Doug Kerr
Well-known member
This past week we have had the kitchen here at Dos Palmas renovated.
Here we see the kitchen as it essentially was just before (although this is a 2012 shot):
Doug Kerr: Kitchen in 2012
It's a fairly spacious kitchen (10 ft × 10 ft free floor space) for a house of this modest size (1550 ft²), but was a little short on counter space, which we had rectified by installing that nice center island (we built it from a kit).
But, although you can't tell from the photo, the floor was gravely battle-weary. It was vinyl tile laid over two layers of sheet goods ("Linoleum"). The surface was badly scuffed, and here and there were little bumps, from which the surface had totally worn off. Carla had a terrible time keeping it clean.
The cabinets were in very nice condition, but Carla wanted something a bit more "cheery".
The countertops were 1978 laminate, and had an anomaly where we put our induction cooktop, apparently the result of at some point in the history of the house an "oversize" cooktop being installed, to later be replaced with a normal size one (which required the rather agricultural wood "appliqué" seen here):
Doug Kerr: Kitchen in 2012 - cooktop "retro-adaptation"
And the countertop heights were to 1978 norms, much too low for comfortable use even by a 5'2" tall Cherokee.
So, in honor of Carla's 78th birthday, we undertook a substantial renovation. The existing floor covering was stripped off (all three layers) and ceramic tile laid. (We also had this applied to the entrance hall, which meets the kitchen in a doorway.)
The countertops were replaced with new countertops made of a material described as "solid surface" ("Corian" is a famous brand of that type of material, as made by DuPont, but ours is a less-famous brand). It is composed of acrylic polymer and alumina trihydrate (ATH), a material derived from bauxite ore. The countertop on the "working side" (with the cooktop and sink) side was raised 2.5" above the former height.
A large two-bowl sink was integrated into the working-side countertop, with a new "pull-out" faucet (the head pulls out of the arm to use as a sprayer).
All the cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and cabinet fronts were sanded, primered, and painted with a lovely turquoise semi-gloss enamel (a very labor-intensive operation), with new hardware in a satin-silver finish.
The result is just exquisite:
Doug Kerr: Kitchen renovated
Here is the "working" side:
Doug Kerr: Kitchen renovated - "working side" countertop
Suffice it to say, Carla is delighted by her new cuisine. And I am always delighted by her cuisine.
Best regards,
Doug
Here we see the kitchen as it essentially was just before (although this is a 2012 shot):
Doug Kerr: Kitchen in 2012
It's a fairly spacious kitchen (10 ft × 10 ft free floor space) for a house of this modest size (1550 ft²), but was a little short on counter space, which we had rectified by installing that nice center island (we built it from a kit).
But, although you can't tell from the photo, the floor was gravely battle-weary. It was vinyl tile laid over two layers of sheet goods ("Linoleum"). The surface was badly scuffed, and here and there were little bumps, from which the surface had totally worn off. Carla had a terrible time keeping it clean.
The cabinets were in very nice condition, but Carla wanted something a bit more "cheery".
The countertops were 1978 laminate, and had an anomaly where we put our induction cooktop, apparently the result of at some point in the history of the house an "oversize" cooktop being installed, to later be replaced with a normal size one (which required the rather agricultural wood "appliqué" seen here):
Doug Kerr: Kitchen in 2012 - cooktop "retro-adaptation"
And the countertop heights were to 1978 norms, much too low for comfortable use even by a 5'2" tall Cherokee.
So, in honor of Carla's 78th birthday, we undertook a substantial renovation. The existing floor covering was stripped off (all three layers) and ceramic tile laid. (We also had this applied to the entrance hall, which meets the kitchen in a doorway.)
The countertops were replaced with new countertops made of a material described as "solid surface" ("Corian" is a famous brand of that type of material, as made by DuPont, but ours is a less-famous brand). It is composed of acrylic polymer and alumina trihydrate (ATH), a material derived from bauxite ore. The countertop on the "working side" (with the cooktop and sink) side was raised 2.5" above the former height.
A large two-bowl sink was integrated into the working-side countertop, with a new "pull-out" faucet (the head pulls out of the arm to use as a sprayer).
All the cabinet doors, drawer fronts, and cabinet fronts were sanded, primered, and painted with a lovely turquoise semi-gloss enamel (a very labor-intensive operation), with new hardware in a satin-silver finish.
The result is just exquisite:
Doug Kerr: Kitchen renovated
Here is the "working" side:
Doug Kerr: Kitchen renovated - "working side" countertop
Suffice it to say, Carla is delighted by her new cuisine. And I am always delighted by her cuisine.
Best regards,
Doug