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4.12.2011

Kitchen Details

First matter of business, don't forget to enter for a chance to win a $75 gift certificate to Stella and Dot.  You can go here to enter.

I have received a lot of questions and comments about our kitchen so I thought I would give some more details about the remodeling process and the design of the kitchen.

When we bought our house, we knew we wanted a big open kitchen.  We originally had our architect draw some plans up with the kitchen in a different spot in the house. This plan called for a large formal dining room in the front of the house (now the casual living room).  We had a change of heart and decided we wanted the kitchen to be right smack dab in the middle of the house, the heart of the home, and we decided to do away with the large formal dining room.  Our architect went back to the drawing board and came back with a new floor plan that we fell in love with.


The kitchen is approximately 14' x 28' and the dining area is 10' x 10'.  Since the rooms are completely open to each other, the entire space is just shy of 500 square feet.


The island is 39"x113" and comfortably seats six and seven would not be out of the question.  The granite is called Delicatus White.  We were fortunate to find a slab that was big enough for the island.


The cabinets are inset and were custom made by Steve Cline of Woodwork Design.  We got quite a few bids on stock cabinetry when we were planning our kitchen and surprisingly, custom cabinetry was not too far out of line with our other bids.  If your budget will allow for custom cabinets, I say go for it.  You have so much more flexibility with custom cabinetry.  I would show Steve a picture of a cabinet detail  I liked, and he would replicate it.  I loved being able to be involved in the cabinet design process.

Here are a few of the details that help make the kitchen unique.









Here are some tips to help keep your cost down when doing a complete kitchen renovation.

1)  E-bay: I purchased our Shaw apron front sink, our Rohl bridge faucet and our Restoration Hardware dining room lights from e-bay. I actually purchased almost all of the lighting in our house from e-bay.

2)  Appliances: The Jenn-air double oven, the Asko dishwasher and the Sub-Zero refrigerator were all floor models from a big appliance warehouse.  Way back in the back of most appliance stores are the scratch and dents and the floor models that are deeply discounted.  Always check there first.  This saved us a lot of money!

3)  Internet: Always check prices on-line.  The Jenn-air professional style six burner gas stove was ordered on-line from www.us-appliance.com.  It was $300 cheaper than anywhere else and it was delivered to our front door with no shipping cost.

4)  Overstock warehouses:  We happen to have a Home Emporium in Cincinnati.  It is full of buyouts and overstocked home improvement and home decor items.  I happened to be walking through there one day during our renovation and I came upon two Pella single exterior french doors (For $139 each!).  I quickly purchased them both, took them home and told my contractor we would have to find a way to make them work.  Fortunately, we were able to use one in the kitchen and one in the family room.  I did have to buy the door hardware since they didn't come with any, but it still came to a total of only $280/door.  We had Pella come out and give us a bid for the same door for our mudroom and it was going to be $1,400.  Needless to say, we went with something else.

I hope this was helpful.  Be sure to check back tomorrow.  I am going to be doing a blog swap with Erin from Richmond Thrifter.  You will love her.




20 comments:

  1. Oh how I love your kitchen! It is just *perfection*! The colors, the granite, the SIZE, the ISLAND - all awesome! Thanks for sharing the details - I'm going to have to check out the Home Emporium. Didn't know that was around here!! Question about your bulletin boards on the side of your fridge - how did you attach those? I love having a paneled fridge, but miss the magnetic functionality of a regular fridge. Trying to organize our schedules in a functional way, and like your set up!

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  2. Gorgeous kitchen - with the white cupboards and glass-front cabinets. I love having our kitchen open to our dining room too, except for the mess from when I was cooking which is visible while we are eating. My husband is a neater cook than I am so it looks fine when he cooks.

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  3. I too love your kitchen - and combining our dining room and current kitchen is exactly what we want to do when we renovate so I am really inspired by what you did in there. I love so many details - your backsplash over the stove, the cabinetry - but my absolute favorite thing is that huge island!! Thanks for sharing the detes - I can't believe you got all those appliances discounted!

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  4. Your kitchen is gorgeous. I love the granite that you chose and your white cabinets keeps is so light, bright and fresh. That is a wonderful space for your family to hang out while you're cooking.

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  5. Wow! I love your kitchen. Our experiences were very similar with finding appliance and faucet deals on the web, but also with custom cabinetry. Ours was only $180 more than stock!!!

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  6. The type of faucet you use for your utility sink is largely determined by the location and type of utility sink you choose. Give some thought, therefore, to the uses and needs for your sink before you purchase the sink itself.

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  7. Your kitchen is so dreamy. Thanks for sharing! :)

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  8. Your kitchen is gorgeous. The cabinetry and granite are really nice! I love it.

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  9. Thank you so much for the excellent tips! With our remodel getting ready to start, it is nice to hear from someone close that has been there and done that! I will have to look up Home Emporium here in Cincinnati, I have not heard of this place, but can't wait to check it out! I was wondering how long it took to remodel your wonderful home? Beautiful kitchen!
    Dee Dee

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  10. Your kitchen is beautiful. I am here visiting from Sherry at No Minimalist Here's blog. You have a beautiful home. I have the same bath tub as you!
    Penny

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  11. What an absolutely gorgeous kitchen! Thanks for sharing.

    Pam

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  12. I've just come over from Sherry's !
    Your home is absolutely gorgeous!!
    Pamela :)

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  13. I just found you from your blog swap with The Richmond Thrifter....your kitchen is gorgeous!! I don't think I would ever get any cooking done in a kitchen this pretty because I would just be constantly standing around with happy tears in my eyes, babbling about how much I loved my kitchen!! Love, love, love it!! (your blog too- I just became your newest follower:)

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  14. Your kitchen is just beautiful! I love all your money saving tips. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Can I ask where your dishwasher is located? I love the flow of your kitchen! We are remodeling and trying to figure out where to place fridge/sink/oven/washer. Gorgeous home!!

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  16. Reading your blog MADE MY DAY! I am a friend of The Richmond Thrifter and couldn't wait to visit once she mentioned a "kitchen redo". Your kitchen is AMAZING - I can't wait to see pics of the rest of your house. My husband and I are relocating to Cincy in 2 months from North Carolina and have purchased a fixer upper as well. Thanks for the ideas and inspiration!

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  17. Popped over from Sherry's and saw your reference to Cincinnati. I'm just up the road in a south suburb of Dayton. :-) I will have to check out Home Emporium - I'm not familiar with it. I'll be back to visit more later- I'm on a little break away from a project and need to get back like, NOW! LOL Your kitchen looks very nice. ~ Sue

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  18. Great kitchen, beautiful. Please tell me about the floors ... did you do them? where they already in the house? hardwood? color? They are so perfect. thanks

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  19. Your kitchen is absolutely gorgeous!! I want everything in it!!

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  20. Andrea,
    Your blog is great! Just signed up. Thanks so much for mentioning Steve and his craftmanship. I hope you don't mind - I have added a link to your site on my new blog: www.woodworkdesignsbysteve.wordpress.com. Check it out! I'm also going to feature your site since you did such a great job of showcasing Steve's work! Thanks again - Robin

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I love reading each and every one of your comments!