Last spring I entered a short post about a kitchen I was contracted to redo.  The owner had added a 1000 sq.ft addition onto his home and needed a new kitchen layout.  The existing cabinets were in good structural shape but the finish was of very poor quality.  A decorator was brought in for ideas and the result was to refinish as many of the existing cabinets using the same color but putting them in a different layout.  Then for a contrast, several more cabinets would be added in a darker shade along with a custom island.  Granite  was chosen for the main counter top and the island would be installed with an oiled hard-rock maple top.

Repairing the finish on the old doors, adding top coats, and resizing turned out to be a involved project.   Matching the color was the most challenging as it was by experimentation that I was finally able to get the right mix.    The solid new color was the glaze put on the old doors and then added a gloss finish. The oven/stove is incorporated in the island.  I was initially unsure how I would like the look of cabinets in two colors in the same space, but I am pleased with this fresh and different look.  You have probably noticed that if you look at any home improvement magazines that a very popular current trend is to mix and match finishes and in some cases use several in the same room.  Overall this was a project I learned a-lot from and am very pleased with the end results.

A period of fabrication at the shop…

A diversion from the hard decisions of the kitchen, what to do with the master vanity?

Vanity and Matching Mirror Frame

Project Background

Erin and Joel have a cute little house in a lovely development. It’s approximately 7 years old and sits on a nice sized lot.  They have been blessed with two children and now are feeling very crowded in this home.  Making the decision to put the house on the market has not been an easy one in the present economy and while the home has been maintained very well, it is not much different than several others in the developement which are also for sale.They have been hard at work to put some “WOW” factor into their home by repainting, curb appeal touches, hardwood flooring in the dining room/hall and have decided to upgrade the kitchen from a modest amount of   entry level thermofoil cabinets to  custom wood cabinets,  re-configering the space to maximize the amount of cabinets and then to finish off with solid surface counter-tops.  The appliances will stay the same with exception of the new microwave oven above the stove.

Erin and Joel tackled ripping up the old vinyl flooring and installed ceramic tile.  Never having done anything like this before, they watched some videos, made numerous calls to MastercraftsmenKen (aka Daddy) and over the course of a weekend, did an outstanding job.

We hope you will follow and enjoy the story of this kitchen redo.

The Baker’s Unit

This is what we refer to as the refrigerator wall.  The pantry will be torn out and    the and the refrigerator will be moved to the corner.  This will allow for 8′ of counter/base cabinets.  Erin will have 4 nice sized drawers instead of two.  The upper cabinets will be removed and new ones will be installed to fill in the space.  The cabinet above the refrigerator will be as deep as the appliance, and the cabinets will go to the ceiling.   Even though she is loosing the pantry ( with non adjustable shelves and wasted space) she will end up with more efficient usable space for all the things she stored in the pantry.

These are the drawer fronts and cabinet doors for the baker’s unit base.  The custom color is called Cinnamon on maple.  Also shown is the first half of the 8′ bank of base cabinets.  All the bases are lined with a plastic  laminated liner for easy clean-up.

The owner is adding 1m sf to this older small town home. Like always, the kitchen is getting a makeover to upgrade the increased demand on this central utility.   The problem…what to do with the 5 year old cabinets that are not perfect but the owner just doesn’t want to discard them and start over?

The existing cabinets are custom made, solid maple wood, raised panel are nicely done; except… the finish is a little rough and shows  some swirl scratches in the finish.

The designer on this project has carefully used every existing cabinet into the new layout. The relocation of these existing cabinets will prove out to be a substantial savings to the owners.  Yet to be decided is how to incorporate  the additional details that were added, and the new island.

One solution would be is to use a contrasting color to the original.  Two tone kitchens are in the trend but what to do about the rough finish on the original cabinets?

To be continued…