Thread: The kitchen is finished!

Well done, Derek, not just the job itself, but finishing it as quickly as you have whilst still battling the day job! I started not that long after you, but despite working almost full-time on it, am still quite a ways from finished with our kitchen. The pantry is the only section actually complete. which has removed some of the clutter & inconvenience we are living with: pantry.jpg

Originally Posted by derekcohen

........The original kitchen was 25 years old and tired......

.......So we needed new cabinet doors and drawer fronts … and then it became a new countertop in granite … and then a more modern range hood ... and the gas hob would be replaced with a fancy-shmancy ceramic electric one that Lynndy has been eyeing for a long time......

All very familiar so far, our job started because a couple of cupboards were clearly disintegrating ( and in fact, when I pulled the sink cupboard out, it was in worse shape than I thought), and the sandstone counter-tops were in poor shape. Our job quickly morphed into all-new appliances, too, except for the fridge, funnily enough.

Originally Posted by derekcohen

........Lynndy wanted modern and light. And so the cabinet design would be Shaker and in Hard Maple (from the USA - my local wood salvage supplier had just received a large shipment).......

This is where we differ - my better half wanted very modern, i.e., all smooth, easy-clean surfaces, so NO wood-panelled doors (as I would've preferred). Instead we are fitting all thermo-formed things. Sometimes it's easier to go with the flow...

Originally Posted by derekcohen

........ while I love the look and feel of wood, I don't think it is as practical for kitchen bench tops, as it may delaminate, need refinishing, become more easily damaged, etc. ....

Hmm, about 20 years ago, I used exactly the same arguments to one of my sisters who was determined to have wooden tops (& guess who was 'commissioned' to make them?). Despite my grumbling & mumbling, the tops were duly made & installed, & for anyone contemplating a wooden kitchen counter-top with two right-angle joins, it's a cow of a job! Not just ensuring perfect lamination of the joints, which is taxing enough, but getting those mitres spot-on over such long lengths is the stuff of nightmares! And the worst part is, every time I go over there, she makes a point of showing me how good they still look, 20 years on. By contrast, the sandstone bench tops in our place, which were the same age, were a mess, with numerous deep stains and deep pock-marks, especially around the sink & stove-top! She had young kids, our kids were long-gone & we are pretty careful types, so I think you can chalk that up as a 'win' for wooden counters.

However, "we" have opted for a synthetic stone this time, because "there's too much wood already, with wood floors & furniture..". It's still a couple of weeks away from installation, but at least the 'lecky has been & done his stuff, so we have functioning ovens & cooktop, the sink is temprarily plumbed in, & we are coping comfortably enough with the temporary counters I cobbled up from the demolition scraps.

Today, I'll be working on getting the new range-hood installed, then it's just waiting for the new bench-tops to be installed. After that, I can fit the remaining doors & drawer-fronts & add the end-panels & kick-boards. In the meantime, the whole kitchen needs re-painting (the current colours don't suit the new bench-top & cupboards ), and "Oh, while you've got the brushes & rollers out, the sewing-room needs re-painting..", so it will be a while yet before I can scuttle back to the safety of the shed.....

Cheers,

Hi Derek,
It must give you heaps of satisfaction to have completed the "make-over"with your own hands.

Some lovely chatoyancy in the panels ...

Great craftmanship

Regards

Rob

Since Ian opened the door...

KJ Kit 1.jpg

Me too, or three. Not finished of course but with the common theme of hard maple. Black bars above the backsplash are supports for floating shelves.

Well done, Derek, not just the job itself, but finishing it as quickly as you have whilst still battling the day job! I started not that long after you, but despite working almost full-time on it, am still quite a ways from finished with our kitchen.

Thanks Ian. Keep in mind that I did not replace carcases (in fact, I removed two of them). You have a lot more on your plate than I. So far it is shaping up well!

"Oh, while you've got the brushes & rollers out, the sewing-room needs re-painting.."

Oh, yes!

It started about November last year. We had been talking about what we might do in the kitchen. The awareness grew that nearly all the rooms in the house could do with painting, especially the living room (you may recall that the kitchen is a back corner of a large open plan livingroom and dining area). The ceilings are vaulted, and that means a LOT of wall area to paint. We painted for two months! It was helpful that we were having guests to stay in late January (Rob Lee and his wife). Having a deadline kept us focussed. I had quite a bit of the kitchen built, but not installed, when Rob arrived.

This weekend I am back to building furniture!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by rob streeper

....Me too, or three. Not finished of course but with the common theme of hard maple. Black bars above the backsplash are supports for floating shelves.

Rob, that looks grand! Of course, I was copying your work beforehand. You know that

Incidentally, the range hood you have was originally our first choice (great minds thinking alike). It fitted in when we we going to continue the same layout, which had cabinets flanking the range hood. The curved style you have softens the line. Then we decided to remove canibets (to make the area more airy), and a slim, straight lined range hood then seemed the better choice.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Don't mention range-hoods!

After much to-ing & fro-ing, 'researching' on the internet, & visiting appliance stores, we settled on an 'undermount' model, based on its capacity & particularly, its operating quietness. We were assured by the salesperson it was the right one for us & would fit in the (already made) range-hood cabinet. It was duly delivered a few days ago, & this morning I went to start fitting it. You can imagine how pleased I was when I discovered it's too wide for a standard 600mm cabinet, by 20mm!

Fortunately, I had only partially un-packed it (carefully), and the appliance store were good about it & accepted it was as much their mistake as mine, so an exchange has been duly organised. I triple-checked the dimensions of the new one, and it seems to be fine, & looks a bit easier to install, too, so apart from putting me back a week waiting for the new one to arrive, all is well. The replacement is a little less expensive, so I guess that is an added bonus.......

So I spent the rest of the day patching the walls where we removed some rather ghastly tiles. My absolute favourite job is sanding Gyprock filler...

Un-interrupted, guilt-free shed-time is going to be soooo sweet....
Cheers

Hi Lynndy, Derek,
I remember that Kitchen well, but I wood have to say it looks much better now.
I dare say Lynndy wood be very pleased with her new Kitchen.
Keep up that great work you always do.