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Final kitchen design

This blog chronicles my entire kitchen renovation from start to finish! Greentea Design has provided me with their solid wood kitchen cabinets, and I'm taking care of the rest.

If you'd like to be brought up to date, check out the archive in the sidebar for previous posts. This post I will show you the layout I went with, what cabinets I chose, and some 3D sketches of my new kitchen.


Initially I was concerned about what layout to choose because of the expense of changing windows and sealing up doors etc., but in the end I decided to spend the money on changes like these in order to have the kitchen I really want. It turned out not to be not as big of an expense as I thought, as I've gotten a quote from my contractor for all the work he needs to do to prepare for the cabinets and I did not have a heart attack. :) So I decided to make the window smaller, seal up the door and knock the wall to the living room down. The following photo was my next layout idea.


This was modified slightly for the final design because Greentea's cabinets are not really designed for corners, so the corner sink had to be moved and since I love kitchen sinks under a window, I decided to go for that. Here are some of the first 3D layout designs that Mike at Greentea created for me. I LOVE technology, and the fact that I get to see exactly what my kitchen will look like. He did several different angles as well which gives a clearer idea of the space I'm working with.




So there you have it...my new kitchen!

Greentea's kitchen cabinets come in 6 stains and they have several hardware options and door fronts to choose from. Below are the options for the lower and upper cabinets.



Since I want to keep the space as light as possible, I decided to go with the Fruitwood stain (see photos above - my selections have a red square around them). I love teak and I thought it looked teak-ish. For the lower cabinets I selected Iron Warabite handles. Here is an example of what the base cabinets will look like with the stain and handles I selected:


I prefer the darker handle to the gold and I love the large size of this handle as well. I had a choice of 24" or 26" depths for the cabinets, and went for 24" since my kitchen is so small. (Greentea's base cabinets come in anything from 3' to 9' lengths so there's something for any size kitchen). For the upper cabinets I decided against glass doors. I will only have uppers along the wall where the fridge will be so I didn't want to limit myself as to what I could put in those cabinets. I went with the Mizuya finish that will match the lower cabinets. I think that will give them a clean and unified look. I love that I was able to choose the hinges, and since they have such great options, I selected one that would be prominent on the upper cabinets. I chose the Round Iron hinge that will match the handles. Here is what the uppers will look like:


Greentea's website is perfect for those like me who aren't able to visit their showroom, because you can chose the hinges, handles and stains and the photo will update with your selection so you can visualize all of your options. Otherwise, I have no idea how I would have been able to make these decisions without losing my mind. And my favourite is their zooming feature. When you hover over a photo of a cabinet, a window pops up and you can move around and see it close up. So you know exactly what you're getting. I spent quite a bit of time playing around with these features. :)

For the wall opposite the stove, I have space between my basement stairs and my office door to put some sort of unit for more storage because lord knows I need as much as I can get. I thought about their totally gorgeous Dana wall cabinet, but ended up going with a 4' Mizuya pantry, that is going to house so many of my kitchen gadgets.



So that is new kitchen in a nutshell. I have to say that it was a bit nerve-racking making cabinet choices. That's a huge decision. I'd LOVE to know what you guys think of my choices and get some input on what you might have done in terms of door styles, stain and hardware. I'm really curious to find out if my selections jive with what you all might have gone with.

P.S. I just heard from the Greentea guys that they are interested in taking user's suggestions for each part of the kitchen and creating a completely different version of what I came up with. That would be so fun to see so please comment away!!

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Comments:
This is Mike from Greentea.

Really happy that the project is working out so well and it's lots of fun working with Kim.

Looking forward to seeing it all come together. Look forward to the final sketches before the physical reno gets underway :)

Of course we're all looking forward to reading some great feedback about our products and site as well.

I'll be popping up in the comments now and then and am excited to get a little more involved in the blogging community. I spend lots of time looking at blogs to see whats going on in the design world as well as finding new blogs to sponsor, but I've very rarely had much opportunity to leave comments.
 
i think it's weird to not have the range hood symmetrically positioned between the two windows ... i imagine that you will put something up on that empty wall but i am worried about the balance ...
 
Welcome Mike! Careful you'll get addicted to blogging very quickly :)

I'm so excited about this project and I'm loving the uniqueness of your product. Lucky Kim. Except I also know she has a lot of hard work ahead of her.
 
Hi Mike!!!

Anon, the windows are in sort of odd positions, but in the end the sink will be directly under the window, and the cabinets on either side of the stove are the same size (in the sketches the base cabinet to the left of the stove looks smaller). I don't know that I want the added expense of moving both windows. Because I would have to get a new window on the right that matches the one on the left too. You do have me wondering though if it would be worth the hassle and the $$$. I'll give it some thought. THANKS!
 
Okay, normally I wouldn't be so opinionated, but you asked for it ;)

-Thank god no corner sink! no man would never help w/ the dishes, cause his big hip bones would keep knocking in that corner (I'm a man-sized girl, 6', and had the misfortune of boning a corner sink once at a friends house, ouch.)

-I think the windows are fine, and one over the sink is priceless. If this were my space, I'd add two open shelves to the right of the range hood, with stemware racks screwed to the bottom shelf. (and if you're considering something like this, ask your contractor to put some blocking, behind the drywall before he seals it back up, so you won't have to use anchors, and take a picture of your naked studs, with measurements drawn on, before you seal it up) OR that sweet Dana tea cabinet looks like it'd fit well in there too...

AND... I'd extend the counter further to the right, under the window, put two legs to the right of the window, and ask your contractor to extend the apron front detail of the cabinets across the front and sides. In this lovely open space, you could park a cart with a butcher block top, or a barstool a have a quick breakfast staring out the window. This would bring symmetry to the window issues, and provide a nice window seat for cats ;)

Q- Is the dark grey line the dining room divide, can we cross the divide w/ a counter? What are your dining table plans? since this is open to the dining room, can we back this view out a bit.'Cause if i had this much open space, I might consider a small island, but maybe not if you're gonna have a big ol' farmhouse table in the dark grey area...?
 
I agree with "anon" that there's something. . . off about the symmetry, here. Maybe it's the cabinets on one side of the stove, and empty space on the other side of the stove. It seems like something big and functional needs to go on that wall. Maybe a single cabinet with paneled glass double doors that coordinates with the others? You could use it for decorative storage and the kitchen would look more complete.

Good luck! No matter what we suggest or what you choose, I'm sure you'll be completely happy with the result!
 
Duh, I just found the tray cabinet
http://www.greenteadesign.com/reproductions/kitchen-counters/tray-cabinet.html on Greentea's site. So here's the new plan ;)

Tray cabinet to the right of the window, (minus all the dishwasher trim) and then extend the counter across, so you still have an open space.

Yeah, I'm obsessed with open spaces for carts and legs...

I love your 'teak' finish with the dark hardware, gorgeous.
 
I think the free-standing pantry should be half as deep. You just lose things in a deep cabinet anyway. And even though I know you can get through the door, it just seems to block the flow. I thought the same about your cart in your existing kitchen. (Just since you're asking!)
 
Thanks Noel! I wanted to keep the stove wall clear of cabinets because my house is TINY and I thought putting any cabinets along there would make it look really small and narrow. Ok, more than it already is. I have ordered something for the wall on either side of the stove though - which I'll disclose in a couple posts. :)

Brandy, thanks for all your thoughts. Corner sink would have been ok because I'm pretty thin, and no guy lives with me. But might have irritated future owners of my house. See my point above about upper cabinets on stove wall. Although I REALLY wanted to squish a Dana tea cabinet somewhere... I had thought of extending cabinets under the window but I wanted to leave some space between the cabinets and the living room. The living room, also a small maybe 10'x10' square, starts about 1' after that window. That would have been cute to have a stool there, looking out the window. The dark grey line is the difference in flooring, which will no longer be different. I plan on buying/building a long narrow dining table that will go in the middle of the kitchen (for lack of anywhere else to put one since there is no dining room). The tray cabinet can't go to the right of the window - the wall juts out for about a foot along the wall where a furnace duct is. For some reason all my ducts stick out instead of being placed within the walls.

Thanks so much for your comments!!
 
Diana, Greentea didn't have anything as big as that pantry that was less deep. I chose the least deep (did I say that right?) unit they had I think. And it's maybe half the depth of my metal cart...or more, I can't remember but I did measure the cart once to see. I did not want to block the flow either, but I desperately needed more storage. That's why I chose a pantry unit instead of one of the gorgeous hanging cabinets.
 
I too was under the impression that the gray floored area was going to be a continuation of your kitchen into a dining area until I went to your flickr page and actually looked at the photos of your house. Man you live in one tiny house ;) It makes sense now. The second longer window is actually in your living room and I'm fully getting the need for a skinny table.

It will be interesting to see the cabinets as they go in. I find 3D software renderings of things always seem a bit "out" especially simple ones like these. I'm totally agreeing with the shelves on the other side of the hood as a balance. Perhaps a piece of art? The cabinets are standard no? Not custom? I get the layout if you are using standard pieces from the range.

Anyway enough babbling on. You're off to a great start!
 
Hi, Looks good ! But I would of put an island in that vast open expanse in the center of the room ~ Nothing like it for another sink, storage and IMPACT !
 
Thanks for the welcome Jo, you and Kim have done a great job on Desire to Inspire.

Kim's going to cover the exact cabinets very soon, but I thought I'd interject with a little about the kind of customization we can do.

In Kim's case the sizes are fit to her kitchen and there's a few other things we did for the final design, but we didn't have anything that needed to be changed a lot or designed from the ground up.

The common changes we do are cabinets of varying sizes with different drawer/door configurations. For example Diana’s comment; we could have designed the pantry with just about any layout and at a shallower depth. We have also recently designed custom oven and fridge enclosures, as well as custom panels and shelving to match up to a specific design we were approached with. We have just recently designed a section that details our custom cabinetry which will be up for the next post.

I’m glad to see all the comments the posts have been getting. It will be lots of fun to try and do the kitchen quite differently from them. Also, if anyone has any feedback as to how our website or products could be improved we would love to hear from you!
 
Katie, yes my house is TINY. I'm guessing it's about 900 square feet and it's 12' 1" wide. So not alot to work with. And I'm quickly realizing what a pain in the arse a narrow house is. TOTAL lack of places for furniture/display. I'm planning to just wait and see how the space on either side of the stove looks once everything is in place. Art/shelving is for sure a good idea.

Kendall, as much as I'd love an island, that would mean losing a dining table. I REALLY need a dining table. I plan to spend alot of my time on my laptop at the dining table where I will have a clear view of my tv in the living room. So it will do double duty as dining space/office.

And thanks for the info Mike. I'm amazed at how much customization you guys at Greentea are able to do for your clients. But lucky for me, my kitchen was straightforward.
 
Hey Kim!

Since you're redoing your kitchen, I have some info for you. Go talk to Universal Appliances on Bank Street. We're with them, buying our appliances, and they sold my Mom HER appliances for her kitchen.

We went to see them yesterday and they have really, really good sales people. No pressure, our sales guy gave us a ton of information, and the quality of the appliances is excellent. He steered us away from a brand here, or a certain appliance there, because the service on them is lacking. That's pretty awesome!

It's an Ottawa thing.

Our sales guy was great because he didn't try to sell us anything we didn't need, either. He was definitely sensitive to our price needs.
 
Hey ottawa-emptor - you've GOT to be kidding me!! I was just there yesterday too (and the day before) and bought ALL of my appliances from the nicest salesguy (Tyler). SMALL WORLD!! And wait until you see what I bought!
 
GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

That is so awesome. I can't wait to see what you get. Mark and I are totally lame: we've blogged our appliance options even before we've bought them. Hee!

Maintaining suspense and interest? What does that mean? Ha ha!
 
I might have blogged my appliance options but I basically had no clue what to get until Friday when I checked out their products, and then went back and bought them Saturday. I'm going over to your blog to read your appliance post. :)
 
Interesting.
I can appreciate the completeness of the room but this is so far from what I like and enjoy.
It's got me thinking about why. And I often wonder why it seems that the more 'design' knowledge a person has, the less I like the product or design. I'm not too worried about it but it's crossed my mind that I might be thinkin' I got style when I've got ZERO. I know there's room for all kinds and that brings a little relief.
I'm new to blog and will follow along.
thanks for the tour.
 
Hmmm...Room for all kinds???

Note: the more expensive the wine, the less likely I'll like it.

Total exposure.
 
Thanks for checking out my reno tillytoo9, and all I can say is what until you see it finished. Guaranteed to please all kinds. ;)

And I prefer cheap wine too.
 
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