Watch the Kitchen Remodel Process

The Money Shot--Backsplash Tile Brings the Glamour

Now that Seattle's the hottest it has ever been, Brian is hard at work again, after trips to Africa and Montana in the last month. In between trips, he did most of the backsplash tile in the kitchen. When I look down the hall into the kitchen, I hardly recognize it as my house! It's far too glamorous!

As mentioned in an earlier post, we got the tile from Ecohaus. It is manufactured by Oceanside Glasstile. The mosaic color is called Shire and it's made of recycled glass and each piece is cut by hand. To minimize the differences in the tile shapes (due to the hand cutting), I chose a dove grey grout color instead of white. There are three colors that are part of the mosaic--olive, ice blue, and sort of a Prussian blue. The tile has a bronzey iridescent sheen. Here's a closeup of the tile--you can see the iridescence where my flash reflected.


Here's a shot of Brian putting in the tile:


And now for the kitchen! Here are a few angles of the main kitchen. There's a little tile in the sunroom too, but it's not quite done yet. Check out also in these photos the handles, which are now all on.






Lastly, a small detail in the sunroom. In order to save storage space in the cabinets, we picked up a couple rails from Ikea and Brian installed them over the windows. I can now hang my cookware there using S-hooks. Here's just one of the rails. The other is over the window to the right.


While all this has been going on, I've had the chance to start putting away all my gear as well as cook in my new kitchen! The use of space has been amazing--my kitchen feels huge now! Several things have made a big difference.

First, tucking the fridge away into the corner so it no longer was a huge, imposing block in the middle of the kitchen has made all the difference. It's not only allowed us to have a long run of countertop, but visually the kitchen now has a flow and the skylight complements the space, making it feel even bigger.

Also, flowing the kitchen into the sunroom with the same cabinets and counters has made that space ultra usable--a mini kitchen in itself. It has been great to make cookies and pies in there--so much counterspace and all my baking items stowed in the lower cabinets.

One of my favorite parts of the new kitchen was initially one of the most controversial elements--the 8-inch deep counters and cabinets where the basement door used to be. We thought these wouldn't be hugely useful since they were so shallow, but as it turns out, the counter is perfect for plating! Now I can line up four dinner plates and plate my meals directly from the stove to the left. In my old kitchen I barely had room to set down a serving bowl, so this is quite miraculous! The upper cabinets are also perfect for two-deep glassware storage, and in the lower cabinets I keep my Oxo Pop containers, which fit so perfectly it's as if the cabinets were built specifically for them! A huge thanks to Ray and Brian, both for coming up with this unique design and for convincing me it was the right thing to do!

Last, the dishwasher is now directly across from all the tableware storage, so all I need to do when I unload the dishwasher is open all the cabinets and drawers and I can put everything away without hardly moving. Also, it's worth mentioning that the Bosch dishwasher I picked out really is as quiet as everyone says!

So, that's the latest--quite a lot! We've still got a few more things to do--a new window, finishing up the tile, several details in the new stair area, etc. I'll keep you posted!

They Call It Ubatuba

As promised to many people, here are photos of the new countertops! We purchased the counters through Ikea, which works directly with Precision Countertops. Once the lower cabinets were in place, they came and made a full-size template of the counters. Two weeks later, back they came with the perfectly-cut pieces. It took them about two hours to install, including doing the undermounting of the sink.

The counters are granite, in a color called Ubatuba. Black with dark grey undertones and copper-brass flecks (the flecks remind me of the gold flakes in Goldschläger...hmmm). We chose double-radius edges, so they're squared off and just slightly rounded on top and bottom.

The sink looks amazing--gigantic in comparison to our old one! And deep too because of the extra inch from undermounting. I'm looking forward to the seamlessness of the undermounting--it looks so sleek and it'll be so easy to clean!

On to the photos. Shiny, shiny! I am still not getting over the full length of the counter shown here. Also, take a look at the microwave, which Brian installed yesterday. Looks great with the matching oven!


The classic kitchen shot, now with counters. You can also see the new dishwasher, which Brian slid in today. We chose a Bosch Evolution dishwasher. It's one of the most highly rated by Consumer Reports, and also scores high for being super quiet. We've been told we won't even hear it when it's running! Can't wait to find out (and neither can all my dirty dishes).


Here you can see the shallow, shelf-like counter, wrapping into an extra-deep one with a raised shelf (made of the same granite) at the back. We'll put a couple kitchen appliances back there. Ray did a great job of maximizing the space left after removing the door to the stairwell. His designs turned out wonderfully!

The baking center continues to evolve. I've been dreaming of how many cookie sheet trays I can line up side by side on the new counter!


While the countertops were going in, Brian worked on putting in the railing he'd been building. I'd found a few photos online of some styles I liked, mostly Mission, and Brian designed and built it, staining the wood to match both the mahogany trim we have throughout the house as well as the new cabinets in the kitchen.


Here's the final product! It turned out far better than any of the pictures I'd sent Brian as ideas. I'm thrilled with the design of it and feel lucky to have such a beautiful piece in our house! I particularly love the design of the little crossbars in the middle.

Tomorrow will be Brian's last day for three weeks while he goes away with his family on hiatus. When he gets back he'll put in the backsplash tile and do the rest of the finishing touches on the kitchen. In the meantime, I get to start putting stuff away in my new cabinets!

Let There Be Color!

Not only are nearly all the cabinets done, but now the kitchen's a whole new color! We chose Porta Luca from Mythic Paint (purchased at Ecohaus). The color is almost like a dark cameo blue. For more on the paint-selection process, check out my earlier post on fume-free paint.

And, here are the latest photos! First, a shot where you can see the color really well. Note that the skinny cabinet at the back still has the old door. We're working on a cool new idea for the door front since Ikea doesn't make doors that size.


The standard long shot of the kitchen--lots of cabinets!


I really like the way the cabinets turned out here, with the glass fronts. The cabinets are only eight inches deep, due to space constraints, but they'll provide great storage for lots of things, including my favorite OXO Pop containers! Brian did a great job on these cabinets, which he had to custom fit--they look wonderful!


The "baking center" is looking awesome! I've already put away a few things. The right-side cabinets are all drawers and I love their design. The tall cabinet pulls out to reveal a tidy pantry. I'll have to take some more photos of it when I've put everything away.


Next up: Countertops! The installer comes tomorrow morning--I'm very excited to have the counters in and see all that beautiful granite! Plus, the sink comes undermounted on the counter, so we'll finally have a kitchen sink again and will also get to see the new faucet in action. I'm eager to see how it will all look!

Getting There!

Last week Brian put most of the cabinets in, the stove moved back in, and the countertop guys made the template (counters will be delivered on the 18th!).

A few snaps:
In the sunroom:

Also in the sunroom--I'm super excited about the tall pantry! I'll have to take another photo of how the door pulls out.

Squint and You Can See a Kitchen!

Brian started on the cabinets last week--they're going up fast!

The sunroom (soon to be known as the baking center):

Wyatt considers the new cabinets:

Put a Cork in It!

I've been pretty excited about my choice of flooring for the kitchen, and today was a great day because I actually got to see it in the kitchen for the first time! Like several of the other materials, we got the cork flooring at Ecohaus. They have many options for cork, and we went with the Vida cork planks in the Bamboo pattern. It looks very elegant in the kitchen, and adds a nice warmth in color--a big difference from the previous grey ceramic tile! Cork is well-loved by chefs for its softness on the feet and joints. It is also extremely quiet--when Linus walks across it, it sounds like a light pitter-patter of rain!

Here are a couple pictures from today:

Blue, Blue, or Blue? A Palette of Eco-Friendly Paints

Over Memorial Day Weekend, I picked up some small cans of paint at Ecohaus. I'd narrowed down the color choices to a few shades of blue that I thought would coordinate with the tile nicely. We really liked one color, Porta Luca, but we were worried it was maybe a little dark, so I also got a can of Country Bay, for comparison. You can see here the paint test, with Porta Luca on the left. Matt and I both agreed this was the one! It picks up the dusky-cobalt in the tile, while also going nicely with the olive and light blue. It also goes well with the rest of the house--all the rooms make a statement with color.

The paint brand I got from Ecohaus was Mythic, a nontoxic, "ultra low odor" paint. According to the Mythic website, "Mythic paint is the only zero-VOC, zero-carcinogenic, premium quality line of latex paints available." And, after slapping a whole bunch up on the wall, then staring at the wall for quite some time, I have to say that never once did I even think that the house smelled like paint. And when I did think about the smell, that was when I realized there was NO smell. Seriously, none at all. Seems impossible, right? It made me feel good about the dog and kid wandering about during all this!

Sunset just did a page on fume-free paints, highlighting Mythic, as well as these brands:

• AFM Safecoat
• The Freshaire Choice
• Green Planet Paints
• Natura
• Yolo Colorhouse

Mythic also does custom color matches, so I ordered the bedroom and hall paints. Still need to pick the creamy accent color for the kitchen, so I'm headed back to Ecohaus soon!

Walls Go Back Up!

Last week the first stage of the electrical work was done by Boley Electric. After several days of ripping out more walls here and there, Brian started putting them back up, which, frankly, was more exciting than I anticipated. More than anything, it was just nice to have the kitchen feel like a real room again, and not some decades-old war zone. Plus, as a special Memorial Day Weekend gift to us, Brian moved the fridge back into the kitchen from the dining room. Now Wyatt and I can both eat at the table at the same time again!

Here's the main view of the newly-drywalled kitchen:

Here's the area where the fridge now goes, formerly inhabited by the oven, and far too many soffits. Without the soffits, the space seems huge!

Stepping out of the kitchen for a moment, the Solatube is now hooked up and brings so much natural light into the stair and hall--it's amazing!

A Vision of the Future!

Earlier today Brian posted some before-and-after photos of the demolition. Here's a super cool 3-D view of the future, created by Ray.

I can hardly wait!

Just A Reminder...

Demo Week Comes to a Close

Things are looking almost, well, clean. Except for all the dust, that is. All the cabinets, counters, flooring, and tile are out. Even the long-despised soffits are gone--hurrah! Here are a few photos from the current stage.

Just yesterday, all that cold, hard ceramic tile was in a heap on the floor:

No more pantry:

Today--not much left:


Soffit? What soffit? (Hey, is that the attic up there?)


Stay tuned! Next up: framing!

Out With The Old

If you've ever wondered how to get rid of the old insulation in your attic, then this is the post for you. Today we're having all the insulation "sucked" out to make way for new energy saving insulation. The insulation in millions of homes has been sitting in the attic for so long, that it's doing very little to prevent the obvious heat loss through the ceiling. Its been collecting dust and various kinds of debris, creating a potential fire hazard in a hot attic, not to mention the air contamination you'll certainly notice if you're ever brave enough to enter. Ridding the attic of this dusty, potentially hazardous situation and adding 10-12 inches of new blown-in insulation will result in very significant heating and cooling savings in the short and long-term. We'll post some pictures of the process later today, so everyone can see the process. In the meantime, check out Energystar.gov to see the potential for tax credits when upgrading insulation in your attic or throughout your home.

Photos: Demo, New Stairs, and More Demo

We are now on week two of the remodel! In the first week, Brian demoed the hallway wall, boarded up the stairway door in the kitchen, rebuilt the top stairs in the new curved alignment, and installed most of the Solatube. Today he started the demo of the kitchen! Here are a few photos of the first week.

Hallway--the wall's gone and it's all sealed up!


The stairway door in the kitchen is all boarded up:

In the hall, you can where Brian opened it up. The original chimney was to the right of what's left of the wall. Brian took out all the chimney bricks to open the space up.


Stairs: All gone!


New stairs!




Here's a view of the now very open stairwell, where you can see the Solatube in the ceiling:



Day 1 of the kitchen demo--lots of progress!


Luckily, we now have a kitchenette in our dining room:


Stay tuned for more photos as week two progresses!