Cabinets Have Been Ordered!

I'm so excited!  I ordered my cabinets today!  The sale ends Friday so I needed to get the installation estimate and get them ordered! 

I go back to Lowe's to review their estimate for doing the total kitchen on Friday.  At least I've started moving!

Final (?) Cabinet Plans

Well, this is the third time I've tried to do get this down.  Let's see if it works this time. 

It's been hard getting back into the "real" world and work!  I received my sample door earlier this week and I LOVE it!  It the picture it looks like a much darker yellow/gold than it is.  It's a soft, light, buttery yellow. 

It got me moving and I made an appointment with Kathie Arden at Lowe's in South San Francisco.  She has been wonderful to work with.

Here is where I seem to get stuck each time - loading the plan & cabinet pictures into the blog.  Keep your fingers crossed! This is what the new plan looks like:

Note to self - you can't load pictures from IE - use Safari!

Now here are the updated views of the cabinets.  The major changes are on the sink; I switched from an apron front sink to a regular sink.   I've also changed the hutch wall so that it will have a counter top.  This will be the place where the microwave and toaster oven will be.  That will keep them out of the way.

Note the shelves in the top center cabinets.  I added some seeded glass. 

I'm so glad I went in today.  There are several great sales going on.  From the cabinet maker - I get the sink cabinet for free as well as the lazy susan trash/recycle center.  The delivery is also free - that's close to $1000 off!  Lowe's then has a special based on the dollar amount so that's $1,300 off!  All of these are available until February 1st.  Oh - and if I finance through them, them I get a 10% cash back via a pre-paid Visa card.

Of course, I haven't heard from the insurance company.  Since the specials end soon, I need to get moving with or without the insurance company.  I've asked Lowe's to have the installers come and measure the kitchen so I can get these ordered!

I learned something else today.  Lowe's is in the contracting business.  I can ask them for estimates on the demo and rebuilding work, just not the cabinet installation.  Let's see what they say.  I should hear from them next week to schedule the appointment.

All of this made me very excited!  Now I've started looking for appliances.  I've decided on a french door refrigerator that is cabinet depth.  I do want the water dispenser on the door.  Both water and ice would be great, but I need at least the water to be on the door!  I've also decided on a gas stove with gas/convection oven.

More later as things progress!

Other Ideas

Here are some other things that caught my eye while shopping:

This a Sensa brand granite at Lowe's.  It comes with a 15 year stain warranty and doesn't require sealing.

Feedback Via Email

I want to have everything in one place, so here is the feedback that I received from folks via email.

Ken:

Shaw Original Farm sinks from England cost $1,000.00 $800.00 for a knock-off. If you are going to spend $800.00 on a copy-cat, you might as well spend $1.000.00 for a recognized quality sink. We recommend a Kohler, stainless steel, deep-set style sink with one large pan instead of two. This gives you more room to work cleaning bigger things. Plus its easier to clean with stainless steel polish than trying to clean a porcelain sink that will mar up from pans. Also, you cannot use bleach on porcelain sinks as eventually (as in years) the finish will wear off and make it look black.

Counter Top Color: stay away from black. Shows all of the water spots from the calcium in the water and you will regret it. Go with any jewel-color counter top with a tight pattern. It will make your kitchen look bigger with the tighter pattern and a deep color will compliment the painted cabinets which should be a light color. Also, figure out how high you want your back-splash.

Back-Splash: We have a high 6" back-splash which we love. Makes it look custom. We recommend that you go at least 5". The standard is 3-4" high and looks cheap. 6" high would look great in your kitchen. Also, use the same countertop-backsplash to go behind the stove, all the way up to the microwave or the hood vent. Whichever style you are going with.

Custom style kitchens use a separate Hood-Vent above the stove. Thats what we have. It vents all the way outside with a funnel type aluminum vent. If you get a built-in microwave, then you buy a separate Hood-vent for above the stove. They run $700-$1,000.00 but well worth the investment. Remember, these improvements are permanent and you will enjoy the benefits of doing this the right way for many, many years.

Built-In microwave. Be sure to build the cabinet space wide enough for a large microwave, so that when you have to replace the microwave someday, you have your choice of sizes.

I will take another look at your plans now....

Ken.

Cabinets: Stay away from laminate at all costs!!! The shelves warp from the moisture in the air and the weight of the items on the shelves. Always go with real wood when possible.

Lisa:  

thought about counter tops - like cars, dark colors are the hardest to keep clean

Roger:

1. I liked the Built in Microwave idea on the Home depot plan & The glass cabinet front idea. It looks too crowded over by the sink in the lowe's plan.

2. I'd skip the farmhouse sink....your choice of porcelain or stainless, just get deep...I personally like stainless but if you use a lighter counter you may go with porcelain, even a cream porcelain is nice. Black counters show water spots. Lighter may make the space look larger.

3. I'd probably go w/ the two drawer recycle and use the lazy susan for other objects.

4. Make sure there are enough drawers for kitchen utensils by the stove.

5. We kept a rug in the dining room with duncans food & water & it worked fine.

6. Check with lowe's & see if there is a finish over the painted surface or not to protect it....ypu may not even need it. NO Laminate!!!!!!

Kitchen Plans - With Pictures of the Specific Cabinets

Well, as most everyone knows, I had a leak with the connection from my ice maker to the water line.  I will post more on that later.  I've pretty much decided that I will be redoing my kitchen, but it seems overwhelming.  That's why I've started this blog.  I need an outlet for the stress, I want to document the process and it gives me a way to solicit opinions.

I've gotten a large estimate and an off-the-cuff estimate that differ by $40,000.  That left me quite confused so I went to both Home Depot and Lowe's to price out some cabinets.  Back in November I met with Stacy Contakos of Contakos Design.  I will post them if I can figure out how to get them into the blog!  She gave me two great layouts for my kitchen.  One moved my sink to under the kitchen window.

Plan moving the sink

When I spoke to the contractors, moving the sink would be cost prohibitive. So, I've decided to stick with the current floor plan, with one change.  I'm going to move the stove to the opposite wall so I can add some much needed cabinet space.

Current Plan

Of the cabinet designs, I liked the Lowe's plan better.  I'll put the full plans at the end of this in separate posts but the Lowe's seemed more finished.  Also, at Home Depot, I liked the Martha Stewart cabinets.  Unfortunately, these are laminated wood or particle board and I can only get the color that I wanted in a "bare bones" shape.  At Lowe's I'm looking at Diamond Reflections.  They are painted maple.  Here are the Lowe's cabinet:

My picture isn't turning out very well so here is a link to the Diamond web-site:  Diamond Amherst Cabinets.  The color is Honeysuckle.

I can't find my picture from the home depot so here is a picture of the cabinets:

Inspiration Pictures

Questions - Feedback Wanted

• Painted maple cabinets vs laminated wood cabinets?
• Lazy susan with trash, compost and recycle cans or use it for storage?  The trash & recycles  would then be in a cabinet by the sink.
• Farm sink too much?
• Stainless or white sink?
• Dark or light counters?  Lisa brought up a good point, would a dark counter suck the light out of the room?
• Hutch with a counter section or not?  Here are the designs and the inspiration pictures: