Kitchen continued...microwave and backsplash

I bragged about my kitchen being done in my 2012 goal recap post...and that was mostly true, but we still had (have) a couple of things we wanted to upgrade.

Here's what we had before (after our kitchen reno was completed last spring):

The Mr. really wanted a project to take on over a couple of days he had off before the holidays. We ventured out to Pilo appliances where we got our fridge and bought an over-the-range microwave. VERY exciting for us since we love to cook and currently do not have a hood fan (that lovely beef Wellington we made for Christmas made the house smell like beef for a couple of days!). I like good cooking smells in my house before I eat but not the day after :)

The Mr. re-did the wiring for the microwave as I mentioned in this post, and then spent time putting up the bracket and the cabinet for the microwave.

From there we knew we HAD to wrap the backsplash around behind and beside the stove (is anything simple actually simple??).

We were initially going to do a different tile behind the stove, but once we opted for the over-the range microwave instead of a stand alone hood fan, we thought it made most sense to carry through the bevelled subway tile we have in the rest of the kitchen. Now it looks like it was always done at one time!

We are now one step closer to actually finishing the kitchen (final step is to find and buy a stainless steel gas stove)!

Weekend recap {mini-Christmas}

Hellllloooo long lost friends! Thought I would give a little weekend recap to get back into the swing of things on the blog...this past Sunday was "mini-Christmas" for me and the Mr. It's a way for us to celebrate Christmas on our own, since we typically spend actual Christmas with our families. In the past we have said that mini-Christmas day is NO chores, NO work NO projects. Welllll it didn't quite go like that this year, but we haven't had a project in a while so it was basically a "gift" for the Mr. to work on a project (or at least that's what I like to think...). Before we get to the details, let's talk food...

We had Green Eggs and Ham for breakfast

and Beef Wellington with roasted leeks and brussels sprouts for dinner (so good).

I will share some of my Christmas wrapping later in the week...but for now onto the project!

A couple of weeks ago we bought an over the range microwave - we are so DONE with not having a hood fan. When we did the kitchen we toyed with putting in a hood fan, but our microwave is currently above the stove...so where would it go? It would have to take up valuable counterspace which wasn't really an option. So a microwave/fan combo was it. Well, those things have plugs that come out the top (instead of out the back), and they need a cabinet above them to be secured into the wall. Enter, project. The Mr. and his friend figured out a plan to get a new electrical wire up into the kitchen, which was then used for a new outlet above where the microwave will be hung.

Now we just wait for the electrical to be hooked up at the panel, and for the actual install to happen!

That was our delicious and busy weekend (although, more busy on the Mr's side than mine)...how was yours?

Kitchen light fixture

I am embarassed to say that we still have some ug-ly light fixtures in our house. We've had more important things to focus on, but they're getting dealt with one at a time!

We had a gross boob light in our kitchen...so gross that I didn't even honour its memory with a photo.  Ideally we would have potlights in there, but when we re-did the electrical in our house we decided to wait until we did a kitchen reno, built out an island, and knew where we wanted our task lighting. Well, then our kitchen reno turned into a gorgeous kitchen facelift with everything staying in the same spot so we didn't do potlights in the kitchen at all.

We finally dealt with the ugly light we had in there by going the retro modern route and replacing the old boob light with a school house fixture:

It was a pendant light, but the Mr. took out the rods and hung it as a flush mount since we don't have a lot of room underneath it (the cabinet has to open up). It is one of those small changes that just makes me happy that it's done, and that I don't cringe whenever I look up at the ceiling!

Similar light available at Home Depot - but you should check in-store, we found another brand that had the pendant light on sale for $39!

DIY kitchen art or How to re-use a rice bag

I've got a REALLY simple little DIY for you guys - all you need is a frame and a rice bag...

This whole project started because we needed something to add life to a small wall between our kitchen and dining room. We were initially thinking a clock, but the one that I liked at HomeSense was $179...and I was hoping for something more along the $39.99 route. So, we went to Plan B!

I bought this rice a WHILE ago and we finally finished it (I totally bought it for the cute bag):

I thought the royal blue would look nice with the greys and whites in the kitchen.

Next I cut out the front of the bag:

I taped it onto the matte in the frame and voila - framed rice bag:

I cut a royal blue print that I picked up from Ikea into 2 smaller sizes and got them up on the wall - mission accomplished!

Kitchen reveal - Complete!

I am SO excited for this post..it's finally time for our Kitchen reveal!

Without further ado, here is the after...

And as a scary reminder, this is what it looked like before:



Enough of that...let's go back to the pretty:







You can read more about my kitchen in these posts (and additional posts under the "kitchen" tag):
Cabinets
Counter top, sink, faucet
Backsplash

I am happy to share my sources for this reno with you all - if you have any additional questions please let me know via a comment or direct email (interiorgroupie@gmail.com)


Granite counter: Superwhite Granite via Ariston Marble & Granite (slab and install)

Tile (backsplash): 3x6 bevelled white subway tile via The Tile Store (Bermondsey); Installation The Mr. & me

Faucet: Moen Level via Hudson Plumbing Supplies (Mount Pleasant)

Sink: Olivec Global via luxlux.ca

Plumbing: The Mr. & our friend F

Paint:
Walls: Benjamin Moore Horizon (OC-53)
Cabinets: Benjamin Moore White Wisp (OC-54) using "Cabinet Coat" paint

Cabinet / Drawer Hardware: Lee Valley Tools

Fridge: LG via Pilo Appliances (Steeles)

Kitchen reveal part 3 - The backsplash

Hola amigas / amigos! I wish I was speaking Spanish because I was prepping for, or coming back from, a vacation in Spain, but no such luck. I'm been a bit absent from blogville this week, which can be attributed to the hard work we've been doing in the kitchen, and also the crazy hours I've been pulling at (my real-life) work.

Anyways...I have exciting news: the backsplash is done! And I'm showing you tonight!

All in all - the tiling was WAY harder than I thought it would be. Maybe not harder...but time consuming. And yes, harder. It's just not  like when they do it on TV. Anyways...enough griping...onto the important stuff - was it worth it? (spoiler alert: hell ya.).

Here's a look at our prep, and adhering the tile to the wall. The first part was easy - and enjoyable. The tough part came with all the cuts - the poor Mr. was outside on Saturday afternoon/night using a wet saw (of course getting wet in the process on one of the coldest days we've had this winter!). We used 1/8" spacers between each tile:

Once the adhesive was set (we let it set almost 48 hours...partially because of the trouble the devil outlet gave us, partly due to time) and then we grouted. I really liked the idea of a light gray grout because I like how the last picture above looks with darker spaces between the tiles...but we figured since (a)we're not pros (b) this is our first ever tiling job that white grout would be safer to blend in with the tiles. Had we gotten it done professionally and all the cuts were perfect I definitely would have gone gray on grout.

The grouting was TOUGH. This is not flat subway tile where you can just slap on some grout and scrape it off at a 90 degree angle. With the bevelled edges we basically had to put grout into each crevace and then smooth it.

The real reward comes about 2 hours after you sponge off the excess grout and you can wipe off the "haze" to reveal the beautiful shiny tile! The Mr. suggested the bevelled subway tile and I was 100% with him - I think it's a nice detail to a subway tile. Here's our (almost) finished product (still needs some caulking at spots):

Kitchen reveal - Part 2: Counters, faucet, sink

Thank you everyone for the kind comments on my cabinet post yesterday! Now onto Part 2 - the counters!

Before I get into all the details...let's just jump to the chase. Here's what you really came for:

 (and you even get a sneak peek of what will be the backsplash!)

I never really discussed the counter selection process on the blog, except in this post where I debated light vs. dark. I knew that I wanted light counters, but was worried about the softness and staining of marble, so I did what I always do - researched and asked around for information on marble alternatives. What I found was Superwhite Granite - it's different than other granites because it doesn't have the speckled look that is typically associated with granite, but more of a veined look like marble.  We went to a few warehouses and our decision was made!

The other kitchen decisions happened fairly easily - we knew we wanted more than a single sink (sink posts here and here), and once I saw the Moen Level faucet at the Interior Design Show I knew it was the faucet for me! (Faucet posts here and here).

I am extremely happy with the granite, sink, and faucet. Oh - and did you notice the soap dispenser placement? Option Number 1 won out! Not necessarily according to plan...we were hoping to have it in the top left corner of the sink...but based on how the granite was cut there wasn't room for it...so #1 it was. All of that analysis, just to find out that we really only had one option available. haha And the sink is so roomy, I think the "1/2" sink in our 1.5 is the same size as many double sinks.

We are well underway...we are painting the kitchen now (final coat tonight), and hope to install the backsplash this weekend (wish us luck! Any tiling tips are very very welcome!). So you have a bit more time to wait for the full reveal, but hopefully this sneak peak keeps you happy for a little while :)

Kitchen reveal - Part 1: Cabinets

I know you all are looking for a post about our counter - I can tell you that it's in and looks beautiful! More on that tomorrow...before we go there I wanted to do a post on my painted cabinets.

A loonnggg time ago (November!) I posted this post about starting to paint our kitchen cabinets.The project took about 2 weekends to complete, but I didn't post about it because I wanted to wait until we had more done in the kitchen to show off. With the counter, sink, and faucet installed on Friday we're getting there - now we're painting and waiting for our backsplash tile to come in.

Ok, but back to the cabinets. Here's the big bad before of our kitchen (this is before we moved in):

And after:

Excuse the mess - the only photos that I have of the cabinets with the old counter are very unstyled and messy! Go ahead, judge all you want...

I was skeptical about painting the cupboards, but after a LOT of reseach we decided to take the plunge. It really was quite easy and I think it made a huge difference in the kitchen. Here are the steps we followed for the project.

1. Remove cabinet doors, and remove hardware from each door. Label each door as you remove it so you know where it gets put back (this is a REALLY important tip!)

  

You are left with cupboards that look like this - I did the same as many others did and kept all the goodies IN the cupboard! No sense wasting time and effort removing everything since we were not planning on painting the insides.

2. Tape off the wall and all the sections you don't want painted. We opted to paint the outer frame of the cabinets but not each shelf.

3. Prime and paint the frames and cabinet doors. We used a small foam roller for all the painting to ensure we would get a thin coat. We used "Cabinet Coat" paint (which gives it a melamine-like finish), in Benjamin Moor White Wisp (OC-054). For the doors we set up a painting station on a table in our basement. We made little platforms for the cabinet doors by putting a couple of screws through scrap wood:

Part of the reason this project takes so long is you have to prime, and then do coats of paint to each side (we did 3 coats on each front, 2 on the back). So we would set up our cabinet doors, do all the coats on one side, flip it and do the other side. You have to be really careful and watch out for drips since the doors are elevated.

4. Reattach your hardware, and put the painted cabinet doors back on (this is when labelling them when you take them off in Step 1 REALLY comes in handy). Then you can step back and enjoy what a difference a little paint makes!

 *I apologize for the utter lack of styling and not so great photos..these were taken before my new year's resolution of taking better photos with manual settings!

I'll be honest - the painted cabinets aren't perfect - if we wanted that we could have sent the kitchen cabinets to be sprayed (but we still would have had to paint the frames ourselves, so we figured we should just do the whole thing). Even though this project was a bit of work on our part, I am so happy with how it turned out. I think it's a dramatic difference to the oak cabinets we had before.

Sorry, we're busy right now...

Not much time for blogging tonight - we are busy getting rid of:



which means...our counters are being installed tomorrow! The cabinets are already painted, and the above will be replaced with:



Wish us luck!

Sink question #926

We are getting close to our sink and counter being installed (YAY!) - we had the counter measurements taken last week, so it's just another week or two until we get to see the FINAL PRODUCT and all its loveliness make an appearance in our kitchen!

But now I have a question - where to put the soap dispenser?

As a reminder, our sink looks like this:



(sorry for the fuzzy photo)

The faucet will go above the lower sink, so that it will be more centered on our window, but then where does the dishsoap dispenser go? The bigger sink will be used for most of the dishwashing, so how do we put the dispenser in a place that it can shoot sink into the washing sink? or can that not happen?

Help!

Here are the options - which one do you recommend (F = faucet, S = soap dispenser)?

#1 - This is the nicest looking option, in my opinion. The faucet should be somewhat centred on our window, but it means the soap dispenser is as far as possible from the "big" sink which will be the main dishwashing sink. This means we'll probably have to dispense the soap on something and then get bubbles instead of being able to dispense it straight into the big sink.

#2 - This is functional, since the soap dispenser can now shoot into the big sink or the 1/2 sink. I'm confident the faucet will be able to get to both no matter what (it's goose neck, pull down faucet). If the layout is such that having the faucet over to the right more means it will be centered on the window I'm OK with this, otherwise it will look really off centre in regards to the sink (see here for our window over our sink).

#3 - This is also ultra funtional...but that's about it. As much of a practical, functional person I am, I just don't think I can deal with the soap dispenser randomly stuck to the left of the sink with nothing else.

 #4 - I'm not sure we have enough room to put the faucet above the sink without it looking crammed...which was a big reason why we got the 1.5 sink since the right hand side was lower...but if it is possible this would be an option because it would give the soap dispenser good access to each sink.

#5 - similar situation to #4 but different placement.

Which one would you do?