Get Lucky With HGTV Dream Home

Get Lucky With HGTV Dream Home

You get your dreams to come true with HGTV Dream home. They have different floor plans explained on their website along with description of location and also the list of facilities available with the home you would prefer to have for yourself. There are many give away prizes with HGTV Dream home to be won. You can just try your luck and win your dream home with spacious rooms and all the facilities which you can’t even imagine to purchase in a lifetime.

Hgtv Dream House: Get Lucky !!!

The kitchens look exotic with the finest cabinets and woodwork. You get to win a home theatre and also there are three bathrooms, three bedrooms in some of the prizes. You need to be aware of the rules just in case you want to know if you are eligible for the lucky draw. All US citizens and residents are eligible to apply as long as they are above 21 years of age.

Hgtv Dream House: Your Dream?

The process of application is very easy. People who are interested can easily apply online by visiting their website or even by post. The postal address details are also clearly mentioned. The contest is usually open for around 50 days. One must apply within the period of time and also make sure all personal information is accurate and legal.

Gail's Kitchen Reno: Post #3- Progress

Its been 3 months of debris and dust.....finally its time for all the new finishes and fixtures!

After 3 months of demolition and new construction we're finally getting to all the exciting finishing details at Gails' Kitchen.  Just when it seems like things are moving along at a snail's pace, suddenly you hit a point when everything starts to come together quickly with visible progress every day.  Its like Christmas morning each time I visit the site now!!  While the contractor's been working on the new construction I've been finalizing a few design details like the fireplace surround, ordering light fixtures, sourcing some new stools and finalizing the hardware selections.

A couple of weeks ago we purchased the Ikea cabinets which were delivered next day - and I have to say this will be my LAST Ikea kitchen order unless they're willing to pick it for me.  What you're seeing above is only half the order (there were 2 more carts, 5 in total!) that we had to physcially pick off the shelves ourselves load onto carts, haul thru the warehouse, thru the cashier and then to the delivery desk.  Its absolute insantiy!!!  Not only did we risk losing a toe or breaking our backs - this stuff is heavy its just plain dangerous for customers to have to do this. The entire process takes about 2 hours and backs up the checkout lane for EVER.   This kitchen is beyond a reasonable size to attempt to purchase from a self serve warehouse and its not much bigger than most of the kitchen they have on display in the store.  I don't recommend anyone attempt this unless Ikea changes their procedures back to the way it used to be (they used to just give you a piece of paper to take the cashier).  For the record all the other customers in the store that day who witnessed this caravan of carts stood in awe and vowed they'd never buy an Ikea kitchen if this is what it involved.  So I'm done complaining to them about it, I'll just stop buying them.

My absolute favorite part of any job is when the primer goes up.  I LOVE to see the new space painted entirely white, in many cases its the only time I get to enjoy the beauty of the whiteness of the space before the clients 'colour' goes up!  Personally I always think the spaces look better in white,,,, but hey,,, its not about what I want because its not my house.

When the hardwood flooring arrived on site I handpicked all the boards.  I specified a character grade wood that has lots of knots but which also means you can get lots of variance in the appearance with some really odd ball pieces thrown in there too.  With this much character in the wood its important that the boards are thoughtfully placed or it could look like a dogs breakfast, so I sort them into 3 piles of bad, good and best.  Instead of tossing out the 'bad' boards I have the installer use them in areas where they won't be visible like under all the kitchen cabinets, under the appliances and under the sofa.

I sampled 7 shades of yellow paint before we could find one that we were happy with.  Yellow has to be one of the trickiest colours of all to get right, it doesn't help that I'm not a yellow person but I appreciate my client's attraction to it.  We applied each of the samples on three different walls and not only did the yellows look drastically different on each wall, the same colour often looked totally different on the same wall.  Looking at all these samples above, except for the two whites the others looked nothing like the paint samples in hand, NOTHING.  From left to right, bottom row we have; BM Creme Brulee, BM Creme Fraiche, BM Affinity Soleil, F&B Cream, F&B House White, BM Cotton Balls, BM Spanish White (LOVE), BM Ivory White (LOVE).  Top row is a second sample of BM Creme Brulee which looks nothing like the sample on the far left.  The homeowner didn't pick either of the ones that would have been my first choice but she's madly crazy in love with the one she did pick!

I was so excited a couple of weeks ago to meet the Coppersmith at the house and review samples of antiqued, hammered copper. He'll make the copper patina to our exact liking and then he'll use it to build us a custom hood canopy exactly like my design sketch - I can't wait to see it!!!!

But before the Coppersmith left the building,,,,,I lured him into the family room and pulled out my design sketches for the fireplace and asked him if he could use that same copper to make a surround for the new fireplace.  No problem he said, piece of cake.  Now, that's the kinda response I like to hear!!  So he'll be back to measure for the surround as soon as the gas fireplace box is installed.

Nothing gets my heart beating faster than found treasure,,, and an enthusiastic contractor. : ))  My clients are currently living in one of their own rental properties during this renovation and in the garage of that house we found stacks of antique wood boards from the previous owner who was a woodworker.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these beauties piled up in the junk pile.  With their live edge and the gorgeous wood grain my mind was realing thinking of all the different ways we could use these.  I sketched up a detail for a sliding barn style door and Tom's going to have these boards made into an oversize door panel, and then,,we'll use the rest to make the mantle for the fireplace.

They started installing the base cabinets on Wednesday....

By Monday we'll be ready for the counters to be templated.  

Meanwhile the cabinet doors and drawer fronts are off getting sprayed a perfect shade of white.  Check out this post for all the details we have planned, and check out this post for step by step process of how I have Ikea cabinets custom sprayed (note this is not a DIY project!).

Stay tuned for more updates over the next 4 weeks as this dramatic kitchen, family room transformation comes to completion. 

All Photos:  Carol Reed

Painting Ikea Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen design by Carol Reed

When planning or dreaming of planning a new kitchen the key aesthetic decision to be made is what style will the cabinets be.  The first dilemma is deciding will they be a wood finish or painted?  Dark or light? Contemporary or traditional?  Whatever door style you chose to go with will have an impact on your budget too.  Wood doors are more expensive than painted (or lacquered), exotic woods more expensive than domestic, plain doors are less expensive than panelled doors etc. etc.  Your budget will determine whether you can afford to buy custom cabinets, semi-custom, or if you'll be purchasing non-custom stock cabinetry.  If you're going the non-custom off the shelf route (Ikea) then your options for door styles obviously are limited to what is offerred.  Ultimately, its the door style you chose that will dictate which mfg or supplier you end up going with.  If Ikea just doesn't offer a door style that appeals to you then you're less likely to go this route despite the huge cost savings.  

I'm not a fan of showy extravagant kitchens unless the kitchen really is just for show, (for those who eat out a lot or hire caterers) nor am I a fan of overly adorned cabinets with intricate mouldings, corbels, columns and doo dads.  My ideal kitchen are kitchens that have a utilitarian aspect them, its all about cooking tools, food, great light and above all comfort and efficiency, I prefer the lines to be simple and the materials natural.  I don't necessarily want the cabinets to be the focal point or the showstopper, I want them to evoke a mood and enforce a style which is part of a bigger picture, they're just one element.   In open style homes when your kitchen is exposed to your living and dining rooms its often appropriate to go for a bit more of discreet look with your appliances and tools more integrated and concealed, with separate kitchens the concept can be more relaxed and casual.  In either case the style of the kitchen cabinets should be consistent with the style of your decor and the character of your home.  For many of these reasons Ikea's range of door styles suit my needs for various projects because they offer some basic classic door styles. 

Chosing an Ikea Door Style

To me what makes an Ikea kitchen design successful is when no one can tell its an Ikea kitchen.  One of the keys to this is to pick a classic door style for the cabinets, by this I mean, stay away from the door styles that are unique to ikea.  If you stick to a plain slab style, shaker door or the simple raised panel door,,,these are more generic looking because they're door styles that you can find at most any kitchen company.  It won't be obvious its Ikea unless you tell people or unless there are lots of other ikea elements in the room.  If Ikea doesn't offer a door style in a colour that you want, then you have two options, you can order just the base cabinets from ikea and have custom doors made from a company like www.cabinetmart.com or you can have your Ikea doors painted to whatever colour you want.

Kitchen Design by Carol Reed

Professionally Painting your Ikea Cabinets

If your plan is to paint one of Ikea's door styles, then you should select one of their wood door options.  The white or coloured doors have a polyester coating on them which isn't conduscive to painting, you'll get a superior finish (adhesion) painting over wood.  As I mentioned in my post Why I Love Ikea Kitchens, my favtorite door styles to paint is the Tidaholm in solid oak because its a true shaker style door with square edges and solid wood joinery corners (unlike the Adel).  I've custom painted Ikea cabinets several times in the past and I'm currently going thru this process again for Gail's kitchen.  In the past I've done a custom finish applied on site (see photo above), which I wouldn't recommend to the average diy'er its time consuming and requires a skilled painter/faux finisher.  When I'm having a new Ikea kitchen painted for a client this is the process that I've developed for my own porjects and its works like a dream.  (Please note this is the process I follow to have cabinets professionally sprayed off site (shop finished) - cabinets can be painted on site by yourself or a hired painter but I'm not going to go into the 'how to's' of that here, you can google hundreds of sites for more information on that process.)

Painted Tidaholm cabinets.  Kitchen design by Carol Reed
('xcuse the not so attractive window, its part of the condo building's interior courtyard design, the blinds are between glass and common elements the unit owners can't change.)

The following steps assume you've arrived at a final kitchen layout and you're ready to proceed, your contractor or kitchen installer is already lined up...

Step 1:  Sample 

• Colour test:  Go to the as is department and buy a small door (or two)  in the same style or styles your considering and use it to test paint colours on.  You can buy these for about $5.  If they don't have any, you can go to the kitchen department and order a single small size door in the style of your choice.  After you've painted up sample doors and confirmed you want these painted cabinets, you're ready to order.  But I warn you, be prepared for the onslaught of comments from parents, friends, neighbours, contractors and delivery guys about how crazy you would be for painting over such 'beautiful' brand new oak (!!!!!???), and be especially strong when they actually start to convince your husband they might be right - just envision what their kitchens look like, then its easier to ignore them.

Step 2 - Buying Your Cabinets

• Split The Order:  This is the best tip I can give you.  When I sit down with the kitchen rep at the store I pull out my drawings and before they start entering the order I tell them I want to split the order in two.   I want one order to have all the base cabinets, drawers and any inbetween panels needed to install the basic base and wall cabinetry, and nothing else. On the second order, I want all of my doors, drawer fronts, toe kick, end panels, cover panels - basically all the exposed pieces that I need to have painted.  (Even though they illustrate complete cabinet assemblies in the catalogue and online, all the components are broken down at order entry and you can order the components individually ie; the drawer boxes are one item, the drawer fronts are a separate item.)
• Timing: Splitting the order is also key to your schedule.  The Akurum base cabinety is typically instock and available same day or for delivery within 2 days (where I live).  But ALL WOOD doors and drawers fronts etc. are stocked in the Montreal distribution centre and aren't shipped to any store until orders are placed and this takes a min 2 weeks. 
• Delivery:  Arrange for the order with all you base cabinetry to be delivered to site and the kitchen install can start immediately (assuming you're ready for the install).  The entire kitchen can be installed without the door fronts and trim pieces.  The benefit of this is you're shaving weeks off your schedule by not waiting for your doors and now once you have your base cabinetry instaleld you can even have your counters templated while your doors and end panels are being sprayed.  Your templater can factor in any end panels not yet installed.   Next arrange for pick up then delivery of the second order, all your door fronts etc., to go straight to your cabinet refinisher.  Of course you or your contractor have to let them know ahead of time that your order is coming. 

Step 3:  The Paint

• Lacquer:  I have my cabinets sprayed (off-site in a shop) in a lacquer paint as opposed to having them sprayed with regular paint that's thinned out with water and sprayed on.  I believe the lacquer is more durable but I do admit paint products are changing by the day and I havn't tried all the newest and latest.  My Farrow & Ball rep swears their paint is just as durable and perfectly suitable for kitchen cabs, but I still use the lacquer.  You have to find a specialty paint store who mix lacquer paint, they can match any mfg's colour chips or anything else you bring them for reference.  You need to factor in a few days for this in your schedule, you can't walk in and pick this stuff up same day like regular paint, they need a few days.  You also want them to do a draw down for you so you can approve the paint match before they mix the 3 or 4+ gallons of lacquer.  In addition to the lacquer you'll need primer.
• Melamine:  The same shop that will mix the lacquer for you will mix some melamine paint for you in the exact same colour as the lacquer.  The melamine is needed to paint anything on site that you can't have sprayed off site.  Or for touching up panels after the counters are installed.  For example, you may need to install full height end panels beside your fridge or your wall ovens in order to complete the base cabinetry install so if you didn't have those sent to the refinisher, they went to the job site and are still in the original colour.  These can be painted on-site in a horizontal position before installation for best results, or if needed, vertically after installed.  The melamine is self-priming and self-levelling (no brush marks) with a sheen level the same as the lacquer.  It dries to a beautiful smooth finish that looks like its shop applied.  Use a small veleur or foam roller to apply a min. of 2 coats in a dust free environment.  You can do these pieces yourself or have your painter do this for you.
• Cost:  The lacquer is fairly expensive, it will cost about $3-400 for the lacquer and primer for an average size kitchen and the cost of spraying the white kitchen in these photos was about $900 for one coat primer 2 coats finish paint but I would use 3 coats if using a light colour.  I use ProGlo paints in Toronto and they supply the primer, the lacquer and the melamine and ship directly to my refinisher.
• Timing:  The refinisher will require about 2 to 3 weeks to spray the cabinets.  Arrange to have your cabinet installer back to finish the install and install the hardware.

Note that the Tidaholm or other wood doors have an open wood grain surface, and once their painted you will still see the texture of the open wood grain.  Whether you like this effect or not, this is what you'll get, but I can tell you that once the doors are up you don't notice it at all. 

Here's another look at this kitchen I designed about a year and a half ago as it was nearing completion.  The cabinets are Ikea's Tidaholm, custom spray lacquered in Farrow & Balls' Pointing.  Sorry no final after photos just yet!  The gables between the cabinets and the full gables beside the wall ovens were painted on site.

Kitchen design by Carol Reed

I searched around for more photo examples of painted Ikea kitchens, I remember seeing some in various publications but I can't for the life of me find any images now that I'm looking for them.  But I did manage to find photos of the most BEAUTIFUL country kitchen with the same Tidaholm doors and that also have been custom sprayed.  Even though its the same cabinets as the kitchen above, its the complete opposite type of home, the white kitchen in the photos above is located in a 70's mid-town condo, the kitchen shown below is in an old century home in the rural town of Tweed, Ontario.  A testament to the versatility of a simple classic door style. 

This kitchen is the country home of Style at Home magazine editor Margot Austin, the photos are by Donna Griffith as seen in the April September 2007 issue of Style at Home.  I completley love everything about it - I wish I could just move in tomorrow, its perfection to me.   Apparantly I'm not the only one who covets this kitchen, its been reported that Martha Stewart hearts this kitchen too! 

At least five of my favorite things are in this one photo, white walls, windsor chairs, old wood floors, vintage bronze hardware, ,,,and furry four legged kids.

*Update:  see comment section for additional details from Margot herself.

Going back to what I mentioned above,  this represents what a successful Ikea kitchen design is all about - the cabinetry blends so well with the character of the home, its understated and doesn't distract from but rather highlights the real features of the room - that gorgeous island, the dramatic light fixture, the old flooring and antique finds.   This is how you do 'bespoke Ikea' and when everyone asks where you're kitchen is from, you can just say 'its Swedish, I had it custom built'.

Gail's Kitchen Reno: Post #2 - Customizing Ikea

Gails' kitchen and family room renovation is a project of mine that's currently in the early stages of construction. I first posted about this kitchen and family room renovation a couple of weeks ago and if you missed it, you can go here to see all the before pictures and read all about the objectives for the redesign and the process behind developing the final proposed layout.  Here's another look at the new floor plan....

Its quite an extensive renovation with lots of new construction and reworking of plumbing and electrical so one of the ways to achieve everything on the wish list (quartz counters, high end appliances, all new floors, additional sinks, new fireplace etc. etc.) and stay within the clients conservative budget range is to use Ikea cabinets as the basis for the kitchen design.  In this post I won't bother going into all the reasons why this makes so much sense as I've written about all the reasons Why I love Ikea Kitchens here, and its for all those reasons why my client and I came to the decision to take this route for her new kitchen.   Also in that post you can find a list of my favorite ways to customize Ikea cabinets and give it a bespoke look - I'll be implementing all of those tricks in this installation too.   

When planning a kitchen based on Ikea cabinets I treat the base cabinetry like building blocks,,,or legos and configure them in any which way I need them.  There's really not too many limitations as they offer such a wide range of cabinet sizes and styles.  Since this kitchen will be more on the relaxed trad side than the modern side,,,,,I recommended the Tidaholm door style which is a simple shaker style door in natural oak.  As I've mentioned previously I prefer this door style over their other shaker door style the Adel, because the Tidaholm has a cleaner squared edge shaker profile and joinery corners.  Also its key, if you plan on painting the doors the oak doors take a new paint finish better than the Adel door style which is a synthetic polyester finish.  And for this project, we definitely intend on painting them!

The Cooktop Wall:  Essentially this is the main wall in the kitchen which houses the rangetop, exhaust hood and wall ovens.  This was a major change from the old kitchen layout which had a cooktop poorly (and dangerously) located on a narrow island.  I always place ranges or cooktops against walls where ever possible and try to allow counter space on either side.  In this configuration we have lots of extra deep drawers which will accommodate pots, pans, small appliances, mixing bowls, cookware, as well as spices, seasonings and utensils and knives.  The open shelves will house most of the dishware with additional pieces in the glass fronted hutch.  The shelves will provides easy access for Gail (who is a chef) who's always cooking for a crowd.  I've incorporated a desk space for her laptop, cookbooks, messages, and household bills.  I'm on the lookout for an old antique wall hutch that we could use above her desk surface but its not something you can easily find on a deadline, so in this elevation I've illustrated the backup plan which will be new glass fronted wall cabinets with a blue accent colour painted on the inside.  The range hood canopy will be custom built and we're planning on cladding it in an antiqued distressed copper,,much more blackened in appearance than shiny new copper.  (sorry but the colours depicted in this renderring are not quite accurate, the walls will be a very soft fresh pale yellow, all the cabinetry a warm ivory white).

The Island:  The sink side of the island is of course directly opposite the cook wall and despite how large the island is, I still couldn't fit everything in that Gail ideally wanted, but we're as close as we could get.  They'll be a Shaw farmsink, a second prep sink (that was a must!) and a set of refridgerator drawers.  Its these fridge drawers that really make her prep zone and cooking zone work efficiently, she can keep all her dairy and veg here, where they'll be right at hand instead of in the large main fridge.  The biggest challenge about this island has been trying to light it, you can't help but notice it only has a ceiling over half of it! The ceiling goes from 8' in the kitchen area opening up to 20' in the breakfast nook area so its a bit a challenge.  The situation just became more challenging when last week we discovered a new beam would need to be dropped exactly where I've got the light fixture hanging........

The Island:  On one end of the island they'll be another set of wide deep drawers and the other three sides of the island will be clad in a combination of operable doors and fixed door panels all finished off with a baseboard treatment around the bottom instead of a toe kick.  On the seating side of the island I'll be supporting the overhang with some simple corbel style brackets and also adding a small bookshelf unit with beadboard backing.

The Pantry & Bar:  Like the island, this section of cabinetry will be tricked out with additional trimwork to give it more of a furniture look, so in addition to the Ikea base cabinets the contractor will be installing beadboard back panel,,,corbel brackets and corner block details to the base, and built in recessed puck lighting.  I have to admit this elevation is a moving target right now,,,,its actually been changed several dozen times, probably 2 or 3 since this version was drawn.  The size of the wine fridge was the subject of many debates between my clients and my recommendation for a tall but narrow unit ultimately was vetoed for this double door style.  As for the cabinetry, Gail's been quite conflicted as to how much open vs. closed storage she can live with and I predict we'll be going back to one of the original pantry configurations I proposed which had more upper cabinets, less open shelving which will be more practical.   Right after this is posted I'll be working on one more variation of this wall.

Coming up next I'll share some images of the concept board for the space illustrating all the finishes and fixtures I've specified for the space along with some updated site photos.  

Next week I'll be writing a separate post outlining my tips and advice for painting your newly ordered Ikea cabinets based on the process I've used successfully.  I've had several people inquire about this so please know I havn't forgotten and I promise you'll see it next week.

All Images:  Carol Reed

New Project: Gail's Kitchen Reno

It all started back in December of ’09 when I had my initial meeting with a new client to discuss their kitchen/family room/mud room renovation, a back to the bricks complete overhaul.  They’d been dreaming of this kitchen overhaul for close to 15 years and suddenly it was now or never,,,,,,it was time to either redo these spaces or go in search of a new house that had a kitchen and family room that better suited their needs.

The house is located in the picturesque town of Oakville (west of Toronto) and is an old stone tudor style house situated on a huge treed lot.  The three areas that I was going to be redesigning -  the mudroom, the kitchen and family room made up the back of the house which was a rear, 2 storey addition built in the ‘80‘s and done by the previous owners.  

Before: Here’s a plan view of the kitchen and family room as it existed when I first met the homeowners.

Part of the kitchen opened up to a tall vaulted cathedral ceiling, but spanning straight across this tall ceiling space was a catwalk.  Immediately upon seeing the kitchen the first thing I thought was - that catwalk has got to go!   Its never used, it leads to an unusable rooftop deck, it detracts from the 20’ high ceiling and is just collecting dust.  From a design perspective it had no redeeming qualities or purpose.

The Design Brief:  Gail is a home chef who used to cater private functions but now cooks only for her own family and friends,,,,,,,,,with 3 young adult daughters, a dog and an open door policy to neighbours and friends - its a crazy busy house and the party is always in the kitchen.  Pop in on any given Friday, Saturday or Sunday night and you’ll find her cooking up a feast for 12 or 20 people, usually all spur of the moment and impromptu!  You've seen the existing floor plan shown above, now here’s a glimpse of what their old kitchen looked like for the past 15 years.

Yes, that's a catwalk on the upper left!

View from the family room to the kitchen.

View from the kitchen to the family room.

You’ll understand from seeing some of the photos why this combined kitchen family room space just wasn’t working for them - improvements were needed all around, new flooring, better layout, more counter space, more seating space, larger capacity appliances, a second sink, better lighting,,and in general a kitchen that was current and fresh looking and that was more in keeping with the character of the century old house.

The deep saturated multi-coloured walls, seashore collectables  and open cabinets made for lots of visual clutter.  

My vision:  A lighter fresher colour palette with relaxed coastal charm, lots of white cabinetry, painted beadboard, distressed wood floors, classic fixtures and pro style appliances.  In otherwords, good-by generic dated, golden oak builders kitchen with its santa fe colour scheme....hello Something’s Gotta Give,,,,,,,,,,,or,,, something along those lines.  The set design of the Hamptons beach house for the 2007 movie Something's Gotta Give was by far the biggest star of that production - it was even featured in  Architectural Digest, taking on an iconic status.  That house spawned a renewed appreciation for relaxed traditional interiors, particularly the classic white kitchen - and that's exactly what Gail's house needed.  

SGG Kitchen seen in Architectural Digest

SGG Living Room as seen in Architectural Digest

Diane Keaton on the set..

Diane Keaton and Jack Nicolson on the set.....

If you're a decorating or design junkie and you havn't seen this movie, its worth buying, not renting, buying. I have the dvd (given to me by a client who was building her own SGG inspired weekend house on Lake Simcoe) and I've watched the move dozens of times, just to admire the interiors.

The Design Concept:  Gail's house is not a formal style house, it probably was a cottage originally so it has more informal, pared down architectural detailing.  Because she loves to cook and cooks a LOT, this kitchen needs to be highly practical and functional with pro style appliances and must have seating for lots of guests.  The homeowners vision was not immediately as clear as mine however, but only because she hadn’t seen the movie, seriously, - SHE HADN’t SEEN THE MOVIE “Somethings Gotta Give”!  Regardless, I knew from discussions with her and her love of all things traditional and her ADDICTION to all things beachy that she and I were on the same page.  She rented the movie the following week and like millions of others, fell completely in love with not only the kitchen, the entire house.  Now you might think,,,yawn, boring,,nothing new or cutting edge here, a classic white kitchen - but really, for someone who’s only ever had one kitchen that looks like above,,,,this IS all new and would be beyond her dreams.  Just because its a style that’s timeless it doesn’t mean it has to be boring, when traditional is done right it should be new and current looking - it should be magical.  Besides, its really only the overall character of the SGG kitchen we’ll use as inspiration by maintaining several of its main elements;  traditional white cabinets, dark counters, stainless steel appliances, white subway tile backsplash, vintage inspired fixtures.  The rest of the details will be unique to Gails style and her space.  We’ll be incorporating a light coloured wood floor, soft buttery yellow walls, a dramatic range hood canopy and wall shelves instead of glass fronted cabinets.   This is going to be one dramatic transformation!

The Final Plan: After exploring more than a dozen layout options, this was the winning plan.   Along with the catwalk, the walls around the pantry area will be removed, making room for a large convergent style island and a long pantry/bar wall.  The existing kitchen table will be reused and ideally butted up to the new island to form one big continuous seating arrangement for chef’s table style dining or for spreading out buffets.   The addition of a second prep sink to the island was a difficult one to accommodate but one that Gail concluded was a must have.  The existing fridge is being reused, despite the door swing which has always swung the wrong way, this is something she's learned to live with, a full height freezer tower will be added next to it.  One of the keys to this layout working efficiently is the addition of refrigerator drawers in the island directly beside the prep sink.  These drawers will be used for veg and dairy so they're right at hand in the prep zone which reduces the frequency of going to the main fridge.  

It was a challenging kitchen to design because of the traffic flow, with multiple doorways and staircases leading off the kitchen and a change in floor level, there were definitely a lot of obstacles to work around and loads of requirements to meet.  But I think with this plan, we managed to tick all the boxes and meet the budget!

The final design plans and material selections were completed in early March and the search for a contractor began...

Set of working drawings and material sample board for the site.

After going thru a lengthy bidding process we were fortunate to get an amazing contractor on board (one I've worked with before). He's as enthusiastic about the new design plan as Gail and I are, he brings a positive energy to the project and so far has been a pleasure to work with.  Demolition took place a few weeks ago and the new construction is well underway.  We had our first regular site meeting yesterday and as you can see from the photos below, the space is looking better already!

The catwalk has been removed.

Stay tuned, next week I'll be posting more design drawings of the kitchen illustrating all of the design details we're incorporating and the new cabinetry configuration.  Following that I'll be posting about all the new lighting and plumbing fixtures and photographing the progress on site.

Oh and by the way,,,,did I mention this was going to be (yet another) Ikea kitchen!  Or 'Bespoke Ikea' as I like to call it.

Victorian Row House: A Designer Reno on A DIY Budget - Part 6

Kitchen & Family Room - Before & After

Below are some before pics showing the old 1980's kitchen.  Half of the ceiling was badly damaged from a leak in the old roof, there was no dishwasher or exhaust fan and the cabinetry was rotted and falling apart.  The first photo shows the extent of cabinetry, lowers and uppers along the window wall and a small cabinet over the bulkhead for the basement stairs.  A table and chairs sat next to a freestanding fridge and in front of a long baseboard heater.   We ripped it all out......including the window.  In its place would be a new ceiling, new flooring, new window, new lighting, new appliances and new Ikea kitchen cabinets.

Before - View from Kitchen to DR and LR

Before - View from LR and DR to Kitchen and FR beyond.

It was definitely a challenge coming up with a layout for this kitchen.  It was elevated from the Dining and Living rooms and also had an adjoining family room with a walkout to the deck and access to the garage.  The kitchen spanned the width of the house so the main path of traffic flowed thru the kitchen, thru the family room and out to the only parking spot - in the garage.  What I found most awkward about the kitchen was that the opposite walls were too far apart to make for an efficient work space but it was too narrow for an island or peninsula layout without removing the walls between the kitchen and Family Room - not an option for us.  I wanted to utilize the long wall opposite the sink for full height cabinetry and add an island, even if it would be a small one.  The walls between the kitchen and family room had to stay so I redesigned the layout within the existing footprint.   One of the key elements was removing the baseboard heater and replacing it with a toe-kick heater that fits under the cabinetry on the one wall.  This allowed us to utilized the entire wall for new full height cabinetry.

After - View of Pantry in kitchen looking thru to back door in Family Room.  Toe kick heater under cabinetry.

The view to the back of the house from the LR and DR was directly down the middle of the kitchen and at eye level (because of the elevated floor level) so I wanted an island that was more of a table style, something that was visually light and airy looking and moveable.   Because I had limited time and even a more limited budget, I designed an island that we could make ourselves from stock goods - so the kitchen island became a DIY project.  I purchased a ready made stainless steel top from Ikea (or you could use butcher block) some unfinished solid wood butcher block style legs from Lowes, and a bit of stock lumber.  I planned out the apron size and blocking required and had the lumber store cut all the boards to the exact sizes I needed.  Next I purchased all the fasteners and brought all the pieces home, ready to assemble.  I supplied my 'other half' with the design drawing and instructions and within an hour he had put the entire thing together for me.  To finish it off, all it needed was primer and 2 coats of finish paint.  Super easy and quick!! The entire thing cost less than $300 and I absolutely LOVE the results.  There are so many variations you could do by following the same simple steps.  In an upcoming post I'll provide the design plan, the instructions and list of materials needed.

A new double hung window was installed, taller than the old window and I added a frosted vinyl film to block the unappealing view of the neighbour's house but still allows the light in.  I opted for solid cararra marble counter and wrapped it up the wall 28" for a clean contemporary look. I had planned on adding a long wall mounted shelf with traditional corbel style brackets on the wall to the right of the window but since I had decided to sell the house, I left this open for the new owners to chose if they wanted to do this or not.   To me this would be the perfect finishing touch - a great spot for displaying pretty bowls, plates and artwork but for those who like to cook, its great access to your dishes.

All of the cabinetry was from Ikea, and I chose the simple white Applad door style for a clean contemporary look.  I customized it by adding full height thick gables between each of the cabinets, (which gives the cabinets more of a furniture look) and gave the entire kitchen a high end style by splurging on marble counters and backsplash, an oversized custom stainless sink, great appliances and a unique custom designed island.  The slide in range reinforces the clean lines and the contemporary rectangular hood was a great find at Lowes for only $699.

The light fixture in the family room was by Jonathan Adler but I customized it to have a 6" drop, I loved the black metal detail on the shade and how it ties in to the other touches of black on the window frames and door hardware.

The family room was adjacent to the kitchen, with its walkout to the deck it was a really bright, sunfilled and comfy space with room for a sofa and two lounge chairs and a TV.  I purchased an inexpensive but practical slipcovered sofa from Ikea, hung a small grouping of my own b&w photos, and brought an ottoman and 2 antique apple crates from home to furnish the space for resale.  The pin-up lamps were a STEAL at only $19.99 ea from a building surplus warehouse, they have a fabric drum shade, a swing arm and 3 way dimmer switch.  I've been back several times since to buy more and I'm sorry to say, they are completely sold out now!  The new owners of the house purchased the sofa and the lamps too.

I'm proud to say that this entire kitchen, including all materials, appliances, labour (electrical, plumbing, drywall, cabinetry install, flooring install, fabrication) and all taxes came in at $17,700.  The only work my handyman and I did ourselves in this part of the reno was the demolition, the painting, and hook-up of the kitchen faucet and dishwasher...and of course the design planning.  All in all,,,,I think the quality and value of the end product is much greater than its modest budget and demonstrates that its not how much you spend,,its how you spend it!

Stay tuned for a future post with instructions for a DIY kitchen island.

For Parts 1 thru 5 of this Victorian Row House Reno:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

All Photos:  Carol Reed