Our new kitchen is one year old

We finished our kitchen a year ago.  I am so happy with the kitchen.   I especially love the sink and the sink cabinets.  The sink is so roomy.  John's cabinets are beautiful and are perfect.

the queen of the kitchen

Updated with more photos...

Laughing at John...

The counter top people did a crappy job on the silicone caulk around the sink... the poor quality caulk didn't ever harden and it wasn't applied very well.  So John had to do it over.  It was out of commission for 24 hours and then he did this for another several hours to let it cure without getting wet.  I laughed at him for the blue tape special.

His caulk job IS much improved over what they did.

Window apron installed

John installed the window apron and it looks good, though I can't seem to get a photo that shows it very well.  My camera does not do well with the window light....

Tile back splash finished

The tile back splash is done and looking good.  John is making an apron for under the window starting today.

Tile backsplash installation

Our backsplash installation started today... the first two rows are in.

Tomorrow the pencil liner row and the top row.  Jason is doing a great job.

Kitchen Counter Lighting

No LEDs for me.  Instead I ordered various night lights... some from Amazon, some from Etsy, some from Ebay.

This photo was taken last evening.  I love the magical warmth the lights create.

The lights we like best are made by GE.  They have a punched hole pattern with a metal shade.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DNG9A2/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

All my lights (except the night lights) are on dimmers and boy I use them.  We seldom have the lights all the way on.  Adjusting the amount of light, changes how the kitchen feels....  I love that.

Making a new lampshade

I knew that once the counter top was installed, I'd need to adjust the color and lighting in the kitchen.  I am very fussy about color and lighting.  Our kitchen isn't flooded in natural light.  It isn't dark, but it has some areas that need a little more light so I use what I call mood lighting.

Lighting is so important.  I hate bright glaring light.  I like warm inviting light.  I checked out under counter LED lights but rejected that idea for lots of reasons.  I am an incandescent girl.  That other stuff just doesn't make the right kind of light; even the warmest of the LEDs is cold to my eye..  Also, I want pools of light; LEDs don't do that.

We keep a small lamp on the counter that is always on.  It has a 25 watt bulb.  The lamp is pretty old and its shade has needed replacing for a long time.  It was worn and dirty and frayed.  These photos were taken after I removed the trim so I could remind myself of how the sewing was done.  They also show the dirt and wear.

So I made my first lampshade.   I carefully took apart the old one and used it to figure out how much fabric to use.   It is all hand sewn (no glue) and that took a bit of time.  It doesn't have trim yet (the trim hides the raw edges) but I am already pleased with how it looks.

 The fabric isn't as dark and  it lets out more light.

Old shade

 New shade

The lampshade isn't the only lighting change I have planned.  I also ordered some fun little night lights from Amazon and Etsy but they aren't here yet.  This is the fun stuff.  I love figuring out how to make things a little better looking and better functioning.  

Update: I finished the shade.  I just turned the edge under and sewed it by hand.  I did it that way because I liked the way it looks better than with trim.  I like the pleats going to the edge.

Mocking up the back splash tile

Look what a difference the white tile makes in the corner.

No tile in the corner

Tile in the corner

Moving on to backsplash tile...

I am deciding between these.

Almost white tile with a black pencil line.

And maybe a second shorter line

The queen of the kitchen is functional

My long awaited and already beloved Kohler Whitehaven 36" tall apron sink is operational.  Whew, that is a mouthful.  I feel like Ralphie from A Christmas Story describing the bb gun he wants.

I am calling her Queen Crosspatch, who is the queen of the fairies in one of my favorite childhood books.

Counter top is in!

 Ozy had to check it out

Kitchen progress update and improved storage

Our new sconce is up.  I couldn't resist putting things in place to see how it is going to be.  I've also figured out a great place to hang the kitchen towels.

new sconce 

Monday is counter top installation day.  And Tuesday the plumber does the plumbing.  So close and yet so far away.  I am so tired of camping in the kitchen that even a few days seems a long time.

 Coffee cleanup has been one of the worst things to deal with...who'd a thunk it?  But yesterday I got an AeroPress and that has made cleanup a snap, not to mention that it makes great coffee.  It's very easy to use unless you get carried away worrying about the temperature of the water and the timing.  There are lots of YouTube videos where they make it into a huge number of steps but I just screw in the filter, add the coffee, pour in some boiling water and press.  To clean up, you just eject the coffee puck.  That's cleanup.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0047BIWSK/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We've gained so much storage space in the base cabinets by closing off the blind corner and removing the dishwasher.  Look at all those drawers and they are big.

This is before.   The access to the blind corner took up 12 inches on each side of the corner and the dishwasher used 24 inches which left us with one puny drawer and one puny cabinet to the left of the dishwasher.  See it there, squeezed in between the dishwasher and the blind corner access?  It's so puny that you might have to click on the picture to get a bigger view.

Our old upper cabinets had a corner cabinet like this.  While it may give you a tiny bit more area, it really is a space waster because it is so difficult to access most of it except for the few inches on the front edge.  What we have now provides much better access to the uppers.  And it looks better, too.  The right side cabinet goes all the way to the corner, giving us accessible storage for a few unsightly objects.

Looking Good

The base cabinets are painted and the drawers are installed and filled with stuff (except for under the sink).  The wall between the base cabinets and uppers is painted.  We are close to done!  I am so happy.

Sneak Peak

Yesterday John put the drawer fronts and the hardware on the drawers.  Then he took the drawers out so he  could paint the base cabinet.  But first he let me take a few photos.  He might make me wait till Wednesday before he puts it back together.

donaleen's folly

Can't wait to see it painted with drawer fronts!

We removed the dishwasher in our kitchen project.  Yes, that is correct.  Removed it.  I did try to come up with a design that would allow for a dishwasher space but I couldn't make it look good.    So I gave it up.

We never used the dishwasher more than once or twice a year and then it was mostly so it didn't lose its seal, or so we believed.  We lived with it for eighteen years so I think we gave having one a fair chance.   I am amazed by the number of people who tell me they don't use their dishwasher but they have it "for resale" and I should have a dishwasher for that same reason.

A folly is a building that serves no useful purpose and is mostly decorative.  The person who builds it doesn't call it a folly.  It is others who see it as a folly.  And that is the case with my giant honking drawer.  I have wasted the dishwasher space in their minds.  I have done a foolish thing.  So we named my lovely honkin' drawer "donaleen's folly".

I don't think it is a folly (I think it is a great space) but people think I am making a mistake by not putting in a dishwasher "for resale".  I think it is foolish to take away some of the best storage space next to the sink and use it for a dishwasher "for resale".  Now THAT is folly.

The cabinets look better and I have valuable storage space next to my sink.  To all of you who have a dishwasher "for resale", I say nana-naNana,

As William Morris said, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

Open Sesame

If you click on one of the photos and scroll, the doors open and close.