The first night or two after being back in our kitchen, after the girls were asleep, Brian and I pulled the stools into the middle of the space and just sat there. For a long time, admiring the detailed craftsmanship, the artistry. I feel happy every time I inhabit it. And cooking in it seems extra special because not only do I get the chance to look at it, but I also get to be a part of it. We have a quiet, respectful relationship with a bit of magic sprinkled in. Food made in this kitchen is good. And it's not just the cook, it's the space and the work built into it.
With so many possibilities, my vision to design it remained solid. I began with the sink. It's an expensive sink. More than most people might want to spend, probably more than necessary to spend though it was the one thing I could not stray from. A Franke brand apron front farm sink in white white. A single. And it's made of fireclay which is handmade and incredibly durable. . For me, it shaped the rest of the kitchen. Its clean lines and sharp color give a rustic feel to the space.
Next I choose cabinets. We swayed back and forth with these because with cabinetry there is SO much variation in quality and price. My good friend's partner designs and builds cabinets for a living. Will and I met in the parking lot of a local park. He had drawn up an initial floor plan rendering of the space and some of his ideas. As the September heat escalated we discussed our ideas under the open hatch of his truck. It worked. My strongest idea, as far as design was concerned was the use of wainscoating fronts. My design theme for the kitchen was "Maine coastal cottage" and the wainsoating is simple, clean, informal and very much coastal. To accent the wainscoat, I felt it necessary to do the upper cabinetry in something different. Will agreed. I felt like the entire kitchen with wainscoat could be over done and too beachy. Will told me he'd come up with a front panel for the uppers which complimented the lines of the lower cabinets but would keep them simple but classic. I trusted him instantly. He spoke like an artist whose knowledge and passion guided me. In addition to the more plain front uppers, we also decided on a using glass for a few of the upper cabinets. Ultimately, Will suggested framing the window with two cabinets and on those two cabinets, we'd use glass panels. I let him decide the type of glass. I never doubted him. Not once.
While they were times Brian and I thought against custom cabinets, Will always pulled us back to them. And now that the cabinets are hung and functioning, I am so glad we trusted him. He chose poplar wood, made them all by hand, shaped and steamed the curves on the lazy suzy. They are floor to ceiling, a perfect vanilla. Calm, cottage-like, absolutely nothing I would change about them.
Next in our deciding was the floor, which we chose in one visit to the store, Flor Source in Jupiter. The woman who helped us showed me a few samples, one caught my eye, it fit in the budget and it's just right. If I had to do the floors again, I would not have my general contractor install them. He charged me a ton for the installation and without really knowing what to expect I went ahead with it. I would have used Rafael, whose last name I still don't know.
Will recommend Rafael for our granite. He was professional and returned my calls promptly. Which, I will say was not the case for our contractor. Rafael got a deal on our farm sink and didn't charge us any extra for the transaction. He sold it to us at his cost. Wonderful. And after pricing granite, I found the quoted price ranged from $6,500 to $5,000. Rafael's price for the exact same granite was $3,300. And he promises he made money off the deal.
After visiting at least four of five granite yards, I kept coming back to my original thought. The granite all seemed generic, too busy, too loud and nothing special. Really what I liked the look of, was marble though every single person persuaded me against it. It's too fragile, easily stained and with as much cooking as I do, a dribble of olive oil happens daily so, I succumbed to the idea of granite, set though on finding something I liked. Rafael sent me to Keys Granite
Rafael and I decided on white subway tiles for the backsplash. I opted not to cover the backsplash in granite because of cost and also because the subway tile adds a wonderful sense of character. In addition, the backsplash tiling compliments the exact lines and color of the farm sink. Working with Rafael was fun. He had a great sense of space and color and texture. He is afar more than a granite guy, he would have built the entire kitchen, plumbing included at probably half the cost of what the contractor charged. And, he knows design in a detailed and visionary way. And he's funny!
The general contractor knocked out a wall and had to replace a few other walls. They tore the kitchen to cinder blocks, ripped out baseboards, tile, ceilling. Everyone who looked at our electric work wondered how we'd lived in the house without a fire. There were exposed wires, wired tapped together with duct tape, and missing wires. Guess our angels were watching in that department. So, as you can imagine the electrical work took a lot longer than expected. Nearly everything did. Well, I should say, mostly the things in regards to our GC. There were permit problems and who really knows what else. But we waited and waited and waited some more. And then we waited. There were days when the GC wouldn't show up and didn't return calls. I am refraining form using his name here. He's a nice man. Just not the most efficient contractor.
The design and decision making took energy but I am quick to decide and I had a wonderful sense of what I wanted. We did sway on the purchase of our appliances. And mostly because we had to pay for those out of pocket. Money from the insurance company wouldn't cover those but it was hard to be disappointed by that. We got a brand new kitchen out of the deal. We purchased the appliances at Sears because of their wonderful customer service. Our sales man, Ron, gave us his cell number. (Which we used a few times) and he guided us along. Our refrigerator is an LG brand, double freezer drawer. We love it. Our stove is a Kenmore, 5 burner, 1 warmer and extra fabulous....a turbo burner which really does boil water in about 3 minutes. The oven is great and while I didn't dislike my old over, this one makes me realize how old my other one actually was. The temperature is consistent, burners are even, racks come in and out easily, the convection feature is efficient. Really good choice. And we went with a Maytag dishwasher. Super quiet, special rack features for tall of short cups, longer spaces for spatulas, ect.
As I write this, I realize how technical this stuff seems in the sense that the 5 month process of remodeling was so much more than the details I write here. The emotional chaos burrowed into our lives in so many ways and even after being back in our house for a few moths, I am still sorting through the journey. But that's another post. As are the details of my redecorating.... new paint color, pillows, new curtains. Yes, another post for that. And below are the photos. During and after....
And in perfect use....
Thank you for my kitchen. Thank you.
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