New kitchen jam version 4.0
- Thread starter Lerxst
- Start date
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
Ran the new circuit for the dishwasher and plumbed up that and the sink. Threw down some temporary plywood counters while we wait for some pieces to come back in stock to wrap up the cabinets. Done with the heavy lifting for now. Most importantly, we can use it as a kitchen again!
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Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
This is where we're at for a couple weeks; waiting on the filler/cover panels for the base cabs, filler/cover panels for the wall cabs and a door...then install the kick panels. After, we will have the countertop installed and backsplash done. The plywood is just to make the kitchen functional for now. I have to adjust the door/drawer gaps, put the switch & outlet covers on. Base molding will be here in a few days and I need to retrim the two outside corner windows.
Everything is fully functional right now. Fridge and range pre-renno....the dishwasher & microwave are new. We pulled out a massive sink and faucet w/ separate sprayer for the single pull down and smaller sink. At some point I'm going to build a movable sideboard cabinet for the right side wall
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
This is where we started:
Honestly, this pic looks way better than IRL. The cabinets & drawers were all wonky to use & we had limited usable counter space. The cabinets have been modified a few times over the years and there were numerous scars to indicate the efforts.
I hate tile countertops with a passion and this one was using cheap marble pattern ceramic tiles. When we fist viewed this house, I told our RE agent that that countertop wouldn't last 5 years in this house.
The sheet vinyl had all sorts of tears, cuts & was poorly installed over the old floor w/ some floor leveler spread around the edges for some reason, creating a ramp up around the perimeter. The fridge was in a series of gouges that went down to the old subfloor.
Honestly, this pic looks way better than IRL. The cabinets & drawers were all wonky to use & we had limited usable counter space. The cabinets have been modified a few times over the years and there were numerous scars to indicate the efforts.
I hate tile countertops with a passion and this one was using cheap marble pattern ceramic tiles. When we fist viewed this house, I told our RE agent that that countertop wouldn't last 5 years in this house.
The sheet vinyl had all sorts of tears, cuts & was poorly installed over the old floor w/ some floor leveler spread around the edges for some reason, creating a ramp up around the perimeter. The fridge was in a series of gouges that went down to the old subfloor.
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
After several days using the kitchen, we're really happy with the choices & there's a number of practical improvements that make cooking easier.
The ikea cabinet hinges and drawer sliders are nice & the using the cabinets is a pleasure compared to what was there. The cabinets are all deeper than the original cabs so while we lost some space w/ the corner sink, we have more net usable cabinet space and soon, countertop area, than previously. We've been able to more appropriately organize the kitchen around workflows for cooking, cleaning, and feeding the dogs than we could before.
The new microwave is significantly better than any we've owned in the past.
It goes w/o saying that running the dishwasher vs always hand washing dishes is a big upgrade.
The ikea cabinet hinges and drawer sliders are nice & the using the cabinets is a pleasure compared to what was there. The cabinets are all deeper than the original cabs so while we lost some space w/ the corner sink, we have more net usable cabinet space and soon, countertop area, than previously. We've been able to more appropriately organize the kitchen around workflows for cooking, cleaning, and feeding the dogs than we could before.
The new microwave is significantly better than any we've owned in the past.
It goes w/o saying that running the dishwasher vs always hand washing dishes is a big upgrade.
Everything about our new kitchen was an improvement but the biggest thing by far was getting back to a full sized sink and full sized dishwasher.
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
I would have liked to go w/ a full size DW but there's an oversized window on the right side of the kitchen that made it a decision between keeping cabinet space w/ an 18" or losing cabinet space w/ a regular sized one.....I guess replacing the window with a smaller one is a third option but I wasn't too keen on that. No idea why someone decided on the larger window in that location cause it's not a great spot for a breakfast nook or anything; it looks out on the driveway/garage.
To be honest I'm not sure I've actually used the dishwasher since we got the kitchen finished - I clean as I go, like to leave the kitchen looking untouched when I'm done as far as possible and having a big 1.5 sink has made that easy - the old kitchen had a horrible little round thing that would be more in place in a caravan so it was next to useless.
Mrs JBJ does not subscribe to the clean as you go method of kitchen hygiene so having a full dishwasher she can chuck all of her crap in and get it off the counters is still better than the half one the old kitchen had that barely held a thing,
Mrs JBJ does not subscribe to the clean as you go method of kitchen hygiene so having a full dishwasher she can chuck all of her crap in and get it off the counters is still better than the half one the old kitchen had that barely held a thing,