Kitchen Before and After

I've definitely neglected my blog since returning to work in the engineering field. The kitchen was completed months ago, but I hadn't taken time to get my husband to snap some nice photos. Finally made time for that, in between work & using my days off to painting & reorganizing the other rooms in the house after the re-wiring job. I put together some before & after shots so you can see what a big improvement the new kitchen is.

Happy to see go: wallpapered ceiling, vinyl floor, old hardware on cabinets.

Favorite new additions: recycled glass countertops (vetrazzo), DSC range, bosch dishwasher (nice & quiet), new bar/counter & window valance made with the glass bottle bottoms & LED lights. Eco friendly marmoleum floor and bamboo cabinets with a tall pantry.

Finished Floor Installed

Finished Floor Pattern, a photo by b-a-boop on Flickr.

We finally got my floor design installed (my mid century modern inspired pattern). The marmoleum click was relatively easy to install, a typical floating floor. The most difficult part was accounting for the expansion gap at all the different trim locations. It took a bit of thinking to accomodate those gaps & still keep the design lined up with the entries & cabinets before we started. You can find a few more photos on my flickr photostream.

Changing the Hardware

After almost a year of drooling over the Richelieu handles I had picked out for our cabinets, last week we happened upon a knob we like better. It's much more minimalist and quite contemporary, so this is the style we'll be ordering. It's made by Top Knobs and it's small, only uses one finger to pull.

Glass Tile Samples

Today I received some glass tile samples for the kitchen backsplash. As with anything you order online, you can't always tell colors on a computer monitor. I ordered 3 different samples, one of the 3 was a different manufacturer than the others. They all looked slightly different online, but two ended up an almost complete match (both the glossy ones). The other one is a matte finish and we like it better, but it does appear a little more blue than green. You can see scratches on the surface of the glossy ones and since we're planning to use larger 4"x12" tiles to cut down on grout lines, the scratches may be a problem.  I may order a few others yet.

Floor Design for Marmoleum Click

This is a possible floor design for our Marmoluem Click kitchen floor. I've been drawing up dozens of patterns but wasn't particularly thrilled with most of them. We have 5 color samples & planed to combine 3 colors, but are even undecided on which 3. With a layout of the kitchen that isn't really rectangular complicating the flow, it's been a challenge. I've been collecting lots of mid century modern graphics to develop the kitchen design & was looking at a leftover piece of scrapbook paper and was inspired by it's print. As the click  tiles are 12" with square corners I couldn't exactly duplicate the rounded corners of the rectangles, but the basic idea is there. I ended up using 4 colors though. So far it's my favorite, but I may refine it even more.

Floor Plan

Scrapbook Paper

Kitchen Hardware

These are the cabinet pulls I'm dreaming of for our Mid Century Modern Look Kitchen. They have a cool vintage, yet contemporary feel that will go well with the circle design we intend to create for the section we need to build up on our brick wall so it's the proper height for a bar. They can be found in the Richelieu catalouge.

Work in Progress – Brick Wall

I’ve finally returned to my project of painting the brick wall. I thought I might be able to get it all done last week on my two days off, but it was a bit more work than that, plus I was utterly sore from those days of sitting on the floor and sponging on five different colors of paint. 
    
I’m thrilled with how well it’s coming along. Everytime I look at the side I completed I can’t get over how much more I love it than the white brick it used to be. Now that we have our financing together to finish the kitchen project, I’m starting to get back into the planning mode. Since the project has been delayed a year now, some of my material choices are no longer available, so I have to do some additional planning again. With working a job with a revolving schedule, it’s a bit of a task to find time to stay concentrated on the kitchen. I hope I get it organized soon so I can get a contractor hired and have the kitchen of our dreams.

Mid-Century Modern Kitchen

Mid-Century Modern Kitchen
Originally uploaded by Roadsidepictures

A great flickr find of a mid-century modern kitchen. This is the look I want for my new kitchen. Flat front cabinets, today they call them European, but I guess we started them in the 50's. I like the floor too.