DELETED - axxis_rose's Kitchen

Finished Henrybuilt Kitchen (almost)



Contact: axxis_rose (My Page)
Posted on Friday, August 17, 2007
Link to kitchen photos: http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s293/sevens_photos/

Details:


CABINETS: I am in love. They turned out even better than I had hoped. All the lowers are drawers, except for one tray cab, and the undersink flip down. The drawers are full extension, soft close. The one thing I would not do again is the undersink flip down and drawer. The drawer handle kind of gets in the way when standing there washing dishes, but I have gotten used to it. The flip down is a waste of space. I think I keep maybe one sponge in there. The uppers are glass lift-ups and touch latch for the top row. The one to the left of the range has a slightly longer door for pulling. No, it does not get hot in the wine rack above the fridge--it might have to do with the thickness of the cabinet, or the fact that the fridge vents from the side and not the back.

RANGE: I love the cooking power and aesthetics of the Bluestar. I do not like cleaning the cast iron surface very much. I had to season it and sometimes when I wipe it whatever I am using leaves little fibers behind. This model does not have convection or self-cleaning oven, which is fine for my needs.

HOOD: I chose the Viking because of its small profile and the recirculating kit, not because of the brand. I didn't actually find much out there that would work in my set-up. I was doubtful that the recirc hood would make much difference, but it really does with cooking smells. Having 3 windows in the kitchen/dining area helps too.

COUNTERTOP: I wanted something uniform in color, medium grey, and not too shiny. Really, I wanted limestone. I considered Pietra Cardosa (a shist) but did not like all the cloudy veining. I needed something low-maintenance. Some of you may have read my posts about problems with the Caesarstone; it’s not exactly maintenance free because it gets pretty streaky. I thought I could just hot water/sponge it but that leaves big streaks like cleaning a shiny car. But I can spill oil and beet juice all over it without a care. And it matches the cabinets pretty well.

D/W: I chose the GE Monogram for one reason only—it has a straight handle across the front which matched the range and the fridge. There really are not too many models out there that have this, surprisingly. I did not do much research on this d/w and unfortunately it stopped working within 2 weeks. The computer went berserk and started beeping all the time, flashing lights, and eventually died. The customer service has been great and they sent someone out pretty quickly, ordered new parts and installed them. It’s working fine—for now.

REFRIGERATOR: I wanted a fridge with a bottom freezer that was not one heavy pull-out drawer, so that my 3 yo can open it herself for popsicles and eventually other things. This one has a door, then 4 drawers inside. I really liked the looks of the F & P, and the size is perfect for my layout. It is a lot roomier than it seems, very smartly organized. I like this fridge ALOT.

SINK: Catmom turned me on to Julien and I am ever so glad! A great sink, love the size. I ordered the one with the shallowest depth because DH is tall and I figured he might have trouble with a deep sink that’s undermount. I use the grid everyday. I do wonder, who came up with the idea of a high faucet plus deep undermount sink? There are splashing issues, and it’s tough for tallish people. While it looks great it’s not the best development in kitchen design.

FAUCETS: I love the hidden spray on the Minta. As for the filtered water faucet I didn’t like the looks of the usual filter faucets—they remind me of the dentist’s office. So I tried a bar faucet and it works great.

FLOOR TILE: Everyone who sees it thinks it’s stone. It’s porcelain and so far I have not had any issues with leg, foot, or back soreness, which I thought I would since I used to have a wood floor in the kitchen. It helps that I wear flip flops around the house and not go barefoot.

BACKSPLASH: This Heath tile just looked so different to me from other subway tile. I started with machine made subway tile and thought it looked too sanitary next to the bamboo cabs. Too bad, because they were so much more affordable and available. I liked the off-white color of the Heath, the not-too-glossy appearance and the slightly irregular, handcrafted look. Unfortunately because they are handmade and my contractor did not order enough it takes 4-6 weeks to get more. In the photos they look more lumpy than they do in person, not sure why. I am thinking medium-grey grout with this. You’ll notice the plastic covering behind the faucet to protect the un-grouted drywall. Ugh!

UNDERCAB LIGHTS: I chose the LEDs because I was worried that all the recessed halogen lighting in the kitchen would be too hot (it's not). And, their slender profile worked really well with the cabinets. Henrybuilt offered Xenon, and I requested LEDs instead. I like them, but some people might find them not bright enough.

--AR

- posted by starpooh @ 12:26 PM
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