Kitchen Reno: Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours
Some of the newer readers might not even realize what a big part of the site our renovation blog was in the early days of Brownstoner. Truth is, we miss it. Plus, we did kinda leave people hanging by not showing the finished product. It may have had something to do with a couple of…
Some of the newer readers might not even realize what a big part of the site our renovation blog was in the early days of Brownstoner. Truth is, we miss it. Plus, we did kinda leave people hanging by not showing the finished product. It may have had something to do with a couple of harsh comments about the choice of shower curtain in the kids’ bathroom and something to do with the fact that a house like ours is never really done. Unless you have a bottomless pit of money that allows you to perfectly restore everything in the house before moving in, a brownstone reno is really a lifelong commitment. Which makes it hard to say, “Okay, we’re done now!”
With that said, it’s time to start revealing the finished product in bits and pieces. As promised last month, we’re starting with the kitchen and hoping other readers will follow suit by sending us their photos and stories to run on the main page. There are some good shots of the evolution of our kitchen in the July 2005 archive that are worth checking out as background.
The current kitchen is at the top of the stairs on the second floor where a bathroom used to be. We closed off the original doorway from the hall (where the fridge is now) and opened up the wall to the dining room. We were able to salvage enough of the old pipe molding from our demo to cover the entire opening. The counters are veiny white marble cut from a very large slab (found at Build It Green!) that had been salvaged from the bathroom of an old theater in the West 40s in Manhattan. We saved money with IKEA cabinets and splurged a bit on appliances, with the theory that we could move the appliances if we ever have the money to move the kitchen down a floor to the rear of the parlor. So we went with a Bosch dishwasher, a Bluestar range and a Jenn Air refrigerator. We capped it off with a vintage Art Deco ceiling light.
Okay, your turn. (If you emailed us last month already, please send us a reminder.)
Anon 1:25pm,
Let me guess, you live in a shitty walk-up rental and burn with jealousy, eh?
Those stainless appliances fit perfectly in that kitchen. What would you prefer, cheap white appliances?
The cabinets look okay, but those stainless steel appliances are totally out of character, imho. Wish you’d provided shots of your Deco fixture, and your floor.
if you order from Ikea, make sure that you have them deliver it to you. Otherwise you will have to trek all the way to a remote section of jersey to pick it up. And they’re not that organized at the pick up center.
Is there a backsplash there or is that the plaster wall? What did you use for backsplash if so? Can’t tell in these pics.
The problem with shortening a window for more counter space inside is that a) new windows are fairly expensive, b) the exterior sill needs to be brought up and the space below it patched, and c) the result usually looks pretty tacky from the outside.
–an architect in Brooklyn
Think we spent about $1,800 on all the cabinets for this kitchen and the rental (which is a 6-foot galley). Pretty amazingly cheap. The ordering process was a friggin nightmare though.
We did not shorten the window. The only downside is that occasionally a sponge or detergent bottle can fall off the counter and onto the sill. Has not been a big deal at all though.
Very nice kitchen. You did a great job.
Only suggestion I have is to add a sliding cage door to keep the wife inside. I have one and it works wonders!
Mr. B. Not sure of how appropriate this is but…. How much did the cabinets go for? All in? I’m second guessing what I sprung on our kitchen. (hopefully you’ll share the pics of the NewStoner Kitchen Reno). I was overwhelmed @ IKEA so I never got the chance to fully look at their selection, but I like yours.
c’mon – take the dish towels off the stove b4 taking the pics.
We also bought a range for looks and have problems with oven temp (Capital – supposedly from founders of ACS). Also have Ikea cabs (just not same one as you) and were on discount to boot) and they look great.