Shannon's Kitchen - The Finished Fireplace!

We have entered the final phase of Shannon's kitchen remodel, it's been 9 weeks and the transformation is amazing! The fireplace surround is faced with tiles of Calacutta Oro, the same material as the slabs used on the kitchen counters.
This is what the area looked like before:

Kitchen Sink

One of the things I like to do when under mounting the kitchen sink is make the surrounding countertop look thicker than it really is. Most slabs are 3/4" thick but you can make it appear to be twice that thickness if you plan for it and have the sink base made 3/4" shorter. Then the fabricator adds a straight bullnose piece to the slab at the edge. The result is something that looks like this:

Shannon's Kitchen - The Backsplash

And now, the Mosaic backsplash:


This tile mosaic comes on a mesh in 12" x 12". Isn't it gorgeous!

This is what it looked like before the grout:

To CFL or Not To CFL

There's no doubt that the light cast by fluorescent lightbulbs is different than that of incandescent lightbulbs. I personally like what Thomas Edison invented and all of my projects (and people) look better in this light as well. But every once in a while, I buy a CFL (compact fluorescent lightbulb) to see if it's any better than I remember, primarily searching for a long life bulb. And each time I am disappointed. CFL's have a way of sucking the color out of what it shines on, and while the picture below is not colorless, it is a far cry from what it really looks like:


This next picture is with an incandescent bulb, and the walls appear yellow, the true color:


I tried a CFL that was classified as "soft white" and this is the result, hmmm, not there yet!

Shannon's Kitchen - The Marble Counters

This countertop was one of the first things Shannon picked. She knew that she didn't want anything dark and she really liked white. After looking at several different suppliers and many slabs, we found this gorgeous Calacutta Oro Marble.


This marble slab set the stage for the backsplash, the wall color, the floor color, and the cabinetry color. So you can imagine our dismay when we found out that our slabs had been released and sold to someone else! But thank goodness, the slabs had not been taken from the supply yard yet-- And after some intense negotiations, the slabs were rightfully returned to us, and here they are!

The lesson here is when you find a one-of-a-kind slab, either purchase the slabs or make a down payment. That sounds easy to do, but until you have the cabinetry in place, you don't know exactly how many slabs you will need. This is an expensive product and we were trying to make sure that we would only use two slabs. By making a change to the microwave area, we kept it to two slabs with only a 10" x 30" piece left over.


The part in front of the microwave does not extend under the microwave area, thus the savings. Next stop, backsplash.

Shannon's Kitchen- the Cabinetry

The cabinetry is completely finished! There are still a few parts that need to be painted and that will be done when the painter returns for touch up. The are the photos:












Shannon saved about $2 per knob and $6 per cup pull by finding ones she liked at Home Depot. On the Entertainment Unit, she spent a little more with $8 knobs from Anthropology. Next step, beautiful marble counters!

Shannon's Kitchen - The Baseboard and MDF

When we replaced all the flooring in Shannon's living space, it was necessary to replace the baseboard as well. We decided to go with a taller baseboard than what the house had previously. Since the baseboard will be painted, there are two options-- use all wood or use medium density fiberboard (also known as MDF).

This is what we ended up with:


We used a 6" piece of MDF on the bottom and a piece of 1 1/4" wood molding (called PM5) on top, total cost is $.74 per linear foot. If we had used all wood, the cost would have been $1.44 per linear foot. At almost half the price, MDF is the better deal! This is what it looks like before it's painted:


Many times, MDF is not recommended in wet areas such as bathrooms and kitchens. With repeated exposure to water, it will probably puff up. I have it in my bathrooms and have not had any problems. My neighbor has it in her bathrooms and has had problems with it, she also has 4 young children. But even wood that is repeatedly exposed to water will have problems . . . At Shannon's house, it's not a worry because water is not used to clean the engineered floors. So we got a great look for less!