

My step ladder and a broom fit nicely in there. Left the 3" on purpose.

[lindag]

12 hours ago, FauxPas said:

Next to the kitchen peninsula today. We are busy moving furniture from room to room (and some to the garage) to accommodate the new flooring installation. We are going to have a REALLY big cocktail when this is all over.  🙂

 

 

I don't think you should wait that long.

[FauxPas]

I've been remiss, our kitchen was basically finished last week (except for trim). We're pretty happy. We have far better storage and no more lower cabinets that require archaeological digs to find their contents. We used a simple flat IKEA door but I like the ease of cleaning them. 

 

The biggest change we made as we went along was to use vinyl flooring in the kitchen instead of the laminate used in most of the house. Two floor installers/estimators encouraged us to go that way and they had no vested interest (sales are separate). Also, our previous contractor gave us a bit of advice and suggested the same thing. So we went with a simple neutral vinyl in white and greys which matches the laminate pretty well. And we decided to redo the flooring in the bathrooms and the laundry room at the same time with the same vinyl. So, all the flooring in the house is new. 

 

We still have to replace some baseboards and replace the trim around the window and the three pantry units, after which the painter will finish up, but things are mostly done. The whole house is painted, the heat pump and irrigation are done and the landscaping has a good start. Our finishing guy was supposed to be here yesterday but he had to reschedule to Friday. We'll still have things done before the end of the month, so we're good with that. 

 

Here are a few photos. For some reason, the vinyl flooring doesn't look quite true to colour in the photos. 

 

We still have to make a decision on the fridge. 

 

I'm happy with the quartz backsplash at 6" high and the larger area behind the range. It would have been nice to make that even bigger but I didn't want to pay for another slab of quartz and I'm ok with it as it is. 

 

We used a 12" overhang on the peninsula to accommodate a couple of stools. 

 

And we have to buy some new furniture and hang our art! It looks a bit bland right now, but we will add some real colour soon.  🙂