We converted our 1825 house back into a single family. I see us as caretakers and want to respect the house. It will still be here long past we're gone. We spent a lot of money on things that you can't see - like all new plumbing (some of it was from the 1860's or earlier), all new wiring (most was installed when it was invented plus the whole house had ONLY 2 light switches), upgrading to 400A service, structural support in the basement, and new HVAC. We moved the main staircase, gutted all the baths, added a half bath and mudroom, bumped out the kitchen 7' plus a few other things. We were lucky since we had a working kitchen while the new kitchen on the 1st floor was being installed. We added a pool plus a home automation system.

We're a family of 4 but entertain a lot - normally twice a week for 8 - 15 people. We coach robotics plus other sports and do theater so I'm cooking for 15 - 30 a few times a month additionally. We have families stay with us for a week many times a year. For example Thanksgiving week will have 7 - 10 additional people (3 different families) staying for 5-7 days and dinner for 12 - 30 every night. We have fundraisers here including chef demonstrations. Our kitchen is a work horse. We love it!

Details
Granite - typhoon Bordeaux
Range - Blue Star 48"
Refrigerator - Samsung RFG297
2 DW - Kitchenaid
2 microwaves - 1 new small cheap one for the "sandwich" area and a 20+ year old Amana that just won't die
Farm house sink - Rohl RC3018
Prep sink - Franke ARX11014
2 Insinkerator excel evolution garbage disposal
2 airswitches; 2 Tapmasters
Undercounter refrigerator - Kitchen Aid Architect Series II
Main sink faucet - Vinnata K-690 chrome
Prepsink faucet - Vinnata K-691 chrome
Potfiller - Rohl U.4799LS
Fan - Prestige 54"; Blower - Prestige RB00 1600 CFM
Cabinets - Cabico in cherry
Chandeliers - Savoy house Oxford
Undercounter lights - Kichler Xenon
Above cabinet lights - rope lights from HD
Pantry lights - school house fixture from Rejuvenation
Bell Jar light - Pottery Barn knock off from Overstock
Hardware - Restoration Hardware - Aubrey knobs and Gilmore pulls in oil rubbed bronze

What I love:
> Island - huge expanse where everyone in the family can help prepare dinner. I do all my prep on the island
> Tapmaster - DS has food allergies so I was my hands 6+ times when making meals; DH wasn't too keen especially with the price but now he wants to add it to the bathroom sinks!
> 2 DW - gotta have it with all the cooking and entertaining
> Blue Star Range - love the 22K BTUs and the 2 ovens
> Runnels

What I hate:
> My Pella back door is a triple lock and a real PAIN to lock. We didn-t know how to lock it for 8 months (and didn-t realize our back door was unlocked)
> I got a spice rack in an upper cabinet - their shelves cannot be changed. I would take it out but the interior shelves were cut to accommodate the spice rack. I do have a lower pull out between the frig and microwave

What I would do differently next time:
> I pulled out my main sink cabinets 2". I should have made my uppers 3" deeper
> Another runnel or two and closer together and maybe 3" longer; each runnel cost $150
> My cherry cabinets are soft (I had maple before). I have so many dings, scratches and dents already (20+). Maybe I would use a different wood next time.

I want to thank everyone here for all their help and guidance. I picked my architect because he had a lot of experience designing kitchens. He gave me an uninspiring design. The day before I ordered the cabinets I finally had the guts to post here and I got a much better functioning kitchen. I love the huge expanse of the island across from the range! So thank you all!

Before pictures are during our house inspection when we bought the house. After is the same view.

Kitchen outside wall is where the cabinets end. We bumped out 7' to the right.

This is the "sandwich" area. With food allergies home made school lunches are a must. I keep things like bread, snacks, etc. here and it's a step away from the frig. We also have a charging station for the phones and the 2nd microwave.

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Our 2 dishwashers are flanking the sink. DS (14) and DD (11) each have their own. I told them how lucky they are - most kids their age don't have their own dishwasher. They are in charge of unloading their DW. I'm still training them in filling it but it's going well. Across the aisle in the island is the dish drawer. All our plates, bowls, etc. fit here in the middle drawer. The bottom drawer is for the plastic plates, bowls, cups for younger kids. We love this set up.

The kitchen was part of the clapboard addition between 1840-1860. The main house is brick. Originally I was going to repaint the brick wall but so many people love it. For now, I'm keeping it unpainted but will seal it. It has milk, lead, oil and latex paint on it. One area was blocked by a radiator (I figure around 1890's or so). The round vent for the old stove can be seen in the brick. Behind the sink I kept the brick from the old stove. I was planning on keeping the brick on the floor too in this area but one of the workers got carried away and ripped it up. The kitchen ceiling was lower (that's why there's no paint on the upper portion of the brick). There was an old floor that there. Our guess - in 1914 when they converted the house in a two family they raised the floor on the 2nd floor and additional foot so it would be level walking from one room to another. We took out the old floor (old growth pine painted from 1840-1860) and will try to work it in the banquette (table or bench).

Here is the never dieing microwave. The TV at the end of the run also can be switched to a computer and is on our network. It's on a swivel and can be pulled out. DH got me a keyboard and mouse that can be washed in the DW. I now can pull up recipes or look up something on the web while my hands are a mess.

This niche will be the future built in cabinet. It's not too deep so it will be mostly wine glasses. We love doing blind wine tastings and need 4 - 6 glasses per person.

Behind the range wall is the unfinished pantry. Just some cheap shelves were thrown in. In the future the back wall will have deep cabinets with glass doors and the side wall on the right will have shelves with sliding glass doors in front of them. With cats we can't have open shelves.

The kitchen was part of the clapboard addition between 1840-1860. The main house is brick. Originally I was going to repaint the brick wall but so many people love it. For now, I'm keeping it unpainted but will seal it. It has milk, lead, oil and latex paint on it. One area was blocked by a radiator (I figure around 1890's or so). The round vent for the old stove can be seen in the brick. Behind the sink I kept the brick from the old stove. I was planning on keeping the brick on the floor too in this area but one of the workers got carried away and ripped it up. The kitchen ceiling was lower (that's why there's no paint on the upper portion of the brick). There was an old floor that there. Our guess - in 1914 when they converted the house in a two family they raised the floor on the 2nd floor and additional foot so it would be level walking from one room to another. We took out the old floor (old growth pine painted from 1840-1860) and will try to work it in the banquette (table or bench).

Your Samsung fridge is just what I wanted when I got mine - they only had Stainless Steel at the time. I have tried every trick in the book in keeping the fronts not 'runny' looking. I have to have bone-dry hands to never leave a mark. It's not just the water marks, it's others who open/close who don't use just the handle. *sigh* I do love the fridge, though. It's a real life saver for my back.

I have 2 upright freezers one of which will be in the kitchen in our new house. We plotted, planned, moved stuff but I have no choice but to put one of the freezers in my kitchen. I'm going to have the fridge at one end of the L and the freezer at the other end of the L. Oh, well. My kitchen freezer is a workhorse & function beats form on this one. The other freezer is in our entry - it will be in our pantry in the house.

Paint - can you tell me the color? Love it!

Do you have more plans for the exposed brick? Love that part, too!

Congratulations on a job very well done!

Great job transforming that space!

Such a beautiful and warm kitchen. My dh is in Boston right now...can he come over?

Bee

I'm keeping the brick as is for now. After we finish the other tasks in phase one I will revisit the brick wall. It's growing on me.

Bee - What a great memory. I was furious at he guy who chiseled out the brick and in tears at the time. The brick in a small part of the kitchen would have made the floor uneven in front of the sink and it stopped partly in front of the DW on the right. It is in the main travel path and would have probably been a tripping feature. I'm fine with it gone now. After that my contractor would not throw out a thing without my approval (painfully pulling old wallpaper off before demoing a wall - some wallpaper original from 1825, saving all trim, floor boards, etc. - everything except plaster). He wasn't allowed to throw out the old square nails. He left the old wood in a pile and I pulled out all the old nails. I will make some type of sculpture/art out of it. It was good I was around - they would come and get me before throwing items in the dumpster.

a2gemini - I will find the tile info tomorrow (packed away while we're finishing the office) but the info I have on my computer is it's "biscuit" - a light cream (white was too stark) and it cost $3.65/sq ft. It's from a big manufacturer - maybe Daltile. I lived with a few tiles on my counter for a week before deciding on one. I wanted to see them in all different lights and it took a week before the sun would come out that spring LOL

Hawthorne Yellow comes up again.
What a lovely color.
That's all I can say because I'm going back to revel in the changes again.

How beautiful and what character.
You're a creative, lucky person!

The two Tapmasters made me chuckle. I only have one, and its on the prep sink. I felt like a dork last week standing at the cleanup sink with my foot pushing at the pedal wondering why my faucet wouldn't turn on. Took me a good 10 seconds to figure it out. Fori joked with me that I'd be kicking the bathroom vanity soon. Sadly, she was correct. Last night I stood at the vanity washing my face fishing around with my foot for the pedal. Double dork! Put one on your vanity!

You've done a great job! Lots of work, stress, and decisions behind you. Enjoy your new kitchen. Btw, that before kitchen was pretty awful....

Cindy - office is almost done (maybe pictures in a week) and now I'm trying to pick the colors for the billiard room and DR. Jumped on a great price for a pool table on CL just before XMAS. Originally thought that was going to be the last room finished but DH now wants it done sooner. Boxerpup's Jesse is coming today to help me with another project on a fireplace. Ran out of money long time ago so almost everything is DIY. It never ends...

Re runnels: did you mean the each runnel was $150, or $150 per side? Can you give details about the length, width, separation and change of depth in each runnel? I want them, but $150 each would put them out reach for me. Can't imagine why they are so expensive unless the cost reflects the risk of destroying a good slab from time to time while cutting them.

I, too, live in a mid-19th c house and feel a strong sense of caretaking about it which trumps all else. You have done a good job there - and I know how hard it can be.

L.

tile - 3 x 6 subway American Olean in Bisquit. Every time ANYONE came into the house I would ask them what tile they liked and why and kept a running report for over a week. People thought I was nuts. Not one tile won in all lighting conditions (night, sunny, overcast, afternoon, etc.) but overall the American Olean came out the winner. I lucked out since it was reasonably inexpensive.

The tile is a very very light cream. I don't think it looks yellow-y. When you look at it quick I see a soft white - no yellow. If you look longer you see cream. I brought over 20 tiles home to find the right one. White tile was just too stark for me.

Legallin - wireless washable keyboard and mouse is from sealshield and you can supposedly buy from Best Buy, Walmart, etc. My DH found it - he's a software engineer and does his research. I have not sent it thru the DW yet.

kmmh - I really wanted Crown Point cabinets but couldn't afford the price. I got a great product with Cabico. My contractor thought I paid a lot more for the cabinets than I did - he loved how well they are made. He was very impressed with them. (Cabico is semi-custom cabinet manufacturer out of Quebec) My disappointment is how soft the cherry is. I never had cherry. I have many scratches, dents and dings. I was not expecting this much. I had maple before which is much harder. This kitchen gets a real hard work out and I have very young nephews here a lot. My kids cook a lot too starting at age 8 and don't necessarily respect things as I would.

willtv - I love my bluestar. My kids are having a tough time adjusting though. They keep following the food directions and I keep reminding them not to use the called out strength of the flame - especially on the 22K burners. They keep having to scrape food from the bottom of the pan. Eventually they will learn. I've been burning up wood spoons too. Because of food allergies and cross contamination I sometimes leave a wood spoon draped across a pan. The high flame/heat output can char a spoon. I'm on my 3rd set in 2 years LOL. I also LOVE my fan. For 1600 cfm - it's unbelievably quiet - less noise than my old recirculating fan. I was a bit worried with the talk of make up air and air pressure. Recently I had a free home energy audit and they measured the air pressure drop with all the fans going on at once. My HVAC systems are closed so it shouldn't be a concern. There was a small drop but not much. Of course with an old house it's not airtight.

liriondendron - my fabricator charged $150 for EACH runnel for a total of $750. Quotes from mutliple fabricators ranged from $250 to $1300. some charged per runnel, others for the entire job. There was a $4K price difference from the low end to the high end from the fabricators for my job using the same 2 slabs. I was out of the country so DH made the decision on who to use. Not my choice but I accepted it and they did an OK job. I have no seams so I wasn't as worried.

My runnels are 15" long and 1/2" wide. Measuring across the 5 runnels is 8.5". Next time I would add another runnel and make them a little longer. It's hard to measure but it looks like it's 1/8" deep at the sink and it's a gradual slope.

The kitchen is wonderful -- and I also like that you have a white fridge in there. I have given up on my stainless fridge. When we do the remodel, it will be banished to the mudroom and I plan on getting a white counterdepth.

I have a completely random question. Your doorknob we see a glimpse of in one of the bottom photos, is it antique pewter? Who makes them and what's the finish? I'm asking because when I told our lighting girl my plan to paint our interior doors charcoal or black, she said there's antique pewter hardware that would look really good and not disappear like ORB or black would and not be so stark like silver. Yours looks muted like I imagine that would be.

Nice, nice, nice! I'd say "Enjoy," but it sounds like you really know how and are well underway!

And THANKS for the link to the washable keyboard and mouse. They may find their way into my house down the road!

babs711 - I had to really search for the HW answer (and I'm still doing it). The bathroom door knob is a Schlage knobset - I think in antique pewter (great guess). They have a lot of different finishes (15). For my mudroom I used Baldwin door knobs from capecod brass. Baldwin also comes in a lot of finishes but a bit pricey - capecodbrass.com

I don't know if you had intended originally to keep the brick but it looks like all your materials were picked to incorporate the brick. Wonderful kitchen to treasure for years to come!

If you have time can you tell me the distance countertop to countertop from your prep sink to your range counter. TIA

Now I LOVE my short distance to the range. It's a turn and pivot. I'm NOT a small woman and many times there's 3 or 4 people helping out with another person on the range side of the island. It's not a problem for us. Sometimes with guests there's a jam on the other side of the island with people milling about but it still works for us. If I had all the space in the world I would still keep the tight aisle between the range and the island but widen the aisle on the other side. I use 4 to 6 burners at once most nights and the turn and pivot is key for me.

In my old farm house my husband I painfully chiseled the plaster off of the chimney in an upstairs bedroom to expose it's character. It had already been done in the lower level in the dining room, but if it hadn't we would have done that project too... it adds so much character, life, and warmth to the space. I encourage you to leave it as it is... put a transparent layer of protection on if you are worried about the lead paint in the kitchen, but otherwise... let it shine :)

Natebear - another GWer gave me the website for the canisters from chefscatalog.com See link below. Now I have to figure out a way to store my tomatoes. Right now they're on the counter.

suziqzer - I would love to see your pictures of the fireplaces and the mantels you used. Another room had a wall covering the fireplace. When the contractors were here we had them take the wall down. That brick was never suppose to be exposed but we will probably keep it as is. We may have to clean it up more. Not as pretty and "clean" as other brick walls. I have to figure out a mantel. All the other fireplaces on the 1st floor are marble or another stone (possibly slate - trying to figure that one out since it's painted and I will eventually strip it). I think the stone mantels in our house give a more formal presence and this FP does not have it.

dallen11 - tapmaster and soap dispensers really help a lot in the kitchen with food allergies. I can easily wash my hands 10 times while preparing dinner. We're always worried about cross contamination. I have 8+ cutting boards so I never run out plus plenty of knives.

Your kitchen renovation project looks great! Are you still experiencing issues with your Pella back door with the triple lock? I'd like to put you in touch with our Customer Support Specialists to see if they can help with that. Please call our Customer Support Specialists at 1-800-374-4758 or e-mail at pellawebsupport@pella.com. If you e-mail, please include your full name, contact information, your concerns and purchase location, if known, and photos of the door in your home in the e-mail. We look forward to hearing from you. Good luck finishing your renovations!

Sincerely,

Hillary B., Pella Community Manager