Cherished Bungalow: Kitchen Update

The kitchen has so many custom elements, it's taken a long time to pull it all together.  We've had a few setbacks (the quartz countertops were damaged and we're still waiting for the last bit of crown molding).  But we've made some nice progress as well.  So  I thought it was time to share a few updates.
The floors have been refinished!   Remember our starting point?  After we ripped up the old vinyl tile, we could see glimpses of the pretty floor under the old adhesive and grime.



Look how they cleaned up!  These antique red birch floors are so beautiful.

The Waterhouse Builders team got all the trim and crown molding finished on the cabinets and our custom range hood.  Like most houses, the ceiling wasn't very level, so they did some fancy scribe work to make the molding look perfect!  We put lots of sound insulation around the vent and plumbing above the hood, to minimize the dreaded 'toilet flush' sound from the bathroom above!  That always creates an awkward moment :-)





I love the cabinets!  We have tall ceilings, so we were able to install extra tall wall cabinets - providing lots of storage space.  And after a bit of a wait,  we finally got the countertops and I finished up the tile work.

And now that all the basic elements are in place, you can start to see the bones of the new kitchen.





Remember how tight it was, when you went through the door from the dining room?  And the refrigerator seemed to accentuate the narrow opening.







With the wall opened up and the refrigerator moved to the other side of the room, now it's nice and open.

The empty wall on the far side of the kitchen is now home to the stove, a mud bench and the pantry.

Check out the pantry!!!  This space was originally a doorway to the bedroom hall.  Since there's another doorway right around the corner, we decided to close this up and make it functional.  Now it's a generous pantry that will hold lots and lots of supplies!  Don't you love the antique door I found at Old House Parts Company in Kennebunk?  I kept the original finish, but oiled it to create added lustre and a protective finish.  We took the old, plain glass out and replaced it with the antique, wavy glass from the old sunporch window we removed.  And finally, we added the glass doorknob I found at Old House Parts.

From this view, you can really see how much space the refrigerator took up.

As I shared in a previous post, the sink has been reglazed and will soon have a beautiful new faucet.

As much as I would have liked to use carrera marble for the countertops - they're just so impractical due to upkeep, so we used the more expensive quartz option instead.  This is a color called Cirrus - it looks beautiful and will be a dream to maintain.  And now, the future homeowners won't want to strangle me the first time they spill a glass of red wine or tomato sauce!

Of course there is more to do.  We're working on the reclaimed wood island countertop and hope to get that installed next week.   And we'll we're adding wood open shelves on the right side of the sink.  And don't forget the details - cabinet knobs, a fantastic island light fixture, coat hooks, etc.

But it's a lot of progress, don't you think?



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The Joys and Challenges of Using Reclaimed Lumber

We saved all the rafters and roof sheathing from the giant hole in the roof for the new dormer.  And that gave us a mountain of reclaimed lumber to use for different projects.  It's been so much fun to use this wood throughout the house!

I already shared the previous post on creating barn doors.  These will be for the master closet - once we get them finished!

We also utilized the wood for collar ties in the new second floor.  Don't they help accentuate all the funky angles we have?































One of the things I'm most excited about is using the reclaimed wood for a feature wall in the new bathroom.  The patina from the old wood is fantastic and we've been able to highlight all the saw marks that give it so much character.

Back of headboard -  Fjellse IKEA frame

And just for fun, I took some of the leftover boards and did a little IKEA hack.  I applied the boards to this Fjellse headboard, stained the bed a hickory color, and now we have a very cute twin bed!

Front of headboard before finishing

Finished headboard - now I need to assemble the rest of the frame to complete the bed

And finally, we will use the old rafters to create a top for the kitchen island and some open shelving in the kitchen.


But we also had a few lessons learned in utilizing this old wood.  It's a bit tricky and takes quite a bit more work than new wood.  So while you would think you're saving money, its actually more expensive, due to all the work involved!

Splinters:  the whole point of using this wood is the beautiful patina that comes with age.  But it's tricky to get a balance between a splinter free finish and sanding too much.  You don't want to sand away the patina and saw marks!  I thought a sanding sponge would be the best approach - but that just created a sponge filled with splinters!  The best technique we found was using a sanding block with a low grit paper.  And even with that approach, I seem to have a band-aid on every finger.....

Sealing and finishing:  I've read that many people just leave reclaimed wood natural, for the most realistic look.  But for the kitchen and bathroom, we wanted to seal the wood against humidity and water.  That mean lots of test pieces to see which finish we liked the best.

I started with Watco Danish Oil finish, which has been one of my favorite products for 20 years.  But on the reclaimed lumber, it just muddied the finish, making it appear flat and boring.  And an oiled finish in a kitchen can add an extra layer of care and maintenance, that not everyone will appreciate.

Then I tried Minwax polyurethane, but again, not a lot of interest.  Pretty boring....













I also tried Waterlox.  It's considered a gold standard for finishing wood that will be used in a kitchen (USDA approved once cured).  But at $120 a gallon, it also has lots of nasty chemicals (you need to wear a full ventilator mask when applying and have lots of airflow) and it made the wood look too red.

Finally, I tried the new Zar Ultra Max product.  It's water based, so easy clean up, but also has an oil resin, which seems to keep it from looking plasticy, like most water based polyurethanes.  You have to use very, very thin coats (otherwise you get a milky finish), but I love how it highlights the saw marks and doesn't turn the wood a deep red.  We used the Antique Flat finish, so it wouldn't look too shiny.

Here are the barn doors, mid way through getting finished.  You can see which boards have been done and which haven't.  It adds a richness to the wood, without making it too dark.  It also helps seal those pesky splinters!


I'm not sure reclaimed lumber is a look for everyone - but for this bungalow, it creates a great connection with the history of the house, as well as introducing warm wood tones.  Love it!

Sources:
Zar Ultra Max - Hammond Lumber


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Lush Landscape - a Place to Relax and Enjoy the Beauty of Nature

Everyone comments on the curb appeal of this home - but how many realize the impact landscaping has on this property?  Have you heard the Edith Wharton quote - "to escape, to enjoy, to behold our own patch of beauty and pleasure"?  This property does just that, the landscaping creates a bit of an oasis, a place to get away from our technology laden world and enjoy a bit of nature.

At almost a quarter acre (huge by Willard Beach standards!) the yard is pretty extraordinary.  So maybe I shouldn't have been surprised to find a box with multiple landscape plans in the attic.  Including some by the who's who of Maine landscape designers (Ted Carter for example).  The previous homeowner told me she took the best of all these designs and ultimately created her own approach.  And it is just beautiful!

Photo from last fall with everything leafed out

As spring has unfolded, I've been delighted to see the constant bloom of perennial flowers.  Starting with the phlox, we had lush blossoms cascading over the stone walls.

Now the bleeding hearts are blooming.

And the irises,

                                         and there are beautiful pink weigela blossoms next to the front door.













The side yard has bright white spirea blooms dressing up the yard.

The Viburnum are just starting to blossom - literally covered in white blooms.





















The geraniums are blooming in bright little clumps throughout the yard.









I love the rock garden, nestled in next to the steps to the deck.

Stone staircase leading from driveway to back deck

And still to come?  The peonies are huge and covered with buds, so they should be beautiful.  And the rugosa rose hedge across the front is just now starting to bloom.  There are coral bells and artemisia that should be blooming soon.  And there are even more flowering shrubs - including multiple types of hydrangeas that promise to have blooms through the summer.

The clematis that is draped around the mailbox is full of giant buds.  I can't wait to see what color they will be!

And lets not forget the hostas and other beautiful foilage plants that dot the landscape.

But the thing that really strikes me about this?  It's a beautiful lush landscape, but takes very little upkeep.  I had a gardener come spend two days working around the yard, weeding and trimming things back.  And that's been the only yard work so far this year.   These are established plants that simply come back year after year.

View from the deck

The irrigation company came out this week to do a tune up of the system.  With a multi zone watering system, we're ready for whatever Mother Nature brings us this summer.

What a great property for a future owner!


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Colors, Patterns and More

Benjamin Moore Simply White

Now that we're moving into the finishing stage of the project, I get to start working on the fun stuff!  For our houses, I typically go with neutrals - to help a future homeowner have something that will work with whatever furnishings they have.  And for this house I want to go 'extra' neutral.  We're using lots of reclaimed lumber and I really want it to 'pop'.  Maybe that was influenced by Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams choices for the 'Color of the Year'.  But I'm loving the idea of a simple off white!

Sherwin Williams Color of the Year 2016 - Alabaster

But choosing a white isn't so simple.  There are warm hues and cool hues (think blue undertones).  And for a house with such an open floor plan, I really want something that I can use for the whole house.  So I needed to look at a way to unify all the fabrics that I've bought for the house.  That mean I had to look at all the rooms and figure out a shade that unites them.

I'm planning to use a lot of navy and indigo for accents - with a few pops of red.  When I started looking at a room by room approach, a few swatches of the paint fans started to look promising.








For the living room, I have these blue pillows (LOVE the lobster pillow from Target!) and a neutral pattern for the drapes.  That starts to push me towards a 'warm' white.

For the master bedroom, I bought this great Pottery Barn duvet and sham, which I'll mix with their burlap dust ruffle.














                                                       The new hexagonal tile in the upstairs bath also lends itself to a warm white.





















So what's the winner, for a neutral that works across all of them?  A Sherwin Williams color, called Steamed Milk.  I was a bit worried that it wasn't pale enough, but the sample I bought looks great on the walls (maybe because the south facing rooms are so bright?) and it provides a nice boost to the Extra White trim paint that we'll use.









We have lots of finishing work to do, but we'll be ready for paint soon!

Want more tips on choosing paint colors?  Click here for a simple approach!






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What Happens When You Combine Inspiration, Skilled Carpentry and Boatbuilding Techniques?

You get a fantastic, custom range hood!  About a year ago, I fell in love with this range hood that I saw on The Rozy Home blog.  I knew it would be perfect for the Cherished Bungalow kitchen.  But of course, we had to make it first.

Kyle was up to the task and we started by doing a cardboard mock up - to get a sense of the scale we would need.















I translated this into some drawings and after we tweaked it a bit, he got started.













The curved front was a bit of a challenge, but the guys used some of their tricks from boat building and found a great way to epoxy and clamp it down.

Kyle finished up the trim and did a test fit - just to make sure it was perfect.

Primer coats complete

I started the finishing process, with the metallic paint system from Modern Masters.  The first two coats of primer went on great.  The metallic paint and patina were a bit more challenging - sorry there aren't any photos, but I was frantically trying to get a finish that we liked and didn't have time to stop and take a picture.










Now that it's finished, we love the metallic sheen and the slight patina of the finish.  And it fits like a glove!

This week we hope to get the rest of the kitchen done - as you can see, it desperately needs the crown molding!   And stay tuned for lots more custom touches.  This kitchen is going to be a beauty!!

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