Seeing Red!
In the Spring of 2016 I woke up one morning and had an epiphany. "I must sell this house. We must move!" Our old home was spacious but the floor plan lacked efficiency for raising two boys. We also had no parking space and one tight cramped garage. Unbeknownst to my husband who was traveling for work, I listed our old townhouse with a local great friend and agent the next day. Due to our hard work staging and the market of course we sold in one week. My husband returned from his business trip to find boxes being packed. He of course wasn't surprised.... he knows me by now :-)
In the end of June, we began renovations. First step was tackling the Eurocentric, high gloss, cherry red kitchen the previous owners had installed. Setting aside the aesthetic displeasure I had towards this kitchen, we quickly realized that this kitchen lacked function completely.
Next step was planning out the cabinet layout. I used IKEA's virtual rendering tool and played with a couple of different plans until my husband and I agreed on the perfect one for us. We headed to IKEA to choose the actual cabinet fronts and inserts for organization. After some time we agreed on the Bodbyn fronts in both grey(bottoms) and cream (top.) I also added some glass front top doors to display my copper collection and some sentimental dishware. We were psyched!!! The IKEA staff was very helpful and incredibly knowledgeable about dimensions and suggestions for interior drawer layouts etc. Delivery was quick and efficient. The return policy was even better. During reno we realized that one cabinet needed to be replaced with an alternate type of cabinet. However, we had already assembled it. IKEA said... "No problem!"
PAUSE, HOLD IT, READ CAREFULLY.....Learn from our mistake. Do not take the word of mouth recommendation of family friends for contractors without doing your due diligence. When picking a contractor, least expensive is probably not best. We chose our contractor by the before mentioned criteria and we felt the repercussions. If you learn anything from this post let it be this. Do not skimp on a quality contractor and if doing an IKEA kitchen, make sure the contractor has proof of his work with the SEKTION line. Ask for pictures and even a tour of a kitchen they previously did. SEKTION kitchens from IKEA are complicated to assemble for people who have never done them before. Our contractor was clueless and it took him two extra weeks to finish the cabinets because of his lack in experience. He was so clueless in fact, that I was called upon to basically navigate and follow the plans for his workers. He apparently didn't know how to read plans!!!
With constant supervision and basically minor ass whooping from me... we progressed. Once the bottom cabinets were installed, I headed to a couple of stone and tile stores in the area. I knew I was looking for a white quartz with a grey vein. I chose an MSI stone in the color Vincenzo Bianco. It was $65 a sq foot. The full kitchen along with an 84'' island and a matching window sill in quartz cost us $3.600.00 with installation and sink mounting. For the sink, we chose a stainless steel farmhouse sink by Kraus which I purchased on wayfair.com. We chose a 60/40 split sink. In retrospect, we should have just chosen a no split sink. However, this is a personal choice and you should think about what is important to you. When choosing a facet, pick the right height. Also, pick the right sprayer. Do you mostly wash veggies or are you a family that does heavy dish loads by hand? I suggest a multi-spray faucet so that you can control the water pressure. A good article on this topic is available on homedit.com.
It was now time to chose the hardware. I knew from the start that I wanted copper. I love the warmth and soft glow of copper and rose gold. It has been a favorite of mine for many years. Copper knobs and handles can be very pricey and now matter where I looked, they were completely out of our budget. So, I did what I know best.... improvise. I purchased the IKEA LANSA handles and spray painted them copper(use a matte primer before)! It has been two years and they are holding up beautifully.
Next on the list was lighting. We installed LED spot lights throughout the kitchen ceiling and chose 3 beautiful copper pendents I purchased on GILT for $40 bucks a piece to serve as over the island lighting. We installed a dimmer switch to create lighting for every mood and under mount cabinet lighting which was purchased from IKEA as well.
Last but not least was the seating. I looked for counter height stools that were durable, functional, and fit the decor. These were by far my favorite purchase for the kitchen. I found these super stools by Carbon Loft on Overstock.com for $165 for a set of two!!! We love them and constantly get compliments about them from visitors to our home. They are an antique copper with a solid espresso colored wood seat. Did I mention... I love them!
Drum roll please..... the final product.
2. Sign a detailed scope of work with them so that there are no surprises to your bottom line.
3. Add an extra 10% to your budget for incidentals and what I like to call "I must have it!" purchases. 4. Get handy and do some things yourself.
5. Don't let people talk you into design decisions if your heart is not it. This is your home and you will spend growing your life here. It has to be your piece of awesome.
Good luck and G-d speed with your renovation. It is hard work but the results.... worth it.
Till next post,
DecorJule
In the end of June, we began renovations. First step was tackling the Eurocentric, high gloss, cherry red kitchen the previous owners had installed. Setting aside the aesthetic displeasure I had towards this kitchen, we quickly realized that this kitchen lacked function completely.We spend most of our day in the kitchen.
We needed a total overhaul and doing tons of research on the most cost effective way of going about this renovation, we chose IKEA cabinets. It all started with a walk through of the old kitchen. I thought about which configuration worked best for us. The old kitchen had a tiny sink nestled in the corner. It wasn't even caddy cornered... it was flush against the wall. How on earth did these people do dishes? The sink had to be moved under the window. Second obstacle was the complete lack of cabinet space. I always wanted to have a pantry and enough cabinets to store my enormous amounts of entertaining dishes and cookware. We agreed that our kitchen would need a large island for the whole family to sit and enjoy meals. We did have a separate dining space for holiday celebrations and dinner parties, but for every day the island was the answer. Lastly, the floor was keeping me up at night. Forget the hideous muddy brown color of the old tiles. Forget that the grout was filthy and unmanageable. I knew that our floors could not be tiled. We drop things... alot. Also, the tile floors would always be chilly and radiant heat was not a cost we were willing to incur. So we did research. We thought about laminate or continuing the hardwood running through the house. One day, as I was scouring through a flooring store I stumbled on vinyl plank flooring. Vinyl plank is pretty much water proof. It is durable enough for sliding counter stools and two rambunctious little boys. Lastly, it is super cost effective. In the end, 300 sq ft of Shaw vinyl plank floors in Baja ran us approximately $900.00. A side note on vinyl plank floors is to pick the thickest plank possible. Usually a 6mm plank is best in quality and durability.Next step was planning out the cabinet layout. I used IKEA's virtual rendering tool and played with a couple of different plans until my husband and I agreed on the perfect one for us. We headed to IKEA to choose the actual cabinet fronts and inserts for organization. After some time we agreed on the Bodbyn fronts in both grey(bottoms) and cream (top.) I also added some glass front top doors to display my copper collection and some sentimental dishware. We were psyched!!! The IKEA staff was very helpful and incredibly knowledgeable about dimensions and suggestions for interior drawer layouts etc. Delivery was quick and efficient. The return policy was even better. During reno we realized that one cabinet needed to be replaced with an alternate type of cabinet. However, we had already assembled it. IKEA said... "No problem!"
It was time to find a contractor.
PAUSE, HOLD IT, READ CAREFULLY.....Learn from our mistake. Do not take the word of mouth recommendation of family friends for contractors without doing your due diligence. When picking a contractor, least expensive is probably not best. We chose our contractor by the before mentioned criteria and we felt the repercussions. If you learn anything from this post let it be this. Do not skimp on a quality contractor and if doing an IKEA kitchen, make sure the contractor has proof of his work with the SEKTION line. Ask for pictures and even a tour of a kitchen they previously did. SEKTION kitchens from IKEA are complicated to assemble for people who have never done them before. Our contractor was clueless and it took him two extra weeks to finish the cabinets because of his lack in experience. He was so clueless in fact, that I was called upon to basically navigate and follow the plans for his workers. He apparently didn't know how to read plans!!!
Somehow, our kitchen began to take shape.
With constant supervision and basically minor ass whooping from me... we progressed. Once the bottom cabinets were installed, I headed to a couple of stone and tile stores in the area. I knew I was looking for a white quartz with a grey vein. I chose an MSI stone in the color Vincenzo Bianco. It was $65 a sq foot. The full kitchen along with an 84'' island and a matching window sill in quartz cost us $3.600.00 with installation and sink mounting. For the sink, we chose a stainless steel farmhouse sink by Kraus which I purchased on wayfair.com. We chose a 60/40 split sink. In retrospect, we should have just chosen a no split sink. However, this is a personal choice and you should think about what is important to you. When choosing a facet, pick the right height. Also, pick the right sprayer. Do you mostly wash veggies or are you a family that does heavy dish loads by hand? I suggest a multi-spray faucet so that you can control the water pressure. A good article on this topic is available on homedit.com.
It was now time to chose the hardware. I knew from the start that I wanted copper. I love the warmth and soft glow of copper and rose gold. It has been a favorite of mine for many years. Copper knobs and handles can be very pricey and now matter where I looked, they were completely out of our budget. So, I did what I know best.... improvise. I purchased the IKEA LANSA handles and spray painted them copper(use a matte primer before)! It has been two years and they are holding up beautifully. Next on the list was lighting. We installed LED spot lights throughout the kitchen ceiling and chose 3 beautiful copper pendents I purchased on GILT for $40 bucks a piece to serve as over the island lighting. We installed a dimmer switch to create lighting for every mood and under mount cabinet lighting which was purchased from IKEA as well.
Last but not least was the seating. I looked for counter height stools that were durable, functional, and fit the decor. These were by far my favorite purchase for the kitchen. I found these super stools by Carbon Loft on Overstock.com for $165 for a set of two!!! We love them and constantly get compliments about them from visitors to our home. They are an antique copper with a solid espresso colored wood seat. Did I mention... I love them!Drum roll please..... the final product.
So what is the take away?
Plan, plan, plan. Research and more research.
1.Interview and investigate your contractors.2. Sign a detailed scope of work with them so that there are no surprises to your bottom line.
5. Don't let people talk you into design decisions if your heart is not it. This is your home and you will spend growing your life here. It has to be your piece of awesome.
Good luck and G-d speed with your renovation. It is hard work but the results.... worth it.
Till next post,
DecorJule
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