Wanna see my kitchen?

[Rain Man]

If you're sitting in the dining room sitting area, you can now see into the kitchen. This archway didn't exist before the remodel. We closed off an existing door on the other side of the room and added this arch so we could put in the breakfast peninsula.

Please pardon the paint cans in the window, as we're still getting the final touchups done.

[Rain Man]

Our kitchen is actually not that large. We went with semi-custom cherry cabinets and granite countertops, the latter of which will be shown in an upcoming closeup.

Our big decision was whether to go with one level of upper cabinets or two, putting the display level at the top. I'm glad we put the extra level in.

Our appliances are relatively basic, because we couldn't justify a need for the fancy ones. We don't do a lot of really involved stuff in the kitchen.

[Rain Man]

Here's the kitchen from the other direction. The doorway on the left goes down to the basement, and the doorway on the right is the old maid's stairs going to the second floor.

We put a 32" HDTV up on the wall. The HD box is underneath it, and we're still missing a little cabinet for it to go in, so that part looks a little rough right now.

I can't remember the term for the paint, but it's a two-tone layered paint. It looks pretty good in person, but it doesn't photograph well at all.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I can't remember the term for the paint, but it's a two-tone layered paint. It looks pretty good in person, but it doesn't photograph well at all.

Would it be any of these:

• Sponging on/Sponging off

• Ragging on/Ragging off

• Frottage

Colorwashing is three colors

Love the kitchen!!!

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by BucEyedPea

Would it be any of these:

• Sponging on/Sponging off

• Ragging on/Ragging off

• Frottage

Colorwashing is three colors

Love the kitchen!!!

Ragging, I think. I know that we painted it one solid color, and then my wife went back with a different color and kind of smeared it on with a rag.

And thanks. We like it.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Ragging, I think. I know that we painted it one solid color, and then my wife went back with a different color and kind of smeared it on with a rag.

And thanks. We like it.

faux painting....and yes, I can confirm that these pictures of Kevins house are legitimate....even down to the old salmon tv room.

speaking of faux, your entry, living room and dining area is crying for a one color wash..

nice job though...congrats to you and the mr's...it's a great house.

[SPchief]

Finally we get to see the kitchen.

I like what they did. It looks like some quality work. I hope it will bring you many, many years of enjoyment. I'll bet you're incredibly happy to have the construction over with.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Phobia

I like what they did. It looks like some quality work. I hope it will bring you many, many years of enjoyment. I'll bet you're incredibly happy to have the construction over with.

Thanks. We're very happy with it. The contractor was very quality-conscious, which is important since my wife has pretty discriminating tastes.

Overall, I would give the following grades:

A+ - Cabinetmakers. Did a great job, kept their promised price, and were flexible when we ran into a couple of design problems. It might go down to an A if we don't get that last little cabinet soon, but overall they were great.

A - Drywallers. This was the area that made us nervous, because the drywallers on our last big remodel were really, really bad. These guys were great - very neat and very high quality.

A- - General contractor. Would've been an A, except they ran way behind schedule and were very tardy in giving us pricing on change orders.

C - Electricians. Decent work, but they were very messy and made every hole slightly to big to cover without a drywall repair. The contractor handled that, though.

N/A - Plumbers - Work got done, and the general contractor handled all of it. I guess it was fine, but don't know.

D - HVAC/Sheet Metal guys - Got partway through the job and then left for a month. As a result, I think we may have ended up with a chemical stain on our brick, because they didn't get the outside gutter put up for months. This is bad.

D - Architect - I've told this story before. In the last weeks of the project, she corrected a problem with some materials she recommended without fighting us, so it brought her up from an F. Also, she recommended the general contractor and cabinet firm.

F - Never finished the job, and demanded final payment. We gave them all but $1,000 and told them we'd pay the rest when they finished it up. They kept demanding payment, and we finally hired someone else to finish the work, which cost us $1,400. (Actually, we decided not to do the whole thing, but that was the bid.) They kept sending us threatening letters, and even threatened to put a lien on the house. We finally informed them that they owed us $400 and demanded payment, and they stopped messing with us.

F - Granite company - I hope they rot in hell.

[Rain Man]

The granite is cool, even if I did have to battle the forces of evil to get it. It's an exotic Brazilian variegated material, and it's got tons of color. Some parts of it include a translucent black quartz that's really cool - kind of three-dimensional.

[DaFace]

Any pics of the infamous backsplashes?

[Rain Man]

Here's a bigger view of the granite. The small picture doesn't quite do it justice.

[Rain Man]

Backsplashes coming up. We went with an irregular backsplash to give the kitchen that rugged Colorado look. If you look closely, you'll see a few spots on them that are almost perfectly round, and that's where the dynamite was inserted to get the granite quarried.

I also show the lights lit up on the display cabinets, and the itty-bitty chandeliers that hang over our breakfast bar.

That bubblegum machine really makes that granite pop. Nice.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Phobia

That bubblegum machine really makes that granite pop. Nice.

Sometimes it's the accessories that really finish the look, wouldn't you agree?