Windsor Terrace Reno

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February 15, 2008

Nearly finished kitchen (minus one lightbulb and a short to-do list)

I can't believe I'm typing this but (with the exception of a lightbulb, glass shelves for the upper cabinets and a few other minor things) my kitchen is finished!!

You read that right: appliances installed, countertops oiled, fixtures operating, lights shining, backsplash gleaming.

I think I just saw a pig fly by my window!!

It is not perfect but it is lovely and as close to what I imagined as is possible in my imperfect life.

They don't exactly jump out at you but the backsplash was done with the very same tiles that Mr. Limestone so painstakingly removed from the upstairs bathroom. The very same tiles we spent a good deal of time soaking and scrubbing and sorting. Hard to imagine but we barely had enough unscathed tiles to do even do this much backsplash after all that. (We had a lot of extras that have some minor damage) Its one of those things that no one but us will notice but Im happy we were able to use these.

Despite telling the crew we didn't want them to oil the soapstone, they couldn't resist. I loved how it looked gray and I love how it looks black. And lastly the shiny bridge faucet. This is one of those very rare things that the Mr. and I both agreed on from fairly early on. Im especially happy with how it doesn't look out of place despite its central location.

For comparison sake, lets travel back in time to what this room looked like before we touched it (photo1) and on the first day of demo (photo 2).

I think I see the end of this renovation tunnel that has sapped all of our energy (and money!) for the last year. Could it be?

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Comments

Gorgeous, Mrs. L. More, more, please!

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 10:11 AM

Your kitchen is absolutely beautiful. Who did the cabinets????

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 10:20 AM

Thanks. My cabinets are made by a company called Plain & Fancy. I ordered them through Park Slope Kitchen Gallery.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 15, 2008 10:42 AM

you have exquisite taste! the entire house looks wonderful.

but i have one question: are you concerned that you may have "over renovated"? some people find that they can't recoup their investment when they sell because their renovations have put their house way beyond others in the neighborhood.

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 10:48 AM

Im not concerned about overinvesting as I have no plans on selling. This house was definitely renovated to suit my tastes, not the tastes of an unknown buying public. Who knows what life will bring me but if the next time I move my stuff is when Im old and gray and being boxed up into a retirement village in warmer climate, thats okay by me.

That said, I know what Ive put into it and Im happy with what I spent vs. what its worth (even if I compare it to a house with much more modest renovations) If I had to spend anywhere near what this house would have cost me in its current state, I wouldn't have bothered with the torture of a renovation. Granted, what I saved in dollars I put forth in aggravation but its a trade off I knew I was getting into.

And lastly (and this is going to sound really snobby but there is no way else to say it), I happen to think that I have fairly good taste and that making the RIGHT choices isn't generally more expensive than making the wrong ones. Yes, we've splurged on a few things like the cabinets and some of the fixtures but for the most part, our choices were definitely mid range or even low end compared to the average brownstone gut rehab. Ive seen people spend a hell of a lot more and end up with something that doesn't look as expensive. So with all due respect, you would have to know how much I spent to make the assessment I overinvested. I feel strongly that I did not based on what I know but Im happy to know that it looks like I spent an even bigger fortune than I did.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 15, 2008 11:24 AM

i am loving it - and i was wondering when those tiles were going to be used. You did a great job congrats on almost being done... I hope you are planning a big moving in party:)

Posted by: katiem633 at February 15, 2008 11:56 AM

It looks spectacular, and I applaud your choices. So many of the high-end renos I see are SO 'au currant' that it's likely they'll look dated in several years. Your choices for the most part are in line with the houses' vintage and will age gracefully while still providing modern convenience.

I also agree wholeheartedly that a job worth doing is worth doing right. My house is an investment, yes, but more than that it's my HOME and should reflect my desires and tastes.

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 1:45 PM

So beautiful!!! Would you be willing to share your contractor information at this point? I know you did most of the work yourselves, but you also mentioned using a contractor.

Posted by: BB at February 15, 2008 1:49 PM

Thanks very much.

BB: We used a contractor for most of the work. With the exception of some minor things, we didn't do any of it ourselves. Im not quite able to give a hearty recommendation for our contractor but Im happy to share his info once the work is totally complete. I know he is already well over booked with jobs anyway. You can email me at Bklimestoner@aol.com if you have any questions.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 15, 2008 2:05 PM

Beautiful! Great job, great taste!

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 2:59 PM

here's a compliment you may not have heard so far: you seem really blog-knowledgeable. what I mean is, you know to correctly post photos and place good photos and give good text! Congrats.

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 3:16 PM

It looks really nice. But what really matters is what you think. If you love it, which I guess you do, that makes all the pain and cost overruns worth it (belive me, I know).

Enjoy.

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 3:23 PM

what are those lovely lights over your kitchen island?

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 3:25 PM

Thanks very much all.

The lights are manufactered by a company called Hinkley and the style name is Knickerbocker. You can buy them online at pretty much every lighting supply website.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 15, 2008 3:37 PM

I want to pet your counter top. (Wish there was a way to say that that didn't sound dirty.)

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 4:07 PM

Beautiful.

Architect here. Just finishing up a renovation with a very similar style kitchen.

It is a little bigger than this. We had an island that is 10' Long. A wall with cabinets and range, farmhouse sink, dishwasher. The upper cabinets are glass and wood. And there's also a 3'-0" pantry wall. We had the cabinets custom made and hand painted on site. We used solid maple wood for all cabinets.
Appliances: Viking Range, Sub-zero firg, Bosch Dishwasher.
Countertop: White marble
Backsplash: Ann Sacks White subway tile - hand made (not machine made)

Price: 98,000
Why am I telling you. So, everyone thinking of renovating a kitchen to this standard, knows how much it is.

Mrs. Limestone. You did a wonderful job. Enjoy cooking.

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 4:20 PM

With all that experience - get over here Mrs. L and get my reno done - PLEASE! I'll pay!!!

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 4:39 PM

I the sink in the island the only kitchen sink - or is there part of the kitchen that isn't visible in the photos?

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 4:40 PM

Architect - thanks but while that kitchen sounds absolutely beautiful, that kitchen sounds/is way, way more high end than this one. This kitchen didn't cost anywhere near that number.

All of our appliances are GE Profile or Cafe. While I can appreciate the beauty of higher end appliances, I don't need them. We had GE Profile appliances in our last kitchen and they were great. The total cost of all my appliances is likely what your client spent on her stove alone.

Guest440: Yes, that is the only sink. What you see in this photo is the entire kitchen. Never understood the concept of multiple sinks for anything but huge kitchens.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 15, 2008 4:59 PM

I agree with other posters that you did an incredibly nice job. I really like how elegant the kitchen looks without going over the top. Without prying too much, would you mind providing a rough estimate of what you think it would cost to create a similar brownstone kitchen. Obviously there are a lot of variables but I'm wondering what the ballpark figure would be for this type of kitchen rennovation.

Thanks and congratulations...

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 5:06 PM

Its hard to cull out what the kitchen costs alone because we did it along with lots of other things. Like putting new plumbing in here didn't cost more because we were paying for new plumbing in the entire house anyway.

I can tell you that for the materials you see here (cabs, stone, lighting, fixtures, etc), the cost is somewhere in the $27-29K range. That doesn't include labor or permits.

The bulk of that expense is for the cabinets, followed by the appliances, stone, and then other smaller items like lighting, fixtures, knobs, corbels etc.

I will admit that this is the one room in the house where I didn't really economize much. I was really set on having inset cabintry and soapstone so that drove up the price quite a lot. If I went with cheaper cabinets and less expensive counters, I could have saved something like $10K+.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 15, 2008 5:17 PM

Mrs. Limestone, your post is exactly the reason there's such a feeding frenzy for brownstones. That before section alone is drool-worthy, and the fact that you did it all yourself -- by which I mean, you picked everything out, you consulted with your contractor throughout, you have a humble and humor-ful approach to the entire process, which is PRECISELY what a wanna-be brownstoner owner identifies with. I hold people like you (and this website) wholly responsible for the fact that there's so few brownstones on the market. And for the fact that there are so many new owners knee deep in demo dust!!!! (And dreams!)

Thanks so much for the wise, down to earth, and gorgeous results.

PS. I just did the downstairs (garden) kitchen in ikea, while I wait to finish my fancy upstairs parlor kitchen. I wouldn't be surprised if my idea kitchen, which is literally 7 ft by 9 ft in size, will win in the beauty contest. I got the Rubrik cabinets in black (like a high gloss lacquer with aluminum edging, they're adorable and elegant and not dark looking at all, strangely, just CHIC), white carrera top, electrolux stove, industrial chicago faucets, black penny tiles, cream and grey walls. The space gets gasps of awe from visitors, and it's literally our "home office" kitchen. Meanwhile, the parlor one . .. .. well, I am afraid, very afraid.

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 6:16 PM

Looks great. Was there any concern that white kitchen may be tough to keep clean ?
We've been going back and for on this idea so would appreciate your thoughts.

What made you go for Soapstone over say granite ? Was there a much of a price difference ? For the cabinets - did you look at off the rack or just go straight for custom made ?

Posted by: 10thStreetReno at February 15, 2008 7:01 PM

Guest616: Thanks but I have to disagree about the brownstone frenzy having anything to do with this site or people like me. Beautiful old homes have always had a warm spot in home fashion. This site just brings all of us crazed fans together :) Your office kitchen sounds lovely...you should post some photos to share. While Ikea didn't really work with the look I was going for with my house, they definitely have some chic options for an amazing price point. If you like the look, why not put them in your parlor kitchen as well?

10thStreet: The cabinets aren't pure white, they are offwhite. But more importantly, they are painted with a lacquer so pretty much anything should just wipe off. The same would be true with any professionally finished wood stain. I really wouldn't even worry about keeping this type of kitchen clean b/c its as stain resistant as anything else.

Soapstone isn't much more expensive than some of the comprable granites. The real issues come from finding the stone and people who understand it. Any granite yard will give you all sorts of bad information about it so its really a niche thing. Soapstone isn't for everyone - its non porous but it is soft so it scratches. If you want a counter to remain pristine looking, its not for you.

As for the cabinets, I considered all of the options. I had some experience with cabinet shopping because I had done a kitchen renovation a few years ago. I knew what was available and the general price points. I looked at Ikea with a lot of hope b/c they have some new styles and their prices can not be beat. But they have to be assembled onsite and they didn't have a style that worked. I looked at semi custom and considered that option seriously but it was still pretty pricey and it didn't have the inset style. So I went for the splurge. There are much higher priced cabinets than the ones we got but this was very high end for me.

Hope that helps!

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 15, 2008 8:07 PM

6:16 here. Maybe you're right, the old-house crazies have always been around, we just never had a forum in which to shine (and grumble) as we do here.

As far as not using Ikea in the parlor, same reason you didnt' use ikea -- it doesnt suit the moldings, the grand heights, etc. . . we also have existing paneling that we wanted to highlight, not tear down or compete with. The solution is a bit experimental, and if the results aren't too freakish, I'll post up some pics (around April).

I will think about posting photos of the ikea kitchen, as I do think people should feel inspired to work with anything they've got, even if it's the teeniest tiniest space. Wish I'd taken some "before" pics.

Thanks again for the inspiration!

Posted by: guest at February 15, 2008 9:19 PM

Mrs. Limestone, congratulations on your beautiful kitchen. I love your cabinets, the soapstone, the lighting, well...pretty much everything in your kitchen. It's really striking, and I hope you enjoy it for many years.

Posted by: Polie at February 16, 2008 12:18 AM

Perfection!

Posted by: guest at February 16, 2008 8:38 AM

yeah, I wanted to add we did a similar renovation and it's hard to divide out labor, but it was closer to 28k than 98k and that included a sub-z. But no Viking, no Ann Sacks, no painting on site. It was 2 years ago and I still love every bit, esp the custom cabinets.

Posted by: guest at February 16, 2008 9:44 AM

Re island counter top, be careful placing heavy items down hard on the cantilever (overhang) edge or children hanging (playing) on the overhang, the force may crack and break the soapstone resulting in a large crashing sound.

Posted by: guest at February 16, 2008 2:17 PM

I love your kitchen. My wife and I both agree when we re-do our kitchen, your cabinets are the choice.

Posted by: guest at February 17, 2008 6:01 PM

Is their a particular model name or number for your cabinets?

Posted by: guest at February 17, 2008 6:04 PM

Me too, I've always been crazy about old houses, even as a child in our 100 year old rural house, and in college when I rented a whole floor in a Victorian house rather than live in the dorms or a beige carpeted apartment. I bought a 1920's house when I was only 27, that was my first. I/we have been renovating something or another ever since. Not to perfection, that's too hard for me. It's an ongoing creative process and I change my mind about things. So my houses tend to always tend to be unfinished. I've made my peace with it.

To pipe up about white cabinets, I am a huge fan of white kitchen cabinets. I've had them before and never found they are hard to keep clean. Just takes a wipedown. But so do all cabinets. If you have dark cabinets as I do now, you still have to wipe off the dust and splatters because those certainly are visible.

Posted by: guest at February 17, 2008 8:42 PM

We love the soapstone!
I know there are all different kinds with veins or no veins. We are renovating our kitchen and will be putting soapstone in. Where did you get the material from? What type of soapstone is it?

Posted by: guest at February 18, 2008 8:19 AM

Im sure there is a model number but I don't know what it is. I believe the doorstyle is called Kent. If you look earlier into the blog when I was planning, I have a photo of just the door. Its pretty easy to pick out the door style from the choices - they dont have that many.

The soapstone is Black Venata which is one of the Santa Rita stones from Brazil. Most have some veining (I think there is only one that is totally black without veins) - some have a lot more veining than this.

As for the countertop cracking and smashing on the ground, I think Ill take my chances but thanks for your concern.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 18, 2008 4:12 PM

Looking good! This weekend I fixed a lockset that was broken on an old door from a house built in 20's. Luckily it was easy to fix, and would only take you about 15 minutes to replace yours. Are you still looking for a way to be able to lock your doors that no longer have keys? You should be able to replace the rim lock only, while still being able to keep your original doorknobs and key hole trim (you'll just be basically getting working keys). You can get one at antiquehardware.com and Home Depot even carries some that are inexpensive and will fit old doors.

Posted by: guest at February 18, 2008 10:46 PM

Looking good!
This weekend I fixed a lockset that was broken on an old door from a house built in 20's. Luckily it was easy to fix, and would only take you about 15 minutes to replace yours. Are you still looking for a way to be able to lock your doors that no longer have keys? You should be able to replace the rim lock only, while still being able to keep your original doorknobs and key hole trim (you'll just be basically getting working keys). You can get one at antiquehardware.com and Home Depot even carries some that are inexpensive and will fit old doors.

Posted by: guest at February 18, 2008 10:54 PM

I also heard that back when creating mortise locks sets, there weren't many options so chances are you could find a key that works pretty easily without having to look too far. I found a 'sample key set' online for $29.99, might be worth a try. www.vandykes.com

Posted by: guest at February 18, 2008 11:25 PM

Dear Mrs. Limestone,

You are wonderful. I so enjoy reading your bog. Thank you for talking so much time and sharing so much with us reno-junkies. I'm planning our second renovation and I've taken many ideas from your entries and much strength as well. When we start, and inevitably have difficulties, I am going to try desperately to emulate your enthusiasm and self depreciation. Congratulations on coming so far and accomplishing so much with your home, I hope that you will enjoy it for many years to come!

Posted by: guest at February 18, 2008 11:57 PM

Thanks again for all the kind words.

Guest - I am still interested in figuring out how to get my doors to lock again. But I don't have a rim lock or a cyclinder that can be replaced. They are all the old mortise type locks that require a skeleton key. There is nothing to replace like in modern locks where you can just pull out the keyed bit.

I heard that old mortise locks use similar keys so I bought a ton of old skeleton keys hoping one would work. No dice.

Right now Im using the old 25 cent latch on bathroom doors and the rest of the doors will go unlocked for now.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 19, 2008 8:04 AM

Mrs. Limestone,
Which company did your floors?

Posted by: guest at February 19, 2008 5:23 PM

My contractor sub contracted the floor refinishing to some other company. I have no idea what their company name is (or even if they have an independent company) but this is one area where I have no problem saying they sucked! We had to have the floors redone three times because every time they would do it, they would be too fast to lay another coat on it and the whole thing would bubble and be a complete mess. Even now, after the third time, there are still lots of spots where they didn't do a great job but I figure I might as well just let it go. I was sick of smelling the fumes and I had lost enough brain cells.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 20, 2008 7:43 PM

Does anyone know an NONSCRATCHABLE counter top that looks the color of un-oiled soapstone? Sort of the color of a gray flannel suit?

Posted by: guest at March 22, 2008 6:06 PM

Guest - You should probably post your question on the forum as I doubt anyone looks at these old reno posts.

To answer you question - if you don't mind the plasticy look/feel of Corian, Im sure they have something that is gray. They probably have multiple options. Another option would be to get concrete countertops. Very resistant to scratches but is very porous (the oposite problem of soapstone) Another option to consider Richlite which is made of recyled paper. I would imagine they have a gray option but I don't know anything about how they hold up.