The little kitchen that could and did……my finished dream Adel White kitchen project!!

dalbrough · Dec 27th, 08, 7:34 pm

When we purchased our home 9 years ago I really didn't like the tiny 11 X 12 odd shaped space with three door ways in it kitchen as I spent more and more time in that space I actually grew to literally hate it. After flip flopping trying to decide if we were going to put an addition on to give us more space we decided with a ton of help from everyone here at IkeaFans that due to our personal situation with my Mom and so much on the go we would just renovate the space we had. It being a very small space lots of planning and once again much help from everyone here we are now utilizing the space to the absolute best use of every square inch and it is now the little kitchen that could and did……and I love it – I really love it.

I can also say that this wonderful space would not have been possible without the wonderful help from so many on the IkeaFans site. I learned so much and was a great place to go to at 3am when struggling with an issue. This being our second kitchen we were still stumped a few times and so thankful to have another few sets of eyes look over my planning and so thankful this site was available. A huge special Thank You to those of you who held my hand during the thick of things and enabled me to have such a wonderful space in my house and I have special space in my heart for my new IkeaFans friends.

It is amazing how what I thought I wanted when I wrote my mission statement morphed into what we have now and to be honest with you I am 100% happy with every decision we made and every change we made from our initial mission statement.

Here is some blurry photos of the “before” and was in the process of the clearing out for the demo....

In March 2006 I posted my mission statement which went like this…..I want my kitchen to function well with enough space that two people can prepare dinners without always asking the helper to move. I want it to look rustic, vintage in a country upscale traditional way. I want to feel organized when I walk into it. I want to be proud of my kitchen and have our friends say WOW when they walk in. I do not want to be embarrassed about this space in my house. I want to be able to entertain and prepare scrumpish meals for my friends in my new space. I would like to have a place to sit and pay bills or sit and read a cookbook or when we are entertaining a friend can sit and chat with me while I cook. I want to be able to easily access my pots / cookie sheets without having to get on my hands and knees with a flashlight like I do now in the black hole (also known as my bottom cupboards) I want to be able to store all of my cookbooks in a cupboard and easily accessible. I want to have a place where I can put bills and kids school forms and homework without having it on the kitchen counter because I have no space for it. I want my kitchen to be control central of our entire house and it function very well using clever storage ideas. I want to be able to recycle and keep it hidden.

Some info about our project:

We did ALL of the work ourselves and shopped very frugally. We went with the high/low – save/splurge mentality – saving where we could and splurging on the items that would truly make a difference to this space.

We have an old plaster house and had decided to take out a small wall - you can see it above next to the stove - that being said we ended up taking all the plaster walls down and re-drywalling which was not a part of the initial plan and sub flooring as they were really not straight and found some serious issues behind the walls – in hindsight it was the best choice and decision but it sure delayed our progress but once again – in the end was for the best.

We installed a ton of new lighting – pot lights, under and in cabinet lighting and a gorgeous school house style light fixture over the sink. We also installed new flooring which is now throughout the house and have started replacing all the doors and door trim / molding.

We got all new appliances and a gorgeous granite counter. We have yet to do the backsplash but have purchased it and will be doing it after snowmobile season is over <smile>

Knobs and pulls are from Lee Valley, faucet – home depot – sink – Domsjo – blind corner cabinet blum hardware came from Home Depot – drawer rail for cookie sheet pull out came from Lee Valley.

We did do a few customs touches – a pull out space that was the creation from the need to have the sink centered under the window and having extra space.

We also put in a blind corner cabinet as I don’t like the corner cabinets available.

We also put in a home made with cover panels wine rack over the fridge.

The dogs favorite drawer:

My spice drawer

All in all I am a happy girl.

I can honestly say it has improved the quality of my life because I can actually enjoy cooking again in this space and so proud of it.

**Harpy** · Dec 27th, 08, 7:46 pm

Wow, what a bright, cheerful kitchen you've made, dalbrough! It looks wonderful, and it must make you smile every time you walk into it.

**Susan** · Dec 27th, 08, 7:58 pm

Oh, it's gorgeous! I'm going to blog you....!

Love all the custom touches! Congrats - I know it's been a long time coming, and it looks like it was worth the wait!

Susan

NBeth · Dec 27th, 08, 8:23 pm

Oh you guys did a GREAT job! Love the missing wall--now you have a landing zone next to the stove! Love the little wine cubbies--can you actually reach them?

Love the total look!!

**DesignDiva** · Dec 27th, 08, 8:48 pm

Deb...YOU NAILED IT GIRL!!!!

So so so perfect!!

As I read your mission statement a picture was forming in my mind and I have to say, your kitchen is the physical embodiment of what was in your heart and dreams. The only thing missing is the "command center" but I bet you don't even miss it, and will find the perfect place for that particular task as well.

Great job!

dalbrough · Dec 27th, 08, 9:06 pm

Thanks so much....yes I can reach the wine cubbies though hubs cant - we are kinds like TomKat - I am just a smidge taller than he is...I do have a small stool just in the living room so I can grab it when i need it to get to the very top of the 39" cabinets. I keep a lot of items I do not use very often at the top.

There are still a few things left to do after the backsplash such as caulking the light /deco strip and making it a bit neater but not going to do anything until the backsplash is put up.

I am also on the fence with the bedroom / bathroom doors - right now only two are installed - still have to install the other two - Hubs wants to stain them similar to the floor color - me I want to paint them....so that is still up in the air...<smile>

I didn't get my spot to sit but do have my command center - the 18" counter with the phone on it - all school forms etc get dropped there and the 18" upper holds all my bills / receipts/ cook books etc so except for a spot to sit it has everything I really wanted.....

Thanks everyone for your kind words- means the world to me....

Dave of the Coonties · Dec 27th, 08, 9:13 pm

The above-cabinet and above-sink moldings are spectacular.

The greyish blue paint works very well with the white paint and the new white moldings outside the kitchen. Very soft. Unification of the kitchen with the hallway just beyond the range is obviously a big success. I'm feeling a bit of that with removal of barriers between the kitchen and entry hall.