I think the kitchen transom is a good idea. All the range hood vents I've seen that are freestanding are at least $500. And putting a window on just one side of the stove just doesn't look right.
Kitchen cabinets- I don't know that I'm going to have any pull out lower shelves. We also just throw dry trash in the cabinet wastebasket. All garbage goes in a bowl and out to the compost. And I recycle glass, metal and plastic, so a lot of thing get washed up rather than thrown away. The pantry to the side of the refrig is supposed to have 5 pull out shelves and I think I will keep those.
D, the kitchen guy, is going to price me 3 different arrangements in the kitchen. He's going to do a cheaper line - the same one he suggested for the bathroom - Aristokraft with upgraded drawers. He says they sell a lot of it and it's what he's putting in his new house. Also Decora using York which is a door style with a simple frame around the door. The style I picked out which is plain - costs more because the door is one slab of glued together wood rather than a pieced door.
I'm still going with the glass upper doors and the island and a tile backsplash. I can live without the solid countertop, but not the other things. I should get those next Wed.
M.F.H.
1 comment:
Actually Annette wrote this so I thought I'd post it so everyone could read what she had to say:
Kitchen - I would let your kitchen designer help you reach your budget, that is part of their job.
I would buy the best quality cabinets you can afford. You will be disappointed otherwise especially after having Wood-Mode. Plus remember cabinets in Wood Creek home? Not only was kitchen too small, cabinets were falling apart and after only a few years. I'm sure yours look almost as good as new & mine do too after 5 years. Aristocraft might be a nice line too, I'm just not familiar with them. Does your designer know anywhere in Burlington/FM who handle them? Don't hesitate to get another competitive bid or ask for a cash discount.
I agree with larger window over sink, I wish I had had room to do so. Crank will be much easier to open than double hung. I have a hard time with mine, didn't in old house but then windows weren't so tall & heavy. Hopefully the girls will be able to reach it too. Plus larger window mean less cabinets, save $.
I think base cabinets with out roll outs or drawers are useless. Unless you have more storage than you really need, or large roaster pans, etc. Some cabinet lines will only supply a 1/2 shelf so check this out. It is so much easier to access things than crawling on you hands & knees to get things out. Drawers are my preference but they used to cost more than roll outs - check it out. Even Ron is glad we put them in, we had standard base cabinets in our old house. Plus I have a trick, I raise bottom roll-out up a notch & now I have additional space for cutting boards, cookie sheets or whatever. I have a small kitchen so every square inch of storage space is important to me.
Your island definitely needs to be larger, you need min of 24" per person, I know the girls are small & they can squeeze in, but they will continue to grow.
I hope you are extending the base cabinets to sliding door. Agree - good place for TV.
Check wall cabinets, when cabinet gets large enough to have 2 doors will it have a center stile (a piece of wood) between the doors? If so this also makes the cabinet less accessible. My 36" wide wall cabinet has 2 doors that open up to the full width of the cabinet. I think this is important. Try getting a large platter thru a small opening.
Will door style be full overlay, not showing much of the cabinet frame (like you have now) This style is more contemporary.
Molding @ top of wall cabinets looked too traditional in drawing, I would select a simplier style to go with the door style. Molding really finishes the look.
The upper cabinets look as if they are 42" high, standard is 30 - is this correct? This will add extra storage for not used much items. How high are your ceilings again, 9-1/2 ft? If using stnd 30" wall cabinet - total height will be 7', with 42" high wall cabinets - total 8' - therefore 18" of space above cabinets.
MW - I understand you want girls to reach, unfortunately above stove is most practical solution. Another idea is to place on end of island, but under counter top, raising area up 6" making it easy for kids to reach but not so low that it is inconvenient for you. Then the eating area on island also raises to accommodate reg bar stools. I would have to work on this idea & see how it might look. Island would need to be 8' long to accommodate 5 people. You will still have a nice work space. I do not like the style of cabinet they have MW in, it is so odd & not really built in.
Pantry - What types of food do you store? We keep lots of can goods on hand & store them grocery store style. 2 cans on top of one another & as deep as the shelf. Roll outs here are not best for me. A 15"- 18" deep shelf with wire coated can rack on door for misc items would work for me. But if you only keep one or 2 extras of everything, roll out are great. It looks like pantry is 30" wide, is this correct? Remember having 2 doors to open will not make access easy. The doors, due to the Refrig on one side & wall on other will open only a little more than 90 degrees. Can this cabinet have only one door? Pantry can be pulled out even with Refrig to make access easier. Note: the top & sides would need to be filled in so not a dust trap.
Appliance allowance - why so low? Was it only to include DW? and maybe range hood? Are you installing a garbage diposal? You are not on a septic system are you? Of course we compost, but I do miss our diposal for winter use & yucky stuff. I wish we had one now.
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