wonderful progress. great that you can do so much yourself. and the dishwasher really does disappear into the cabinets.

I am in shock and awe. You should be so proud of yourself for your vision of what your kitchen could be and for making that vision a reality! Holy cow.

I agree with you and glad: your black dishwasher does totally disappear. When it's time to replace it (who knows when that might be?) I'd think about remaining with a black one: I think if you had a stainless steel front it might feel a little lopsided on that run. At least from the pictures that's what I'm thinking.

I am terribly impressed!

I think your lighting decision is shown in the pictures. The new ones look so much more alive and warm. I'm not a fan of corian either, but it sure looks good in there. It's hard to describe. It looks authentic somehow with the cabinets.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who cringed when you said you need to de-clutter. My counters look like a thrift store sale rack compared to yours!

Great job.

Wow, what a great improvement. We want to use ceiling tile in the basement for easy access. I would have never thought to use anything other than white... thanks for sharing that. Who did you get them from?

Thanks so much for your kind words. They make my day when I look at the kitchen and get frustrated about so many more things on my to-do list (which progresses very slowly having a toddler and a more-than-full-time job). Especially the concrete stuff is a big job, but I've done quite a few decorative concrete pieces before, and I enjoy that part much more than the painting and laminating.

I thought long and hard about the ceiling tiles. I didn't want to drywall it up because of so many mechanicals in there. I thought of cutting up wilsonart laminate sheets and dropping them in. Armstrong has a very expensive but beautiful bamboo ceiling tile that hides the grid. I thought of covering up the grid with wood trim, but the chrome is growing on me and actually looking like it's on purpose. I just need to find some additional pieces for some areas that are missing. Anyhow, the cheapest solution I could find was to buy the thinnest veneer I could get and contact cement it onto the BACK of the existing tiles and drop them back in. Simple and affordable. With shipping, the material came down to $50 sq ft! But I already had the existing tile in place. The corner cuts can't just be turned upside down, so I need to cut out another substrate or get a thicker bamboo plywood for those. That veneer stuff is great to work with though. Wraps nicely around the edges of the cabinet corners and can be cut with a regular scissor.

Love the changes! Definitely stay with the black dishwasher.

oh, btw, one detail I'm proud of has to do with the pendant lamp over the table: Since I plan to move the table around, the lamp positioning was something I wanted to keep flexible also. I glued a hook onto extra strong magnet disks, and stuck the magnets to the ceiling grid. (visible on the pic 4th from the bottom).
The round metal tray with the utensils, btw is just an IKEA tray that I glued a lazy susan gear underneath.

oops, that was $0.50 pr sq ft! "fifty cents"

Amazing transformation! I had to look twice at the counters before I realized it was the same ones :) Then I read what you said. Cement will look fab, but I have to say I like the way the white looks.

That is a very creative kitchen. It looks fabulous. Great job!

Tell me a little bit more about the bamboo laminate you covered the cabinets with and the method by which you did it. I had a similar idea (with similar materials in mind) but wasn't sure where to source it or how to go about it. Yours looks so fabulous that I'm re-inspired!

sojay, you are truly livin in funkytown :) I LOVE pretty much everything in there, even the before pics, to tell you the truth...you've actually stayed true to the vision of the original kitchen, which was chock full of it from the start. That vent fan cover? Q.E.D. (Same with the lamp over the dining peninsula--original to the house?! Or did you contribute it?)

I love how you've warmed it up; the before kitchen, while exuding cool, looked a bit like a nurses' station, iykwim...the reds and wood tones really bring it to life and give the more clinical lines some dynamic tension. I do agree that you don't need to rush to change the corian, actually--it works so integrally with the look I could well imagine someone *choosing* it for such a space right now. It anchors the white cabinets--are you covering those too?

Will be awaiting more pics. And could you please tell me where you got the rug? I'm looking for something very similar...thanks!

sojay, I think your vision was right on target. The space seems so unified but filled with simple elegance combined with natural elements. Despite not liking the corian, it does add to the space. I particularly like the red accent wall and the use of the bamboo laminate. I agree that removing the clutter from the countertops would help the whole picture and enhance the vision. Great job! Not only do you have excellent design talent but you have personal skills to do much of the work yourself. I'm impressed! Thanks for sharing the progress.

Most kitchens are beautiful and functional. Your kitchen is both of those, as well as artistic. You have a wonderful eye and sense of style. Everything you chose was done with an artists eye. You have done a wonderful job and should be very proud of your work.
Donna

Wow, sojay! That is an absolutely inspired makeover. Your initial conditions were certainly good, which makes the transformation all the more impressive - necessity (shabbiness) being the mother of invention (vision) and all that. The bamboo ceiling tiles has got to be my favorite feature of them all - unique and so wonderfully executed. I like the tiles look with the chrome seam, too. Without it, you'd have a wood panelled ceiling - even if the wood was bamboo - so I LOVE the tiles. I love the 3rd dimension it inserts. Oh hey, I love your hood, too, btw. Is it original? Does it work well? It looks great.

I'm really looking forward to the concrete countertops. The acid-washed pale orange concrete top sounds amazing and I can't wait to see it. I'm rather glad you're getting rid of that 50's-space-age table-top. The idea of a changeable height table top sounds awesome. Bamboo top? Or concrete? Surely not! on the latter?!

Anyhow, I'm impressed as the dickens. Finish the concrete counters quickly! Dying to see 'em in here.

Thanks again!

live_wire_oak, I used plyboo.

(BVN-4896VA amber edge grain veneer 0.6mm x 48' x 96')
and an iron-on glue that someone recommended over in the woodworking forum. Contact cement is too difficult to get just right. The iron on one is very forgiving. The only difficult part is to trim the edge across the grain. I'll look for the brand of glue.
The method: brush/roll on the glue on both the veneer and the door, let dry, position (you can glide it around), then iron to activate the adhesive. Then trim and sand, then polyurethane. This way the old holes would be covered also. For the ceiling panels I just used regular cheap contact cement and I didn't bother to poly those.

flyleft, The rug is Moroccan. Atlas region. They are reasonably easy to find, but I brought a couple home in an airplane many years ago. BTW, the cabs were all grey formica, I wanted to break it up and painted some white, some black, and laminated some. Painting the formica was a bit time consuming to get just right, I'll be happy to share my techniques if anyone else is attempting the same thing. I got some help over in the painting forum for that.
The lamp, I put in. It's an old vintage classic that I agree works perfectly.

In terms of the layout, with the cooktop on the opposite side of the island from the only sink was something I didn't like in the beginning, but now I appreciate it. Gives me more work space and makes it easy for 4-5 cooks at the same time.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.plyboo.com/veneer.html

You know, with the way you took us through the changes a little bit at a time, I liked the transformation, but didn't see it as a big one. Then, I scrolled back up to your very first picture and said, "Wow!" (I said it loud enough that my husband had to ask.) You really kept the original style intact but made it so much better and more alive. The bamboo ceiling tile idea was a stroke of genius. Well done!

mindstorm, I'm still contemplating the material of the countertop. I'm worried concrete will be so heavy that 2 people will be needed to adjust the height. Maybe solid bamboo plywood.

Love it, Love it, how absolutely refreshing to see some contemporary design.

What a great job! Just a quick question-what don't you like about the corian? I think it looks great. What I always liked about corian was how "quiet" it was, visually. And I found it so easy to take care of- a swipe of Chlorox Kleenup and all was white again, plus I knew there was no bacteria!

Wow! What an amazing transformation! I also really like the ceiling tiles - the bamboo against the chrome grid is perfect for the space. You definitely have a gift.

FWIW, I like the white countertop - it's a nice transition from the lower black cabinets to the white uppers. I can see why you might not like the rounded edges (don't know anything about Corian except my sister has it and likes it) of the counter. Also I can see why you may want to change the countertop color of the island - the white against the bamboo is a bit too jarring.

I love how you lined up the handles for the drawers with the cabinet doors. The handles set a nice rhythm to the space.

Well, 30+ year old white corian has taken a beating. It's cracked at the cooktop and the integral corian sink is a pain to clean. Scratches over time in the main work surface makes it very hard to just wipe off. I'll probably keep it elsewhere than the island and sink area, as it has kept up fine there.

jy_md, what spurred this thread was another thread about horizontal handles. It was a bit of a headache to figure out. But putting two handles on the drawer solved the problem of lining up a handle for the double width drawer over two cabinets.

BTW, I think the hood is home made. Same material that is supporting the table. Works fine. I was contemplating covering it with adhesive stainless steel sheets, but maybe I'll leave it as is till I replace it with something less clunky.

Again, thanks for your kind words! It's very satisfactory to finally be able to show it, even though it's far from finished. I can't wait till the sink area gets completed.

The best part of the whole project is the modest budget. (Except if you calculate the time I spent on researching things. My gardenweb lurking time has been substantial...)

sojay, thanks for the id on the rug. That's the look I've been looking for for a particular place, but I didn't know what it was--excellent to know what to search for now.

And if you feel like sharing painting formica, it would be much appreciated (unless you think that maybe we should just go check the paint forum because it's all over there--don't want to make you duplicate effort). How is it holding up? Can you scrape the paint off or is it somehow bonded?

And you can have corian resurfaced at not much expense, bring up a completely new surface. It will be like a new countertop for a fraction of the cost. I bet even the cracking could be fixed. Any corian fabricator also does resurfaces; just call around. I'd say it's definitely worth it for the parts you're keeping, and most probably worth it for the parts you're not just so you can not have the stress of scratches, etc., while you're waiting on the concrete.

I'll put in another vote for keeping a lot of it--and the edges are actually incredibly smart and unusual-modern, rather than average-modern. Anyone can do squared off everything; working in curves as beautifully as the original owner did is an advanced move with a higher degree of dificulty, and it was executed beautifully :)

(Whereabouts [in general] do you live, btw? I'd love to know what part of the country gave birth to that gorgeous kitchen/rest of the house...and btw, if you are inclined, if there are any other fabulous parts of the house you'd want to share...)

And one more thing: I even like the window treatments in the next room. We found some draperies very like that (a graphic tapestry--at least that's what they look like from here) at Goodwill, of all places--they're Japanese in origin, with Japanese tags. Just one pair, though, but we have only one window in a particular room we needed them for. Hardly ever works out like that :) Where are those from?

(last note: I actually did have a moment of shock when you gleefully said the price came down to $50/sf on the veneer...)

This house is in an area where modern houses are very unusual - rural area near a small university town in the deep south. If you want to know more, email me offline. I love the house, the outside is very original too. We bought it from the builder who has mostly (if not only) done commercial design. Terracotta stucco with blue/grey metal roof and trim, 1/3 of the house has a flat roof, architecturally a mix of influences from south western style, art moderne, bauhouse, AND south east coastal style with varying pitches of metal roof.

re draperies: those must be on the pics from the previous owner. I don't have curtains on a single window.

I'll look into resurfacing for the corian! Thank you for that advice!

re painting, I wish I had heard of Cabinet Coat - the paint forum has a lot about it. I used a zinsser waterbased primer and BM enamel with Floetrol added to slow down the drying to make it easier to work with. After sanding the doors, rolled it on and with light brush strokes gently pulled the brush down in straight lines. Sanded it and added 3 more layers with sanding between each layer. BTW, even with the extra work of taking the doors off the cabs, working on a flat surface is much easier. It's holding up fine so far.

Wow, that is amazing! You have such vision. Everything works so well together. You should be so proud of yourself. You must get goosebumps everytime you walk in. I love the light fixture.

You are such an inspiration.

Umm, sojay, I just needed to clarify my previous post coz I re-read it in the course of re-inspecting your gorgeous xformation. When I spoke of necessity/shabbiness being the mom to invention, I actually meant that whereas most other remodels are inspired by the fact that the original is shoddy, shabby or otherwise dodgy, your original space was not any of those. That makes the vision you had that much more impressive. Upon reviewing my post it seemed even to myself like I was saying that your original was shabby and I was quite horrified - not only to have said such a thing but also because it would have been patently untrue.

Anyhow, I was just showing off your work to some friends.

Way cool!!!!

Wow! Great transformation - Congrats on a job well done!

I really like the way the black DW disappears into the cabinet line also.

I am not sure about the yellow/gold counter with the island wood veneer. I would do it on the black perimeter cabinets in a heartbeat but worry the color won't work well on the island. Are you opposed to using something different on the island? What are you making the table top out of?

Again, great job! Can't wait to see the rest!

I know you want the upper cabs to disappear. I would probably try to tie them together by painting the 3" molding, or reveal that is above the upper cab doors-the dark brown of your lower cabs...well, maybe. Anyway, it's great just the way it is.

I'm curious about the new table legs that are adjustable. I need something like that for a section in my kitchen.

alexr, sorry I didn't get back to you about the table legs. I can't seem to find a pic of the model I got, but it's similar to this, but with a T-shape instead of an X:
{{gwi:1992390}}

I'll keep your suggestions in mind. Mindstorm, no offense taken. I personally think it was rather shoddy before.

I agree the counter top color is questionable, but I'll try it for the sink area. I've built my concrete mold over the holiday break and am ready to do the pour any day now. I just need to borrow some muscles.

Absolutely great job!!! It looks fantastic and I like the way you've warmed some of the contemporary elements with the bamboo. I agree with Al1ison, I'm not sure about that countertop color with the bamboo. It might detract from the bamboo and look like you were trying to match something to it?

In any event, fabulous job. You do have great vision.

Hi Sojay,

I have some questions about the veneering. I love the bamboo! I looked into ordering it espectially when you mentioned the 50 cents per square foot, maybe I didn't quite read that right. I checked into it and the 4x8' sheets are $58 each with a minumum order of 10 sheets (so would be $1.81 psf before shipping but that's a lot of material!). The 1x8' rolls are $17 and have no mimimum order so would be $2.13 psf before shipping. Did I misunderstand? Also I have tried doing a search for the iron-version contact cement and couldn't find it, can you post the name of that? Do you have any other tips about using this stuff?

Thanks!

I also thought that was pretty cheap for bamboo veneer. At Oakwood it starts at $5.50 per SF. I have seen the glue sheets to iron on veneer, but forgot where. I thought it was at Oakwood, but I don't see it on their website.

Here is a link that might be useful: Oakwood Veneer - bamboo

Here's a place that sells the glue sheets. Look for "hot melt glue sheets". You'll probably find more.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hot Melt Glue Sheet

I just wanted to say I'm glad this thread popped back up -- it really is a remarkable and gorgeous transformation!