It’s about 95% done and I love it!
After losing a full day to an unscheduled (but lucrative) trip to Sacramento on Sunday night through Monday afternoon, I finally finished up the shelves in my pantry. That enabled me to put away a lot of the things that were sitting around my countertops, thus making my new kitchen presentable in photos and videos. I thought I’d show it off now, before I start my next big project.
Because I only had 1200 square feet of total space to play with, I had to limit the size of the kitchen. Somehow, however, I managed to create a good-sized, highly functional space.
My kitchen is now about 95% done. Most of what’s left to do is just trim.
I designed the kitchen space from scratch, carving an area at the end of my great room that shared a wall with my bathroom. The idea was to minimize plumbing costs by minimizing the plumbing runs. With the sink on that wall and the stove on an island, the refrigerator would be set into the adjacent wall, completing the “triangle” that’s so important in kitchen design.
The countertop length was limited by the fact that there’s a window at the end of that wall, but it’s still a full 11 feet long. The island is 3-1/2 feet wide by 7-1/2 feet long. Frankly, I think I have almost as much counter space in this home as I did in my old Arizona home with its extremely spacious kitchen.
Anyway, I’ll let you take a look at it for yourself. Here’s my narrated video:
It’s not quite done. As you saw in the video, I still have these little projects ahead of me:
- Install under cabinet lighting.
- Install trim around walls and cabinets.
- Install transition trim between appliance floors (adhesive vinyl on plywood) and main floor (Pergo laminated hardwood planks).
- Wrap finish (with wood trim) pantry doorway and hang pantry doorway curtain. (This is temporary until I can get a custom door, likely sometime next year.)
- Install white trim on pantry shelves and paint shelf support ends and screws.
- Hang pendant lamps.
- Hang fifth track lighting fixture.
- Put decorative baskets and silk plants atop cabinets.
As one of my friends pointed out not too long ago, the work never really ends when you build or own a home. I don’t mind. I have plenty of free time at home in the summer months and always need a project to work on.
Great video tour!!!! Loved it, Maria!! Your kitchen is so well planned and designed. Nice.
Thanks so much, Shirley. I think I did pretty good for a first try!
Looks grand, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for looking! It’s nice to get feedback. :-)
Woo Hoo! What a great set-up. I am green with envy. I even noticed Penny’s little dishes in the corner!!!
Thanks, Bruce. After living with an RV kitchen for two years, though, I think I deserve this. :-)
For the screws in the pantry you can get small plastic covers that pop onto the screw heads and gives a nice finish, although a dab of paint costs less.
I’m going with paint. Easier, cheaper, and if anyone wants to study my shelf supports they deserve the reward of discovering that I covered the screw heads with paint rather than some fancy plastic covers. ;-)
Looking good. I usually edge band shelving with products from Fastcap (located in Bellingham, UPS delivers to me in a day) They have nifty screw hole covers too, they’s probably send you a sample pack if you ask.
A custom door shouldn’t be a big deal but you could also install a pair of 12″ closet doors (which you could cut down slightly narrower width on your table saw). Ordering pantry doors from your cabinet supplier would be another option that would nicely match your kitchen. They could be hung independently on butt hinges or installed as a bi-fold door with a track overhead. Louvered panels would help remove the waste heat from your wine chiller which would otherwise raise the ambient temprature that the other wine is stored in. If you hang them as independent doors I’d suggest using the same handles as your cabinet pulls with overhead ball detentes in place of latches.
Thanks for the suggestions and the links. The unfortunate part about the pantry doorway is that the opening is 24 inches. That means I’d need a 22 inch door. It isn’t a big deal to have made, but it is a big expense: I’m looking at $400-$500 for something that looks decent. I’ve considered a bifold door doing just as you suggest and haven’t ruled it out yet. For now, however, a curtain will be both quick and relatively attractive. As for the heat buildup from the wine cooler, I’ll likely install a very low voltage fan — like a USB-powered fan — to exhaust the warm air out of that bottom area. This is all finish stuff — need to get my deck, deck rails, and loft rails done first so I can get final inspection behind me.
I’m so happy to see you happy after following you since 2012. I’m loving watching the developments at your home, and the kitchen tour was especially nice because it’s so personal. Wishing you many happy hours there. You have no idea how your struggles have helped me.
Thanks so much, Susan! A lot of folks who started following me back when I blogged about the dark days of my crazy divorce have been commenting here and there with encouraging words like yours. I’ve sure come a long way! I hope that I can serve as an example to folks going through a rough time or, worse yet, feeling as if they can’t move forward without a suddenly lost life partner. What I’ve discovered over the past 2+ years is how much more I can accomplish alone, without having to compromise, argue over details, or just wait for a risk adverse partner to be comfortable enough to get something done. Although I miss the man he once was — and know how much that man would have loved my new place and new life — I’m so much better off without the man he became. I think that many people, when they can get past the grief, will realize the same thing. If I’ve helped you with any of that, I’m thrilled. Best of luck moving forward!
Awesome job and video, Maria. I’m loving your house. You’ve accomplished so much! A wonderful home.
Thanks, Mike. It’s really shaping up nicely. Now if only I could kick this energy-sapping bug I seem to have picked up. I started work on my deck yesterday with a friend and although we didn’t get very far due to our late start and early break, I bet I can knock off the front deck in a day by myself — if I can only summon the strength to get started. :-/