Monday, July 30, 2007

initial thoughts for kitchen

Yup, I'm already preoccupied with what I want to do in this house once we're in. I should be packing right now, but I'll just take a moment for a little post.

I love this area in the kitchen. It's sort of set apart by the fridge on one side, and a deep pantry style cupboard on the other side. I am going to be painting the kitchen cabinets a nice creamy white which will bring it up to date. I'll be using antiquey black hardware. In this area I'll be taking off the doors to give me some open shelves. I have open shelves now, so I couldn't live without them. They are pretty, and very convenient, and things don't get quite as dusty as you imagine. At least not the items used on a daily basis.

My sister suggested painting the inside a different colour, so I'll definitely be doing that, probably a very lovely warm pale blue of some sort, maybe something different, who knows. I feel like I'm rediscovering myself right now, so I don't want to make too many colour choices at the moment. Who knows what the "new" me will choose.

We'll have a small microwave too, but it will be an under cabinet model on the other side of the kitchen.

I'm thinking of buying this light kit at Home Depot for under the above cabinets. It's perfect, 3 lights, and they plug in. Plus they are only $39.99.

Funny, normally the "decorator" in me is locked in a dungeon somewhere in my being. It simply not something I'm passionate about.....until.....I move. Then she's released and overtakes everything because she figures if she's gonna be free for awhile, she'd better make a party out of it!

7 comments:

Elle Jay Bee said...

You're going to have so much fun!! I love doing over kitchens. I like your colour choices. If you are going to be changing your counter tops, there is a great laminate colour choice available that is called Besalt Slate. It is usually a stock colour in most building supply stores and really looks like slate (it is a charcoal grey-black) and looks very impressive !!
Just a thought...

You and Wendy have lots of great coffee mornings ahead of you!! Lucky girls...

Linda

Heidi said...

Oh Linda, that idea sounds FANTASTIC!!!! I'm going to look into that. It would take a lot of batting of the eyelashes to convince my tight fisted jon, but you never know.

Thanks!! And I intend on seeing YOU in my kitchen at some point, right alongside Wendy.

Chris Kauffman said...

I was gonna ask about the counter too, what about new tiles , nothing updates a kichen like tiles, cheap white subway is always a good standby , and finally home depot has glass tiles, I bought a 1x1' sheet for $14.00 which I will separate into strips for an inlay for my bathroom.Its a great option to add detail, you can tile right over existing tiles. And its fun and easy , just have to rent a wet tile saw , also easy and cheap.

Chris Kauffman said...

I think those cupboards could use some brackets , I know the perfect ones I will send you a photo see if you like what I am thinking of, I can pick some up when I go to get some more for me .

Elle Jay Bee said...

Hi Heidi,
I was online so I decided to reply to your email question here. Hope that's o.k.

At my local building center, the countertop (besalt slate) goes for about $14.00/linear foot. (Just measure what you need and you'll get a rough estimate of how much that will run you, material wise). Here, they also do the mitre cuts and finish the ends for a charge of $23.85/mitre end (you appear to have two), and $9.88/each end. It would likely take 2-3 hrs to install your countertop (rough estimate), so if Kents or Home Depot has an installer, you can get a pretty good estimate of the overall cost. If not, if you know someone really handy who has installed it before, they could do it..OR hire a carpenter but be sure to get his hourly rate before signing on. It really isn't that costly a job to undertake, but it sure adds a lot to the overall look of the kitchen!!
Good luck!

Linda

Heidi said...

Well gosh darn it all Linda, I had a friend tell me it was $100 a cut....maybe they were pulling my leg??!??! I was beginning to think it was hopeless!

I actually found the exact colour you were talking about, the besalt slate....PERFECT!! I had a hard time decifering the price on the list sheet at Kents, I thought it was $17.99tx.

Thanks Linda, you've given me a lot of hope. I even woke up this morning thinking about all of this! LOL!

Elle Jay Bee said...

Hi Heidi,
I think the price discrepancy comes from whether it is an in-stock countertop or not (ours is). If Kent's doesn't stock it, check around for someone who does. Somewhere should as it is becoming a very popular choice for kitchens.

Hope you are able to get it!!

Linda