i know NOTHING about ventilation issues so please forgive my ignorance. the range will back an outside wall so sending the smoke outside will be pretty easy. thanks in advance for your help.

Adam

"Just an FYI on the sink, we have used these a couple of times and both times they had to be sent back because they were not able to fabricate the countertops around them. They are hand made and there is a lot of variations to them. Secondly, they weigh 154 lbs without water in them so the cabinet installer has to make sure it is mounted very securely."

Now he has me worried. So if I go through with this, what size should I get and what size cabinet do I need? And Im not sure on brand. There's Kohler, Whitehaus and Rohl. I think the Rohl is the most expensive, but are the others just as good?

Thanks!

Does anyone have any pics of what their butcher blocks look like after years of regular use?

But I can scale back and go as simple as

preferably if the backplate were a little more substantial.

I did find one knob from Restorer's Affiliate

That is pretty close (although it has an egg shaped versus round knob) and is reasonable, but I know nothing about the company and quality.

So, what did you all do? Please talk me down from the ledge. :)

Does anyone have websites they like for wood counters? Any other thoughts on how to find a local source (phone book?). Also, how much do they normally cost? I am thinking walnut, cherry or teak. I don't need the "end grain." I would like an ogee edge, however.

Thanks for any information.

The fabricator found me this slab of Kashmir White that has more movement in it than most I've seen.

What do you think as to its suitability with dark wood cabinets. Does Kashmir white tend to look very gray?

I'd love to see photos if anyone has used it. A search on the forum hasn't given me any results for this.

Same slab, different shot.

TIA
kn

Marble Vanity on Ebay

Ebay #250371821336

Floor tile: carrara marble basketweave from internet retailer at $14 per sq ft

Wall Tile: Daltile 3x6 subway in Arctic White Matte

Deco: Nero black 5/8 strips around a 1' strip of carrara.

Niche: Carrara chair rail, carrara shelves, and 1x1 mosaic of carrara in the back.

Light grey grout: Silver Shadow Laticrete

Toilet and wall hung sink: original to home (late 1940s, early 1950s)

This replaces a traditional old house bath with pinwheel tile on the floor, 4x4 white wall tall, and a tub that was never used.

Thanks to many here for inspiration and guidance.

Now to my first call for help! We live in turn of century 1.5 bath, 3 bdrm house. Desparately need to remodel upstairs bath. We have 2 choices-

1. Gut and remodel "as is" with minor changes to a ~9 X 6 full bath-bath has wasteful design, with mini hallway.

2. Spend about $15-20 K additional to #1, move walls , and create 2 ~ 5.5 X 6.5 ft baths. 1 bath would be simple shower/tub combo to hall, other is 42" neo angle shower stall (Master), connected to largest bedroom. Stealing any more space is not possible.

We're OK now with single bath for DW, and 2 girls, but as they move beyond toddler years, I think we'll need 2 baths.

We don't mind small baths....but is this a bad idea from investment perspective? Seems to me it is worth additional $$ to have 2.5 rather than 1.5 baths for resale. All 3 contractors like idea of 2 rooms, as does my real estate agent, but architecht thought it might be squeezing too much into our floor plan, especially with "home spa's" being more the rage.

Question 1- should I make the plunge to the separate bathrooms, or stick with 1 full bath, and keep my money in my bank account?

Question 2- 42" neo angle seems to create optimal layout....but it seems only way to get clean looking doors is a $3K custom-measured glass doors, with top frame...is there anyway to do a similar-sized shower doorless? Or, is there a non-custom solution that performs well, but doesn't look like Star Trek. I'm already decided on pan floor (sorry Bill, I like clean/seamless shower floors)

Thank you in advance for your help...

If you used it for the floor, what color and size tile for the wall.
How about paint color.

Is it easy to clean the Catarina white coliseum tile.

Matching colors and different sizes of tiles is my worst subject.

I appreciate the help.
Thanks

We wanted the look of marble without the maintenance issues of real stone and we are very happy with this porcelain and ceramic product.

Here are are a few photos:

Materials used:

Floor Tile: AO Catarina Coliseum White Porcelain Matt Finish 12x12 Tiles

Wall Tile: AO Catarina Coliseum White Ceramic Polished 8x10 Tiles

Accent Tile: White Carrara Marble 12" Chair Rail

Vanity countertops and shower wall ledges: Caeserstone "Pebble" in polished finish

Faucets/Shower Heads: Danze

Shower Control: Hans Grohe

Hardware/Towel Bars/Lighting: Restoration Hardware

Tub: Toto 6ft AirJet Tub

Toilet: Toto

The first would just be a band of mosaics:

The second would be replacing random subway field tiles with a similar-sized group of mosaics:

wall and trim color: sw alabaster white
cabinet color: sw mindful gray
cabinets: armstrong cabinets
countertops: honed carrara marble
cabinet hardware: rh dakota 6" pull in aged pewter
appliances: ge profile
sink: whitehaus 30" farmhouse sink (I got this for 300!)
faucet: 75 off of ebay
tile: daltile 3x6 folio subway handmade and handglazed subway tile
shades: lowes sahara roman shades
sliding door track: crown industrial
sconces: visual comfort library sconce
lighting over counter: custom made
stool: antique milk pail

I love marble subway tile but I haven't been able to find any in my price range ($10-12 sq.ft) Anyone know of a good price online?

Could I do a plain, white subway with the cream cabinets or
would I have to do an off white or almond? Help me please.
Thanks all. :)

And now...the range went in yesterday with the help of 5 burly guys and suddenly we are 98% done. Only some touch-up painting and installation of the DW panel, spice cab door and glass for the glass-front cabinet left to go.

When we are at 100% I'll post a gallery including "before" (yuk) and in-progress. I'll also include the new laundry area, at the extreme far end of these photos. For now, see below for shots of the kitchen. We made a few concessions to modernity, e.g., sacrificing the butler's pantry for 5 more feet of galley length and opening up the arch in the foreground--it used to be a narrow mahogany swinging door. Yet we wanted a kitchen worthy of our grand old Spanish Colonial Revival home. We think she is happy! Details at the very bottom.

Range - CornuFe in basic black.

Frig - Liebherr 60" built-in.

DW - Miele Optima with panel front. Panel is still at the paint shop.

Cabinets - locally made face-frame of birch with inset panel & bead detail on doors, melamine interiors, Blumotion hinges and all the internal bells & whistles.

Countertops - Brazilian Black soapstone, not oiled yet, with radiused corners and eased edge. Runnels by the sink. Mahogany top on the beadboard hutch.

Sinks - Rohl Shaws original 30" apron and 15" undermount prep with ISE Evolution disposers.

Faucets - Kohler Vinnata (K-690, K-691)in brushed nickel.

Cab hardware - "Duluth" 6" pulls and 1.25" knobs in brushed nickel from Restoration Hardware.

Appliance pulls - Top Knobs 12" pulls in BN. The DW will have one mounted horizontally--also serves as towel rack!

Floors - Original 1930 tongue-in-groove fir, sanded, repaired and refinished after removing 2 layers of linoleum.

Windows - Custom arched 3-lite pull casement, based on a ~1930 design I saw in the neighborhood.

Lighting - Schoolhouse Electric, all fluorescent GU24 except the pendants (too small for GU24 bulbs). Different ceiling mounts in kitchen, pantry and laundry.

Hood - Best PIK 45 with custom arched drywall enclosure and remote switch.

Tile Mural - our little secret! (JK, it's from Tierra y Fuego in San Diego.)

Backsplash - custom 2.5 x 5" Chardonnay color handmade subway by Ken Mason.

Paint - all BM, Country Lane green accent, Ivory White wall base color, Lemon Chiffon on cabs and trim.

Our CKD is Dana Jones, "The Kitchen Consultant," in Long Beach, CA. Our vision + Dana's creativity and attention to detail (this is Version 7 of the plan!) + our GC Bob Kaplan's superb and flexible execution = a nice result. We are well over time but pretty darn close to budget. We learned a LOT here. Hope you like it!

Does anyone know where I can purchase shelves like these? I know that Pottery Barn used to have them but when I checked the website, they don't seem to sell them any more.

Erika

Hope I'm not putting too many pictures!

Quick description (feel free to contact me if you have questions)
-Soapstone: Julia
-Cabinets: Custom, inset/flush shaker style with single bead (waiting to see if we get some issues resolved before I recommend the cabinet maker)
-Bookcase and desk tops: walnut
-Sharp microwave oven drawer (love it!)
-GE fridge
-Shaw 30 inch apron sink
-Wolf range top
-Thermador double ovens
-Vent-a-hood hood
-Dal tile
-potfiller: Newport Brass
-hot/cold faucet Newport Brass
-Main faucet: Mico
-Door to garage: one panel painted with chalkboard paint...fun! The kids love this and it's fun to put messages to guests, each other, holiday wishes, etc.
-Pull out baskets (love these...I keep bread in one and potatoes, onions, etc. in the other)
-Wine shelf--love it!
-Bar stools from Sturbridge Yankee Workshop (love these and they were so reasonable!)
-What would I do differently? More than 12 inch overhang on seating area of island (maybe 14-16 inch). And I might skip the bead board in the backs of the bookshelfs and glass cabs.

Happy kitchen designing to all! Thank you again!

- Re-install dishwasher (waiting on a replacement part)
- Find and install lights (above sink and open counter area in the kitchen proper)
- Add the "pretty" stuff (window treatments, accessories, blah, blah, blah)

It'll happen when it happens. I'm not going to rush it and end up with things I don't like. Besides, I have a lot of other things to do and don't want to wait on more kitchen indecision!

My kitchen, like everything, was mostly DIY. Things I DIDN'T do myself:
- Drywall (because I believe you should always hire out drywall)
- Cabinet install (included with the build)
- Countertop
- I did most of the plumbing, but in order to enlarge the opening to the DR all pipes to the upstairs bath had to be moved. I hired that one out because I didn't want to mess with it and I'm glad I did! It took two plumbers a full 9-hour day.
- My HVAC guys custom fabricated the exhaust vent to maneuver around pipes in the ceiling. While they were here for that, I had them re-locate the HVAC vents to the kitchen and DR
- My boyfriend helped me remove the load-bearing wall between the DR and nature room beyond. Technically not part of the kitchen, but it allowed me eliminate a door and extend the cabinet run.

Sounds like I didn't do much! But as you all know, there are a LOT of other things involved in a gut remodel. I need to show the befores for anyone to appreciate the result, so here goes. I had started packing up (and in some cases tearing into walls) before I remembered to take pics. It was even messier than usual.

Used to lead to the basement; the original kitchen had FOUR doorways

Fridge used to be where the hole is

Filthy stove and stolen corner (yes, i cooked with the help of a shop light)

More filthy stove. Admittedly, it could have looked better, but I did not want to expend the time or effort to clean this pit. The worst part was the cabinets with too short shelves that were NOT adjustable.

I HATED this window. The divider was right in my line of sight. Note the neon-yellow mini-blind to match the countertop.

Other side of the pipes is the dining room; room to the left is the "nature room". Note the upper cabinet that would not close because it was too full!

What happens when you put carpet in a kitchen. DON'T DO IT!

And now for the mostly-after (click to embiggen)

aaahhhhhhhhhh

(Do I have to take the 'Made in Italy' sticker off the range now? LOL)

I realized later that herringbone pattern is typically horizontal. Oops. I totally meant to do it this way. It's like flames coming off the stove. :)

cat door to the basement

window "sill" made by my countertop fabricator

Floor - Cork glue-down tiles from Duro-Design; pattern - Edipo; color - Cointreau
Cabinets - local custom shop; painted SW Snowbound SemiGloss. It's a crisp white with a tiny bit of warmth.
Countertop - Richlite in Chocolate Glacier
Backsplash - Landsdale Carrara from the Tile Shop
Vent Liner - Prestige
Range - Fratelli Onofri Double Evolution
Faucet - Moen Level
Dishwasher - Fisher Paykel dishdrawers
Sink - Kohler SmartDivide IronTones
Fridge - JennAir CD FD Floating Glass
Hardware - Asbury series from Restoration Hardware
Undercab Lights - Kichler 1" line-voltage xenon
Kept the old microwave and toaster oven. Ugly as they are, they're staying until they croak.

One minor lesson learned that I want to share because it bugs me.... I insisted on finding undercab lights that were not fluorescent because I wanted to be able to dim them. Well, you know what? If they're on, they're on high. I NEVER dim them. I wish I would've saved some $$ (now and in the future) and gone with fluorescent.

I still check in on the forum every once in a while, but not nearly as obsessive as I was during the thick of the work. You guys are like no other online community I've found. Thanks to everyone here for your inspirational remodels and helpful, patient advice.

Cabinets- custom built, inset. Color- SW8180, almond white
Counters- Antiqued Nordic Black