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jrueter_gw

My sunny, white kitchen is FINALLY finished!

jrueter
13 years ago

Thank you so much to all the GW'ers who selflessly (and usually unknowingly as I lurked) shared their time, talent and support to my efforts to remodel my kitchen. Although I wish I had found GW earlier in the process, I am incredibly thankful for all the help I was able to get here before it was too late.

Lessons learned (the hard way, but confirmed here)

1. Budget extra for the unknown. Then budget some more.

2. Nothing will go as planned. OK, a few things will, but you will forget all about them while worrying about the ones that don't.

3. Pick a few things that are must haves and compromise on other things as needed. If you get your must haves, you won't notice what you compromised on as much.

4. Speak up early with your concerns. Spend as much time as you can planning every detail, but keep in mind things will almost certainly change (haha!)

5. Double check every order you or your contractors place.

6. Drawers rock. I did more drawers than my GC had ever done in a kitchen and wish I had done more. One big cabinet for appliances is plenty.

7. Last, but not least: this is a kitchen, which can be a wonderful expression of creativity, love and caring in a happy home, but is still just a kitchen nonetheless. All the stress of renovation will eventually be over no matter what it feels like now, so keep your priorities in tact.

Favorite Things:

1. My granite. I am in love. Still, always, sigh.

2. That we can all be in the kitchen together without being in each others way

3. That we can unload the dishwasher directly into drawers/cabinets; before we had to put everything on the counter, then put away because of the layout.

4. Ice and water through the fridge door. We go through a lot here in SoCal.

5. Functional storage space for everything, even the garbage!

6. Pulldown faucet is so handy and makes DH enjoy doing dishes!

7. Undercab lighting is gorgeous, especially at night.

Details:

Hertco Vogue cabinets in antique white painted finish and undercabinet lighting

Marron Cohiba granite in leathered finish (love it!!)

New Milgard energy efficient windows

Tilecrest Montecito bisque crackle subways tile backsplash with Sonoma custom blend 1x1 mosaic behind range

Dunn-Edwards "Gourmet Honey" paint

Kohler Hawthorne farmhouse sink

Delta Leland pulldown faucet in SS (CA low lead, of course!)

Top Knobs Dakota pulls, handles and knobs in oil-rubbed bronze

Samsung counter-depth French door fridge

Sharp Convection microwave (aka stealth second oven)

Kitchenaid convection range

(existing Fridgidaire DW- the only thing to stay, because the old one died last summer)

Pergo Elegant Expressions handscraped Kingwood flooring (indestructible and easy on the budget)

All new fluorescent can lights to replace dropped ceiling and ugly light box

Pottery Barn Porter pendants over island

lots of drawers (could have done more)

magic corner unit in blind corner

pullout next to sink for trash and recycling

pullout for oils/spices next to range

full height pantry with ROS on lower half and shelves, vertical storage for cookie sheets above

Comments (25)

  • jrueter
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    oops, forgot the link!

    starpooh, I am working on the FKB list for you! Thank you so much for doing the FKB - it is an amazing resource and I used it a lot!

    Here is a link that might be useful: my sunny, white kitchen

  • palimpsest
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It looks great.

  • flwrs_n_co
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your kitchen is wonderful--so bright and airy! I'm amazed your floors are Pergo--I thought they were handscraped wood! I'm going to have to check out the new lines of Pergo! I love your pendants and wall color, too! I'd love to see your blind corner cab since I'm trying to figure out what I should use in my 2 corners. How did you do your pantry? Please post more pics and be sure to get your kitchen in the Finished Kitchen Blog!

    Thanks so much for sharing! Wishing you many years of culinary pleasures in your new, beautiful kitchen!

  • flwrs_n_co
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I guess I was posting when you were providing the link to your pics--thanks so much for all the great ideas!

  • sabjimata
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Looks like home! Congrats.

  • donnakay2009
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It looks so inviting! Great choices in all your materials. Fun, huh?

  • stevie_2010
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Really lovely! I especially like the backsplash, any chance we could get a close up?

  • gsciencechick
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Looks great! I love the creaminess of the crackle subways and the color flecks in the granite. Also envious of the corner cabinets!

  • rookie_2010
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It's beautiful, so bright and airy, just as I would expect a Southern CA kitchen to be. Congrats and Enjoy!

  • firstmmo
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think you totally achieved what you were hoping for--a warm, welcoming, inviting, bright kitchen that looks amazing yet is completely functional. It's beautiful and shows the hard work you put into it! I am a huge fan of white kitchens, so am totally biased--I LOVE your kitchen :)

  • bostonpam
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What a great transformation! It's sooo much better. I love your granite - a big change from that tile. The kitchen is much brighter - congrats.

  • nikit
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Absolutely gorgeous! Well thought out selections too. What range hood did you choose? Thanks so much!

  • vampiressrn
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Congratulations. It looks so comfortable and functional...I LUV WHITE!!!

  • ciana
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beautiful kitchen, so nice and bright! That granite is gorgeous. Makes me wish I'd known about it before we picked out ours. Enjoy!

  • jrueter
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you, everyone for your kind words. We do love it - just what we wanted.

    flwrs - the pantry (which is located by the opening to the dining room) is full height. The lower half has four roll out shelves. The upper right section has the cookie sheet storage, and booze above (its gotta go somewhere, right?). The upper left section has shelves with cleaning supplies and bulky items and things I got lots of on sale ;-) I will post a picture, but it is a hard angle to get.

    donnakay - yup, it was fun to do, and more fun now that it is done and we can enjoy it. Baked 5 batches of cookies yesterday to take to the USO today!

    stevie - here is the backsplash. Glad you like it too. I fell in love with a sample board with the mosaic and went from there. The colors from Sonoma Stone are Luna, Martinique and Grey Flannel. We used Grey Flannel 1x2 for the border.

    rookie - I am glad you think it fits SoCal. I am a transplant from the northeast and would be totally at home in a shaker/soapstone kitchen, but was worried about it not fitting the neighborhood, the rest of the house, etc. I love what we did, but it is a bit of a departure from the predominantly Tuscan vibe here, LOL!

    nikit - the hood is Imperial wall mount WH1900, recommended by the guy at the appliance store. One thing that I didn't obsess over. He was so knowledgeable about other appliances I had researched I decided to go with his recommendation.

  • formerlyflorantha
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    A really practical, livable space, even if it's white! :-)

    Can you tell us about the glass in the upper cupboards? Is there a name for the pattern?

  • cardamon
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your kitchen just looks happy!! I love it and the choices you made are beautiful. All the best for you and yours in that great kitchen. I'm thinking about your bisque crackle subways and it is so nice to see pics. Thanks for showing.

  • chris45ny
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Congratulations on a job well done!!

  • marcy96
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It's beautiful! Congratulations! I love your granite, backsplash, floors and the overall layout of your kitchen. It looks like such a nice, bright space to work in. Enjoy!

  • julie94062
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Love it! Too many things to list. I just want to come over for a cup of coffee...very inviting space! And thanks for the "lessons learned"...so true!

  • flwrs_n_co
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks so much for sharing pics of your pantry. I looks very functional and easy to find recipe ingredients. It's given me ideas that might be more economical than the big pantry pull-out units. Thanks again!

  • rjr220
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    jreuter;

    What a beautiful finished kitchen -- I loved the "lightning bolts" thru the granite the first time you showed us, and wow, the finished product really is fabulous. What a great ending! Bon Appetit!

  • jsweenc
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    jrueter, you WOULD post the first time I don't check in with GW for more than a day! Doing the happy dance that you have finally gotten to post your finished kitchen. I feel right at home looking at it!

    So glad your duct finally arrived!

    You know I love your granite also ; ) and everything just fits perfectly with it. I love the splashes of color you added... it looks like a lived-in kitchen full of love, not a museum or showplace just for a perfectionist! (Love the horse calendar too!) Congratulations!

    [Now that you've posted yours, I can post mine!]

  • jrueter
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    florantha, glad you like it, even if it is white! I do like color and would have done some bright yellow in the backsplash if I could have gotten DH on board, but I also like to change things around, so kept it neutral knowing I can swap out bright accessories to suit my mood. The glass in the cabinets was called "seeded" - lots of random little bubbles. Very subtle and a little old-fashioned. You can see in the cabinets, but it blurs the contents just enough.

    flwrs - the ROS in the pantry are great - they do make it much easier to find. Even my 10-yr old DS was impressed with the new organization! Hope to see yours soon!

    jsweenc - it was bound to happen that way! The duct cover came late last week, so here we are. I will say 100% done, although I still need to figure out some drawer organizers for a couple of drawers... (And I can't wait to see yours. You were just waiting on me, huh?)

  • shelayne
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Very bright and spacious! Everything looks so great together. All your elements tie together so well. I love your seeded glass cabinets!

    Thanks for posting pics of your beautiful space & congrats!