Completed Kitchen

[Matt Meiser]

I finished up the final details on the kitchen today. Start to finish it took about 10 weeks, much reduced from what I'd planned due to buying the doors and drawers from Mid-Michigan Wood Specialties rather than making them myself. They have a huge selection of profiles and I was able to specify exactly what we wanted. Unless I just need a door or two, this is how I'll do drawers in the future. Other than the doors and drawers, counter fabrication, floors, tiling, and about 4 days of help from a contractor friend, I did everything myself.

Everything is red oak over prefinished maple plywood boxes. The finish is 2 light coats of Sealcoat tinted with honey amber and red mahogany Transtint dyes. The topcoat is 3 coats of General Finishes Endurovar which is my new go-to finish.

Counters are Ubatuba granite. Backsplashes are natural stone tiles. Floors are Armstrong Alterna.

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[Matt Meiser]

More pictures

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[Bruce Page]

Wow, there's a lot to be proud of there. That's a beautifully executed remodel from top to bottom!
I'd like to see a pic of the island from outside the kitchen.

[Jay Jolliffe]

Looks really nice Matt....How did you do the finish. Spray ?

[Joe A Faulkner]

Great job Matt! I know it was a lot of work, but hopefully the some of the money saved over the cost of comparable cabinet and installation costs will go towards your shop budget.

[Dick Mahany]

Wow Matt that kitchen is gorgeous !! I really like the design elemnents that you incorporated into the upper cabinets. Must be gratifying to stand back and admire such an accomplishment. Well done.

[Von Bickley]

Great looking kitchen & cabinets........ You did GOOD.

[Phil Thien]

That looks great. I especially like the color of the red oak. Our kitchen cabinets came out too much on the orange side, IMHO. Yours look quite a bit warmer.

[Shawn Christ]

Fantastic job Matt! You should be extremely proud of your new kitchen, and only 10 weeks I'd say it was a great choice to do it youself. I am following in your footsteps and will be borrowing (well, stealing) some of your ideas. Those shallow cabinets on the out-facing side of the peninsula caught my eye... and so did that wine rack. ;)

[Gordon Eyre]

Very well done Matt. Congrats on a great job.

[brian c miller]

Matt,

Great kitchen. I have been thinking about a "redo" or maybe jut a "reface."

You were able to just buy all of the pullouts and doors raw then install into your box?

[Matt Meiser]

Brian, I'm not complete sure what you are asking but I'll try to explain.

I build new boxes from prefinished maple ply and made all the faceframes. I bought doors and drawers made to my specs. The doors were delivered unfinished and the drawers finished. I sprayed all the faceframes, doors, trim, etc. All of this took me about 6 weeks. Then with careful planning we were able to tear out the old and install the new within about a two week period. We'd prescheduled countertop templating for late the week of the install and then stayed on top of approvals to minimize turnaround there. The biggest holdup was tile since we used the same tile guy who's concurrently doing a project for my mom and dad. Both of our projects were tile-ready at about the same time but they "won" due to the fact that they've got a GC and are paying a lot more money!

[Shawn Christ]

Matt, did you set up a temporary spray area in your home or garage, or do you already have that in your shop? Also, any regrets that you would do-over?

[Matt Meiser]

Shawn, that actually was my second huge timesaver. When I did my parents kitchen I did my finishing in batches in the shop, thoroughly cleaning and putting everything on hold. Last summer I took over storage space in my shop building and built a finishing room.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?135059-Finishing-Room

[Jim Becker]

Really great work, Matt!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Very nice work Matt!

I have a similar project in the next year or so.

[Patrick McCarthy]

Matt, Great job. I enjoyed watching this process go from design discussions to final completion.

Only surprise was that the white board in the closet didn't have an encrypted message on it for the creekers . . . . but this is a family friendly forum!

[Jeff Monson]

Great work Matt, I'd seriously consider outsourcing drawers on my next kitchen. I really dont like making drawers. BTW did you outsource all the raised panels besides the doors?

[Matt Meiser]

Yes, same place did them all.

[Jeff Heil]

Very nice kitchen Matt. You should be very proud of your work! I enjoyed watching your design and project progress!

Jeff

[Sam Murdoch]

Success Matt. Looks great and I must believe that you and the Mrs. are really happy with your effort. 10 weeks is proof of your dedication and very good use of time and material. Happy Thanksgiving!

[Matt Meiser]

Wow, there's a lot to be proud of there. That's a beautifully executed remodel from top to bottom!
I'd like to see a pic of the island from outside the kitchen.

Finally remembered to take this Bruce.
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I'm hoping to take care of one nagging little issue this evening--getting a matching faucet and RO water faucet. We've had a heck of time matching them. Hopefully 3rd time is a charm.

[Kevin Godshall]

Incredible work, Matt. Love all the detail and how everything "fits" together.

Been working on my own kitchen and I know the wife is going to want to look at your pictures......... so I have a few requests:

1. Can you say that it took you about 2-3 years to do this?

2. Can you also report that it was well worth the money to purchase several tools, magazine subscriptions, and a new flat screen TV (for relaxing and unwinding purposes)?

I think that is it for now. Will see if I have more excuses I need you to cover later...........

Once again, though seriously, incredible work, outstanding end result. Hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

[Paul Cahill]

I don't think I ever made anything in 10 weeks, let alone a project of this magnitude. So congratulations on both the result itself and on how you got it accomplished.

Paul

[Bruce Page]

Thanks for the pic Matt, the island looks great. That hunk of granite must’ve cost a few $$.

[Matt Meiser]

Sure did. Closing in on half way into the $$$$s actually almost 2 full slabs.

[Carl Beckett]

[QUOTE=Matt Meiser;2000434

Start to finish it took about 10 weeks, much reduced from what I'd planned due to buying the doors and drawers from Mid-Michigan Wood Specialties rather than making them myself.

[/QUOTE]

Hi Matt,

Very impressive project, and Im always in awe of how quickly you can turn a project from start to finish (and REALLY finish it, in detail). :)

A lot of threads on here about whether its cost effective to build your own cabinets. Sounds like this project crept towards more outsourcing than your prior build.

Any insights on economics and how it compares with purchased cabinets?

[Matt Meiser]

I'd estimate the whole job cost us in the neighborhood of what the "good" cabinets the Borg sells would run. That excludes the floor (and a couple tool purchases) but includes stuff like plumbing, paint, etc.

[Carl Beckett]

Thanks Matt,

The last quote I got from the borg was right at $20,000. Cabinets only. I dont think there are that many and it seemed high.

the timeline is another matter. Indeed, 10 weeks sounds about right........ for planning! I would need to budget something closer to a year.

[Matt Meiser]

Our planning started much, much earlier. A few years back, right after I finished my parents', we planned to do this project and had done a lot of the design. Then other stuff got in the way and we put it on hold. We've probably been discussing the design again since the beginning of summer on and off.

On the timeframe, It helps tremendously that I've done so many cabinet projects in the past and have been able to make shop improvements (which I haven't included in my kitchen cost) and work out a good workflow for me. I'll be starting on another, smaller, cabinetry project for my parents after the holidays. They are putting the finishing touches on a new first floor master suite project.