The New Kitchen

After the sunroom project, we could then proceed to the kitchen (after a year's recovery - it takes a while to forget the painful bits of such a large project. September 11th set us back, as Rachel was working a lot of extra crazy hours, and our motivation was sapped for a while. But the approach of the holidays got us motivated to get the kitchen to a functional state for Christmas Dinner, and progress through the final details is always the slowest.
	The first thing we had to do was build a free-standing pantry to hold the most important stuff from the cabinets we were removing. In particular, the nasty peninsula that stuck out into the middle of the room. Here you see it, on top of the new hardwood floor we put down throughout the living and dining areas. Also shown here is the clever wall treatment that Rachel came up with - a sort of beadboard wainscoting below, and spongepaint above, with maple chair rail and trim (to match the maple countertops we were planning on).
	Here Paul is removing the old cabinets. On the left, already installed, is a new refrigerator with icemaker (with electricals properly relocated). Also visible on the floor is the edge of the new white oak flooring. We refloored the living room and hallway first, having to put down extra plywood subflooring because the original subfloor was particleboard (won't hold nails), and the floor set below the level of kitchen (which had had a couple levels of vinyl already installed).
	With everything out, including the bulkheads and the proverbial "kitchen sink", we're ready to start over. Here the flooring has been extended throughout the kitchen (see below), and it's time to starting moving some more plumbing and circuitry around. The view outside shows winter is approaching.
	Here Rachel is finishing up said flooring, lain atop standard rosin paper. On the right is a new dishwasher waiting to be hooked up. My dad's homemade antique air compressor was the most essential tool for this remodeling project, for nailing flooring, assembling and installing the cabinets and trim.
	While all the hubbub was occurring in the kitchen, the living room became the staging area for the cabinet boxes. Here the basic plywood carcasses are piled up as they are built and primed, waiting for eventual installation in the next room.
	The kids wasted no time colonizing the cabinet boxes, establishing a sort of shantytown for themselves and their toys. Kallan, in particular, has spared none of the comforts of "home" in her crate.
	At last we start installing the new cabinets. At this stage its a matter of stacking, squaring and nailing up the plywood boxes. Once all in, they will be face-framed, doors and other hardware will be installed, and everything will get painted. Here the oven cabinet, dishwasher, and sink (undermounted in one of the maple countertops we fashioned) are in.
	We slowly work around from right to left. On the far wall will go the cooktop set in a marble tile counter that will sit an inch and a half lower than the other counters (actually the other counters set nearly 2 inches higher than standard, since we are a tall family). The old compressor is visible here too - it's ugly, but it works great!
	Here is the sink installation. The flying saucer under the right basin is the new disposal - it runs without electricity. Water pressure drives a piston around to chop up debris. Self-flushing, no parts to corrode, takes up less space, quiet, and chops finer than conventional disposals so it can be used on a septic system! Other features under the new double sink (a Hechingers bankruptcy clearance special at 60% off) is a line through the wall and new outside spigot so that we have water on the deck (beats the heck out of dragging the hose around the house to water plants), and a high run of the waste line from the left basin, to increase storage space.
	Low-voltage halogen light fixtures under all the cabinets, over the sink and cooktop, and in the corner display cabinets are connected to switches under the countertop bullnose so that kids can reach them. All wiring is tucked in the wall, and outlets are moved to strips under the upper cabinets, so that walls are uninterrupted (for a smooth tile job).
	Here the tile job is complete, and most of the cabinet doors and drawers are in place. The white cabinets and tile really lighten up the kitchen, which has a northern exposure and feeble natural light. The backsplash tile and the floorboards are both set askew by 45°, in keeping with the tile floor in the sunroom, and the weird corners in the sunroom and gazebo (not to mention the skewness of the owners!). There is even a square rosette set in the floor, mirroring the one in the sunroom. The cooktop has no vent hood. It is a downdraft model - you can see the venting inside the bottom cabinet with no doors. The venting runs under the cabinets to left, and out the back wall where a louvre and screen keeps bugs (and kids) out. It makes for a nice homecoming in the evening, having the smell of dinner pumped out to the deck and parking pad. The upper "galley" cabinets take advantage of the one foot of space that was wasted with the original bulkheads. Obviously, this is a place for storing infrequently used and seasonal items, unless professional basketball players someday buy this house.
	The left side of the kitchen was a wasted blank wall before, but now sports plenty of extra storage and work space. The base cabinets on the left and right sides, under the maple countertops, are 30" deep, rather than the standard 24". This gives extra storage space below, and the opportunity to run a small raised shelf along the back of the counters. The idea is to give a place for jars, tins, and tchotchkes without gobbling up useful counter space. The back corner will (eventually) house an appliance garage. That will be one of the very last things to get done. Invisible in the kickpanel below is the register for the heat/AC vent (painted black like the kickpanel). This corner should become a popular place to stand in the heat of summer, or dead of winter.
	In addition to the bank of drawers (some of which hold the kids' dishes so they can care for themselves without climbing on counters), some of the lower cabinets have pull-out drawers to better use space. Here the left drawer serves as our breadbasket, and the right one, which pulls out right next to the cooktop, holds the spices. A couple of the small rectangular switches for the lights are visible here just beneath the edge of the countertop.
	Other features include double-slide drawers in the corners of the bottom cabinets, to make those dead spaces in the corners more accessible and useful. The first drawer slides out, and the other slides across into the space that was occupied by the first drawer.
	Another little custom feature is the pullout for trash and recycling in the narrow space between the dishwasher and the oven cabinet. The space includes storage for trash bags. The space was just slightly too narrow to be able to include paper bags and newspaper recycling in the same cabinet.
	There are cubbies on the side of the oven cabinet for the kids to keep their backpacks, school folders, etc. Once the face framing is complete, there will also be a corkboard and a message board on the left panel, and some slots for folders. Visible on the left is the microwave oven, which sits below the new convection oven (rather than above, as is customary). Again, this is done with the kids in mind - they can easily access the microwave to heat food without needing a stepladder. The convection oven has been wonderful - much more even cooking, and shorter cook times. To the right of the ovens is a ridiculously narrow door to the broomcloset - just big enough to hold a mop and broom, as well as the fire extinguisher. Another case of squeezing use out of an otherwise wasted space.