Swimpy's Kitchen Remodel Thread

Couldn't find anything. This will give you somewhat of an idea, but mine is much nicer looking because the wood is richer and much more mellow.

ok, try this....



Now, paint the cupboards green, make the countertop a mellow yellow pine, get rid of that stupid dishwasher, and that kitchen looks just like mine.

OMG, that's gorgeous!

I just made a picture of my kitchen too (scrambled together)

http://www.borge.diesal.de/kitchen.gif

gustav, why don't you make a picture of your kitchen?

Swimpy
Swimpy, you said your kitchen area is very small. Have you considered removing a wall between your kitchen or family room, or dining room to create an open floor plan? From the point of view of resale value, open floor plans are more popular than closed off rooms. If you are able to do this, it will give you many more design options.

Have you considered bamboo flooring? It is a sustainable material and is beautiful and will hold up well in a kitchen.

BBB

Cool. I love the shared picks. CJ, my stove is a lot like that.

OK, latest update on the design: the contractor has met with the designer and they think they have worked out the kinks. Still nothing on paper, though. Maybe Monday. Maybe.

Sorry BBB, I didn't see you there until now. There is no way to remove the wal between the kitchen and the adjoining room. There is a stairwell there.

I have thought of bamboo for the floor. I've never seen it in person, though. I'm goiing to go to some flooring stores this weekend to take a look at what's available.

I have a wood floor with Swedish finish in my kitchen... it is actually very easy to deal with -- vacuum the dirt and wipe up spills with a damp cloth. Recently I got a great recommendation for a wood floor polish from a woman whose floors looked so shiny & nice I asked her what she used. (And that is not like me, either!) I can't remember what I did with the slip of paper she gave me with the name of that product but when I find it again, I'll post it. I looked online and it might have been this:

http://www.hollowayhouse.net/product_list.asp?cid=2

Amazing stuff, whatever it was. She had some strange dark Brazilian wood floors and they were absolutely spectacular, yet she said they'd been a mess when they moved in.

That dishwashing drawer is very interesting. I rarely fill a dishwasher unless we've had company, but they get a musty smell if the dishes sit for more than a day. Neat idea.

My wood floors aren't supposed to be cleaned with anything except water. You definitely need to check the instructions on that. My contractor gave me sheets that came from the manufacturer of my floor.

hmmmmmmmm

Where's BoGoWo? As I recall, he's a kitchen designer and installer.

skipping from first post to here... think
think, and then
think again.

Particularly about how you move in the kitchen. I don't care so much about finishes, although they are important, as I do about actual use, the walking from stove to sink to counter to fridge, etc., what feels right for you.

I'm not personally a fan of having those being far away from each other - sometimes tiny kitchens work well - but you may be.
stare at different plans and think about how they feel to you.

Maybe I'm late to the question here... but I think envisioning yourself in the kitchen space is vital.

I totally agree, Osso. I've lived in this house for almost 26 years. the kitchen remained relatively unchanged until about 4 or 5 years ago. My work triangle was bad until I go a new refrigerator. I moved it to the wall across from the stove and sink. I love this arrangement and want to keep it that way after the remodel. It used to be that if I was cooking a big meal, I was completedly exhausted by the time the food was on the table. (Course I was thinner then, too. hmm, could there be a connection?)

Piffka, What is a Swedish finish?

Y'know, Swimpy ... I didn't really know what the difference was between a Swedish Finish and other finishes, but I googled it and here's a website:

http://www.seattlefloor.com/finishes.php

It is well-known in the Seattle area and is a very durable finish, laid down in two successive coats. Because of the fumes, which are toxic and can start fires, we had to move everybody & everything out of the house for two nights while they did the work. It looks pretty good -- but after a few years, I wanted a little more shine. I had selected the low-sheen version (there were three to choose from: low, medium & high). Now I wish I'd chosen the high sheen. That was about ten years ago.

I've never had a problem with all the different spills that have happened... tomato sauce, wine, coffee. Just about food that we've ever had has been spilled and I just wipe it up. If it dries, I get it wet and scrub a little and everything has always come away easily. We also have it in the bathroom where it has been equally care-free.

The biggest problem we've had was with the dining table chairs. Some of the sliders came off the legs (it is hard to find good sliders) so there are some scratches. Not a big deal to me, but I imagine we will have it refinished if we sell the house.

A friend recently had her wood floors done and said she chose a new finish that seems to be equally durable but doesn't require the entire family to move out for 48 hours. You can also have prefinished planks or parquet installed.

If you decide on either wood or bamboo floors, they say it is important to have good rugs at every outside entrance to pick up dirt & grit. We have two active dogs and the wood flooring goes from one outside door to the other, so that's particularly important for me.

That sounds like the finish I have on my wood floors in the rest of the house. It's called Glitsa. Here's the link to the maintenance page of there website. http://www.glitsa.com/maintenance.cfm They have a scratch repair spray. I did not know that.

Swimpy
Swimpy, here are some photos of bamboo flooring installations. It is a beautiful and durable flooring material. And it is a sustainable material that spares our forrests, including the threatened rain forrests.

http://www.bamtex.com/photo_gallery.htm

BBB

Thanks, BBB. I'm keeping an open mind on all flooring options. The kitchen floor will butt right up against the 50+ year old red oak floor in the living room. I think it's going to be hard to not see the contrast between old and new. What I'd really like is a reclaimed red oak floor. Something torn out of an older home. I'll have to talk to my contractor about that. It may be pretty pricey to do that. Dunno.

Swimpy
Swimpy, I guess the simplist solution is to refinish the old floor to match the color of the new floor.

However, you may want to consider getting a fiew pieces of the antique flooring and use it to integrate the new, non matching flooring. You would place the planks in a design pattern that would merge into the new floor. I've seen this done very attractively and a lovely design attraction that also serves a purpose.

I don't have a picture, so I will try to demonstrate with computer board keys (READ FROM TOP TO BOTTOM):

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (O old floor edge)
000DDDOOOOOODDDOOOOOODDDOOO (D NEW FLOOR)
000DDDOOOOOODDDOOOOOODDDOOO
DDD000OOODDDOOODDDOOODDDOOODDD
DDDDDD000DDDDDD000DDDDDD000DDDDDD

I
I I
I I I
I I I I
I I I I I
I I I I I I
I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I
I I I I I I
I I I I I
I I I I
I I I
I I
I

This is another possible design using two different color woods as an example for transition between the two rooms.

The old wood would gradually end, integrated into the new flooring for an attractive transition. You could even reverse the design concept my integrating some of the new flooring into the old floor area using the same design concept. This would eliminate the abrupt change where the old floor ends.

I don't know if this makes any sense to you. I will try to find a photo of the concept.

I guess the easiest solution is to refinish the old floor color to match the new floor's color.

BBB

It makes perfect sense. Thank you! Great idea!

Be cautious about the reclaimed wood option, Swimpy.

This came up at my 'main' home (thanks Jeanne de Seattle and your renovation project) earlier this week.



I don't know what happened with this, as they moved the discussion to the homebuilding part of the site, and I didn't follow along.

housechat link