Renovation Diary: What Would You Do

 

Renovation Diary:

What Would You Do?

 

First, a little background.

 

This was my kitchen in November 2012:

 

Then I found an inspiration photo on Houzz:

 

 Attic space was directly above the kitchen, so the ceiling was blown out.

 

So far, so good.

 

 Until these columns were added above the hood. You can read about that over HERE.

I had assumed that the carpenter would make finials of some sort on the top portion of the trim, but he made columns. They were dubbed "the fire hydrants."

 

In every home renovation, there is a moment when nerves are frayed and sleep is lost.

Little things turn into a behemoth.

 

What to do.

 

The inspiration photo had shown a bit of raised trim above the hood, one that included a clock.

(I'd nixed that, mainly because if the clock broke, it would stay broken, most likely.) But I

liked the way the arched trim echoed the window's arch.

 

 

In any event, the fire hydrants were so long, they would have blocked the cabinet doors.

 



 

 Would corbels work?

We are using them on the extended portion of the island.

 

I asked the carpenter to remove the columns and add the corbels.

 

The result still looked a bit "off."



 

I hoped that the trim would be less noticeable after it was painted.

 

So the painter primed the cabinets.

(Paper covers the upper cabs and looks a bit confusing.)

The corbels looked better.

However, shouldn't corbels have a function, like, to support a shelf or a structure?

 

Another look at the inspiration photo:

Though I'm not getting a clock, I still might want an arched structure

above the corbels. Rather than having one made, we decided to borrow the refrigerator's

cartouche.

 

Along the way, we got distracted and tried the cartouche on the hood (we just propped it).

I loved it.

But now, the kitchen was starting to look formal

(and I'm an informal cook).



 

  I could still see an arch/shelf/something above those corbels, so

we placed the cartouche on the tip top trim above the hood.

   In person, I thought it might work.

 

But when I got home and looked at the photos, the cartouche was too small.
In trying to repair the columns/corbels, I'd introduced an issue with scale.
Oy.

 

I had always imagined a blue ceiling, but I tried to imagine more whiteness.

Would the overwrought hood cease to be a problem if the woodwork was painted?

 

The primer is blinding.

But that goes along perfectly with my own snowblindness.

 

Hmmm.

Did the corbels look better without the cartouche?

Does the cartouche look okay? Should they come down?

Do the column remnants need to come down?

My GC thinks it will be too plain.

I don't know.

Maybe I should do the clock!

 Do you have any ideas?

Any advice will be very, very welcome! 

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Renovation Diary: A New Kitchen Window

Remodeling a house is like drawing a picture in the dark. You can't know how it will work out.

For the kitchen make-over, I used an inspiration photo from Houzz. The kitchen was laid out like mine, but it had a higher ceiling, and a large focal point window. So we blew out our ceiling. I'd had disappointing results with the window in the entry hall, so I decided to use Marvin Windows. 

Shortly before Christmas, their rep came out to the house and showed me several ideas. I'd planned to use a round top window like the one in the inspiration picture.



Source: Houzz: Traditional Kitchen by New York Interior Designers & Decorators Anthony Baratta LLC

But I'd always loved Gothic arches. I wasn't sure how it would look, but I made a leap of faith. The rep and I decided on the height of the side windows, and I placed the order.

The window arrived, and I just love it. The kitchen had been dark, but even at dusk, the room was bright. (And I'm all about sunlight.)

Here's an exterior peek.

Now, work will begin on the cabinets and trim.

A new foyer window was ordered in early January--and double front doors. The glass will be edged with simple, beveled glass. I'll use the old front door on the glassed-in porch or in the garage make-over. So now, Gothic will rule at Rattlebridge!

Let me know what you think!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

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