Project Post: Our Kitchen

[Craig Thompson]

My poor wife..... she has been waiting almost 4 months for her kitchen. She should have the granite tommorrow, but I completed the trimout tonight. We renovated this entire section of the house and had to stop at multiple points along the way. 2 week long business trips, 2 other customer kitchens, etc, etc,,,,

This is the largest quantity of beaded face frames I have ever taken on for any one project. I was a tad bit dissapointed with a couple of the door fits... but all in all I am happy with the fact that I actually get to enjoy a project that is for our family instead of a neighbor or something like that...

Info: Plain Cherry, All of it came from a huge tree that fell on a freind of my fathers property a couple of years ago.... Lightly tinted with a golden hue to back out some of the pinky look. Cleared with lacquer.

[Craig Thompson]

Here are a few more

[Ken Potts]

Craig,

It's funny, we always think about some little thing that didn't fit right, that is absolutly beautiful. You did a great job.

Ken.

[Dick Bringhurst]

We are always our worst critic. The job is beautiful. Dick B.

[Glenn Clabo]

Craig...It came out wonderful...Great job...and stop with the door fit stuff!;)

[Hans Braul]

Craig, I guess you're right - it really is awful. Would it be too late to start again?

It is gorgeous, and by my standards, 4 months for a project like this (I assume part time?) is lightning fast. Well done.

Hans

[Joe Chritz]

Very nice.

What method did you use for the jack miters on the beaded frames? I am going to start doing them myself and am always looking for the "best" method.

Joe

[Joe Mioux]

Very nice Craig!!!! The kitchen looks warm and inviting.

Joe

[jim tracy]

Looks Great!!!! Please show us the "finished" pictures with the counter top in.

[Ryan Wilson]

That is beautiful!!!

Any tutorials or advice for someone just starting out and interested in making cabinets?

[Matt Meiser]

Beautiful job Craig!

[John Keeton]

Great kitchen. Not only did you do quality woodworking, but the design is pleasing - something that a lot of kitchens lack. But, what you should be most pleased with is a wife that would let you undertake this! She should be well pleased by her patience.

[NICK BARBOZA]

that is exactly like the kitchen i want to build myself! it looks awesome! great work.

Cheers
Nick

[Dave Verstraete]

Great Job!! Having been through a 6 month "kitchen remodel", your wife and mine could commiserate?sp? Wait...they might find out what we spent on tools...bad idea.

Looks Awesome.

[Larry Fox]

Woderful job - that is a LOT of cabinets. The cherry looks awesome.

[Mike Goetzke]

Craig - love the cabinets and layout. Do you have before pics? How was the original layout - did you remove any walls?

(The reason I ask is that my house has a traditional living room, dining room, and kitchen layout. I have wanted to build new cabinets buy my wife wants a more open look and combined dining/kitchen/living room look like yours. I better not show her any of these pics.)

Mike

[Greg Cole]

My poor wife..... she has been waiting almost 4 months for her kitchen.

And to think my wife was impatient living without upper cabinet doors for ohh... about 2 years.:D Even funnier is they were built, painted & laquered..... and they sat awaiting a "rainy day" for installation.:confused:
Ok, this is about your kitchen not mine... LOL
VERY NICE. I like the mix of solid wood panels and some glass (looks like simulated leaded glass?). Also looks like you did a very good job matching the stock for the door panels. My next kitchen will most likely be cherry as well.
A couple of years down the road with the cherry seasoned a wee bit, that's going to look wonderful.
Two thumbs up.

Greg

[Larry Anderson]

OUTSTANDING work! I recently made new doors and drawer fronts for our kitchen and at the rate I work it seemed to take forever. I don't think I would live long enough to complete a project as ambitious as yours. Very, very nice indeed.

[Larry Fox]

Craig - in addition to the outstanding job on the cabinets, the floors look wonderful as well. I should probably be able to identify it but what type of wood is it? Excellent choice of appliances - top notch all the way.

[Grant Morris]

Great job. Very tasteful. Post pics after granite please, it would be nice to see the completed kitchen...

[RickT Harding]

Absolutely wow. I just love the look of beaded face frames. Time to figure out how to do that.

[gary Zimmel]

Beautiful job..... Can't wait to see it finished with the tops on.

[frank shic]

craig, nice job! did you nail on the beads or rout them into the face frame?

[Ted Calver]

She knows it's worth the wait...and almost finished...This is beautiful!!!

[Mike Spanbauer]

Nicely done. I gather that this is also your business (your customer kitchen reference)?

I like it as well as the adjoining family space. That's a real great way to keep the cook social while they prepare meals. A favorite of mine while I'm working on meals.

Mike

[Lori Kleinberg]

Wow, Craig, that looks great. Not just the woodworking which came out beautiful, but the whole layout. I would also be interested in seeing the before pics and definitely want to see after the counters are installed.
Thanks for sharing.

[Jim Becker]

Beautiful work, Craig!

[Matt Crew]

Two Words:

SIMPLY AMAZING!

[Steve Clardy]

My compliments on a beautiful job;)

[Scott Ricks]

Wow! That is really beautiful! What kind of wood is that on the floor? It goes great with the cherry.

Scott

[Keith Beck]

You built all of that in four months?! It would have taken me four years and wouldn't look half as nice.

Nice work!

Keith

[Walt Stevens]

Now that's a kitchen worth waiting for!!!

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Big and beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Please update when the countertops are in.
-Jeff :)

[Craig D Peltier]

Craig great job, your place looks comfy to live in, I like the fireplace as well. Are you adopting?:D
I would like to hear a little detail on beading and an actual picture of it. Its very hard to see with even the closest pic you have there.
Nice place.

[Craig Thompson]

Wow thanks for all the replies.... Here are some answers to the questions asked... Hope I get them all...


What method did you use for the jack miters on the beaded frames? I am going to start doing them myself and am always looking for the "best" method.

Joe


craig, nice job! did you nail on the beads or rout them into the face frame?


I would like to hear a little detail on beading and an actual picture of it. Its very hard to see with even the closest pic you have there.

Joe / Frank / Craig,

I only have 'garage tools'... so I don't know that my method is the best... but it has worked pretty well and is fairly repeatable. The beads are milled into the faceframe. I might be coned into nailing them on... but only if it was paintgrade. I milled them at 1 5/8" so that the 'flat' did not get to thin looking. Since I have not splurged on a hoffman notching machine yet.... I use my Mortiser set on a 45, and rig up stop blocks for consistency (USE A SHARP CUTTER). 2nd operation is a bandsaw for top and bottoms, Chisels for the space between the drawers and doors, and Chisels for all clean up. Here is a Closeup pic from pre-finishing (previos post so it won't let me re-attach)

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=79344&d=1200464542


Wow, Craig, that looks great. Not just the woodworking which came out beautiful, but the whole layout. I would also be interested in seeing the before pics and definitely want to see after the counters are installed.
Thanks for sharing.


Craig - love the cabinets and layout. Do you have before pics? How was the original layout - did you remove any walls?

Mike

Lori / Mike,

Here are some pics from prior ... we ripped out 2 closets and a walkin pantry, gutted the electrical, ripped out 3 windows, moved the door to the attached garage, replaced one doorwall and added a second.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=79332&d=1200463741

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=79333&d=1200463741
And one I missed on the original post...



Nicely done. I gather that this is also your business (your customer kitchen reference)?
I like it as well as the adjoining family space. That's a real great way to keep the cook social while they prepare meals. A favorite of mine while I'm working on meals.

Mike

Mike... not my full time bus. I do cabinets on the side of a fulltime job. Tis the reason for the long delay between ripping out the old... and getting to start on building the new cabinets... I had been renting a 35 X 40 garage for dirt cheep for several years to house the wood working 'toys' and took on odd jobs. But of recent moved into a commercial building and have been taking on 'real customers'.



Wow! That is really beautiful! What kind of wood is that on the floor? It goes great with the cherry.

Scott

Scott, It was named "Asian Walnut - Golden Sierra", (sorry dont remember the MFG) I can't say that it is really from Asia. Its' base color is very dark, gray and black. To get to the color they have... must have been a translucent orange.. I had a hard time duplicating it for the transitions I had to mill.

Thanks for looking and commenting to all.... now... let's get back to our toys....

[Daniel McCurdy]

Craig, awesome work! Love the before and after. Doesn't even look like the same place. I've been in some very, very nice homes, this kitchen is right on par with some of the best!

Do you have any layout drawings? Something that shows the room size and maybe what the dimensions were before you made the changes? At some point, I may consider having a similar set up. Yes, your photos are very inspiring!

[J. Z. Guest]

Very nice work Craig. It is going to break your heart if you ever decide to move.

[Tim Malyszko]

Craig,

Excellent job on the kitchen. The before and after pictures are amazing.

Nice work.

[Don Bullock]

Beautiful. It looks like it was worth the wait. I'm sure she will enjoy it.

[Eric Gustafson]

Beautiful work! You have inspired me. How high are your ceilings?

[Ben Grunow]

Nicely done!!!

By the way, if it would help, I could have my wife talk to your wife and explain how she has been waiting for 32 months for her new kitchen (took me a little while to build and finish the rest of the house myself). Let me know.