The difference between living in your own house and living in an apartment is pretty big. For example, what I would choose to upgrade my kitchen with vs. what the landlord chooses to use is vastly different. Neither of us are fans of granite countertops…however, never one to look a gift-horse in the mouth, we’re grateful for our new dishwasher, granite counter, and single-head sprayer faucet. I feel as if “The Jefferson’s Theme Song” has been running through my head all day. We almost didn’t even get the sprayer faucet, but I mentioned that since the new sink is shallower than the old one due to the under-sink dishwasher, it would be next to impossible to fill our coffee pot if we kept the old faucet. He agreed. (Whew!) One lesson learned today…it never hurts to ask!
Our next plan is to paint the cabinets black. It’s going to make a huge improvement on the overall aesthetics of this little 5′ x 5′ space. (Mainly because the fridge and stove are white….so it needs a single color scheme to keep it in check.) Also, I’ll be getting rid of all the brass cabinet pulls. Little details will make a big improvement. (P.S. Our counterspace is hilariously small. Can you tell from this photo? Yes, that’s IT! But we have a solution for that too thanks to Ikea. More details to come soon.)
7 comments
Dawn Marie says:
Dec 18, 2010
Looks good. Cannot wait to see after you have worked your design magic.
The Tiny Homestead says:
Dec 18, 2010
what?? and under sink dishwasher?? Am I a complete idiot that I never knew that was possible. There’s no dishwasher in my kitchen because we always thought it was too small, but I would gladly give up the under sink storage for a dishwasher.
thank goodness I have blogs to introduce solutions to me. I think the cabinets in black will look great!
houseobsession says:
Dec 19, 2010
Trust me. If our 5×5 kitchen can fit a dishwasher, then any space can! Glad I could be of service.
P.S. The best part of getting the dishwasher, is that now we can get rid of the dish drainer that was sitting on the countertop. It feels as if we gained a huge amount of counterspace too!!
Melanie says:
Jun 21, 2011
I found your blog through a link on Houzz.com with pictures of your old kitchen. I am currently remodeling my kitchen, and I love the look of your previous kitchen. I noticed here that you say you do not care for granite. You had marble in your previous kitchen? I am trying to narrow down counter-top choices, and I while I like the look of marble, I have read that it isn’t practical for kitchens. How did your counter-top perform?
Leah says:
Jun 21, 2011
Hi Melanie! I’m glad you liked the old kitchen! I really loved my marble countertops, but they definitely are more sensitive. Water spots them, spilled red wine will stain them, and of course a broken jar of garam masala will stain them too! Those stains can come out with a paste of baking soda and vinegar though (as my husband found out). We were never able to get rid of the water spots, but they weren’t very obvious and didn’t really bother us. (I think they’d happen with granite too except that with the heavy “pattern” of granite, they are impossible to notice.)
I’ve had a variety of surfaces in kitchens over the years including granite, marble, real butcher block, and Corian…as well as good ole laminate. Personally, my favorite so far has been real butcher block. It holds up nicely (as long as you don’t actually use it like it’s a cutting board). It also really warms up a kitchen. Corian probably wins as a #2 surface b/c it’s super durable, doesn’t break or chip your glassware/dinnerware as easily, and looks great all the time. Depending on what color/pattern you choose, it can also hide a few crumbs here and there. Just don’t set a hot pot directly down onto it. Otherwise, it’s great.
I personally really dislike granite because I feel it’s already looks dated and overexposed. Every home improvement show encourages granite, and every “nice” renovation utilizes it. Because you literally see it in every cheap rehab, it loses it’s value to me as a beautiful surface (imo). There’s nothing wrong with it, per se. It’s durable and hides the fact that you may not have wiped down your counter in 48 hours…but I think other surfaces do that too with more style. Also, granite is a very loud-looking surface. It makes the kitchen be about those counters, rather than about the kitchen as a whole. (Again, in my opinon.)
Hope that helps. I could go on and on about countertops as you can see. Poured concrete is beautiful, but definitely stains and gets messy-looking over time. Plus it sometimes cracks. Soapstone is definitely NOT for kitchen counters in my opinion. I’ve seen it used in a friend’s house and it looks terrible after only a few months. Other than those two, I think whatever you choose will probably be good.
Melanie says:
Jun 21, 2011
I’m in love with Marble, but I have three children 9 thru 2 yrs, and I can see them as teenagers in a few years being too hard on it. I haven’t found a granite that I like all that well, but I do prefer the “flow” of granite to the uniformity of Corian and Silestone, etc. I keep trying to convince myself that it will be ok to get the marble, but my more sensible side says to wait. So many choices . . . .
Leah says:
Jun 21, 2011
Have you thought about quartz? Similar pricing to marble, but way more durable. I’d check it out. Absolutely gorgeous!