Kitchen Before, 4/17/13
Posted on April 17, 2013 Posted by John Scalzi 38 Comments
We’re having our counters redone, so I thought I’d record one last look at these particular counters before the contractor took them out and hauled them away. I understand we will be kitchen-counterless for a couple of days; I’ll post a picture of that state as well, later today or tomorrow. Topless kitchen! Should be an interesting view.
Nice kitchen – I think mine would fit into it at least twice! What are you having the tops changed to? (and what are they now?
That is a nice kitchen. I like the color scheme, and it reminds me a lot of the setup parents had in their previous home. The major differences are they had a gas cooktop in the island and the microwave was on the opposite wall, which would be unseen if I took a photo from the same angle as John’s.
I hope construction goes quickly and smoothly so you and your family don’t end up kitchenless for too long.
It’s like HGTV in Scalzi Land!
You need more magnets on the fridge! There’s at least 2/3 space left open. (Yup, mine is mostly covered with magnets and paper.) All the best on your re-do.
I would not have guessed you would have so much frills in your kitchen. Something about all the Axe pictures and huge mallets that predicted stainless steel and less lace on the curtains.
Having lived through two separate kitchen renovations, you are in for a week’s worth of pain in the ass, sir. ;-)
As a contractor’s wife…double the amount of time they told you. It’s not that contractors are all liars. They just all seem to be overly optimistic.
just the counters or are you updating/upgrading the appliances and the cabinets too?
Kilroy:
Other people live here, you know. People who have more interest in decorating the house than I could ever possibly have.
Chris Gerrib, MNMom:
We’ve worked with this fellow before. He’s pretty good. But yeah, we don’t expect to be in our kitchen much for a while.
Icarus:
The appliances will likely be replaced soon as well. Not in tandem, however. Our planning was not that advanced.
Just curious: do you ever use the stools for eating at the island counter? I have friends with a similar arrangement and they’ve never done it. They use the stools to reach the upper shelves on the cupboards.
An electric range? Not that I have any sense of your cooking prowess, but I figured you for the sort of fellow who would want open flames wherever possible.
Add 50% more to the budget for the renovation. Or else, don’t ever engage in a conversation in which the chief cook in the household begins with something like, “You know, as long as we’re getting the counter tops replaced, …”
Dude! That kitchen is what renovation TV hosts politically refer to as, “dated.” You need more than counters.
If it’s not too nosy: what is wrong with the exisiting counters?
So jealous of all your electrical outlets!
Nice phone jack!
Ooh, nice kitchen! Pretty much our layout (cabinet type/counter color) except we have stainless appliances. Funny, we were just discussing moving some cabinets around to gain counter space and storage. Spring is in the air.
Being kitchen-limited for a few days, have you planned for the possibility of Churro Waffle Withdrawal?
I can’t believe I’m the only slob impressed by how clean and tidy everything is. It is indeed a very large kitchen for a family of three – but then, American homes are huge anyway. My kitchen is a bit smaller but way taller (ceiling is at 12 feet).
Magda,
We rarely use our bar stools at our kitchen counter now. However, our kids used to do their homework at the bar (so we could also serve them afterschool snacks), and the stools do get used when we entertain because everyone seems to want to hang out in the kitchen at parties.
As someone who cooks a lot (and likes looking at kitchens): thanks for the pic. My first reaction – and the first thing I judge kitchens by: decent amount of work space, great storage options. I’m not saying these are the only important things in a kitchen but without them cooking is never going to be much fun, whatever state of the art knives and oven and whatnot you may have there…
Wierd. Your kitchen layout is exactly (and I mean exactly) like mine. We updated the counter tops to marble a few years ago, but otherwise, it looks the same.
My kitchen layout is also just about identical (within say 5% variation). I wonder if it’s just a logical design for a kitchen built within the last 20 years, or what?
We’ve also got stools at the island. I don’t use them myself, but my son does for breakfast, and my wife likes to sit there if she’s eating a meal by herself (which isn’t very often, but it happens).
I approve of the availability of outlets in this kitchen. That was one of the characteristics of our current house that we liked: plenty of places to plug stuff in.
Too bad you don’t have a bar.
(Topless island doesn’t have quite the same cache.)
Upon first glance I feel disappointed. Pondering further I realize I am disappointed that you don’t have some sort of science fictiony gadgets or appliances mixed in with the “Rural Ohio Late Century Traditional.” You know a laser powered churro machine or the like. Not that there is anything WRONG with the kitchen but as someone who only knows you from your blog and fiction my expectations are a bit more grandiose…. ahem.
I’m very curious as to why you will be without counter tops for a few days?
In one of my past careers, I was a custom counter top fabricator and installer. I would always initially go to a customers house and “measure up” the replacement tops. This was always done, be it laminate, stone, or another type of material. I would then build the new counter tops in the shop and when I was done, schedule an install date.
Your kitchen only requires four pieces and all are simple in design (only one miter joint in the corner) Only three pieces if the return in the corner is less than four feet. (The largest piece of readily available laminate is 5′ X 12′)
That being said. I could easily remove your old counter tops and sink in about two hours, as long as all the prep is done. This includes removing all drawers and any items under the sink.
Installation, if nothing goes wrong, maybe four hours. This includes a new top-mount sink if you wanted one. If you were installing a new under-mount sink, that would have already been installed during the build process in the shop.
So why a couple of days without?
AJ Shephard:
That’s just my own guess. We may have everything done today.
WordPress just ate my very long and detailed post about counter top installation times. Oh well, if I get a chance I will re-type it out later.
And… you can delete my post complaining about WordPress and this one. It obviously just took a couple minutes to process my first post. Thanks.
Looks rather . . . old school. We have more PowerPoint in a kitchen 1/3 the size (but no phone jack).
Oh dear, you have quite a case of Ohio Kitchen in there, sir. A countertop transplant will help a lot.
Microsoft Powerpoint runs on kitchens?
Steve Chambers @ http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/04/17/kitchen-before-41713/#comment-465588, you mean like a Rollie Eggmaster?
(That’s in the “what on earth will they think of next” category.)
Thanks, Jim. That makes sense; my friends have no kids.
Gonna have to agree with AJ, you template the counters in place and don’t pull them out until the new ones are sitting on the truck in the driveway. Should be a same day demo and install.
Capt B: darn autocorrect!
Your kitchen has the identicle layout to mine, including the island. Ours is painted white though with a very light toned countertop. Otherwise it is exactly the same. Even the window and appliance layout is identicle. Does yours have an open floor plan to the right of the kitchen into the eat-in area then a living room?