Sunday, July 11, 2010

My Kitchen Re-Do: A Preview

Well, after a lot of foot-dragging and hand-wringing (on my part, not The Hubby's), we've plunged ahead on the kitchen re-do.

We've bought the gas stovetop, downdraft, and blower. I opted for a five-burner stove (currently I have six) because five is just enough. This puppy puts out enough BTUs to sear a rump roast, and yet it can also melt a pan of chocolate over a direct (very low) flame without scorching. I am so excited to be getting a gas stovetop after hassling with an electric one for 17 years, I could almost dance on the roof! Anyhow, here's what our new stove will look like (right now it looks like a huge cardboard box in the storage shed):

We've got the trash compactor (not worth the visuals; nothing sexy about a trash compactor). We also have our wine cooler. This isn't a great photo, but the cooler will be great. It'll hold a lot of wine, and it makes The Hubby happy. That's good enough for me!:
We've got the sink and faucet (also in boxes in the storage shed).

This is our sink. It's big enough to wash my biggest, deepest pasta pot, or even a pug or two. It's two inches deeper than the sink I have now, and it's super-reinforced stainless steel. That's important, because I'm a hasty, slightly clumsy cook, and I don't want to be dropping pots in my sink and making all sorts of dings.

Gor-geous!

This is our faucet. The Hubby is left-handed and I am right-handed, so he wanted something equally accessible by lefties and righties. I wanted to be sure my biggest pot fit under the faucet. (It does, with room to spare!) Best of all, it has a retractable sprayer, so I can pull out the nozzle and rinse big ol' pots (and the occasional pug tummy).

The faucet in this photo is brushed nickel, and we're ordering it in shiny stainless, but at least it gives you an idea of what it will look like:


We've picked out the paint color for the cabinets--a creamy white. We've picked a different paint color entirely for the island. The island will be Dunn-Edwards' "Sapphire Fog." Here's what it looks like online:

Complementary Colors
Ode to Purple (DE 5962)Victorian Violet (DE 6005)Handmade Red (DE 6026)Weather Board (DE 6222)Salad (DE 5592)Growth (DE 5670)Barrier Reef (DE 5745)

Sapphire Fog (DE 5899)

Sapphire Fog (DE 5899)Alkali-Sensitive: Colors that are more likely to fade early when  used on highly alkaline surfaces, such as new masonry.

Crystal Falls (DE 5896)
Snowy Shadow (DE 5897)
Prim Blue (DE 5898)
Sapphire Fog (DE 5899)
Enchanting Sky (DE 5900)
Ocean Night (DE 5901)
Blue Review (DE 5902)

Same Family Colors
Sapphire Fog (DE 5899)
Enchanting Sky (DE 5900)
Ocean Night (DE 5901)
Blue Review (DE 5902)
Chip #323






Color Family (Green Blues, Blues)
Silent Breath (DE 5714)
Fizzle (DE 5715)
Rolling Waves (DE 5716)
Pistachio Ice Cream (DE 5717)
Mother Earth (DE 5718)
Ecological (DE 5719)
Deep in the Jungle (DE 5720)
Air of Mint (DE 5721)
Tropical Waterfall (DE 5722)
Fountain City (DE 5723)
Polished Aqua (DE 5724)
Dragon Bay (DE 5725)
Royal Palm (DE 5726)
Imperial Dynasty (DE 5727)
Tinted Ice (DE 5728)
Spearmint (DE 5729)
Island Oasis (DE 5730)
Port Hope (DE 5731)
Teal Me No Lies (DE 5732)
Reef Encounter (DE 5733)
Emperor Jade (DE 5734)
Morning Calm (DE 5735)
Soaring Sky (DE 5736)
Aqua Bloom (DE 5737)
Castaway (DE 5738)
Montego Bay (DE 5739)
Deep Lagoon (DE 5740)
Peacock Plume (DE 5741)
Thawed Out (DE 5742)
Silver Spruce (DE 5743)
Seaport (DE 5744)
Barrier Reef (DE 5745)
Aspen Hush (DE 5746)
Stone Bridge (DE 5747)
Loch Ness (DE 5748)
Windswept (DE 5749)
Winter Escape (DE 5750)
Plunging Waterfall (DE 5751)
Faded Jeans (DE 5752)
Riviera (DE 5753)
Tropical Teal (DE 5754)
Carnival Night (DE 5755)
Let it Snow (DE 5756)
Across the Bay (DE 5757)
Winter Chill (DE 5758)
Gulf Stream (DE 5759)
Caribbean Cruise (DE 5760)
River Fountain (DE 5761)
Teal Fury (DE 5762)
Sparkling River (DE 5763)
Blue Moon (DE 5764)
Surfside (DE 5765)
Watson Lake (DE 5766)
Star City (DE 5767)
Mysterious Blue (DE 5768)
After the Storm (DE 5769)
Smoke and Mirrors (DE 5770)
Shark (DE 5771)
Blue Spruce (DE 5772)
Stone Silver (DE 5773)
Thundercloud (DE 5774)
Iron Creek (DE 5775)
Lunar Eclipse (DE 5776)
Frostproof (DE 5777)
Crystal River (DE 5778)
Bayshore (DE 5779)
Water Baby (DE 5780)
Tropical Lagoon (DE 5781)
By the Bayou (DE 5782)
Nocturnal Sea (DE 5783)
Ice Cold (DE 5784)
Glacier Point (DE 5785)
Eastern Sky (DE 5786)
Pacific Palisade (DE 5787)
Aegean Sea (DE 5788)
English River (DE 5789)
Atlantis (DE 5790)
Sidewalk Chalk (DE 5791)
Falling Tears (DE 5792)
Frozen Tundra (DE 5793)
Lake Winnipeg (DE 5794)
Spirit Mountain (DE 5795)
Before the Storm (DE 5796)
Slate Wall (DE 5797)
Polar Ice (DE 5798)
Snow Lodge (DE 5799)
Peace River (DE 5800)
Silver Skate (DE 5801)
China Clay (DE 5802)
Turbulent Sea (DE 5803)
Nightfall (DE 5804)
Pale Frost (DE 5805)
Dockside (DE 5806)
Bonnie Blue (DE 5807)
Lake Lucerne (DE 5808)
Raging Tide (DE 5809)
Crashing Waves (DE 5810)
Summer Night (DE 5811)
Dreamy Blue (DE 5812)
Two Harbors (DE 5813)
Anchors Away (DE 5814)
Frozen Lake (DE 5815)
Seal Pup (DE 5816)
Stormy Sea (DE 5817)
Midnight Haze (DE 5818)
Pearl City (DE 5819)
Polished Silver (DE 5820)
Overcast Sky (DE 5821)
Silver Storm (DE 5822)
Mica Creek (DE 5823)
Outer Space (DE 5824)
Deepest Sea (DE 5825)
Frosty Day (DE 5826)
Spring Shower (DE 5827)
Winter Chime (DE 5828)
Frozen Wave (DE 5829)
Mediterranean Sea (DE 5830)
Teal Tune (DE 5831)
Navy Teal (DE 5832)
Teardrops (DE 5833)
Azure Sky (DE 5834)
Below Zero (DE 5835)
Sail Away (DE 5836)
Pool Party (DE 5837)
Summer Lake (DE 5838)
Ink Blotch (DE 5839)
Ice Castle (DE 5840)
Arctic Paradise (DE 5841)
Light Azure (DE 5842)
Sanctuary Spa (DE 5843)
Splish Splash (DE 5844)
Americana (DE 5845)
Lapis (DE 5846)
Ice Fishing (DE 5847)
Island View (DE 5848)
January Frost (DE 5849)
Wandering River (DE 5850)
Blueberry Muffin (DE 5851)
Rainy Lake (DE 5852)
Blue Earth (DE 5853)
Fresh Water (DE 5854)
Wild Blue Yonder (DE 5855)
Astral (DE 5856)
Marina (DE 5857)
Walker Lake (DE 5858)
The Blues (DE 5859)
Slumber (DE 5860)
Cloudless (DE 5861)
Oh Boy! (DE 5862)
Sail to the Sea (DE 5863)
Cornflower (DE 5864)
Safe Harbor (DE 5865)
Dover Straits (DE 5866)
Blue Chip (DE 5867)
Winter Solstice (DE 5868)
Oceana Drive (DE 5869)
Northern Pond (DE 5870)
Downpour (DE 5871)
Lakeville (DE 5872)
Periscope (DE 5873)
Deep Reservoir (DE 5874)
Clear Vision (DE 5875)
Alaskan Skies (DE 5876)
Afternoon Sky  (DE 5877)
Bachelor Blue (DE 5878)
Ocean City (DE 5879)
Clean Slate (DE 5880)
Newbury Port (DE 5881)
Harbor Afternoon (DE 5882)
Drenched Rain (DE 5883)
Misted Eve (DE 5884)
Denim Tradition (DE 5885)
Bay View (DE 5886)
Admiral Blue (DE 5887)
Luna Pier (DE 5888)
Rainy Day (DE 5889)
Fly a Kite (DE 5890)
Sky High (DE 5891)
Blue Cue (DE 5892)
Bodega Bay (DE 5893)
Starstruck (DE 5894)
Dive In (DE 5895)
Crystal Falls (DE 5896)
Snowy Shadow (DE 5897)
Prim Blue (DE 5898)
Sapphire Fog (DE 5899)
Enchanting Sky (DE 5900)
Ocean Night (DE 5901)
Blue Review (DE 5902)






Yeahhh, except that it doesn't look like that.

My cabinet dude painted up a sample board with Sapphire Fog on it, and it's darker, more purple-y/grey, and altogether more sophisticated than the online sample indicates.

I took my painted board outside and tried to capture a better image. This is what I got:

That's a little closer. It's a tricky color: in different lights, it looks baby blue (yuck!), lavendar (umm...), smoky blue-grey (yeah, baby), and French Blue (also okay by me). Luckily, where it is going, on the vertical surfaces of the island in the middle of the kitchen, it looks more smokeybluegreyFrenchBluewithundertonesoflavendar.

Got that?

Here's how the color looks next to a sample of our granite (going on all our countertops) and the tile for the backsplashes:

The tile is a lovely creamy-white, not dead white-white. The kitchen cabinets will be painted the same shade as the tile. The granite, which is called "Blue Pearl," is a fairly popular stone. Here's a closeup of what it looks like:

It's yummy and shifty-colored, too. In certain lights, it looks charcoal gray. In other lights, it looks blacker. It always has glints of shiny bits in it, but sometimes the bits look white, and sometimes they look bluer.

I guess I like those indiscriminate, hard-to-pin-down kinds of colors.

They seem more interesting, more sophisticated, somehow.

So, the granite is waiting at the fabricator's shop, where it will stay until the island is installed and our mid-1980s tile countertops are demolished and carted away.

I still have to pick up a small order of tile for the backsplashes, but the tile company has it in stock and it should be no trouble to swing by and get it soon.

We've worked out all the little wrinkles with the contractor, and we're ready to go.

This will be the fourth major renovation we've done to this house. One thing I've learned along the way is that, if you want to avoid an updated part of your house from screaming "Renovation!" and/or "I was done in the mid-2010s!," there is a simple trick:

Repeat elements that you already have elsewhere in the house. I repeat: REPEAT ELEMENTS FROM ELSEWHERE IN YOUR HOUSE. You'll avoid the patchworky, clearly renovated look every time.

For instance, in our house, the flooring in the kitchen (we're not changing it) is the same as the flooring in the family room and our master bedroom.

Also, the granite counters in our renovated master bath and kitchen are very similar to the one in the dining room, which predates our owning the house. They are all variations of dark grey/black stone with brilliant flecks of shiny bits in them.

Here is a chunk of Blue Pearl (destined for the kitchen), resting on our bathroom granite (called Volga Blue):

Very similar, right? And here is the same Blue Pearl chunk atop our dining room granite. I don't know the name of it, sorry. It was installed by the former owner in the mid-1980s:


Also, we use the same creamy white paint color for all the trim, everywhere else in the house. Doors, doorjambs, crown molding, wainscoting, and baseboards: it's all alike. This same creamy white paint will be on all our kitchen cabinets (except the island).

In addition, the cabinet guy tried to seduce me with choosing a brushstroke-free paint treatment for the kitchen cabinets and island. He sprays on the paint for a mirror-smooth finish. It is, admittedly, gorgeous; it looks like the paint job on a luxury car! But in the end, we opted for the less sexy, painted-with-a-brush look. Because that's what all the painted surfaces in the rest of the house look like. Our home was built in the 1930s; nobody had mirror-smooth painted anything back then.

And lastly, the paint color for the kitchen island is almost exactly the same color as our front door, just a shade lighter. See?:

All of this, I hope, will add up to a kitchen that looks like it's always been part of the house.

And now, let the wild rumpus begin! Demolition starts in 3, 2, 1...

3 comments:

  1. Nice choices,& lots of good thought put into them-- I'm sure you'll love the results! Can't wait to see pictures of the final final. I don't have the time or wherewithall to capture our office remodel step by step, but I'll send you pictures when it is finshed. We LOVE the granite we picked: "Green Peacock", related to/just like the more well known "Ubatuba" (DARK green that really looks black, with largish gold-bronze/silver/peacock-blue crystals that change with the light -- like your Blue Pearl. The gold-bronze color in the granite ties in with the stain of the cherry wood cabinets. Granite and cabinets are in (but not stained yet), and Monday the trim and crown moulding go in; then, the stain I think. Remodeling is crazy hectic but fun and exciting, for sure! xoxo

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