Kitchen is done

[Michael Todrin]

I had a good year last year building kitchens for other people and took some time in my schedule to do my own. I live in an 1890's farm house in which the kitchen was updated in the 1980's. Think drop ceiling and yellow laminate countertops. Turns out the ceiling was about 9 feet tall a full 2 feet over the drop ceiling. The island got smaller and everything got consolidated with a range instead of cooktop and oven. Feels like the space is double the size.

Decided on white oak countertops and all drawers.

The great thing about a kitchen remodel is you always appreciate the end result because you just spent a month without a kitchen.

Before
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During
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After
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[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nicely done!

[Jim Becker]

Dang...I'd almost kill for that kind of head-room. Our kitchen ceiling is 6'10" as it was matched to the ceiling height in the 1750's section of our home that's adjacent to the kitchen when "whomever" built the middle section in the 1950s. I like what you've done there. Drawers rule! And the clean walls make for a nice pallet as well as make the space feel very large. Bravo!

[Michael Todrin]

Thanks guys. After I took down the drop ceiling it became immediately apparent why the drop ceiling had been done. It looked like the waves of the ocean. The shims were from 1.5" to nothing to get it all in plane. Definitely worth it for the headroom.

[Patrick Kane]

The wood island top looks great. You are going to love that hood. I ripped out some upper cabinets over the summer to install an LG hood, and the thing is life changing. No more smoke alarms, you can cook an sear as hot as your stove can go, and it saves your cabinets, walls, ceiling, and lungs from the vaporized oils. I cant believe i went 31 years without a hood. Never again!

[Jim Becker]

Michael, one question...is that island mobile? I ask because it seems so far out of the "work triangle" in the photos, but that could certainly be an illusion. My island is positioned so it creates a more galley-like arrangement with the range and sink in my kitchen. I'm merely curious about your design...

[Michael Todrin]

Patrick,

The hood is indeed a game changer. In the old setup there was a down-draft hood for the cooktop in the island. It definitely made noise but as far as I could tell that was its only effect. With the new 750cfm fan there is no longer a need to open the exterior door when searing.

The wood island top looks great. You are going to love that hood. I ripped out some upper cabinets over the summer to install an LG hood, and the thing is life changing. No more smoke alarms, you can cook an sear as hot as your stove can go, and it saves your cabinets, walls, ceiling, and lungs from the vaporized oils. I cant believe i went 31 years without a hood. Never again!

[Michael Todrin]

Good observation about the work triangle Jim. It is not mobile and is set further back than is ideal. What you can't see in the photo is our main entry door opens right where the perfect spot for the island is. Which meant either mobile, which we didn't like, or further back to be more of a room divider/breakfast bar.

[Mark Daily]

Nice work- thanks for the pics! I’m really starting to warm to the idea of “drawers not doors” as I have a lot of “stuff” sitting in the back of my cabinets which I have trouble getting to.

[Jim Becker]

Good observation about the work triangle Jim. It is not mobile and is set further back than is ideal. What you can't see in the photo is our main entry door opens right where the perfect spot for the island is. Which meant either mobile, which we didn't like, or further back to be more of a room divider/breakfast bar.

I figured there was a good reason that you did things they way you did. I just notice that kind of thing because I'm a somewhat serious "home cook" and like in woodworking, workflow comes into play.

[Art Mann]

I have come to really like white for cabinets. It looks so clean and bright.

[Michael Todrin]

I really like the white as well. I find White Oak looks great contrasted with both white and black.

[Robert Engel]

Very nice. I always squinch a bit when I see kitchens with no uppers.

How do people do that? I know we have waaaay too much stuff to be able to do that.

[David Utterback]

Something to enjoy every day. Looks great!

[Michael Todrin]

Robert, I too was initially skeptical about having enough storage without uppers. Cooler heads prevailed and it turns out they were right.