If you'd like to be brought up to date, check out the archive in the sidebar for previous posts. This post I will show you the layout I went with, what cabinets I chose, and some 3D sketches of my new kitchen.
Initially I was concerned about what layout to choose because of the expense of changing windows and sealing up doors etc., but in the end I decided to spend the money on changes like these in order to have the kitchen I really want. It turned out not to be not as big of an expense as I thought, as I've gotten a quote from my contractor for all the work he needs to do to prepare for the cabinets and I did not have a heart attack. :) So I decided to make the window smaller, seal up the door and knock the wall to the living room down. The following photo was my next layout idea.
This was modified slightly for the final design because Greentea's cabinets are not really designed for corners, so the corner sink had to be moved and since I love kitchen sinks under a window, I decided to go for that. Here are some of the first 3D layout designs that Mike at Greentea created for me. I LOVE technology, and the fact that I get to see exactly what my kitchen will look like. He did several different angles as well which gives a clearer idea of the space I'm working with.
So there you have it...my new kitchen!
Greentea's kitchen cabinets come in 6 stains and they have several hardware options and door fronts to choose from. Below are the options for the lower and upper cabinets.
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Since I want to keep the space as light as possible, I decided to go with the Fruitwood stain (see photos above - my selections have a red square around them). I love teak and I thought it looked teak-ish. For the lower cabinets I selected Iron Warabite handles. Here is an example of what the base cabinets will look like with the stain and handles I selected:
I prefer the darker handle to the gold and I love the large size of this handle as well. I had a choice of 24" or 26" depths for the cabinets, and went for 24" since my kitchen is so small. (Greentea's base cabinets come in anything from 3' to 9' lengths so there's something for any size kitchen). For the upper cabinets I decided against glass doors. I will only have uppers along the wall where the fridge will be so I didn't want to limit myself as to what I could put in those cabinets. I went with the Mizuya finish that will match the lower cabinets. I think that will give them a clean and unified look. I love that I was able to choose the hinges, and since they have such great options, I selected one that would be prominent on the upper cabinets. I chose the Round Iron hinge that will match the handles. Here is what the uppers will look like:
Greentea's website is perfect for those like me who aren't able to visit their showroom, because you can chose the hinges, handles and stains and the photo will update with your selection so you can visualize all of your options. Otherwise, I have no idea how I would have been able to make these decisions without losing my mind. And my favourite is their zooming feature. When you hover over a photo of a cabinet, a window pops up and you can move around and see it close up. So you know exactly what you're getting. I spent quite a bit of time playing around with these features. :)
For the wall opposite the stove, I have space between my basement stairs and my office door to put some sort of unit for more storage because lord knows I need as much as I can get. I thought about their totally gorgeous Dana wall cabinet, but ended up going with a 4' Mizuya pantry, that is going to house so many of my kitchen gadgets.
So that is new kitchen in a nutshell. I have to say that it was a bit nerve-racking making cabinet choices. That's a huge decision. I'd LOVE to know what you guys think of my choices and get some input on what you might have done in terms of door styles, stain and hardware. I'm really curious to find out if my selections jive with what you all might have gone with.
P.S. I just heard from the Greentea guys that they are interested in taking user's suggestions for each part of the kitchen and creating a completely different version of what I came up with. That would be so fun to see so please comment away!!