Do It Yourself Kitchen Section
Kitchen Remodeling
Phase Three-Page Four
As our family grew with fur and regular children, everyone it seems could fit into either the kitchen or the breakfast room. But as our children grew older both spaces began to get smaller and smaller.
We did a kitchen remodeling about 20 years ago and my wifes plans turned sour because of the selection of the contractor and both of us vowed that the next remodeling would be done according to my wife's wishes and not a contractor. When I retired we decided that both of us would do the work, except for the cabinets and granite counter tops.
Our visits to an interior decorator and the big box stores proved fruitless. So off to Google and brainstorm ideas. Little by little my wife found what she wanted and I developed the plans, assembled the material and took a very careful look at the finances. This time when work was started and was not to her satisfaction, a complete rework. Costing a little more money, but well worth the effort and cost.
Looking from the kitchen into the breakfast room or walking for the matter we can go two by two where before with the door, that was not possible. Lighting is under the wall cabinets and the recessed lighting finally provides ample light for an area which is virtually in the middle of our home and was so dark and gloomy. The double antique white by Benjamin Moore is closer to a coffee with cream than other manufacturers antique whites and provides pleasant contrast to the pure white on the door frames, ceiling and base boards.
To the left is a small bathroom with a toilet, medicine cabinet and sink. The door opening had been framed from salvaged door frames, opened to the right, the door a darker stain and everything was taken out and reworked. The door now opens to the left and is painted the same color as the cabinets. Same for the pantry door at the bottom right.
We decided to put in the recessed lighting, the lighting under the cabinets and overhead light and paint the ceilings prior to painting the cabinets, walls and mill work.
A very wise decision which allowed pints and pints of custom paint to be placed on the walls and cabinets to view all during the day, with some or all lights on and off. Not only to see how the paint looked with the Bordeaux granite and also whether the combinations were appealing to my wife. Paint selection took about a month and we used a locally owned store which sold Benjamin Moore paint, rather than suffer a big box store. The cost savings at the local store was a pleasant surprise too.
Our girls were raised to be independent and self sufficient. They and our son too watched carefully as dad made some excellent home improvements and messed up some things too. They learned and apply those skills in their own home improvement projects. So when everyone agreed that dad had finally done exactly what their mom wanted, and not what I wanted and was willing and able to change, everyone was pleased.
The proof to me that my wife is pleased is the smile on her face. Of course watching three of our Shetland Sheepdogs walk side by side from the breakfast room into the kitchen to retrieve their brown rock treats makes me realize that the physical size of the rooms have not changed, but are now at long last functional, we can see, they can see and after touching up those little drips, nicks and scrapes, i will be off to my next yes my dear project-reworking three more closets.
Not all colors look the same in a photograph, online, in a store sample, or even in your own home under different lighting conditions so we have provided detail so you can try these colors out when you decide to do a remodeling job. But at least the picture showing the Bordeaux granite does justice to its beauty.
Lighting
Springhill Lighting and Supply, Inc. located at 109 Furr Street in Mobile, Alabama, phone 251-471-1444 was our source for both a lighting consultant and the fixtures.
Personnel visited our home, made suggestions and a visit to the show room allowed is to see their suggestions. Further consultations enabled us to decide upon Energy Star rated fixtures which included 6 inch remodel cans, allowing for higher wattage florescent bulbs.
Based upon our experience and how the project looked after completion, we would strongly suggest selection of your lighting additions prior to doing any remodeling work.
Granite
Gulf Coast Granite, Inc has a virtual web home and their physical location is 2342 West I-65 Service Road South located in Mobile, Alabama, phone 251-661-4990.
Several years ago when we were contemplating our kitchen remodeling we visited Gulf Coast Granite and were singularly impressed with Tracy and all whom we met. So when my wife found Bordeaux granite online, we revisited and found the same helpful out stretched hands and smiling faces. Who not only took an inordinate amount of time with us, but made suggestions too. Looking at the Bordeaux was even better than a picture and a small deposit held our selection. The quality of workmanship was beyond our wildest dreams.
Paint
You and I can purchase paint virtually any place at any time. But common is the occasion when a locally owned paint store will offer a superior quality of service at competitive pricing to the big box stores, and the same smiling faces will provide multiple years of experience and guidance for either a small or large painting project.
So our experience with The Paint Store, Inc. located at 2051 Airport Blvd in Mobile, Alabama, phone 251-478-0469 is of considerable worth and should be shared.
The cabinets were primed with Velour e/u 8801. The top coat was Benjamin Moore Antique White (double formulation). Remembering that all color names are not the same and vary by manufacturer.
Cabinetry
Anyone who purchases cabinets knows that cost varies with workmanship, features and hardware. We also find out that the best cabinet makers are usually booked up in advance, just like a parking lot full of cars in a place we might consider having dinner, compared to an empty parking lot in another place to eat.
We sat down with personnel at Carlsen Custom Cabinets at 7231 Moffat Road in Mobile, Alabama, phone 251-648-3481 and priced the cabinet configurations my wife wanted. We then compared the custom cabinets to the big box stores and found no significant difference in price, but an obvious difference in the quality of the custom cabinets and placed our order. Again buying from a local merchant and helping the economy in our area.
In conclusion may we say because of our dealings with locally owned and operated suppliers for our home improvement project, not only is there much satisfaction, but we have kept a greater amount of our expenditures in the USA, have supported locally owned businesses who also spend money locally and they all have had the superior service.