DIY Kitchen pictures finally!

Our layout works fine so we didn't change it at all, and our oak hardwood floors were new about 9 years ago. We added:

• Ubatuba granite (not DIY)
• Rohl Allia fireclay sink in biscuit
• GE Profile ceran cooktop
• Kenmore Elite dishwasher
• Fusion Bordeaux faucet & accessories in antique copper
• Insinkerator Instant Hot Water dispenser
• New hardware in pewter with copper edge to cabinets
• Red island with contrasting hardware in roosters & chickens
• New wallpaper & border
• New window treatments
• New pot rack, purchased online from Potracksgalore.com (I love this as my focal point!)
• Painted our fridge to match cabinets
• Tiled our own backsplash and range hood trim with tumbled travertine tiles, copper and pewter accents.
• Tiled side of island in ubatuba granite tiles, hung towel rack
• Zenon undercabinet lights from Home Depot (love these & use them all the time)
• Painted barstools and chairs black. Still need to refinish table.
  

The range hood is new but my husband simply rewired the 2 controls to the inside. There was a flat metal box sort of thing that he drilled 2 holes into & put the controls there. Now I just reach up & under & can do it by feel.

On the cabinets, I used some premixed glaze I got at Lowes called Decorative Effects Translucent Color Glaze, and I mixed the Taupe and the Mocha colors till I got the shade I wanted. But you can get any glaze sold & just play till you get the color you want. I don't think the brand makes much difference.

We did most everything ourselves, beginning last February. First my husband added beadboard, light rail, new crown moulding and rope trim to the cabinets to give them a fresh, new look. He also bumped out the sink and made a new range hood. Then we hired a painter to take them from 19-yr old oak I was tired of to the new off-white I loved in magazines. I then antiqued the cabinets myself..

The light rail was a standard piece of moulding. Lots of other kinds work, too... we looked at various cabinet displays to get ideas.

Some of my tile came from Expo Design (the harlequin shapes) and the rest I got from a local tile store, same brand, which I don't know but could find out if you like. I also got a few boxes at Lowes. It's just called tumbled travertine, and the color is Chiaro.

The side of the island is tiled because I thought constant water splashing from drying our hands would ruin the wood, I know it would have ruined the previous oak. With the towel rack there right by the sink, it was a protective measure that has worked. And the chicken pulls also came from Expo Design but they no longer carry them at our store.

We actually were kind of copying cabinets we saw at Expo that were, get this, $1200 a linear foot! It would have cost us $60K to buy new ones like that, and with the cost of the painter, beadboard, moulding, trim, light rail, etc., we spent just under $3000.

The tile was definitely CHALLENGING. If we had started with square tile, maybe not so hard. But those harlequin shapes kept trying to slide sideways so we had to work fast. And the range backsplash was quite frustrating as it kept slipping & my hubby finally had to build a temp wood frame around the large part to hold it up till it dried, then we tiled around it & went from there.

A pro painter did spray the off -white, and I painted the red island myself--the whole kitchen seemed too overwhelming! But yes I was very meticulous in the antiquing. And it took forever! But they were custom cabinets when we moved in, so very good quality & worth saving. The drawer glides are still smooth & fast!

The 12x16 wine tile in our backsplash is new, just the color is antique copper. Didn't mean to say it was an antique tile. We bought it at a tile store but I can't find info on the co. name now. However, it is carried by Expo Design so the co. name could be gotten there. The pewter trim strips are Crossville Quesetch Metals, but not the 12x16".

- posted by starpooh @ 11:06 AM