Hey guys! We moved into our house in the winter of 2014. It was a brand new builders home and even though it was a resale, no one had actually lived in it. From the moment we purchased it, I saw it as a blank canvas that in time (which took 3 years as it turns out) I would transform it from a house into our home. As everyone is aware, any home renovation, is dependant on two things…time and money. We were just starting our life out as new parents of a growing little boy so initially, my first thoughts to save money and time would be to make some small changes to my current kitchen and possibly replace the countertops in the bathrooms. So one day early in the spring of 2017 I called my renovation guy, who had wonderfully finished our basement prior to us moving in, to come in and have a chat. I remember the conversation to be very spirited and in short, what was supposed to be a meeting involving a few simple upgrades turned into a discussion into a full fledged renovation. Ooooooops!!! Hashtag smiley face. As with any renovation, there are good things and there are bad. Somethings go according to plan and sometimes the unpredictable happens. For me, it was all of the above. This was my ordinary uninspired kitchen before…  This is our kitchen after…  We made the decision to do a complete renovation as we thought small updates here in there over time, would not only cost more in the long run, but an overall flow to the finished product would not be achieved. The most important decision we made was to extend the hardwoods that was laid in our family room and dining room all the way through the kitchen into the foyer towards the entrance. To say I hated the original ceramic builders tile is a gross understatement. By doing this a general flow was established that in my opinion was warm and inviting. Once our floors were installed, everything seemed to be going well and according to plan. With a feeling of relative contentment, the unthinkable happened. Three quarters through our renovation with only our cabinets and island to be installed we received news that our contractor had a family emergency and would not be coming back to finish the project. Our hearts sank and a feeling of desperation quickly came over us. Realistically at the height of renovation season, finding someone and having them come in to finish someone else’s work, the odds were slim to none.Thankfully after two stressful weeks and with the help of a local mom’s network we were fortunate to find a local contractor to finish the job. In retrospect, their job was fairly simple and a collection of small jobs and touch ups that included finishing the walls and the kitchen electrical so the new kitchen could be delivered.After a short wait that seemed like much longer, the people from Raywal cabinets came and installed our kitchen cabinetry. I cannot say enough good things about this company from the designer, to the customer service department and installer(I wish I could remember your name!) Once everything was up and installed, J&D countertops came in and obtained the measurements for our island and our kitchen counters.After about two weeks, our quartz countertops were finished and ready to be installed. Prior to its installation, we had to have our contractors install two electrical plugs in our island. In what I can only think was a momentary lapse of concentration, our new contractors did this:  Yes, he drilled a hole through the cabinet. Understandably this was met with so much anger and frustration but at this point what can you do, stuff happens and you just have to suck it up and move on. $2800 (fortunately not out of our pockets) and another 3 weeks in delays as a new side panel had to be constructed, we finally had our countertop installed! Upon sensing the end of weird rollercoaster of a ride, we thought we could relax as the finishing touches were done. As if the renovation gods were playing one bad joke after another, I watched in horror as my contractors pulled out a stainless steel faucet to match the polished nickel soap dispenser and pot filler that I had originally ordered. The faucet company sent me the wrong colour faucet!!! I was livid as the correct faucet took another 10 days to arrive.One would think that this would be the last of the ridiculousness but no. Our brand new Bosch microwave stopped working after about a month and only after 7 service calls and 8 weeks of wait did Bosch finally replace it with a new one.I feel like this is my diary and this is my therapy as it gives me a chance of letting out all my anger lol.After everything was installed and beautiful, this is the final product:  With it finally finished, I’d just like to highlight some of the favourite things about the kitchen and some of my custom must haves: Appliance Garage: Perhaps the favourite part of my kitchen is my appliance garage. I can’t remember where I came across this but the moment I saw it, I knew I had to have it in any new kitchen upgrade. An appliance garage is exactly that, a storage place for all of our most used appliances. For my overall design, I wanted a clean and open environment free of the wires and clutter associated with our many appliances. It was a priority to have an uncluttered counter with plenty of work space. If you look closely, I added a electrical plug on the top shelf and one on the bottom where our air fryer, toaster and kettle are stored (we just remember to keep the door open whenever anything is in use). However to be completely honest, the electrical plug on top proved to be largely unnecessary as most of our appliances are big and trying to utilize that area is at best awkward. If I had to do it over again, I’d just add the two to the bottom shelf. Pot filler: Perhaps my second most favourite item in our new kitchen was our new pot filler from Rubinet. Despite its simple beauty and classiness of the pot filler, for me it was a must have by virtue of function. When I was 16 years old, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis which means that my joints (especially in my wrists and elbows) get inflamed quite easily resulting in pain and stiffness. As a result lifting heavy pots filled with water to my stove in my old kitchen was not very fun to say the least. Having a pot filler directly above the cooktop makes things so much easier and functional. Additionally as many people are not familiar with a pot filler, it is easily a topic of conversation whenever someone comes to our home. One thing of note is that I was advised to be very careful with any direct steam to the metal as it could easily cause discolouration and fade the polished nickel colour which unfortunately is not covered under warranty (thanks Rubinet) Out of sight, out of mind: For myself, I cannot bear to see garbage or recycling in external containers. It’s messy and just adds to the clutter. For me having a useful and hidden solution for our garbage and recycling containers was a must! In our pantry (which I’ll be featuring next week) we came up with the idea of having two pull out drawers each holding two 15 L containers for our recycling needs. In our kitchen island we had a pull out drawer as well with to hold containers for both our solid garbage and organic and food wastes.  The one that got awayAs with any renovation, it never fails that for all our successful wants, there is inevitably one want that we never get or must compromise on. As my husband can attest to, admittedly, I have a problem with paper towels whether it be taking the paper towel holder all over the place and leaving it there, to not refilling it or just plain leaving used paper towels on the counter (sorry hunny <3). As a result, one of my must haves was a built in paper towel holder that would be hidden out of the way and functional enough to grab a towel when needed and close enough to the garbage to dispose of. Once the final design of our kitchen was presented, we quickly realized that there was not a useful space for the towel holder to be placed as anything would disrupt the overall flow and look of the cabinetry regardless of location so ultimately, with regret we abandoned the idea. Sniff (sorry hunny x 2 <3) The Island While my appliance garage and pot filler are easily my favourite “gadgets” in my kitchen, our island has quickly become the centre point of our home subtly joining the kitchen to our family room to our daily eating space. As you can see from our before and after pictures, it is very different from what we had when we moved in. What was originally something very uninspiring and barely functional has now transformed into a more welcoming area where one can prepare meals while at the same time entertaining friends and family. We decided very early on that a white apron sink would be the corner stone of our island. When combined with the simple details of the cabinetry and the white quartz countertop gives the kitchen such a clean, classy and polished look (except when filled with dirty dishes!). To be completely honest, the faucet I chose was not my first choice and I had my heart originally set on a piece by Kohler. Unfortunately the problem at that time, was that there was a back order for the matching Kohler pot filler. Given all the problems we encountered in the weeks prior, I could not stand any further delays and to save time, went with a similar piece by Rubinet. As I mentioned earlier I was a bit frustrated with their service due to the mix up in the colour they initially sent us but when all things were said and done, I was quite pleased in how it looked and turned out. A place to eatWhen we moved in 4 years ago, I went with a bold and contemporary look for our kitchen table and eating area. I decided upon a 48″ glass circular Capri dinette table from Mobilia matched with a contemporary accent chair that was a light bright green in colour also from Mobilia. While I am still in love with those chairs, the novelty of the look quickly faded and upon completion of the renovation, I was moved to a more traditional rustic look with a 60″ 17th C inspired round Monastery wooden table from Restoration Hardware. I still went with a circular table as from experience, when enjoying a meal, sitting at a round table is much more warm and engaging. We paired this table with these wonderful Lark Manor Saint-Pierre solid wood chairs from Wayfair (LINK HERE). What custom eating area wouldn’t be complete without this Stokke Tripp Trapp Classic toddler chair(LINK HERE) in matching white for our special little three year old. Our thanks go to: If you are doing a complete kitchen renovation or simply upgrading your existing kitchen with a new countertop, I highly recommend J&D Countertops . I cannot say enough good words about this company and the people that work there. With the “cabinet hole” incident, they knew how incredibly stressful it was for me regarding the delay that it caused and it was beyond heartening that two of their staff volunteered to come on a weekend to install the countertop once the restored island was ready. That small gesture made me so happy and I cannot thank them enough. They have been one of the easiest companies I have had to deal with in many years and I would give them my complete endorsement.I cannot end this blog without sending a huge shout out to Raywal Cabinets. Quite simply, they are exceptional. From the custom hood, to the island, to the cabinetry, their workmanship and finishing is without equal. Their design department that redesigned my kitchen who knows how many times and endured my 4 thousand change requests were professional, courteous and patient and I extend my sincere thanks. And to the installers who wonderfully and carefully crafted the final product and the touch up man who replaced or repaired any small defects or imperfections in the cabinetry, you are masters in your craft and I am grateful to you all. From our experience, Raywal holds customer service and going that extra mile, as a top priority and they stand firmly behind their product. In a competitive and congested industry, qualities like this are rare these days and it is what makes them stand out against the competition and I would recommend without hesitation.I hope you enjoyed this and have an awesome day!Links to our suppliers and products are found below, you can use the links to shop. Have fun! |
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