Kitchen – Project Palermo

Kitchen Makeover Details Roundup 2 of 2

And we’re back, for the final roundup of kitchen details. You can check out my kitchen makeover here and the first roundup here.

Exhaust Fan

The fan installed in the ceiling over the range was a bathroom exhaust fan. The sticker on it literally said “Not for use in cooking area.” In terms of air movement, it did exactly nothing, so I removed it. It was unexpectedly difficult – it took some jaws-of-life style prying and cutting. Here’s an extremely flattering photo of me holding the extricated fan like a trophy bass.

I mounted some wood scraps to the studs inside the hole so that I had something to affix a drywall patch to.

Home Depot sells small drywall “project panels,” which saves you from having to buy a full sheet – I cut one to fit.

Then I patched and painted the ceiling, and now it’s like it was never there.

This means we don’t have an exhaust fan in the kitchen, of course, but I’ve never lived anywhere that had a functional one, so it’s not something I feel a strong need for.

Space Above the Fridge

How do you fill a gap between your fridge and cabinets? Short answer: baskets.

Long answer: Plan to build an open shelf. Mock it up with scrap wood. Decide it accentuates the gap to the right of the fridge. Pass.

Consider a flush-mounted filler piece. See something very similar on a Menard’s demo kitchen. Decide it looks terrible and feel grateful Menard’s made that mistake so you don’t have to. Pass.

Short answer: baskets! These Sedona Honey Low Open Totes from Crate & Barrel fit perfectly and coordinate with the color of the wood elements elsewhere in the room.

Frame Grid

Here’s one mistake I made in decorating the kitchen: the frame grid was originally one size smaller. I bought and hung the 5×7 size because I thought the larger size would overwhelm the wall. The smaller size looked okay – I lived with it for a while but it never felt right.

I finally pulled the trigger and ordered six of the larger size, hung them, stepped back, and said “Duh.” It was obviously the correct way to go. These are the 8×10 Brass Frames from Target (the outer dimension is 14.4″ x 18.4″).

Getting these six frames perfectly aligned took some effort, so I wanted them to stay that way. The bottom row is particularly in danger of getting bumped by someone walking on that side of the island. The frame edge was too narrow to use 3M Command Strips, so I came up with a solution: I cut pieces of scrap wood to the perfect depth and hot glued them to the bottom of the frame backing. The frames hang on nails, with added support/stability from the Command strip.

Kitchen Light Fixture

Here’s another mistake I made in the kitchen – four mistakes, in fact: I bought, installed, and returned four light fixtures over the island before I found The One. But I wouldn’t say they were real errors. Sometimes I can visualize what I want and get it right in one shot, but other projects require me to see the options in place before I can choose my choice. I didn’t document all of the rejects, but here are two examples:

This Minka Lavery Harbour Point Semi-Flushmount Ceiling Light seemed like a contender online.

Installed, however, it looked like a brass spaceship… and even more like a UFO when I turned on the light. Pass.

I really liked the look of this West Elm Stem + Sphere Semi-Flushmount, but I decided not to keep it because it looked too new – with all the other newness in the room, I wanted something that looked more classic.

Also: the brass finish isn’t as nice as the brass on the West Elm fixture in our entryway, and one of the globes had a glass inconsistency that created a dark spot like a moon crater. Pass.

In the end, a classic schoolhouse light from Rejuvenation made the most sense here. It’s the Eastmoreland 8″ Semi-Flush Mount with 16″ Opal Shade. It’s big enough to hold its own, pretty enough to not be boring, and simple enough that I can install something more interesting over the dining table without it looking like a carnival in here.

Outlets and Plate Covers

I replaced the beige outlets in our island with new white ones, and I swapped out the beige plate covers with nice metal ones.

I like these pressed metal plates from House of Antique Hardware. Stacy over at Blake Hill House gave me the idea to use a USB outlet. We always have this multiple adapter plugged in here, so we are prepared for any charging emergency. You show up at our house with your iPod Classic at 4%? We got your back.

Seriously: even if you can’t update the outlets themselves, replacing the plates is such an easy, inexpensive upgrade. I always did this as a renter with plates that had been covered in years of paint (see this old post: It’s Electric).

Phone and Ethernet Jacks

Speaking of plate covers: virtually every room in our house has an ethernet jack. There’s a professional-grade routing hub in our basement – I have no idea why. There was also a phone jack on the wall.

I removed both jacks and covered the holes with blank plates that I painted to match our walls. A small change that feels so much better. I could eventually patch these holes, but since I’m not finished renovating the house yet it seemed smart to keep them open in case it’s helpful to have an access point or something.

Dimmer Switches

I also installed dimmer switches for all of the kitchen and dining room lights. I like these Leviton Decora Rocker Slide Universal Dimmers from Home Depot.

I did all of the aforementioned electrical work myself (light fixtures, outlets, jack removal, dimmers) except for one switch. It was my first time installing a dimmer on a three-way pole – meaning a single fixture controlled by switches on opposite sides of the room. I installed the dimmer, turned the power back on, and the fuse tripped. I figured I had done something wrong with the circuit loop and decided to play it safe and call an electrician.

Emilio got me squared away quickly, and even took the time (unprompted!) to thoughtfully explain what I had done wrong and to draw a diagram for future reference – all without a whiff of condescension. Emilio is my guy. If you need an electrician, I’d be happy to refer him.

Arbor Vitae Trees

Last year, I had three arbor vitae trees planted. Our dining room window is huge, which is great for natural light, but not so great for the view.

The bottom of this window is 7 feet above ground level, so most arbor vitae available from big box stores were too short to provide the privacy and greenery I wanted here. Knowing how slowly they grow, I splurged on more mature trees – I didn’t want to wait years and years for them to reach this window’s height. I never mind sharing numbers, so I’ll tell you that they were $800 total, including installation, which required some major digging.

Here’s Jarrod for scale – he’s 6’2″ (I just asked him – he said he’s shrinking in height but getting wider to make up for it). Seeing greenery instead of our neighbor’s vinyl siding was such a huge improvement for our view.

I made this GIF when they were being planted, thinking it would be a triumphant reveal… but they were planted crooked. The landscapers had to return, dig them up, and redo them.

The trees should fill out and up in the coming years, providing increased privacy. I say should because arbor vitae are pretty finicky – they grow slowly and seem prone to dying. It was the only evergreen option for this narrow side lot, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

What’s Left

The kitchen and dining room are now 95% finished, which feels great. It joins the ranks of our half-bathroom and master bedroom (I owe you an update on this one) – rooms that are ~done~. The remaining tasks are:

Move the electrical box to be centered over the table
Install a permanent light fixture – I’m circling around this Conical Drum Pendant from Rejuvenation
Replace the window – this will happen along with all the other windows in 2019 or, more likely, 2020
Replace the window trim to match the rest of the room, after the window is replaced

But, next up: I’m moving on to a different room, which I’ll show you next week!

Kitchen Makeover Details Roundup 1 of 2

As I mentioned in my Kitchen and Dining Room Before and After post, I wanted to share some details and call out a few decisions I made throughout this makeover project. Turns out there was a lot I wanted to share, so I’m breaking it into two roundups. I know grand before-and-afters are fun, but I find the small changes really gratifying and important as well. So, here goes!

Cutting Board and Knife Block

To add some warmth and cohesiveness to the all-white kitchen, I DIYed three wood elements: the butcher block shelf was the biggest component, but I also worked on the cutting board and knife block. Our Wüsthof knife block was a light maple color. The cutting board’s original finish was closer to gray than it was to brown.

I sanded both items and stained them using the same mid-tone walnut stain color that I used on the shelf.

Counter Tray

This isn’t a DIY; it’s just something I like. I corralled our most frequently used kitchen items with a Cuatro Platter from CB2:

This Optima Oil Bottle from Crate & Barrel is a cool shape (different from the classic tall bottle) and holds a lot of olive oil
Acacia Salt Cellar, also from Crate & Barrel
Pepper grinder (not sold anymore)
Porcelain Butter Dish from Sur La Table
A fancy candle from Alapash

That brass bird back on the left is a vintage clip – we use it to leave notes on the counter (my notes always say “Went to Home Depot”).

Hidden Microwave

Everyone always asks “Where’s your microwave?” Just kidding – no one has ever asked that. But I’m going to tell you anyway: it’s in the cabinet above the dishwasher.

This cabinet is actually a base cabinet: it’s far too deep to be hanging over a counter. (It’s a miracle Jarrod hasn’t rammed his head into yet.) The upside of this cabinetry oddity is that it’s big enough to hold the giant microwave I bought off Craigslist 8 years ago.

There was a center piece of wood that came out easily by unscrewing it. That piece is what bridges the space between the cabinet doors – you may notice a small gap between the doors, but it doesn’t bother me.

I installed this sturdy tray divider from The Container Store to keep our cutting boards corralled and standing proud. It also ensures there’s plenty of ventilation around the microwave, which is something people like to get preachy about online.

The power cord runs discretely from the outlet below through a small hole I drilled in the bottom of the cabinet.

Cabinet Filler Piece

If you scroll back two photos, you’ll see a piece of non-matching wood next to the dishwasher. Previously, there was a several inch gap between the dishwasher and the cabinet, which made the dishwasher insulation and counter support really visible. Oddly, there were two filler pieces there (installed side-by-side), but they didn’t bridge the gap.

I removed those pieces and replaced them with one larger piece of wood. Once painted, it looks seamless.

Towel Hook

No detail is too small for this post! This cabinet door is the ideal place for a hanging towel: it’s accessible from the sink and the stove, and the towel doesn’t get closed in a door/drawer like it would elsewhere. I wanted a very small hook that coordinated with but wasn’t identical to our knobs – I didn’t want it to look like this door had two knobs installed in it.

Solution: this Forged-Iron Colonial Heart Hook from House of Antique Hardware. Love it.

That brass bunny is our “dishwasher is clean” reminder – I set it on the counter after I start the dishwasher.

Slide-in Range Cut-out

The counter cut-out for a slide-in range was very shallow. The previous range wasn’t flush with drawers, and the new one protruded even more. This wasn’t a surprise or an accident – I had planned to get the hole enlarged after the range was delivered, so it could be cut to size.

I hired Perfect Granite and Marble to do the cut – it was a high-stakes 5 minutes, and it turned out perfectly indeed.

Appliance Decals

Did anyone notice a small change in the two range photos above? I removed the Whirlpool decal from the range and the fridge.

Why do appliances have to come with big logo decals on them? I know they’re Whirlpool – I don’t need corporate branding to remind me. If anyone visiting our house wants to know what brand they are, they can ask me or visit projectpalermo.com on the world wide web.

I used a hair dryer to warm up and loosen the adhesive, and then ran a piece of floss behind the decal to remove it.

They both came off easily, leaving only a small amount of residue, which I scrubbed off. Byeee, Whirlpool!

I’ll return by the end of the week with the second roundup.

Kitchen and Dining Room Before and After

My make-it-work kitchen makeover is finished! I have a slew of before and after photos for you. Some of the befores are from when I started this recent decorating wave and some are from when we first bought the house, to show how far this space has come. I try to capture the same angle whenever possible. Let’s dive in…

So much better than where we started…

The kitchen cabinets were professionally painted Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White. They turned out exactly as I hoped. There’s plenty of color and pattern elsewhere throughout the first floor, so I’m happy to have this space simply feel clean, bright, and cohesive. An added bonus is that paint, wood filler, and caulk conceal the previous owner’s DIY installation flaws.

Before:

After:

Now that the cabinets are white, I considered replacing the counter stools with something wood and/or woven (like these gorgeous leather ones from CB2), but we really like these metal ones. They’re indestructible: our cat can’t claw them, I use them as stepstools all the time, and the handle cutout on top is really nice for moving them around. They’re from Overstock; all of the sources are linked at the bottom of this post.

Before:

After:

Sorry, it looks washed out here – it was a sunny day and I’m not a great photographer. I trust you come here for realness and not professional-grade photography!

Before:

After:

Speaking of photography: do you know what’s impossible to photograph? A freaking window. But I love the way this area turned out. It feels so much more intentional now that there’s a bit of decoration and proper moulding (for details, see Kitchen Progress: Faucet, Hardware, and Window Trim).

Before:

After:

This is a north-facing window, which I covered in frosted film (the view isn’t great) – it’s relatively low-light, but it’s enough for a potted pothos and an assortment of plant cuttings that I’m rooting in water.

Speaking of plant cuttings: my mother always has plant starts on her kitchen window sill as well. She’s been reusing an old Eggling shell my brother gave her 20 years ago. So, in honor of my mom, I asked my friend Jenni to include a few eggshells when I commissioned these plant drawings from her.

I know you’re supposed to remove the glass for better photographs, but it took a thousand hours to get this grid perfectly aligned and there was no way in hell I was going to take them down to do that.

Moving along, I bought a new dishwasher, refrigerator, and slide-in gas range from Abt. We love having the fridge on top, and we have an ice maker for the very first time! What luxury.

Before:

After:

You may remember that I debated getting a white vs. black vs. stainless range (see Kitchen Decision Making). Obviously, I landed on white, and I’m happy with it. The grate helps it blend in with the existing countertop. The control console looks a little like it belongs in a hospital surgical suite, but it’s fine. I do like that the knobs are on top, and I really like the way it looks from the front.

Before:

After:

You already saw this coffee + toaster nook in a previous post: Kitchen Progress: Butcher Block Shelf.

Before:

After:

And this door makeover was documented here: Kitchen Progress: New Door, Trim, and Threshold Tile.

Before:

After:

Moving on to the dining area, which is adjacent to the kitchen. I’m using the same rug, chairs, and table from our last place (seen in our Apartment Therapy tour). The light fixture is the same as the apartment as well – that’s one thing still on my to do list. I need to have the junction box relocated above the table before I buy and install a permanent fixture.

Before:

After:

I found the landscape lithograph prints for $5 each at an antique store in my hometown (Jefferson City, Missouri). The moulding around the dining room was installed by a previous owner.

The big splurge in this room is the Danish corner cabinet, purchased from SharkGravy.

That ZZ plant is turning into a beast – it’s almost overgrown this space. To the right, you can see a wall-mounted bottle opener and cap collector, which I installed at our last place as well (see Wall-Mounted Bottle Opener).

A couple more shots of the cabinet, because I love it so much.

We keep bottles on top – shout out to my sister-in-law Kateri for this vintage Kentucky Tavern decanter. No one needs to know there’s Fireball in there.

One parting shot. I’ll do a follow-up post to share some details and decisions I want to call out. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try to address them in that post!

Sources:

Cabinet painters: Giant Painters
Kitchen runner: Rejuvenation Balter Flatweave Rug
Hanging planter: Umbra Pleated Planter (purchased at Alapash in Chicago) + Mkono Macrame Plant Hanger
Woven bowl on window sill: CB2 Rini Round Bread Basket
Clock: Schoolhouse Kennedy Clock
Cutting board: 1761 Wood Large Rectangle General Chopping Board
Stools: Overstock Tabouret 24-inch Charcoal Grey Metal Counter Stools
Kitchen light: Rejuvenation Eastmoreland 8″ Semi-Flush Aged Brass Mount with 16″ Opal Shade #B5138
Plant drawings: Art by Jenni Wu + Target Project 62 Brass Frames
Faucet: Delta Trinsic Single-Handle Pull-Down Sprayer Kitchen Faucet with MagnaTite Docking in Arctic Stainless
Cabinet hardware: Amerock Blackrock 1-1/3 in. Black Bronze Round Cabinet Knob and Blackrock 160 mm Black Bronze Pull
Fridge: Whirlpool Bottom-Freezer Refrigerator – WRB329DMBW
Oven: Whirlpool White Slide-In Gas Range – WEG515S0FW
Dishwasher: Bosch 24″ 300 Series Scoop Handle White Built-In Dishwasher – SHS863WD2N
Door threshold tile: EliteTile Retro Glazed Porcelain Hex Mosaic in Matte White
Dining room light: IKEA (no longer available)
Dining room rug: Pottery Barn (no longer available)
Dining table and chairs: vintage
Bar cabinet: vintage Danish teak corner cabinet from SharkGravy
Wall-mounted planter: Umbra Trigg Hanging Planter

For more information about this project, check out these related posts:

Kitchen Progress: New Door, Trim, and Threshold Tile

Yup, I’m still plugging away at the kitchen! I’m wrapping up trim, and then I’ll be able to do After shots of the whole room for you. But I wanted to dedicate a post to this kitchen door project because it’s been a lot of work and it made a big impact.

The door I’m talking about is the one seen in this old photo. It leads to our enclosed back porch, which we use as a mudroom.

There wasn’t anything wrong with the door, but it always bothered me that we had no visibility into our backyard from our kitchen/dining room. We put so much work into the space last year (see Backyard Patio, Painting, and Landscaping) – I wanted to be able to see it from inside!

Also, as you can see in this photo, there was SO MUCH natural light we were missing out on. This wall faces east. I’d come downstairs in the morning and the sun would be streaming through this little pet door. (The pet door just lets our cat into the mudroom – not outside.)

Home Depot and Lowe’s have affordable half-lite glass doors, but everything available off-the-shelf has a grid over the glass, like this one. I had to do a custom order for plain glass without a grille. Spending more money to get something simpler is my M.O., it seems.

I went with a Jeld-Wen Smooth-Pro Fiberglass Exterior Door from Home Depot. It cost $475. It could have been cheaper if I had been patient enough to wait for a sale (which I usually am!), but with a 4-8 week lead time, I just wanted to get the ball rolling.

Here’s the newly-installed door, with Lola checking out his newly-installed cat door.

I switched the way the door swings: it was a right-hand inswing and now it’s a left-hand inswing. I referenced this Home Depot door handing guide a million times to make sure I ordered the correct one.

This left-hand inswing flows better with our mudroom’s exterior door (which is also a left-hand inswing), and it feels like a more natural path to our kitchen. Since switching the inswing made for a more complicated installation, I chose to hire a handyman to install it. That cost $295. Not cheap, but worth it to me. Thankfully, the rest of this project was DIY and affordable!

I tore off the trim and replaced it, which is what I’ve been doing to all the entryways on the first floor.

And then I tackled Baby’s First Tile Job. This glossy beige tile was not adding anything good to the space.

It took fewer than 5 minutes to demo.

Removing the tile revealed a couple of divots (like you see below) in the old concrete threshold. I patched those with Quikrete.

I used EliteTile Retro Glazed Porcelain Hex Mosaic in Matte White. When I bought this tile for our half-bathroom (see Half-Bathroom Before and After), I ordered enough with this project in mind. I don’t have a wet saw, so I cut the tiles by hand using tile nippers. It wasn’t the most enjoyable 2 hours of my life, but it was far from the worst (here’s looking at you, La La Land).

The cut tile edge was pretty rough; sanding smoothed them out.

Finally, it was time to lay tile. I won’t go into process details because there are tons of how-to guides available online. Here’s the tile after I adhered it, before I grouted it. I used a Schluter metal tile edging trim for the exposed edge.

Here’s the tile after I grouted it, when I was in the “I’ve made a huge mistake” phase. I had no idea what I was doing!

I just kept sponging and sponging until I made it through.

Lola may not be impressed, but I am super happy with how my first tile job turned out.

So, now, back to the Before:

And the After:

The first day we had the new door installed, Jarrod and I were admiring the view and we saw our very first goldfinch in our backyard. There had surely been others, but we had never seen them because we couldn’t see the yard. Now we see them all the time back there!

Upcoming posts: full kitchen makeover, and our awful mudroom which isn’t so awful anymore.

Kitchen Progress: Butcher Block Shelf

Shortly after we moved in, I bought a used IKEA cart from a friend and that’s been our toaster and coffee station ever since.

It did the job well and looked okay, but it was too narrow to balance out the width of the cabinet above it. I knew I’d want to replace it with something in a walnut finish after we had the cabinets painted white (more on that in a future post, and you can check out my saved Instagram Story.)

When I first started thinking about a replacement, I was focused on finding another multiple-shelf cart because that’s what we’ve had for so long. I do this sometimes: get focused on one option – thinking it’s THE solution – at the expense of considering other routes. Once I realized A) we have plenty of storage elsewhere and B) the trash and recycling would fit well here, everything clicked.

Before purchasing anything, I installed a test shelf using supplies I had on hand to make sure Jarrod and I liked this setup.

This trial balloon immediately made the kitchen flow so much better. Having the trashcans here makes the basement door much less crowded – it was fine for the most part before, but awkward/cramped when carrying things (e.g. laundry) downstairs.

By moving them, the door is more easily accessible and the trashcans are aligned with our work areas. It’s a straight, natural path to throw things away, as opposed to turning right around the counter.

I ordered these heavy-duty cast-iron brackets from House of Antique Hardware. I bought this butcher block countertop from Menard’s, which I cut to fit. While I love the look of the IKEA KARLBY countertop I used for our two-person desk, that surface is a thin veneer over particleboard. Jarrod has a major coffee catastrophe at least once a quarter (e.g. turning on the coffee maker without the carafe in place to receive the brewed coffee), so we need a solid wood surface that can take abuse and be refinished down the road.

I did sample swatches of two Varathane stain colors: American Walnut and Dark Walnut. American Walnut looked a little too country.

Dark Walnut looked a little too flat brown.

So, I ended up doing a 50/50 blend. I used Minwax’s Pre-Stain wood conditioner before applying the stain. This was my first time using Varathane stain and I really liked it – it’s less runny than Minwax stain and the pigmentation seemed richer.

I sealed the wood using four coats of Waterlox, following the steps Yellow Brick Home describes. Afterward, I drilled a hole for the appliance cords. (I knew that if I drilled the hole first, it would lead to a lot of messy drips.) I applied stain to the inside of the hole using a paper towel. In the end, you don’t even see it.

The dustbuster moved to the adjacent mudroom, the cat food station is now tucked next to the sink, and the cookware is in cabinets or the under-oven drawer (our previous range didn’t offer storage because the burner was in the bottom drawer).

Here’s what it looks like now:

I used this J-channel raceway to route the cords. It’s a little larger than other options, but I like that the design offers easy access to the cords – e.g. for removing the appliances when Jarrod has his quarterly coffee catastrophe. I painted it the same color as our walls (Irish Mist).

The shelf height allows the can lids to open nearly entirely – at least 90%, which is totally sufficient for throwing stuff away. (The shelf is 36″ high, same as our counters – it just looks higher because of the camera perspective.) Ergonomically, the most important part of this placement is keeping the trashcans pulled toward the front of the shelf. If they’re pushed to the back, it’s less comfortable to use. Below, you can see how they align with the adjacent wall.

There’s a secret trick: I installed a simple 5-inch deep ledge behind the trashcans to keep them in place and perfectly aligned. It also hides the cords and keeps them off of the ground.

The ledge is hidden unless you’re crouched looking at it from this back angle, which is not where folks usually hang out.

The accent lamp adds some warmth to the space, especially in the evenings. The art is a vintage paint-by-numbers I found at an antique store in Normal, Illinois on our way to my nephew’s Bar Mitzvah. I’m still deciding on the frame – I think I like that it’s a little offbeat/ugly.

The basket holds our reusable napkins, which I love. They’re smaller than the average cloth napkin, absorbent, and perfect for daily use. I bought our first batch in 2013; in 2017, I replaced them with a new batch and the old batch is now used as rags. Five stars, highly recommend!

I’m still wrapping up the final details on the rest of this makeover. I’ll be back with a couple more kitchen posts once I do!