Dream It & Build It: Kitchen Makeover Part 3

Posted on August 22, 2012 by

For my third and final “dream kitchen” installment, I want to talk about the following:

• Cabinet installation
• The benefits of stainless appliances
• The importance of sealing the grout lines on the tile floor
• Adding personal touches to the tile
• The importance of our big pantry cabinet
• Our informal dining area

Cabinet Installation

Installing our kitchen cabinets (at least from my “spectator” position) was like watching someone assemble a 200-piece life-size puzzle. It required patience, creativity, exceptional carpentry skills, heavy-lifting and more. One thing that definitely surprised me was how much space was required to store our packaged cabinets prior to installation. My kitchen is average size; 11’ X 19’ , yet the cardboard boxes containing the cabinets (and appliances) took up both sides of my two-car garage, half my kitchen AND my entire dining room. Good thing that type of space was available.

It was at this point in the remodeling process I truly realized the value of a professionally produced and detailed floor plan from a qualified kitchen designer. Without that floor plan, it would have been total chaos.

Even with the professional floor plan, it felt like chaos most days. All credit here goes to my outstanding cabinet installer. He was a true, hard-working pro with tons of experience. My advice: Don’t settle for anything less. Another point worth mentioning, we didn’t buy cheap cabinets. Yet I can say unequivocally they have been worth every penny. Don’t cheat yourself and go for the bargain chipboard stuff. Frankly, I wonder how those particle board cabinets ever make it through the rigors of the installation process! I’m not being snobby here. All I’m saying is your kitchen cabinets take a real pounding. Buy the good stuff.

The Benefits of Stainless Steel Appliances

Not knowing the features and benefits of appliances and appliance finishes (and having never given it much thought) the idea of appliance shopping was not very appealing to me. However, after researching the fact that appliances amount to approximately 20% of the total kitchen remodel budget, I forced myself to learn more.

One quick decision we made was a natural gas, six-burner, easy-to-clean stainless steel cooktop. The benefits of cooking with gas are well documented:

• Accurate cooking temperatures
• Evenly distributed heat
• Less wasted heat than electric stoves
• Faster cooking time
• No power? Not a problem

Though we rarely use all burners, that cooktop size allows for plenty of room to shift pots for cooling / mixing, etc.

Regarding our oven, we’re still learning convection cooking (soggy banana bread last weekend), yet we look forward to its highly promoted benefits. The finish we selected for all our appliances (and faucet fixtures) was stainless steel. We chose stainless based on observations I’ve made over the years: Virtually every top restaurant and commercial kitchen I’ve ever seen ALL use stainless steel throughout for appliances and cabinets.

Simple product research tells us why:

• Stainless steel’s super-hard finish offers longer life
• Stainless is easier to sanitize and keep clean
• Stainless steel does not absorb dirt
• Stainless can be wiped down with a damp cloth
• Because stainless is non-porous, it resists bacteria and germs
• Stainless steel appliances “go” with almost any cabinet style

Bottom line: Stainless is worth it.

Sealing the Grout Lines

Sealing grout lines in the ceramic floor might seem like a small item in the “big picture” of a total kitchen remodel. Yet overlooking this small step would be a big mistake. Accidents happen. The grout lines in a kitchen ceramic tile floor are particularly vulnerable to stains from coffee, punch, wine, grape juice, grease, pets, dirt, oil, and more. Sealing the grout assures those mishaps will not create unsightly blemishes and uneven coloring in the grout lines.

After reading about the importance of sealing the grout (and to be 100% certain how to do it) I visited a commercial tile distributor and asked the guys in the “contractor” line what they recommended. Contractors love to be asked for their advice – and they were VERY helpful on tips and procedures.

The process is relatively simple. Yet, you should plan to set aside a full day to do it right. That’s because at least two applications are needed (maybe more), and the sealer should dry between applications. All directions are on the container and they’re easy to understand. NOTE: Don’t seal glazed ceramic tiles. They are non-porous and the sealant will simply leave ugly globs on the surface.

Most research I’ve read states grout cleaning and sealing should be repeated every six months.

The Personal Touch of Pewabic

Pewabic Pottery has been a Detroit tradition for over a century. Founded in 1903 at the height of the Arts & Crafts movement in America, Pewabic Pottery tile can be found throughout Michigan in prominent buildings including Christ Church Cranbrook, Holy Redeemer Church, Detroit’s Guardian Building, the Detroit Public Library, the new Comerica Ballpark, the Detroit Institute of Arts and more.

Pewabic tile is unique and beautiful…and truly Detroit “home grown.” For all these reasons and more, I wanted to include a few simple Pewabic tiles in my backsplash design.

I’m glad I did, I enjoy them EVERY DAY!

The Power of the Pantry

It’s no secret the efficient use of space is one of the most valuable features in kitchen design. For that simple reason we love our big pantry cabinet. Organizational freaks that we are, the roll-out drawers are essential for easy, day-to-day cooking. Without moving cans, boxes, and bags, we can quickly see all the contents of the pantry drawers with a few quick glances. We opted for the big storage space up above to hold the coffee maker (don’t like leaving it out on the counter), the juicer, the crock pot, the George Foreman, our waffle-iron, etc.

The secret to our pantry cabinet is that it required only about 12 square feet of floor space – yet it provides 96 cubic feet of floor-to-ceiling storage.

Informal Dining Area

Because we like to sit at the bar whenever we’re out to dinner, I wanted to include a similar countertop eating area in our new kitchen.

We did a little research and discovered the knee-clearance required for a 36” countertop is 15” and the required linear counter space for seating is 24” per person. We then added a few extra inches of counter depth to allow plenty of room for spreading out the paper and working on the computer.

And because our counter seating faces the working pattern of the kitchen, conversation during food prep is easy. One additional benefit is that meal serving to the counter is just a few steps from the cooktop and oven.

An unexpected benefit of the informal countertop dining area is that it quickly became the center-of-the-party for our family gatherings because it doubles as a great buffet table.

Dream It & Build It: Kitchen Makeover Part 2 of 3

Posted on July 20, 2012 by

THE VALUE OF A DESIGNER:

As stated earlier, a “kitchen designer” played a vital role in our kitchen remodeling project. We used one of the staff designers at NuWay Kitchen and Bath in Macomb. Looking back on the project, I highly recommend their design services. From command of the latest virtual software to her thorough knowledge of the newest trends, materials, cabinet styles, appliances and more, the NuWay designer saved us countless hours in research and problem-solving.

DON’T RUSH THINGS:

There’s no short-cut. Kitchen remodeling-design takes time. The old cliche; measure twice and cut once is critical. A wide variety of floor plans, cabinet styles and traffic patterns should be explored. Let your latest ideas sit for a few days…then re-evaluate. Visit as many different kitchen showrooms as possible. Walking through real kitchens in a variety of settings (as opposed to viewing pictures in magazines or online) adds new and meaningful dimensions to the design process.

One important lesson I learned during the research process was that painted 5-piece kitchen cabinet doors can show unsightly stress cracks in corner seams. This is particularly true in our extreme Michigan climate. Those corner “cracks” will (eventually) appear no matter what you do to prevent them. In comparison, 5-piece stained cabinet doors (though they have the same joints), don’t show the corner lines as cracks.

Painted doors (because of the contrast between the paint and the actual seam line) can cause that joint line to be much more visible. This is an important detail that typically might only be revealed after a cabinet purchase. This issue was revealed to me as I researched painted cabinets on display in various showrooms. Then I researched this topic further using online blogs and “the fine print” from cabinet manufacturer websites. Sure enough, these “cracks” are a common issue and rarely get talked about. Perhaps seam cracks might not bother you…yet they sure bothered me. Bottom line: Invest personal time in the design process. Nobody knows you better than yourself.

CHOOSING A CONTRACTOR:

As important as your kitchen designer may be, I believe your building contractor / cabinet-installer is even more important. For starters: GET PERSONAL REFERENCES. Talk to friends, family and/or co-workers. You want an experienced contractor with a strong portfolio of finished kitchens. Be sure to talk candidly about fees. The fact is, when remodeling a kitchen in an older home, the scope of the the project is certain to change and grow. How will your builder handle these unforeseen detours? In my case, we agreed to an hourly rate and I monitored his progress carefully. Another important ingredient in the relationship between you and your builder is daily meetings. Discuss and define all daily tasks. Use that meeting time to also address any “tweaks” or adjustments in the previous day’s work. My kitchen remodel lasted more than four months. Candid and frequent communication helped us work together successfully for the entire time.

DEMOLITION…SHORT-TERM CHAOS for LONG-TERM REWARD:

When it comes to kitchen demolition, careful planning is important. Be prepared for a mess. If you can, vent all dust directly out of a kitchen window during the worst of your demo days. To keep the air as healthy and dust-free as possible, I jury-rigged a fan wedged into a kitchen window blowing outwards (on high). We also taped plastic sheeting over all door openings. And lastly – don’t forget to seal off your cold-air returns. You certainly don’t want the demo dust circulating back into your furnace or AC.

STORAGE TIP:

As you remove items from your existing cabinets, CAREFULLY LABEL YOUR STORAGE BOXES. Chances are you’ll be desperately seeking a can opener, cork screw, salt & pepper shaker (or something) in the coming weeks and months. When it comes to replacing those items once your kitchen is complete, your box labels will be very helpful in organizing your new cabinets.

In my third and final installment, I will share my experiences on cabinet installation, purchasing appliances, the importance of sealing the grout lines on your new tile floor, how we added a few personal touches to our finished kitchen, how much we love our informal seating area, our big pantry and more.

Dream It & Build It: Kitchen Makeover Part 1 of 3

Posted on June 6, 2012 by

Here are a few tips to help avoid a nightmare.

Last year we decided to take the plunge. After six months of planning, a month of demolition, four months rebuilding – and approximately $50,000 spent on the project, we now have our new kitchen. Over the next many weeks, we’ll share with you my experiences in this three-part article hoping that what we learned may prove helpful if you’re considering a similar project.

Let’s start with our “after” photo first.

Bottom line; we love the end result. And because we spend so much time in that one room, our new kitchen is truly an upgrade to our lives. Yet the process was exhaustive and messy.

Thinking back almost a year, there’s no doubt, the most important first step (for us) was establishing the “vision” of what we wanted our finished kitchen to be. Our suggestion: Do all the visual research you can until you find your “dream” style. We actually found the look we wanted in a Google image search (using the terms “new kitchens”). Based on that image, we researched various cabinets, appliances, color schemes and more. Of course there were countless changes worked into our final plan, yet our finished kitchen remains very similar to our original Google image search.

Regarding technical dimensions… because there are so many great online sources for proper kitchen “measurements” including counter-top height, working “triangle” layouts, etc., we’ll avoid all that. But make no mistake – do your homework on that stuff too (and of course your designer will help with those vital aspects).

Instead we’ll briefly discuss some of the less glamorous more basic elements of our kitchen remodeling. Specifically, we underestimated the challenges of new lighting, new electrical and new heating/cooling. Because our house was over 50 years old, those items were critical to our updating process… yet were never part of our original budgeting or planning. As we began the demolition, we discovered essentially all our kitchen wiring needed to be replaced (as well as all the outlets and switches),100% of all lighting needed to be redesigned, and all the heating / cooling work needed to be redone and re-flowed. Keep in mind: Very few contractors can anticipate these types of “hidden” problems when first estimating a remodeling job. For that reason it’s definitely a good idea to set aside a portion of your budget for these types of unforeseen (yet inevitable) needs and also discuss these potential needs in the original estimating process.

As anyone who has lived through a major kitchen remodel will tell you, two of your newest best friends will quickly become your kitchen designer and your installer. And not necessarily in that order. Both are critical to the process. We used Nu-Way Kitchen and Bath in Macomb for our design services as well as the purchase of our cabinets, sink and faucet. They were wonderful. Their design services were essentially “included” with our cabinet purchase. And their selection of “all things kitchen” was truly outstanding. We’ll tell you more about my installer (equally wonderful) in the next installment of this series.

Regarding Nu-Way’s design services, below is their final floor plan and a few of the other computer-generated dimensional drawings we approved prior to ordering the cabinets and beginning construction. Along with those computer line drawings, you’ll see the same views of our finished kitchen. Another tip: Use these computer-generated drawings to help you visualize your new space from as many angles as possible. Nu-Way’s design services were extremely helpful in this regard. The software to do this is now readily available, it’s not expensive…and it definitely helps translate a two-dimensional floor plan into what a real three-dimensional kitchen can look like.

Nu-Way Original Floor Plan Proposal (our third revision)

In the next installment, we’ll talk more about the great Nu-Way services, my experience in selecting and working with a contractor, the demolition – and a few more tips for living through the entire process.

Notes for Installment #2: Nu-Way making things right (when they were wrong). The importance of references when selecting a contractor. Terms of the contractor working relationship. Flexibility “clause” (maybe a fixed fee for job and then an hourly fee for “extras”). Benefits of daily meetings during installation. Dumpster, window fan, plastic everywhere, seal off registers, planning and revisions, toaster, refrigerator and microwave in the basement, the challenges of “game-time” decisions and the need to be personally involved every step of the way, etc. opening the wall.