Kitchen design tweaks.
The photo below is where we are today… the second photo is a mockup of the cabinetry… (all drawers, because every recommendation I’ve read.)
If you are new: our kitchen island is a grand piano that has been gutted and fitted with custom drawers.
Here is us emptying the kitchen out to prep for floors. And the floors being installed.
CHANGES:
Kitchen cabinets— our original plan for white cabinets no longer makes sense to me, we’ve swapped to dark wood… possibly leaving the refrigerator panel white.
We made the refrigerator-space identical to the shape of the window to its left… our plan was to treat the fridge as part of the wall-molding; rather than part of the sink-wall’s base-cabinetry.
You can see that we went as high as we could with extra space over the fridge, (which will give us a spot for rarely-used stuff.) We’ll need a custom panel different than normal; we are debating design. Maybe like a transom?
But color– white vs dark wood is what I’m trying to explain here: and while I was waiting for Paul out in the garage… I noticed an element of my hoard that I had forgotten about: a pair of carved pillars that accompany a sliding-three-door salvage-thing-that-is-mine-forever-winning.
The pillars are a wonderful complement to The Nuclear War of Fanciness!
I brought them inside and near the refrigerator… I like the dark wood! I am not sure I like adding any volume to that wall, so the pillars themselves seem to be a no. But still mulling panel color.
Here is how we recessed our refrigerator.
Here is my post about choosing a panel-ready fridge.
Here is the refrigerator— a subzero we got at a steep discount.
Still deciding: water stuff.
Adding INSTANT hot, FILTERED water is the thing I am MOST excited for in this entire kitchen.
just.
dispensing.
hot.
water.
no teapot.
no heat source.
no waiting.
As someone who buys tea in bulk bags of peppermint leaves and has zero tolerance for tedium— I have long suspected that I have something better to do than stand and stare at water not boiling.
I use a stainless filter that just sits in your cup. (They have fancier ones, but ease of cleaning.)
For every type of water you want to dispense, you need a handle.
We already have reverse osmosis, (filtered water, not comparably replaced with another type of filtration system) and you can reroute through the instant-hot.
There are lots of good options for two-handle countertop water dispensers! Oooh so fancy nine million dollars!
But as pretty as I think that is! I would prefer to get everything OFF the counter! But the only option for a wall-mount dispenser— it looks like something in an airplane bathroom.
Why.
If you have RO and instant hot, and figured out how to get OFF the counter– what did you do? I do know I can get a faucet with a third dispenser (photo below is Perrin and Rowe) — options are limited, but not terrible! But nothing has a fourth for hot… and all are all still deck mount.
November 9, 2018 @ 10:10 am
Congratulations for the choice of dark wood cabinets! Black would also be an option because matching to the piano island. Good luck and I hope we can see the end result soon.
November 9, 2018 @ 10:16 am
Dark wood on the fridge to “mirror” the mirror.
November 9, 2018 @ 10:35 am
Wait a minute, how long have you been without a kitchen? How have you survived?
November 9, 2018 @ 10:51 am
What is going on the wall with the giant mirror, if anything?
November 9, 2018 @ 10:53 am
Love!
November 9, 2018 @ 10:57 am
I love the baseboard built to elevate the mirror so that the top is just kissing the ceiling…that is the effect I got when I installed a wonderful old fireplace surround that I bought without measuring anything.
I also have a 9 ft Victorian darkwood mirror in my kitchen, but it is narrow.
Old fancy things rule.
November 9, 2018 @ 10:57 am
Good choice for dark wood. I like the transom idea too. As for faucet fixtures, I would try to find the slimmest profile you can, and maybe you will barely notice after you have lived with it. Because no matter what you get, you will still have a spout sticking in the air that will be seen. Your hot water dispenser is a great idea – does it have to be at the sink? Could it maybe be installed elsewhere? Maybe a niche or behind a closed door? That way, it wouldn’t matter if it matched, also would not clutter the counter space so much.
November 9, 2018 @ 11:17 am
Hello, Soul-Sister of GFTs and Overthinking.
Please tell me what kind of reverse osmosis device you have. We are about to take a sledgehammer to our kitchen and we’re going to install RO in the remodel and now you’ve got me thinking about this instant-hot thing that, perhaps takes up less room, perhaps does not. Fun fact: our water is routed UNDERNEATH our slab and guess where it goes before it gets to the kitchen? EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE HOUSE. So, by the time it gets there, it’s cold. Never mind that the hot is opened up full-blast. I have kids, so the water tank temperature is set to “tepid” to begin with. I also drink gallons of tea and hate staring at kettles. Now I won’t be able to sleep tonight because I will be thinking of how many knobs and faucets I will need to come out of my sink deck. Le sigh.
November 9, 2018 @ 1:10 pm
i totally agree with all drawers. Ones that pull ALL the way out and self closing. I failed with the self closing and will be forever sad. Love watching your progress, you love of cats and the poetry.
November 9, 2018 @ 1:37 pm
I LOVE the kitchen plans!!! Definitely find a way to use those panels. Wow!
If you got a deck-mount faucet with a pull-out sprayer inside the faucet (or a restaurant mini-spray) you could skip one whole hole in the deck.
We attached our water filter under the sink to our cold water. All cold water is filtered. Sounds like you’re whole house system is even better. We plumbed our sprayer directly into the hot water before it goes to the tap. This means it’s hot water only, but that’s all I really need anyway.
Good luck and enjoy!
November 9, 2018 @ 1:38 pm
I know you are doing your range in the piano island. But that shouldn’t stop you from having a pot filler faucet on the wall near the sink. Having the pot filler faucet be instant hot as well would be totally awesome. Sure it’s not going to help you fill the pot in place. But it will get your instant hot water off the counter.
November 10, 2018 @ 10:14 pm
Yes!
November 9, 2018 @ 1:39 pm
Mirrored fancy fridge doors are FABULOUS!!!! Do it!
November 9, 2018 @ 3:40 pm
Love how everything is coming along, and all of your inspiration photos. I am useless when it comes to the faucets you speak of, sorry! You will be soooo happy with all drawers – glad you convinced Paul! And I love the idea of dark wood cabinets, with white/ivory walls, and your blingy faucets – classic and gorgeous! As far as your fancy doors and pillars – can you MacGuyver something to have them enclose your refrigerator nook, thereby getting the look of the fancy fridge photo with the mirrored door panels? Like having the fridge in the pantry, almost…. and then maybe doing a faux mercury glass treatment on the glass panels to hide the fridge a bit? (yes that means opening two doors to get to the fridge contents I guess) Can’t quite tell from the photos if this is impossible…. just dreaming along with you! 🙂
November 9, 2018 @ 7:07 pm
I am SO GLAD you’re going with dark wood! I am sick to death of white kitchens, especially since I don’t like them in the first place.
I have no thoughts or solutions to offer, just my continuing awe…it’s going to be the most gorgeous kitchen ever known to man!
November 9, 2018 @ 7:33 pm
The room is looking spectacular! Uhm….so will you have a baking portion of an oven somewhere?
November 9, 2018 @ 8:18 pm
Love the wood, have been following along all through your plans, but I really really, really, really think putting the sink facing that wall is a mistake!!!!!!!! Not only is it facing a wall, it is a bad wall because you will have your back to the rest of the room. At least if it was along the outside wall you could look sideways into the rest of the room, and – I know you are against this for some reason I just don’t get 0 if that sink was only in front of a window it would be perfect!
November 10, 2018 @ 12:05 am
We have the Ionics whole house water conditioning system and we love it. (I also have an induction stove- you are going to love it!)
November 10, 2018 @ 6:55 am
What you did the fridge is just gorgeous. I am planning to steal that idea one day, FYI. For the hot water, I have also searched for wall-mounted instant hot water and come up with nothing. I even looked into English brands where instant hot water taps are apparently common (quooker, franke). No luck. *sigh*
November 10, 2018 @ 3:24 pm
Are you sure you don’t want to leave the kitchen in the basement and keep this as a ballroom?
I’m so looking forward to seeing where the oven is going to go. I put in dividers above my fridge and store all my roasting pans and cookies sheets and big platters on their sides. It’s awesome because I can store all that stuff up there and still be able to reach it easily.
November 12, 2018 @ 12:06 am
Hi Victoria, I love your choice of dark wood. It’s bold but it goes with the house.
My sister recently ripped out her instant hot water tap. It was convenient but electricity her in Australia is expensive and it was costing her a bomb and it heats up all the time.
I know that electric jugs/kettles are not common in America but they are the fasted way to boil water. Much faster than a kettle on the stove. It would likely boil while you are getting your tea leaves into your strainer.
We also pour the remaining water into a thermos and use that water, plus fresh, for the next cup. Starting with very warm water speeds up boiling too.
November 12, 2018 @ 10:18 am
I don’t know anything about your hot water probs. I have a rapid heating kettle, I fill all 2l of it, boil it and put everything I don’t need right away into thermos (great looking elegant pitchers). The screw on lid can just be tipped a bit to release the water w/o cooling down the contents of the pitcher. When empty, boil a new load of 1.5-2l….. Why so complicated? I would also fear the cost of having electricity constantly boiling up water. As reheating water will risk concentrating certain undesirable chemicals found in tap water to begin with. We de-ionise and filter our water centrally (we have got much lime in our water which renders it very hard) and with these little helpers we’re just fine.