We have had so many of you asking for pictures of the cleaned up, counter top-sporting kitchen. At long last, here they are! We still have quite a bit of finishing to do in the room, but we are fully operational again and actively cooking, eating, and dish washing in our kitchen. We even hosted a brunch with my friend Victoria, her husband Jamie, and their adorable daughter Zoe on Saturday! In the pictures that follow I'll explain what we've had going on since our last post.
Two weeks ago tomorrow the template maker for Stone Surfaces (where we bought our granite, and we highly recommend them for their professional work, ease of granite picking, and customer service) came by to size out our counter tops. We had never seen this done, so it was neat to see how he just made a template frame for the more "unique" pieces. For the two square/rectangular pieces next to the stove, he just measured. Having the template down really gave us a feel for the big awesome counter top we were going to have!
Even though the counter under the glass cabinets was a rectangle, our house is "off square" enough that he made a template to ensure it lined up with the back wall.
After the template was made it was time to put some of the finishing touches on in preparation for the granite installation. David put cherry plywood on the back and side of peninsula to cover up the unfinished cabinet areas. We had these unfinished areas because we purchased used cabinets, and in the previous kitchen they were against a wall and so these sides weren't exposed. You can also see next to the stove that David built a small half wall so that we could have a more finished edge for our slide in stove.
Granite installation in progress!!! Getting ready to drill the holes for the faucet, soap dispenser, and water filter faucet. We are so pleased with the granite choice we made - we think it works really well with the cabinets and wall color. We'll add more color accents with lighting, the back splash, and other decor items as we finish the kitchen up.
A finished look!! In this picture, the ceiling has been painted, the window and door trim has been painted, the baseboard molding has been painted and installed, we have a sink with a beautiful faucet, the cabinets have been cleaned and partially stocked, and the counter is completely installed! What a difference....
A view of the side wall. We are still working on stocking the glass cabinets with dishes and glasses, and as you can see we haven't found a home for everything yet so the counter top is a bit cluttered. Off to the right next to the doorway we are still debating whether to hang another cabinet or whether to install open cherry shelving.
A view of the stove and fridge. This is good picture to show the various cabinet hardware pieces we were dealing with. The dark handles above the microwave we think were the original handles, which at some point were replaced with the gaudy gold handles by the previous owner. We are in the process updating all of the hardware to a modern brushed nickle that you can see on the center stack of cabinets. Also, it's hard to tell here, but the stove and microwave combo has undergone a very detailed scrubbing... the previous owners left it covered in grease! There is still more to be cleaned up, but its looking much better and we (or at least I) feel much better putting food in it now. As you can see its missing a handle... just a minor mishap during installation :) David ordered a new one last night so we should hopefully have that on before too long.
A detailed view of the sink / dishwasher area. It's so nice to have a dishwasher! We also love the water filter and the new faucet.
We (really David) has come a long way with this project, and everything looks gorgeous. We still have some things left to do, such as:
- clean the excess grout off of the tiles (we missed some while we were laying tile...)
- clean the remaining cabinets so we can put food away and get things off of the counters
- fix the microwave handle and finish cleaning the stove and microwave
- swap out the light/ceiling fan combo for something more modern (and brighter)
- install shelving or a cabinet next to the dining room door
- install shelving in the pantry/laundry room
- put a back splash behind the stove
- install thresholds in the doorways
- stain the cherry plywood
- find barstools
We'll keep you updated on our progress! For more pictures (scroll down to see the new pictures), click here to visit the G+ album:
Two weeks ago tomorrow the template maker for Stone Surfaces (where we bought our granite, and we highly recommend them for their professional work, ease of granite picking, and customer service) came by to size out our counter tops. We had never seen this done, so it was neat to see how he just made a template frame for the more "unique" pieces. For the two square/rectangular pieces next to the stove, he just measured. Having the template down really gave us a feel for the big awesome counter top we were going to have!
Even though the counter under the glass cabinets was a rectangle, our house is "off square" enough that he made a template to ensure it lined up with the back wall.
After the template was made it was time to put some of the finishing touches on in preparation for the granite installation. David put cherry plywood on the back and side of peninsula to cover up the unfinished cabinet areas. We had these unfinished areas because we purchased used cabinets, and in the previous kitchen they were against a wall and so these sides weren't exposed. You can also see next to the stove that David built a small half wall so that we could have a more finished edge for our slide in stove.
Granite installation in progress!!! Getting ready to drill the holes for the faucet, soap dispenser, and water filter faucet. We are so pleased with the granite choice we made - we think it works really well with the cabinets and wall color. We'll add more color accents with lighting, the back splash, and other decor items as we finish the kitchen up.
A finished look!! In this picture, the ceiling has been painted, the window and door trim has been painted, the baseboard molding has been painted and installed, we have a sink with a beautiful faucet, the cabinets have been cleaned and partially stocked, and the counter is completely installed! What a difference....
A view of the side wall. We are still working on stocking the glass cabinets with dishes and glasses, and as you can see we haven't found a home for everything yet so the counter top is a bit cluttered. Off to the right next to the doorway we are still debating whether to hang another cabinet or whether to install open cherry shelving.
A view of the stove and fridge. This is good picture to show the various cabinet hardware pieces we were dealing with. The dark handles above the microwave we think were the original handles, which at some point were replaced with the gaudy gold handles by the previous owner. We are in the process updating all of the hardware to a modern brushed nickle that you can see on the center stack of cabinets. Also, it's hard to tell here, but the stove and microwave combo has undergone a very detailed scrubbing... the previous owners left it covered in grease! There is still more to be cleaned up, but its looking much better and we (or at least I) feel much better putting food in it now. As you can see its missing a handle... just a minor mishap during installation :) David ordered a new one last night so we should hopefully have that on before too long.
A detailed view of the sink / dishwasher area. It's so nice to have a dishwasher! We also love the water filter and the new faucet.
We (really David) has come a long way with this project, and everything looks gorgeous. We still have some things left to do, such as:
- clean the excess grout off of the tiles (we missed some while we were laying tile...)
- clean the remaining cabinets so we can put food away and get things off of the counters
- fix the microwave handle and finish cleaning the stove and microwave
- swap out the light/ceiling fan combo for something more modern (and brighter)
- install shelving or a cabinet next to the dining room door
- install shelving in the pantry/laundry room
- put a back splash behind the stove
- install thresholds in the doorways
- stain the cherry plywood
- find barstools
We'll keep you updated on our progress! For more pictures (scroll down to see the new pictures), click here to visit the G+ album:
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