Kitchen Project, Finishes Up, Reveal the new kitchen

Unexpected family demands removed us from our kitchen project for the last three weeks. It has been a tough three weeks, but we are getting back on track. My scattered mind is reviewing the photos and trying to pick up where I left off documenting the kitchen project.  Here goes the attempt at pick up...

He says the kitchen is done....she says, attach those two little moldings and I will agree it is done. For all intensive purposes, its done. And a wonderful improvement it is. I longer find myself wandering the house repeating mantras like "I hate this house, I hate this house". I now say...I've got to get to that kitchen, it will make  me feel better. The improved lighting lifts the soul. The proximity to nature captures the heart and the organization of it all, warms my need for organization. I can live with this, now if only the rest of the homestead could get the same treatment.  Things are moving along, it feels better to be here. That alone is a life improvement.

LED small spot lights over cutting island

 I love the laminate floors. They feel good under my feet, they add light to the room, they ground the feeling of the place. Being an old house, the floors are not level, laminate floors offered a strong alternative to hardwood. They can be removed if necessary, and they went over the existing floors without problem or complication. We opted for the highest quality laminate floors. I think it was referred to as 12mm, nearly as expensive as hardwood, and that gave us a better surface and result than I have seen in some other installations. You must get an adequate supply of this on intial purchase because laminate floors do not interchange. They each have a unique locking mechanism that does not coincide with other flooring companies...so beware....buy more than you need and then return the leftovers.

 Lighting was a big subject of consideration in doing this kitchen. We created  multiple work areas, but the electrical sources in the room, were not lined up with the existing work spaces. We analyzed what type of light was required, and chose accordingly. The first work space, the cutting area, needs good strong white light. One needs to see the size of the pieces you are cutting and bright illumination to inspect the foods being prepared.  We chose LED spots for this job. These are small in size, but large in light.  They created a different look in the room, they throw a very pleasant light. Before we had an overhead florescent which can discolor the whites in the room to a yellowed off white. In the cooking zone the light can be softer, so the light on the bottom of the "over the stove" microwave was adequate. It is close to the cooking surface, so the lighting it provides suffices.  In the washing zone, the bakery prep zone and the  cooling zone we placed the same small light with a nice simple modern profile, and a great cone of light.  These spaces now have adequate light for diffusing the work areas around the room.

The seashore style pulls worked out well. I mixed and matched and it works. All are the same color, so they blend comfortably to form a whole look for the room.

I must say I did a good job on design and decor. I love the room color I chose, Orange Sparkle. Interestingly as the spring sun has become stronger, the color has become warmer and clearer, and I like it. Next time you are picking color give the ambient light of the season a bit of thought. It does effect how the color will look on your walls. Winter light is cooler and bluer, that shading changes your paint color a bit. What do you think of our budget redo?