Plumbing

I'll have a main sink in the island, and a small prep sink near the wall oven. Though it seems like the kitchen is small enough not to warrant 2 sinks, all of the research I've done, along with numerous recommendations leads me to the conclusion it is worthwhile to have the second one. To make up for the 2nd sink breaking up my counter space, I am having a cutting board made that will fit over the opening, allowing for a continuous solid counter when desired.

The main sink selection went through a couple iterations. First, there was the standard sink and faucet that came with the house. McAllister single basin sink stainless undermount, and Kohler Coralais faucet in brushed nickel. (for sale, in case you are in the market!)




Nice enough, but I knew that I wanted an integral ledge in the sink to place a rack, in effect shallowing up the sink depth (important for me, being on the shorter side). My mom has this and it's really worthwhile. So I picked the Franke Oceania, single bowl in stainless.



Then, as delivery approached, I realized I didn't want a stainless steel sink. So I ordered the Franke Orca in a material called fireclay, biscuit in color. This will go nicely with my granite. You can see the integral ledge pretty clearly in this shot. I ordered the rack that sits on the ledge (it's removable).



This sink has been the bane of my existence, with an original delivery date estimate of August 2, a revised estimate of August 19, and then the news it was on "backorder" and wouldn't ship until late September! Fortunately that last estimate was conservative, and the sink arrived Labor Day weekend. Ah yes, now I have three main kitchen sinks. I'm trying to sell the two stainless steel versions. (Anyone who helps gets a finders fee.)

The prep sink is copper in a dark patina. I ordered this in Coppersinksdirect.com. Kitchen bloggers with copper sinks consistently recommended 14 gauge over 16 gauge, so that is what I got.





The faucets are Moen Camerist, in oil rubbed bronze. I looked at faucets FOREVER before settling on these. I think they'll look nice.





Here is a photo of the scaffolding my uncle had to erect so he could install the plumbing for my new sinks in the basement.




Next installment.... flooring.

Construction begins

It's time to share some photos of the kitchen construction. (Elaine is thinking... omg, it's about time.)

There wasn't much demolition, but here are most of the remains of the island drywall and studs.



Here are a few shots of the new cabinets going up.



One week after demolition. Cabinets around the walls are all up. Island and hood unit still in progress.



Same day, the other wall.





Next installment....plumbing.

Accoutrements

One of the reasons I decided to just go with the standard kitchen with my new house and then completely redo was the lack of "options" for the cabinetry that was offered by the builder. I found it very strange, but there wasn't really any wiggle room in the cabinet selection for alternates or options. So here are the accessories/options I am including in my design.

Basket drawers for cabinet in the island. I'll just have 2 baskets, and on the top is a standard drawer built into the cabinet.




Lazy susan trays in various cabinets. Here they are (mostly), waiting for installation.



Base corner cabinet, rotating trays with a vineyard rail, because I got them on closeout for an amazing price...



Upper corner cabinet, rotating trays with a chrome rails...



Pantry, upper 4 shelves, D-shaped...



I'll also have a spice Rack in pantry on door, so the overall pantry will look like this (but without the pole down the middle, since I'll have shelves and mount these rotating trays directly to them):



I wanted to include a pull-out peg board in the 3" space between my pantry and wall ovens. It would like something like this:



But unfortunately, because the end wall wasn't as plumb as it should be, the actual space between these 2 cabinets was only 2 1/8". Not enough room. Disappointing, but I'll live.

I'll have a 2-bin recycle/waste pullout out cabinet, and some cutlery inserts in the drawers. And here is the hardware I think I am going to get. Haven't bought them yet. I may change my mind on the pulls but I am 90% set on the knobs.





Next installment.... construction progress!

Counter top shopping

Except for the bar on the back of the island, I'll have granite counters. From the outset, I had decided the granite should have some green in it. Green was going to be "the color" in the kitchen to accent the neutrals. Here were the granite slabs I had on my short list.















Solarious, above, was very close to being chosen. But in the end, the winner was Typhoon Bordeaux, also known as Sienna Bordeaux. This is my slab:



No green, but I love it. I think it works really well with my cabinet colors. Here's another photo of this same granite family on a showroom desk:



It so happens, purely by coincidence, my mom's granite is in the same family. Hers is called Crema Bordeaux. Many of you have seen it. Here's her island:




Now for the bar at the back of the island, I'll use butcher block in cherry. This is the same thing we did in my mom's kitchen two years ago and it looks terrific. It starts out as a standard counter top, courtesy of lumber liquidators, such as below.



But my uncle will make it look something like this....


Beauty, yes?


Next installment.... Accoutrements

Appliances

First, wanted to let the readers know I have edited the comment settings, so that anyone can now leave a comment, if they are so moved. Now, on to business....

The bulk of my appliance research was on wall ovens. I really liked the idea of a French door, and seriously considered American Range, one of the only French door ovens. But after some debate, I settled on the Gaggenau side swing door, single convection oven. I'm very happy with the choice.


Here is the lovely Gaggeneau..... saved a pretty penny buying it on eBay. Although I had to make a last minute change to my kitchen design -- swapping locations of the wall ovens and the fridge -- in order for the eBay oven's right-hinged door to work with my layout.



The Gag with open door. This is my actual oven.

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I went back and forth on the idea of double ovens, but decided that my second oven would be a convection/ microwave. True European convection was key - it really is a second oven, though admittedly smaller than a standard oven. I'm going with the Miele chef series speed oven, and I'm looking forward to its arrival in September. My total oven capacity will be 6 cubic feet (4.5 cf in the main oven, 1.5 cf in the speed oven).


Miele Speed Oven, stock photo.



Here is the Miele in the appliance store. Mine will be placed below the main oven.

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Below are photos of the rest of the appliance lineup.


GE Energy Star French Door, bottom freezer, counter depth fridge.



The fridge is the only appliance that I bought with the house. This particular model wasn't a standard feature, though.


Bosch 36" cooktop. I'm excited to have a gas cooktop for the first time.



The hood/vent above the cooktop, also Bosch. It will be hidden by cabinetry.




This dishwasher will be hidden by a custom panel that matches my cream colored cabinetry. It's also a Bosch. Reading the instructions on attaching the panel is like studying for the bar exam:



Next installment...... counter top shopping.

Existing Kitchen and New Plan....

Below are three photos of the kitchen that came standard with the house. The sink and dishwasher are in the island. These cabinets are maple, Merillat brand, 42" high along the wall. (They are for sale, by the way!)


Overview of existing kitchen.



Fridge wall.




Oven wall



Close up of existing granite, called rosa porinno. (Also for sale!)





Here is my new kitchen layout. The basic L is the same as the original kitchen. As you can see, the island is a rectangle in my new version. The main reason for this was to allow sufficient room for a breakfast nook beyond the island. The builder's island left very little room for table and chairs, projecting nearly to the end of the cabinet run. Not nearly enough room for bar stools and my dinette set.



This is the wall that is adjacent to the dining room. This wall used to have the fridge, where the ovens are now shown.




Here is the other side of the L, extending toward the breakfast room area. There is a gas cooktop in the center of the large 3-drawer cabinet.



Above is the inspiration for the design around the cooktop and hood.




When I originally drew up the island, above, I thought my floor plan was the mirror image (matching the builder's floor plan drawings). I show you this version so you can read the text, but flipped the image below.



Here is the island layout flipped to show the actual orientation.


My new cabinet... cherry with a simple but interesting door. The cabinet maker is Brookwood, and this is the Hanover door style in Nutmeg stain.



The accent cabinetry is an ivory color in a complimentary door style, called Harbor. These are painted maple.

Next entry..... Appliance shopping.