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needsometips08

Our finished DIY kitchen (well over a year later!)

needsometips08
12 years ago

I don't know if anyone remembers me, it's been a long time! Our kitchen has been finished for I think upwards of 2 years now maybe.

I didn't post because well, honestly my kitchen doesn't have the glamour and prestige that most of the kitchens here have, but I am really enjoying it, loving it, and am so glad we did it. What I love:

1. Function, function, function (thanks so much to Gardenwebbers here, especially Rhome410). It's such a joy to work in. I LOVE the layout.

2. It fits the area we live in (the PNW), and it fits our house and our neighborhood, both of which have a traditional feel.

3. I like all the wood, which goes along with the PNW feel.

4. I like that we did it all ourselves.

The only disappointment is the hutch. The cabinet makers used a primitive rendition of the plans I'd drawn up and they had already ate the cost of it twice before and I was just tired of it and ready to move on.

It's not totally done. Small touches need to be finished: chandelier, rugs, window treatment.

We did everything ourselves except the cabinet fabrication and install and the granite. Everything else - and I am talking EVERYTHING, inside and out - if you see it or don't see it, we did it! Thanks to my wonderful family who donated many hours and my grandpa who donated his lifetime of expertise in all things construction!

Old kitchen:

During:

New kitchen (ignore that white dot, it's the camera, not the kitchen):

My only disappointment (should not have been ceiling height):

Repurposed the old kitchen cabinets:

From open, wire, messy unattractive shelving, to:

Comments (35)

  • trailrunner
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    WOW...you guys certainly DO have a great space. I am so impressed with the storage. How perfectly well thought out is appears. The floors are beautiful. Lots of talent in your home for sure.

    I like the hutch all the way to the ceiling. If you hadn't said anything I would never have thought a thing about it but I think it looks fine. You all deserve a round of applause. c

  • ynnej
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It looks fantastic! I especially love the pendant lights over the bar. Amazing how such a small touch can make such a big impact. Well done!

  • ellendi
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My only question to you is why you don't think your kitchen has the "glamour and prestigethat most of the kitchen here have?" It's spectaular!

  • lavender_lass
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love the big window, over the sink! Do you like your prep sink in the island...it looks so handy. I think the hutch looks good, too. Very pretty all around and that range hood looks pretty glamorous to me! :)

  • roarah
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It is lovely!!! Can you give details please! what wood and finish are your cabinets? The room exudes warmth and individuality! Very nicely done!

  • rhome410
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    2 thumbs up. It looks fantastic, you did a great job.

    I'm so glad you're so happy with how the layout works... Really. I don't usually fight someone so hard on their layout, so if you did what I said, I'm happy it turned out to be a good thing. LOL

    I keep forgetting you're 'in the neighborhood'...in the PacNW. I don't remember if you ever said how far you are from me.

    Like Caroline, I wouldn't have questioned the hutch, either. Looking at it, I can see where you might think it looks a little tall, and you may have wanted it the height of the one by the sliding glass door. But it's a nice piece, and very attractive, as is. I think, actually, that it's a good thing not to match the exact height of the other cream hutch. It looks more unfitted this way.

    Your kitchen is not lacking glamour or prestige, and is a great example of ending up with twice the kitchen in the same space as the original. Enjoy!!

  • jalsy6
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I especially love the DIY kitchens (we're in the middle of one). Beautifully done!

  • Mercymygft
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your kitchen turned out sooo lovely!! You have so much storage!! You have nothing to feel timid about in regards to your kitchen remodel. Some here have a million dollar budget, others...not so much. But they are "our" kitchens and when they are finished we love "our" kitchens. 6 years ago I remodeled our kitchen with help from GW and my kitchen is a shoe box next to yours... but I love it all the same. Now we are getting ready to do it again (in another house) and again, it will not be a million dollar reno, but I am excited all the same. So be proud... YOU DID GOOD!!

    How do you like your microwave drawer?

  • needsometips08
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    haha, yes, Rhome, you did fight me and I am SO thankful you did! It's a total joy to have almost everything I need within just a few steps, yet I can have 3 cooks in the kitchen, and we aren't stumbling over each other. The different work zones are just wonderful. Honestly, I wouldn't change a single thing about the layout - it works perfectly.

    We are about an hour outside of Seattle to the SE.

    I do love, love, love the prep sink in the island. It's used all the time.

    The cabinets and floor are both birch and I am happy with it. Birch is a soft wood and it's definately beaten up - there are dents everywhere, but the beauty of it is that you really can't see it. It looks great. Only we know where the dents are.

    Cabinets = Birch by custom cabinet maker with custom finish. The painted pieces are glazed.
    Granite = Golden Beaches
    Floor = Birch hardwood
    Main sink = Ticor with a Moen faucet
    Prep sink = Delta faucet with a sink that I cannot remember the name of. It's the cheap, but recommended one from here. The name is something like 3 letters. And it's just as fabulous as the Ticor.

    As to the glamour, ours just seems so "real life" and simple compared to the ones here that you just want to drink right in and stare at for hours - all the marble and beautiful open beams and crackle-glazed tiles, and creamy cabinets mixed with beautiful wood surfaces and an abundance of textures and beauty. Comparatively, ours isn't a kitchen that would be featured in a magazine. But it is homey, functional, beautiful, comforting, and fits in like if it's what the original kitchen should have been. And it's 5000% better than our last kitchen, and we love it. So it works well for us!

  • bahacca
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beautiful!

  • rhome410
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your kitchen is more 'you' than a lot of magazine kitchens and that makes it better. I think so anyway.

    Funny that we're about an hour from Seattle, but to the SW!

  • blfenton
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What a transformation! and I love the granite - it's gorgeous.The fact that it is 5000% better - that's what counts.

  • needsometips08
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, we are closer than I thought Rhome410!

    Microwave drawer - I do really like it. If I was to do again, I would again choose it.

    Thank you everyone for the kind words.

  • dianalo
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Amen! I think it turned out lovely as well as functional. I love that you reused your old cabs in the laundry room. Win/win.

  • kmmh
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It's lovely! Congrats on your space!

  • onerae
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You did a great job!

  • sandy808
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your kitchen is beautiful. I would be very proud of it if it were mine. And it's WAY better than any "glamorous" kitchens that lack soul.

  • lalithar
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love love the functionality. I love the pull outs with the angle for the top shelves.. So much easier to see what is there. It is Soooo clever. congratulations.. Very inspiring!!

  • chocolatebunny
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You guys did an awesome job! I'm a bit jealous as we don't have a lot of DIYers in our family anymore!

    I love how you put cabinets under the windows. Having the table there didn't make a lot of sense.

    I also love the storage wall where the double oven is. I have a post going on about moving my pantry and I would love to do something like you did.

    Can you take a closer shot of your backsplash and the tile above the range?

  • mpagmom (SW Ohio)
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your kitchen has so much warmth and beauty - I'm so glad you posted it! Who needs glamour and prestige when you have a kitchen like that!?

    Your layout is so similar to the one I'm working on that I have to ask you - where do you put your drinking glasses? Close to the DW? Close to the refrigerator? In between?

    It was a fabulous idea to move the sink to the window. Great job!

  • stannley
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Needsometips.....

    Wonderful job! Thank you for posting - I got some ideas from your pix, and echo the comments of others earlier who encourage that you not consider your reno less glamorous than others posted here regularly. You did a lovely job and I wish you many years of enjoyment in your new space!

  • athomesewing
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That is a beautiful kitchen! I love the warm feeling, those are drool-worthy floors and cabinets! The granite is perfect! And, OMG, that great window letting in so much light - that is wonderful. I love how you repurposed the cabinets into the laundry area - brilliant! I hadn't thought of that, now I will likely borrow your idea.

    Please tell...How wide is your broom closet? It looks just the right size, and I'm not sure if we can pull off enough space to have one, so I'm really thinking how much is necessary. I would love one as nice as yours.

    Also, how has it been without a landing space right next to the oven? I have to decide whether to put a really small one at one side, only 15" or have a more solid look of filled in cabinets. I'm not sure one that size will matter. Thanks for your thoughts on this.

    By the way, I'm another PNWer...about 40 NE of Seattle.

  • lisa_a
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow, what a wonderful transformation! Kudos to rhome for her help in improving your kitchen's lay-out and function. I love your hutch with its dual stacks of drawers to the wood counter. What a great idea (I may steal this). How wide is it?

  • davidro1
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I saw your thread from 2009 in which you referred to a kitchen from 2008.
    http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0723391928876.html

    I did not see a thread in which you laid out the initial thoughts which you later rejected.

    I like that your stove backsplash looks like a whiteboard.

  • rhome410
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Athomesewing, first of all, hi to another neighbor. I'm butting in, since you asked Needsometips...But I don't think 15" will do you much as a landing space, and will probably just gather stuff (it would in my house) or just be frustrating because a lot of baking pans wouldn't fit well. I actually have 4 ft of counter next to my oven and never use it as landing space. Mostly I walk things to my stainless counters next to the rangetop, which is on the adjacent run and across an aisle, or for pizzas, I take them across the aisle to the island. Do you have an area reasonably near the oven, that will be large enough for cooling racks, etc?

  • nini804
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your cabinets are absolutely gorgeous!! What a beautiful, functional kitchen, it is obvious a lot of thought went into it.

  • dilly_ny
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Love the wood tone. Great transformation! Enjoy.

  • athomesewing
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks Rhome, you're right, 15" landing is too small. I do have a decent size island a step away, and another counter on the other side of the isle from the oven. It has been a tough layout, but permit application going in finally on Wednesday.

    Again needsometips08, your kitchen is beautiful and an inspiration to another DIYer.

  • breezygirl
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "But it is homey, functional, beautiful, comforting, and fits in like if it's what the original kitchen should have been.". No buts about it! Be proud of your homey, functional, beautiful, comforting kitchen.

    I like your big window and the hutch. To me, it looks just right. If you hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have noticed.

    I'm in the PNW also, an hour south of Seattle. You have such a great, spacious kitchen that I vote you to host the PNW GW party. ;)

    Thanks for sharing!

  • needsometips08
    Original Author
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh wow, I am so overwhealmed. I had a busy few days so couldn't get on at all, and there are so many responses :-). You guys really made my day!

    It's so neat seeing so many other people from my neck of the woods!

    Jalsya6 - I hope your reno is coming along great. Doing it yourself adds a special element that can't be measured in dollars. It's a labor of love. I see friends (and even friends of friends) donated time in our lighting. I see my grandpa's lifetime of expertise in flooring and the window. I see my brother's love in our archways and our backsplash. And they all imparted knowledge and skills to my husband that he will have forever and is already paying it forward by helping others with their home projects. Not to mention the confidence boost - he feels like he can tackle anything now. Some things just can't be measured in money!

    mpagmom - funny you mention drinking glasses! People who have never been over before always go for the upper next the fridge and find all our coffee stuff and mugs there. The espresso machine is right below that. We put the drinking glasses in the next cabinet over to the right on the other side of the range hood. It's a pivot and 2 steps from the dishwasher - so easy. The mugs are a few steps away but no biggie because with the handles you can carry 5 at time. We find the set up works well though. Again thanks to Rhome during planning for reitering the dire importance of having ALL my dishes close to the dishwasher. Another "best thing I did". Our plates our in a drawer btw, and I love it!

    Athomesewing - I actually fired our first custom cabinet guy (and lost the $1500 deposit) over that window!! We faught for months because he INSISTED that I could not get away with anything larger a 5' window there and have it look okay and have enough storage. Evidently to him storage = wraparound uppers. Yuck. That window is 8' wide and not compromising even one inch on that is another one of the best things I did. We bumped it out like I had seen 2 other folks here do, and I just adore the extra space there.

    My broom closet is 13.5" wide with a 1" filler to the right to allow the door to open. The actual opening of the cabinet is 12", and yes, it's the perfect size!

    I have found it no issue whatsoever to not have any landing space by the stove. I carry the food over to where I will be working with it (for lets say a turkey) or else directly to the kitchen table (for casseroles). I suspect that if you put in countertop there, you may find yourself not using it.

    Lisa_a - the hutch bottom is 51" wide. The 6 drawers are SO useful - coupons, bills, reciepts, batteries, etc each have their own drawer. They are way taller than they need to be though. In the final version-that-was-supposed-to-be they are shrunk down to a few inches tall. The actual drawer inside is very shallow - like 2" high and they were going to build taller drawers up to the height of the drawer front if I used it and found them to be too shallow, but I found they aren't. Feel free to steal whatever you'd like. I can even give you a full spec sheet on this hutch and the shorter version if you'd like. I drew up the plans for all of these cabinets on my own software.

    I included a pic of the outside of the window that we bumped out - the design was grandpa's, the inspiration was from GW, and the work was hubby's and grandpa's. So fun!

    If I didn't mention you by name, thank you so much for your kindness. It really means a lot.

    Chocolate bunny - here's the tile close up:

    closer:

    Outside of window:

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love your kitchen and wish I had someone handy who could help me do mine. I love the floors especially!

  • Luv2Laf
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beautiful kitchen! Love the wood tones you selected. Thanks for sharing, especially the details. I'm going to rearrange my pantry to do cans like you did...brilliant! And, I am green with envy over the cabinet above your ovens - that is awesome!

  • davidro1
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    To me , that's a successful focal point white on white backsplash because it is both discreet and obvious. From far away, it looks at first glance like a whiteboard (white chalkboard). I'm always impressed by things that seem one way and then seem another way later.

    Do you have pictures of the kitchen after sundown? When the pendants shine, combined with recessed ceiling lighting and counter lighting, your kitchen must look good. Perhaps it highlights even more the marble, wood cabs and floor.

  • NewSouthernBelle
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It looks great. I love the granite and all the colors works so well together. But I am so curious, what was the layout issue you fought Rhome on? I tried to look up old threads but you know how finicky searching on GW is and it sounds like it was a long time ago... enlighten me. I am in the layout stage now and don't want to make a mistake I will regret.

  • lynn85
    12 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Just beautiful! Love the color combination's and I too really like the hutch going all the way to the ceiling. Great job on all your hard work!