Backsplash, table and more decorating

This blog chronicles my entire kitchen renovation from start to finish. Greentea Design has provided me with their solid wood kitchen cabinets, and I'm taking care of the rest.

If you'd like to be brought up to date, check out the archive in the sidebar for previous posts. I posted recently about a few more completed items and some finishing touches, and now for the backsplash, dining table and yet more decorating.

Last Friday the backsplash was installed. I was excited to not have to see the unfinished edge of the countertop finally, but the result was very disappointing. I decided to use the quartz of the countertop and have about a 4" high piece installed along the back of the countertop. The guy that installed it showed up and started bringing in these really short pieces of the quartz which had me a tad confused. They were not the length of each cabinet section. Turns out there were 6 pieces, each one exactly half the length of each cabinet section. Meaning there was a seam down the center of section. Then I watched him silicone everything in place, and then tell me he was all done. I said "HUH? You aren't going to fill in those seams??" He says nope, they just silicone backsplashes. ALLRIGHTY THEN. He left and I called the shop and was told that they had told me they were going to use offcuts. I wasn't told the whole story then if that was the case. I said it looked totally unfinished and the seams weren't filled in. Turns out in the new year they will order a slab of the 3/4" (which is what I had wanted but they didn't have enough of so they used the 1 1/4"), and redo it. I can live with it for now and hope to see a proper backsplash next month. So these photos show the seam, and hopefully one day soon I can show you what it SHOULD look like. (Luckily with the kitchen counters dressed, it's not as noticeable).

NOTE (end of March 2009): I waited and waited and never heard from the countertop folks, Planet Granite. So I called, about 15 times over 2-3 weeks and finally spoke to the owner. I was told they'd have to wait until someone orders quartz, which hardly ever happens, and I think they expect me to pay more money for the strips to be cut in the correct lengths. It is now the end of March and I still have the same backsplash as in the photos below.





It's just before Christmas and I finally have a dining table. It's actually not completed yet but it's useable and I'm very excited about that. I can now eat meals not hunched over my small marble table that was WAY too short to eat at. Also, the kitchen was designed so that I could use it as a second office because the office at the back of the house is cold in the winter and I wanted to be able to work at the dining table and watch the TV in the living room. My contractor built it, and suggested a pedestal base, which was a BRILLIANT idea because you don't see legs from the living room and the top looks like it's floating. It still needs a couple pieces to make it more sturdy because it's quite tippy right now, especially when the porkier of the cats jump from the counter onto it. YIKES! (I should mention as I'm sure some will notice, that the table is warped. My contractor made it in a hurry and then brought it over and it warped quite a bit in the cold/heat. As a result he won't charge me for it...but I'll give him something because it is usable).





I decided to do something on the wall to the right of the stove. I installed one of my stainless shelves I had used in my last house, and then tried a couple pieces of art. I really wanted to use the African (?) painting I got at a flea market for a few bucks, but I think it's too big. I snatched one of my Tretchikoff prints from my chick wall and tried her and I think smaller is better. If you guys have any ideas or want to let me know which you prefer, I welcome your feedback.



I love the marble table I was using as a temporary dining table (it used to be in the corner of the living room), so I thought about trying it under the window between the living room and kitchen. The cats love it there so they can perch and look outside. Underneath it is Cheeks' favourite spot because there is a furnace vent there and he's obsessed with heat.



The hatch is now working with some shocks or whatever they are that my boyfriend ordered from a car parts shop. It works like a DREAM. I may use his camera one day to film a little video of it in action. LOVE THIS.


The other day I went to a local Asian and mid century shop to look for items for the kitchen and living room and picked up a coffee table, small cabinet, lantern, mini bench and dried flowers. Just enough to spice things up around here.





Thought I'd add a few photos of how the kitchen looks now. Love it. Cannot tell you how much. A dream come true. Just in time for Christmas. And happy holidays to everyone who has followed along in this process with me.

Awaiting the cabinets

This blog chronicles my entire kitchen renovation from start to finish. Greentea Design has provided me with their solid wood kitchen cabinets, and I'm taking care of the rest.

If you'd like to be brought up to date, check out the archive in the sidebar for previous posts. I posted recently about more demolition and some of the progress with the walls going back up and plumbing/electrical. Now for some final sketches Greentea created for me and some decisions I've made.

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my cabinets - and today is the big day! This is about 2 weeks later than initially scheduled, but when you they are coming from the other side of the world, you need to factor in the possibility of issues arising on their way over. The delay in my cabinets was due to the Olympics, as they were held up at a port due to extra security. Totally understandable. Then Greentea contacted me to let me know that my cabinets were arriving a bit earlier than anticipated and if they could be delivered on the 6th of this month. I panicked initially. I knew the construction in my kitchen would not be completed by the 6th and because my house is so small, I would have nowhere to store the cabinets in the meantime. I asked them if it were possible for them to be delivered on the 14th instead, which would give my contractor and myself enough time to complete the space enough to be able to put the cabinets in place. (Turns out I am barely able to make this happen). The guys at Greentea were more than happy to hang on to the cabinets until I was ready to receive them. Unexpected things can happen but they are able to work with their customers to solve issues like the timing of shipments and such. I am so grateful they were accomodating because my house would be in complete chaos otherwise. This has been such an awesome experience dealing with Greentea and I've got to give them props for this. They couldn't be nicer and I'm going to be very proud to have what I know will be a stunning kitchen.

Ok, enough of the warm and fuzzies. Mike, who's a whiz at sketching up kitchens, sent me some final sketches of my kitchen and I was SO excited to see what the finished product will look like. It's one thing to have an idea in your head but to see it with all the finishing touches is amazing. I love technology! Greentea's ability to do sketches is a fabulous feature that is incredibly helpful for their clients, especially those who are new to renovations and designing a kitchen (like me). So without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to what will be my new kitchen!







There are a couple items in the sketches that show some of my final choices to things I was unsure about. One being the dining table. Greentea had initially suggested their narrow Maru dining table:


It's gorgeous wood (reclaimed woods from century-old Korean farmhouses), narrow (which I am having a hard time finding ANY narrow dining tables) and wood match the cabinets beautifully, but because I like to mix up styles, I decided to go with something a little different. But I can't find anything. So my boyfriend did some googling and he thinks we can build a pretty decent table. My contractor is getting a friend of his to cut and plane some planks of wood for us to use. It'll be about 7 feet long and 2.5 feet wide. I'm not sure what to do about the legs but maybe just some simple straight posts would do the trick. Then I want to paint it either white or grey. Things have been so crazy that we haven't started this project yet. Unfortunately I only have 2 hands. Here is an idea of what it will look like:

Nate Berkus	Zege

I have also decided on a backsplash. Several people suggested using the same material as the countertop and I've decided that I really like the simplicity of this and will keep me from losing my mind trying to chose tiles or something else. It will be about 3 or 4 inches high and run the full length of the base cabinets. When I went to the shop where I got my quartz to ask about this, I was told it wouldn't be a problem, and it would cost about $250 installed. YAY! Sounds good to me! Here are some examples:

Domino	DFAO

Heather Jenkinson

Nicole Sassaman

Lastly, I posted the other day about some purchases I made at the Third World Bazaar here in Ottawa. I think these will be a great start to accessorize the space (my living room as well).

Remaining kitchen purchases

This blog chronicles my entire kitchen renovation from start to finish. Greentea Design has provided me with their solid wood kitchen cabinets, and I'm taking care of the rest.

If you'd like to be brought up to date, check out the archive in the sidebar for previous posts. I posted recently about some of the major purchases I've made for the kitchen such as lighting and appliances, and now it's time for the countertop, sink, faucet and backsplash. One of these I have no clue about and would love some suggestions.

From the get-go I had an idea in mind for the countertop, and I kept going back to it. White. White. White. One of my main goals for this kitchen is to keep it bright and light since the space is small. I thought white countertops would help in this regard. I want to paint the walls white (or really light grey like the rest of the main floor), and thought if this continued on the countertops the space would flow nicely. I am not very knowledgeable on countertop materials, so I started at a kitchen/bath design store and went through samples of granite, marble and man-made stones like Corian, Silestone and Caesarstone. They had a kitchen in their showroom that had the most gorgeous white countertop I had ever seen, and it turned out to be Zodiaq quartz by Dupont. I asked for a quote, and a couple days later the salesperson called and asked if I was sitting down - never a good sign. $4200. WHOA. I then asked for a quote for Corian (turns out it's about as pricey since it's made of mostly petroleum) and honed granite, and they were both a little steep (the Corian was about the same as the quartz, and the granite a bit cheaper). I quickly learned going to a kitchen and bath store is not ideal for selecting a countertop. I went across the street to a granite shop and got a quote about $2000 lower, so going directly to the supplier is obviously a wise choice. But no one makes a white granite, or at least one that is mostly white. I went to Planet Granite a few days ago desperate to finally find something, and I found EXACTLY what I wanted:



It's quartz, Specchio white by Hanstone. I was helped at the shop by Sue, who was an absolute pleasure, and she even went to the back and got the cutter to scrounge up a chunk for me to take home and photograph. Best part is the price. $2400. Not only is the price great but for that price they're doing a double edge of 3/4" slabs, so it will be 1.5" thick (that includes installation and cutting holes for the sink and faucet). I love a thick countertop. And she's charging me for the price of the 3/4". :) I also asked for a really squared edge, not the typical pencil edge they do. I am so stoked to see what it looks like finished. It seems to be a pretty durable material, as I will have cats jumping on and off of it so it was important that it withstand claws. Greentea had sent me a sample piece from a cabinet in the stain I chose so I brought it with me and I think it's going to look awesome.

Now for the sink. I also had an idea from the start about what type of sink I wanted. It had to have squared edges for a more modern look. Turns out those sinks are quite a bit more expensive. I wanted it undermount, and I figured since I'll have no dishwasher that I should get a double bowl. I ended up with a single bowl, but a REALLY large one. And as far as sinks go, it's awfully pretty.



It's by Barazza, is 70cm x 40cm and 20cm deep, and ended up costing about $930. I love that it's deep and wide so I can pile it with dirty dishes. :)

The last thing I purchased was the faucet, and at this point I was more than mildly concerned about my finances. I had always wanted a restaurant style faucet, but it seems they are just nice to look at instead of functional. I ended up at Boone Plumbing thanks to a tip from my boss, and yet another great salesperson (Sebastien) helped me out. I didn't have much criteria for a faucet, except I like the one-handle models, preferred brushed stainless to chrome, and thought a pull-down spout would be handy. I decided on this one:



It's by Moen, and was priced at $375. When Sebastien was putting the order in, I asked him if it would be on Moen's website so I can get a photo of it (I'm still waiting for it to arrive), since I had to post it on the blog. When he heard my story about the kitchen blog he said he would give me a discount, and only charged me $310. Gotta love that.

Last thing is the backsplash. And this is where I have NO CLUE. It would be a small area, below the uppers on the new fridge wall. Actually, I have no idea if I should even do a backsplash. I think it would be a good idea since that area is visible as soon as you walk in the front door. I just haven't had much time to give it any thought. I figured I would ask you guys for suggestions since I really have no idea on style, colour...anything. With the hectic state of things here, any help would be very much appreciated.