Custom Cabinets | It's Great To Be Home

The Flip: Cabinets Go In

November 16, 2010 By Liz - It's Great To Be Home 8 Comments

If you’ve been keeping up with the ol’ flip on Twitter or Facebook, you know that the great room is no longer big and bare and empty like it was here:

That’s right, the cabinets have gone in!!!! I filled you in on what they were supposed to look like here, but seeing them in person is entirely different from seeing them on paper. It’s such a thrill to see them come to life!!

There are still some tweaks that need to happen (finishing installing the island, installing panels, crown molding and toe kicks, etc., but these pics give you the general idea):

In a nutshell, the kitchen has a back wall of cabinetry with a peninsula (that will have bar stools) coming out of the wall in front of the French doors, as well as an island separating the kitchen from the living area.

Here you can see the back of the peninsula – we did 12 inch cabinets there, so the space that you see behind the cabinets will become knee space for the bar stools and will be covered with granite.

I mentioned earlier that the cabinet guys need to finish installing the island. The island cabinets butt up to a pony wall that houses the plumbing and electrical, but the pony wall is too long and needs to be cut down before the back panels and end cabinet can be installed.

There has been lots of drama over this darned island, and although it’s fabulous it didn’t turn out exactly as we’d planned due to some miscommunication. The main thing is that the sink is not centered in the island – at all – so that throws our plan of having two pendants over the island out the window since it would look odd with an off-center sink /faucet between them. We’re thinking about returning the pendants that we just bought (after the drama of having 2 other sets of pendants out of stock throughout the country) and getting 4 smaller pendants so that the off-center sink won’t be so glaring. What do you guys think?

( This is the end cabinet that can’t be pushed into place until the pony wall is cut down. )

And the vanity in the master bathroom has been installed, too!!

We decided to pull the sink cabinets forward for a staggered look – it’s easiest to see from above:

How do you think the cabinets turned out? The granite guy came to measure for the countertops yesterday, and the painter is supposed to start this morning, so I’m anxious to see everything come together!

What Would You Do?

February 17, 2010 By Liz - It's Great To Be Home 13 Comments

As you may have guessed, we have been dying to flip another house since the last one sold in November. Dying, I tell you!! We’ve been trying to be prudent, going over all of the costs associated with the last flip to see where we can increase our profit margin, scouting around for better financing options and, of course, trolling the city for ugly-with-potential houses. While we’ve been doing our due diligence a few incredibly tempting houses slipped away, which was a total bummer.

Anyhoo, we are now very close to having our ducks in a row and we’ve got our eyes on a few little gems. Here’s the kitchen from one of the front-runners:

Ick, right? That being said, this baby has a lot of potential – I mean, just look at the floor plan!

I think this kitchen has the potential to be a true entertainer’s kitchen – it’s right off the dining room, can be opened up to the den, has double ovens and a gas cooktop, a bar for seating and setting out food . . . all in all, great bones. And it makes my heart go pitter pat to think that we wouldn’t have to move any gas or plumbing lines!!

That being said, this is one ugly kitchen. There are a few options as to how to approach it:

1. Demo the whole thing and start from scratch with new cabinets, etc. Pros – cabinets would be much, much cuter, there would be more vertical storage, we could rework the existing storage, add a wine fridge. Cons – could be an unnecessary cost since the cabinets are in good shape and the layout is essentially staying the same.

2. Paint the existing cabinetry and just spruce everything up a bit with new countertops, appliances, etc. Maybe give the cabinets a similar treatment to what Kristin did? Pros – costs would definitely be lower. Cons – I know that we wouldn’t get the look that we want (like getting rid of the curved detailing on the doors), storage would not be maximized.

3. Mixture between 1 & 2 by refacing the doors. Pros – still not as expensive as new cabinets. Cons – still not as cheap as keeping the cabinet doors, and storage still isn’t maximized.

And once the choice is made between 1, 2 and 3, there’s the fun of deciding on the finishes!! I’ve been wanting to do a remodel with somewhat modern finishes, but I don’t think this is the house for that – the rest of the house (and if the kitchen cabinets stayed) is fairly traditional.

So here’s my question – what would you do with this kitchen? Which option would you pick, and how would you finish it out? Subway tile or glass tile, wood floors or tile, pendants or recessed lighting . . . there are so many things to think about!! I would love your input, I know you guys have great ideas – let the brainstorming begin!

Our Flip: Some Serious Progress!!

June 25, 2009 By Liz - It's Great To Be Home 11 Comments

Wanna see something exciting??

The kitchen at our flip doesn’t look like this anymore:

flip - before - kitchen

And it certainly doesn’t look like this:

Nope, it’s all snazzy now. Still unfinished, but snazzy. You see, the custom cabinets, wood floor and trim have all gone in. I’m practically giddy from these sights:

[back wall of kitchen with sink, dishwasher, and undercounter microwave]

[half wall between kitchen and den with fridge enclosure and range. the drawers are deep enough for pots and pans.]

[back wall of breakfast room with built-in pantry]

Wahoo!!! Can you believe how much has changed in the past week? The granite will go in next week, the painters will start doing their thing in the next few days, and the floors will be stained as the very last thing before the house goes on the market. It’s going to be finished in no time!! The hubby and I need to start picking out knobs and pulls for these gorgeous cabinets. I’m so excited!!

We opted for wood floors in the kitchen (like in our own home) to increase the visual flow in this open-concept kitchen and den. What flooring do you guys have in your own kitchen?

This post is shared with Hooked on Houses.