Kitchen Design

Apr 24, 2021

It’s honestly been a blast trying to figure out this kitchen. As the biggest and most complex redesigned space in our house, we have spent a lot of time and energy deliberating how to best use the space. Our overall goals are to maximize functionality and create a contemporary space while embracing the craftsman features of the house for a timeless design. We’ve been through many iterations and revisions of layouts and finishes, trying to see every possible opportunity. This has been a great lesson in being flexible and not making my mind up too early. Ultimately, I couldn't be happier with what we have come up with and executed.

Layout

We thought about taking walls out, adding walls in, moving plumbing, etc. But when it came down to it, what made the most sense was to keep the layout the same. This was maybe a bit hard for me to accept when I had spent hours fantasizing and sketching how these magical new layouts would fix all our problems. But when you’re not sketching to-scale, you can make any layout work. When it comes to actually fitting cabinets and appliances into a set space, it just didn’t make sense to move too much around. First, we wanted to avoid moving the plumbing and gas lines too far from their original positions to minimize cost and headaches. The kitchen window is one of the largest windows in the house, so it was not possible to put any cabinetry on the south wall of the kitchen to create a U-shape which would add a lot more usable space. The design we landed on is somewhere between double galley and a peninsular layout. Luckily, the window‘s large width means the two rows of cabinets must sit at a comfortable distance from each other, which should make for an easy multi-chef cooking situation.

One of biggest changes we made was to reposition the fridge. Before, it was placed against the wall and had to be at an angle to open without hitting the windowsill. Now, it is at the opposite end of the east wall, and encased by an upper cabinet and end panels, creating a much more built-in look. The end panels are painted the same color as the cabinets and the outer one lines up perfectly so it looks like a continuation of the wall, helping the fridge blend in with the rest of the kitchen. Moving the fridge also opened up a space for a full-height pantry cabinet that I am probably a little too excited about. The pantry is 18" wide, 30" deep, and 90" high. It has 2 doors, with 4 drawers and 4 shelves inside. The only foreseeable downside is that I'm too short to reach the majority of the space in it, but a step stool should solve all my problems.

We also centered the sink on the peninsula, which sounds so much easier than it actually turned out to be. To get the sink centered on the peninsula, and in line with the stove, we had to increase the length of the peninsula by 4 measly inches. Maybe you have never moved an entire full height wall before, but it's not particularly easy, and moving it only 4 inches seemed like so much effort for so little payoff. But luckily, the wall isn't load bearing, and demo-ing it was actually sort of fun. Ultimately, it was the right decision for the design, and I learned how to frame a wall, so worth it.

Even though we kept the same general layout, there were a lot of little logistical challenges. Luckily Noah, with his architectural degree and job in construction management, has a knack for this kind of thing and had the foresight to work out a lot of the little details that have made the whole thing come together. For example, when we moved the partition wall 4 inches, Noah realized that if he added one more vertical 2x4 to the last stud of the partition wall before putting the drywall on, we can overhang the countertop on the peninsula 1 1/4" and it will flush out perfectly with the end of the wall. This way, the partition wall and the peninsula wall have some delineation and look more intentional. Decisions like that, made well before they are actually relevant, have been huge in the quest for a professional and polished final product.

Original Condition

It was pretty clear from the first time we saw the house that the kitchen would need some major work. Top to bottom, everything had to go. If you ask Noah he will say that his least favorite job in this whole house project was roto-hammering out the kitchen floor tile. Under the thick red tile in the kitchen were about 4 more layers of laminate and/or asbestos. We removed the tile and one layer of laminate, and are going to pour self leveling concrete over the rest of it to avoid a health hazard, before laying new wood-look laminate planks. The cabinets were cheap, poorly installed, and moldy. Atop the disturbingly sticky cabinets, bright yellow laminate countertops had been covered with heavily grouted tile. Hopefully you have never had the pleasure of cooking on tile countertops that have super old grout, because there is no amount of cleaning that can make them less disgusting. Because of our buying timeline (check out my post breaking it down), we were still finishing the upstairs kitchen when we moved in and spent about a month using the kitchen downstairs. Suffice to say we ate a lot of take-out during that period. The stove was the only salvageable thing, and after a couple hours of scrubbing, I wrapped it in plastic to save for the new kitchen. We ripped out and scrapped everything else including the cabinets, counters, sink, and floors. Because of the mold, we replaced the drywall on either side of the peninsula, and decided to add blocking for new floating shelves before closing the walls back up.

Ikea FTW

We debated a while (you’ll find that to be a theme in this build) about where to buy our cabinets, focusing on big box options to fit our budget. The cheaper options from Home Depot and Lowe’s were almost as expensive as Ikea without nearly as much opportunity for customization. With Ikea, we were able to get exactly what we wanted out of our kitchen and maximize the layout we decided on. Using Ikea's kitchen design tool was easy enough, but the in-person meetings with a kitchen designer at the store were invaluable. We came fully prepared with the dimensions of our non-Ikea sink, stove, fridge and microwave, and our designer helped us figure out where we needed to put cover panels, filler pieces, and extra support. She was so helpful and attentive while we made real-time decisions about what would and wouldn't work.

I will say, being only 20 minutes from an Ikea store was pretty crucial. The pandemic home renovation craze has left stock limited, so in addition to the planning trip and the ordering trip, we had to go back 3 separate times to pick up parts of our order that were back-ordered. I also advise being really organized with the paperwork. We decided to return some things, like the toe-kicks and 2 big end panels in lieu of making them ourselves for cost reasons (and because I couldn't fit the panels in my Prius when I went to pick them up.) We ended up needing an additional suspension rail, but I don't think I would have noticed until install day if I hadn't been so meticulous with keeping track of the order. Keep all the order pages, inventory all the boxes when you get home, and determine if there's anything else you need. You'll thank me later.

Cabinet Fronts

In terms of aesthetics, I love the timeless look of shaker cabinets, but didn't fall in love with any of the designs we had seen at the Ikea showroom or online. We did however fall deeply for the grey green color of the Bodarp cabinet front - not unlike the theme color of this blog. We decided that with enough design in the finishes, the slab fronts (no lines or ornamentation) could look less modern and have the more traditional feel that we were looking for. But I couldn't stop looking at shaker style fronts on Pinterest. When we finally went to Ikea to order the cabinets, a new display was up with a cabinet front that, much to my distress, we loved. It was a perfect simplified version of a classic shaker, made of solid wood with dovetail connections, rather than the plastic laminate coating on mdf that made up the Bodarp fronts. The issue was that it came only in light grey and black, and we had been so excited for the grey green. After walking around the store going back and forth about what to do, we decided that because we have saved money in other areas, we could allow ourselves to go for the more expensive Lerhyttan shaker cabinet fronts.

Unfortunately we aren’t huge fans of compromise, and didn’t want to give up on our sage green kitchen dreams. Knowing it would add time, money, and effort to our project, we still decided to paint the brand new cabinet fronts the grey green we loved. This felt, and still feels, pretty crazy - the fronts are perfect right out of the box (and $$) - so it's pretty nerve wracking to put sandpaper and paint on them. But alas, these are the lengths we go to for aesthetics. I can't say with 100% certainty that this was the best course of action - I know our timeline and budget would say it wasn't - but these fronts are EXACTLY what we dreamed of, and they really do look incredible. I got a custom mixed color from Sherwin-Williams that is the perfect tone and slightly lighter than the original Bodarp color. Painting them wasn't the easiest task. To make them look professional quality, we had to use our paint sprayer which is not top of the line. The paint we used is a Sherwin-Williams enamel paint, so it goes on thick and takes a long time to cure. We set up a plastic coated spray booth in our basement ( slightly reminiscent of a scene from the TV show Dexter) and left the cabinets to cure for about 3 weeks. We will do a bit more touching up once they are installed, but they turned out better than I expected!

We were able to save some money by making our own panels to surround the fridge. The 90" x 36" panels sold by Ikea were $400 ($200 each) and since we were painting them anyway, we just bought 3/4" thick high-density mdf boards that cost $70 total. All in all, we ended up spending about $5,000 on the cabinet frames, fronts, and paint. That may seem like a big number, but considering the average cost for custom cabinets is $15,000 to $25,000, it seems like a steal.

Everything AND the Kitchen Sink

I have always dreamed of a white apron sink, but didn't think it was in the cards for this project. I mean I'm only 25 and an apron sink seems like such an adult thing. Maybe that doesn't really make sense, but the imposter syndrome that comes with owning this kind of property this young can be pretty real. But, alas, we had designed the kitchen around the sink being front and centered on the peninsula. When we decided on the grey green cabinet color, we were thinking either matte black or brushed brass for hardware. The idea of a stainless sink with another metal seemed like it would feel too industrial with the green, and just didn't mesh in my head. The more variables we added in, the more it made sense design-wise to spend a bit of extra money on a white apron sink. I am a firm believer in a single basin kitchen sink because everything should go through a garbage disposal and dishes are less likely to be left. Ikea only had a 24" single basin which was too small, and a 36" double basin which was ridiculously big. So when I found this 30" single basin enameled cast iron apron sink (pictured above) while browsing Wayfair for only $200, I couldn't resist.

The only issue was that Ikea doesn't make a cabinet that would fit it. Their 30" sink cabinet is for a drop-in sink, but with a little critical thinking and a jigsaw, we were able to modify the cabinet to fit the sink perfectly. Our Ikea kitchen designer advised us that after cutting into it, in order to support the weight of the sink (so heavy) we would need a cover panel on either side. This actually made for a pretty cool moment where we are able to set the edge of the cover panel 5/8" in front of the frame so it flushes out with the door, and set the sink 1" further out from that so the curve of the sink is still revealed. Details like that are ideally barely noticeable, but allow for all the attention to be on the sink, which it totally deserves.

Countertops

I'm not alone in my belief that quartz is the ultimate countertop material. As classy as marble with the durability of granite and the customizability of laminate, quartz has it all. Getting quartz countertops was actually one of the only design decisions we had made before we started any renovations. Picking the material was easy, but the color was a whole other decision. In the Ikea showroom, we matched up the Bodarp cabinets with a white apron sink, and a light grey concrete-look quartz counter. In the last few weeks we had to actually choose a countertop, and Noah was pretty adamant that the grey would be too dark with the paint color on the cabinets. I was pretty adamant that I did not want pure white quartz. Sure, it can look beautiful, but it constantly looks dirty and seems like too "safe" a choice. So, a compromise was struck, and we have landed on white with grey marbling. We decided not to go with Ikea for the countertops and instead are working with Topline Counters based out of Vancouver Washington because Noah has a good relationship with them through his work. The prices are comparable and they had a much wider selection of colors to choose from. Like all things kitchen design, there were almost too many choices, but we landed on an MSI quartz called Calacatta Ultra that has a soft grey veining, pictured above.

Backsplash

Of all the design decisions for this house, I’ve probably spent the most time on picking tile. I had a clear vision of what I wanted (arguably too clear, note to self: be more flexible) and I was having a hard time executing it while staying within budget. My vision for the kitchen backsplash had always been a 2" x 6" white unevenly surfaced tile in a herringbone pattern, but I couldn't find it for the life of me. All the rectangular tiles I liked were too big, as our backsplash is only about 20 sq. ft between the upper and lower cabinets around the stove. I hadn't given up hope that I could find the perfect fit until Noah's mom Sarah and I tiled the bathroom on her recent visit to Portland. Even then, it wasn't so much that I gave up hope, but I shifted direction. Sarah, home renovation and tile guru, was manning the tile saw and had a lot of off-cuts from our shower tile. After I had lamented about my struggles finding a backsplash tile, she suggested trying to use the tile we already had. She drew up a template of the backsplash space on some cardboard for me to lay out tile and play with the idea. Very unsurprisingly, she was totally right. The shower tiles are pure white, glossy, picket shaped tiles that are 3" x 13", laid vertically. If I turned the shower tile 90°, the off cuts and extra tiles laid out beautifully! Turning the tiles continues the design language of the bathroom into the kitchen, while still creating a different look. There aren’t too many places where you can see both the kitchen and bathroom tiles at the same time, so it almost takes a second to realize they are the same tile in different formats. I’m undecided on whether I will do white grout like I did in the bathroom, or if a light grey would be better to add more interest. Either way, I am really excited about using the tiles we already have, saving money, and not looking at any more tile websites.

The Numbers

It may go without saying that the kitchen is one of the most high impact areas in the home. According to a report from Realtor.com, 80% of homebuyers place the kitchen in their top 3 most important spaces in a home. Aside from changing a home's aesthetic value, the design of the kitchen also heavily affects monetary value. The ROI (return on investment) on a kitchen remodel is relatively high in general, at around 62% for a major renovation like ours, and even higher out here in the Pacific Northwest. ROI is a simple calculation of the home value added by the renovation divided by the money spent on it. The biggest reason that the average ROI isn't higher is how expensive it is to remodel a kitchen. A kitchen remodel of this scale - taking the whole space down to studs, redoing electrical and plumbing, all new cabinets and new appliances - would likely be over $60,000 to hire out. Instead, we have been able to remodel our kitchen for under $15,000 because we are self-performing literally all of the work. That means an estimated ROI of over 200%, so it's no wonder we are spending so much time and energy on this portion of the house.

Progress so Far

There are a few big things left to do, like getting the countertop installed and tiling the backsplash. It is kind of insane how much work it took to get to this point where we can actually install all the finishes. One of the first things we took care of in the kitchen was the electricity. The old kitchen was so far from being up to code, and Noah painstakingly rewired the entire place to make dedicated circuits for appliances, outlets, and lights. While the electrical work took a long time and a lot of effort, it's all beautifully hidden inside the walls. The biggest visible change happened when we repaired all the drywall and painted the whole unit white. It felt so much cleaner and finally revealed the blank slate we had been working toward.

Right away we were able to start actually envisioning the space the way it is meant to be. Since painting, we have built and installed all of the cabinet frames, end panels, drawers, and shelves. I thought the space would feel so much smaller with the cabinets in but it still feels so spacious. We won't install the cabinet fronts until after the countertop is in so they don't get damaged, but I will definitely make a post entirely made up of before-and-after pictures pretty soon, so stay tuned!

I started thinking about the design of this kitchen before we even closed on the house, and we have made countless decisions, big and small, since then. Once I let go of the feeling that there is only one perfect solution and embraced the idea that there can be multiple answers to the same question, I really started to sink into this process and feel even more grateful for the opportunity to design and build our dream. Our hope is that the final product is a kitchen that is deserving of being in a house this special, and to stand the test of time just as this house has for 114 years.