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Big Black Dog: Metamorphosis Monday - Kitchen Details Part 2

October 11, 2009

Metamorphosis Monday - Kitchen Details Part 2


Over the past two weeks for Metamorphosis Monday I've posted the construction of my kitchen and last week Kitchen Details Part 1. And this week is my final post on my Kitchen...whew! When I look back at all the work that was done, no wonder I'm still sleeping in every morning!


I know I've had several questions on the material I used for my kitchen ceiling and I'm happy to announce I FOUND IT! After going through all our receipts for 2007 and coming up empty handed I started calling my suppliers and thankfully Greg at Alexander Lumber tracked down the ceiling material!!!! Please click on Moulding and Millwork Catalog and scroll down to Page 43, under Wainscot, M&M# 5834M; 5/8"by3"by16' Ultralite.


Although I have a Recipe Program, Home Cookin, I have many cookbooks and handwritten recipe files. So I needed bookshelves and some kind of cabinet space for all my files. Since I have three large breed dogs that shed, open lower shelves were out to the question. Can you imagine the dust and dog hair problem I'd have with low, open shelves!

So I designed 2 cabinets with bookshelves and to keep the books upright and neat I also had fixed wooden book dividers custom made to support the books. All my handwritten recipes files store neatly in the lower cabinet with doors.

I love to listen to the radio when I'm in the kitchen so I have a narrow, fixed top shelf for my radio which has a remote.


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I also had a TV cabinet installed above the double ovens. My husband did not want a TV in the kitchen but actually he uses it more then I do!


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The Communication center also have bookshelves and landline phone. Lower storage is for phone books and other odds and ends. I had electrical outlets installed in the lower cabinet so I could charge my cell phone and label maker inside the cabinet and this solves the draped electrical cords. Finally, all my recharging can be done out of sight!


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In the drawer you can see my cell phone recharging.


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We did need an outlet for the landline cordless phone and my electrician installed an Leviton Out of Sight PowerJack! No more ugly outlet next to the phone! Yea!


The bank of cabinets facing the eating area in the kitchen is narrow but perfect for the liquor cabinet! The end cabinet of drawers is where I keep all my table linens.


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Lighting is one of my favorite things to do...LOVE IT! I can never have enough lamps, chandeliers or sconces!

Lighting in a kitchen is extremely important and knowing I was going to be spending hours baking I needed light fixtures that could take, minimum 100w light bulbs. The chandelier over my island has 3-100w bulbs...I love this fixture! And the two pendants over the clean up sink area also take 100w bulbs.


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I've always wanted an antler chandelier and since this was probably going to be my last chance at one, I had one installed over my square oak table in the eating area. It is not real antler so the cost was very reasonable and I love it!


kitchen part 3




Since this was a remodel I did have to contend with existing stairways which was not so much a problem except for the basement stairway. I did not want the entrance to our basement stairs to be in our dining room. So I designed a Butler Pantry which not only gave me much more cabinet space and enclosed the entrance to the basement stairs but allowed me to have a broom closet/pantry too!

The Butler Pantry is where I store all my serving dishes, cake plates, small appliances, dessert dishes and on and on and on. At one end of the Butler Pantry are the basement stairs visible in the first photo. And at the other end is the door to my pantry.


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In the broom closet/pantry I had deep shelves installed for small appliances and my large serving platters. I also have small, narrow shelves for all my home canned goodies. And on two walls I have peg board for all the brooms, dust pans, etc. I also had enough room for the Tub-o-Flour which is on wheels and holds 50 lbs of flour!! Love my flour tub!


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When designing my kitchen peninsula with the large, farm sink and the dishwasher I only had room for small cabinets on the ends. I love these small cabinets! One cabinets fits odd shaped baking pans of which I have MANY. And since I have an equal amount of cutting boards, some for serving and some for actual prepping, I can store all the boards together! YEA!

I was not sure just what I was going to use the small cabinet for so did not have dividers installed. But I put small spring rods to divide and support the cutting boards and they are working out very well. I think I saw the spring rod tip on Martha Stewart years ago.


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I made some mistakes in my kitchen, most due to my own inexperience and some the fault of my cabinet designer. But what's done is done and there's no changing it now!

Door Spice Rack: First of all it does not save space because in order to accommodate the door spice rack, the cabinet interior shelf is smaller. Plus if the shelf is full of bottles the door is heavy and it does not completely close and we've adjusted it MANY times. I even tried using plastic bottles and the door still does not close properly.


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Under Cabinet Lighting: I NEVER use it. I think I've had it on maybe twice in 2 yrs.

Garbage Disposal in Island Prep Sink: Never used.

Canned Ceiling Lighting: I call canned lighting Ceiling Acne! I really don't like canned lighting so chose to get the smaller canned lights which were expensive. Never used.


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Pella Windows and Doors: We replaced all our windows with Designer Series Windows, and exterior doors with Pella and we've had nothing but problems. First of all the doors were pre-finished and the finish peeled off within about 2 months and the windows were horribly drafty.

My office in on the east side of our home and in the winter I could feel a steady draft on my back while sitting on at desk. The draft was not coming from the window install but from the actual window. The Pella Representative told me I needed a special mini crowbar to lock the windows because our windows had the old lock design...all 63 new windows had the old lock! An old lock design on new, rather expensive windows??? I could not help it but I just started crying right then and there. Eventually Pella replaced all our window locks with the new lock and I didn't need to use a crowbar to lock the windows any more. But they damaged ever single one of windows during the repairs and I shed more tears.

And to add more problems the screens are not a tight fit leaving a small gab at the bottom. The gap is just big enough for bugs to crawl though and I have wasps flying around my house weekly. We've replaced all the windows and doors in two other homes before this project. We did use Anderson for our other homes and I had no problems what so ever and one of the homes we lived in for 12 more years.

Of course Pella guarantees their products but with window repairs and replacing doors SEVERAL times, it has been a total inconvenience to me. And our heat costs due to the drafty windows were ridiculous. I would never buy anything from Pella again.


Microwave: Advantium
Built-in Oven: GE
Range: Wolf 6-burner, double oven with griddle
Dishwasher: KitchenAid
Faucets: Brand: Perrin & Rowe; Finish: Polished Chrome
Main Sink: Herbeau Luberon
Island Sink: Extra deep copper bought on Ebay
Garbage Disposals: Insinkerator
Refrigerator: Sub-Zero Built-in
Tile: Ceramic 12"
Countertop: Soapstone
Cabinets: Brand: Monarch; Style: Shaker; Stain: Colony; Wood: Hickory


Metamorphosis Monday is hosted by Between Naps on the Porch. Please visit Susan's site and you'll find some fabulous ideas freely shared by many gracious and highly creative people.


Links of Interest:
My Kitchen-The Beginning
Kitchen Details Part 1





All Rights Reserved 2008-9 © Big Black Dog

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38 Comments:

Blogger Lorna ~ Lace and Ivy Cottage said...

Michelle, I love the green cabinets! Great light fixtures, too. I also like to beaded board ceiling. I know you'll be enjoying your kitchen for many years to come!

October 11, 2009 at 7:22 PM  
Blogger Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Your kitchen is so well thought out and truly stunning. What a dream come tru. Hugs, Marty

October 11, 2009 at 8:00 PM  
Blogger Signing Out said...

Michelle, your kitchen looks fantastic! I love all your choices, especially your light fixtures. You've got beautiful cabinetry with fantastic storage in there, too. Love the sink and granite.

Jane

October 11, 2009 at 8:18 PM  
Blogger conny said...

This is a beautiful kitchen...and I love the pantry with all your self canned goods! Brava!

October 11, 2009 at 8:18 PM  
Blogger Atticmag said...

The soapstone countertops with your wood cabs is really striking. Love the use of beadboard on the cabs as well.
Jane T.

October 11, 2009 at 8:18 PM  
Blogger xinex said...

You have thought of every little thing. Your kitchen is so organized and so pretty...Christine

October 11, 2009 at 9:01 PM  
Blogger The Quintessential Magpie said...

Michelle, it's a wonderful redo! I love it. I hear you about problem windows. We replaced all the windows in a previous home, and they were defective. The glass had something wrong, so we replaced them AGAIN. The company paid for it, but it wasn't Pella. It was a company recommended by an architect. One of our friends bought our house, and apparently the second set of windows is doing great. So I was glad to hear that.

Hope your window problems are soon at an end. Your kitchen is NEAT!

XO,

Sheila :-)

October 11, 2009 at 9:02 PM  
Blogger Its So Very Cheri said...

I love your kitchen, including the green cabinetry and the flooring. absolutely darling.
cheri

October 11, 2009 at 9:03 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

am in complete sympathy with your ordeal with Pella. We recently built new house. When contractor had windows and doors framed in, Pella came out and measured openings for windows. They brought the wrong sized windows, not once but twice, and wanted us to have the contractor resize the openings (at our expense)! Needless to say, this was NOT ACCEPTABLE!! Finally ended up purchasing all windows from another manufacturer with Pella threatening to take us to court for the complete price of all windows. After they were sent a bill for delays and disruptions (by our attorney) they finally agreed to drop claims. Never again will we buy anything from Pella!

October 11, 2009 at 9:09 PM  
Blogger Brenda said...

Wow a kitchen to die for! I love the green cabinets. I've always had blue, red or yellow kitchens. You are brave with your colors.

October 11, 2009 at 9:56 PM  
Blogger Shirley said...

I am so glad you've posted these different things you like and dislike about your remodel. I'm having my kitchen gutted and done which will start after the first of the year. I'm still in the planning stage with the designer and the picking things out stage with my contractor. It takes me forever to make a decision then I could change my mind a dozen times! I may email you with some questions!

October 11, 2009 at 10:15 PM  
Blogger Janell @ House of Fifty said...

My favorite, well almost my favorite part of your kitchen, is the hidden phone cord. Then the counters, all the specialized storage...enjoy it all!
Janell

October 11, 2009 at 11:33 PM  
Blogger Janell @ House of Fifty said...

My favorite, well almost my favorite part of your kitchen, is the hidden phone cord. Then the counters, all the specialized storage...enjoy it all!
Janell

October 11, 2009 at 11:33 PM  
Blogger Sedona @ MyDivineDelights said...

Love love love! You did a great job!
I feel like sitting and crying with you on your windows! I have cried over much less during renos and to have such huge problems with such an important purchase!!! Hugs!!

October 12, 2009 at 1:37 AM  
Blogger Carol at Serendipity said...

Michelle,
Your kitchen is absolutely stunning. Thanks for sharing so much information. Love the pantry with the homemade goodies.

Carol at Serendipity

October 12, 2009 at 5:46 AM  
Blogger Manuela said...

Your kitchen is magnicifent! Every square inch is perfect to me! lOL Can we be best friends? ;) I'd probably make a little bed that can be rolled out of one of those cabinets and sleep there (if it were my kitchen!). It's all so lovely!! :)
I am suprised to hear that you are so unhappy with Pella! Just last week we had Pella come to our house and they gave us the estimate in replacing 20 windows. We also had Home Depot come, but HD was more expensive. We are actually considering using Pella. Now I may have to rethink and get a 3rd estimate.

October 12, 2009 at 8:28 AM  
Blogger Alexandrine said...

youre kitchen is wonderful. in France the kitchen are smaller ;-DDD

October 12, 2009 at 9:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow! Your kitchen is spectacular! I love everything and it's so big! I'm not jealous, no I'm not, not a bit! :)
Be a sweetie,
Shelia;)

October 12, 2009 at 9:58 AM  
Blogger NKP said...

Such a gorgeous kitchen! I want to live in it.. :)

October 12, 2009 at 12:38 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

You did a great job planning your kitchen. So many great details. Thanks for the show and tell. You have a beautiful kitchen.
Sandy

October 12, 2009 at 1:25 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

You did a great job planning your kitchen. So many great details. Thanks for the show and tell. You have a beautiful kitchen.
Sandy

October 12, 2009 at 1:26 PM  
Anonymous Caleb said...

:O OMG I want to cook in your kitchen.

October 12, 2009 at 2:41 PM  
Anonymous Christi @ A Southern Life said...

Very nice redo. So nice that you were able to do it and it turned out beautifully.

Christi

October 12, 2009 at 3:11 PM  
Blogger pam said...

Amazing kitchen. Especially impressed with all those lovely canned goodies!

October 12, 2009 at 3:42 PM  
Anonymous Cheryl B. said...

Michelle, several years back our church bought the old Boy Scouts Camp who's property backed up to ours. When I have the choice of whether to prepare food for events in the church buildings kitchen, or the Lodge's kitchen, I pick the Lodge, hands down every time!!! ALL of my closer friends know that 'someday' I would like to have a home kitchen based off of that design, just tweaked here and there ....
You have done exactly that!!! W-O-W !!!! I could hardly believe my eyes!! Before reading too far in today's posting, I went and read and looked at the first posting, and then the second, and then finished today's. OH MY GOODNESS!!!

The only thing I found that I absoluetly would want changed, is the color of your larder cupboards. Just a personal thing between me and certain colors of green.

I am glad you are so thrilled with your new kitchen!!!

I also have made a mental note that should I ever actaully get to do my own, I'll go with Anderson windows ;-} Thanks for the tip!

October 12, 2009 at 4:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The cabinets are gorgeous. I live in a 1940's house and my kitchen was the main focus. You did a great job with the counter tops. I have to say I have enjoyed my first visit to your blog. Please feel welcomed to visit me at http://joymariesboutique.blogspot.com/

Jessica :)

October 12, 2009 at 5:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You have a lovely kitchen. So tell me...does the TV get hot up there? (I am sincerely hoping you didnt answer that and I somehow missed it)

If you haven't already come link up at my Room a month makeover. http://theshadesofpink.blogspot.com/2009/10/room-month-monster-dominoes.html

October 12, 2009 at 6:05 PM  
Anonymous nannykim/ spindle cottage said...

when you walk into the kitchen it must feel like you are in a lovely new land!!

October 12, 2009 at 7:34 PM  
Blogger Dresser Girl said...

I continue to be impressed and jealous! WOW!!

October 12, 2009 at 8:06 PM  
Blogger Julie said...

Hi Michelle, It is all turning out so pretty... I know you are so happy!
xoxo
Julie

October 12, 2009 at 8:08 PM  
Blogger Kathy Walker said...

Michelle, I just nominated you for an award!

October 12, 2009 at 9:49 PM  
Blogger Tina said...

You thought of everything...everything! It';s magnificent. Thank you so much for sharing that virtual tour of your gorgeous kitchen.

October 12, 2009 at 10:20 PM  
Blogger Phyllis @Around the House said...

What a wonderful kitchen, I don't think I would ever leave, you have just thought of everything and it is amazing and beautiful..thanks for the pictures

October 12, 2009 at 11:16 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Beautiful kitchen.. and SO organized! I just don't know what it would be like to have things right at my fingertips in my kitchen! It might even save me tons of time cooking dinner! (I would organize it but I have a lot of people living with me right now and all that organization would go right out the window! Someday perhaps!
Hope you are having a great week!
Rainey

October 13, 2009 at 12:25 AM  
Blogger Brian the old man said...

I have been looking forward to Monday to see these photos. You have designed a wonderful kitchen. I love it!

October 13, 2009 at 1:24 AM  
Blogger Lori E said...

With so many choices to make in a kitchen I think you did a great job if those were your only mistakes.
I have so many spices they have taken over 2 drawers and I really need a better solution that doesn't involve my countertop.
Good to know about the windows. That is terrible. A major error on their part.

October 13, 2009 at 8:55 AM  
Blogger Susan (Between Naps On The Porch.net) said...

Michelle, you have beautiful kitchen! Loved seeing all the details, especially the communication center. That is so interesting that you don't use your undercabinet lighting because that's virtually all I use, 24/7 in my kitchen. I rarely turn on any other lighting. I just love the soft glow and that it puts the light right where I want it. :-) I have to go find Part 1 of your post...have always admired your kitchen so this is a delight to see it in more detail!
Susan

October 18, 2009 at 10:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ilove your entire kitchen, could move into it tomorrow and be quite content..haha
But I would like information on the antler chandeliers...where were they purchased, cost, any other info you think appropriate....
We wanted antler chandeliers but they were so cost prohibitive....would like the source for the "artificial" ones....
Thanks in advance...you may contact me at kneadaname@yahoo.com
Edna from Indiana

October 26, 2009 at 11:38 AM  

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