July 2008

After living for a year with a "temporary" kitchen, we’re taking the plunge. When we bought the house, there was really no kitchen to speak of — no stove, no working dishwasher, a moldy ‘fridge… it was pretty bad.

We liked the original Eichler set-up so much, we’re keeping the original floorplan (with minor code-oriented changes, of course) which means no moving of major services (which is good). After insulating and drywalling the area — an improvement over the original thin insulation and paneling — we’re set to install the new cabinets and countertops.

We chose Ikea’s Nexus Yellow Brown doors which we’re already used in the adjacent laundry area and master bath. The color pairs well with (or replaces) the original golden-toned mahogany panels and trim. There are many opinions out there on Ikea’s quality, but after looking at a few options, I think they’ll work well for us. In many cases, they’re just as durable — in fact they use Blum hardware which is used on much more expensive lines — and definitely fits the budget. The entire kitchen (cabinets) clocked in at about $5K.

The most amazing bit is that the entire kitchen (save the doors which had to be shipped from LA) fit in the back of the truck… and Marty likes the new, open floor pre-install…

One word of wisdom for anyone contemplating an Ikea kitchen: when picking up the pieces, double-check each box for damage — especially the large/heavy ones — often this means opening them. Don’t hope for the best here as Murphy’s law will get the best of you. There’s only a thin layer of cardboard between a nice sharp melamine edge and something hell-bent on damaging it (forklift, dolly, angry Ikea employee, etc.). We had to make several trips back because one of the larger pieces was damaged… and all of the same unit at the Emeryville store were also damaged. We ended up driving to East Palo Alto for the replacement.

The laundry area/sewing nook is finally finished with the topping of Casie’s new desk. As our friend Wesley puts it, it’s our "proof of concept" for the kitchen cabinetry soon to come.

The desk itself is made entirely from IKEA parts. Unfortunately we needed a cabinet 15in wide X 24in high and 20in deep. IKEA has one which is 15in wide (X 30in high), one which is 24in high (X 36in wide) and nothing 20in deep… however, by purchasing the 15in wide one and the 24in high one, I was able to use the top/bottom from one set and the sides from another and only had to make cuts on the table saw for the depth. And of course, we needed two. Because of the way the pieces join, it was crucial to get some matchy-matchy pieces.

While it generates lots of left over particle board (for a pair of 30X36in cabinets, i s’pose), using stock parts made for an easier construction overall and it matches what will be done in the kitchen. After installing the 6in legs, the desk was the perfect height. And the cabinet now fits her vintage Necchi sewing machine perfectly.

The desk-top caused some concern as the kitchen counters will be Silestone to match the bath, but getting someone to fabricate a relatively small piece (22X63in) at a cost under $1000 was hard to find (and we had a hard time justifying a $1000 desk-top). After hemming and hawing (and returning) several countertop options, I discovered that IKEA had a cabinet door that was the size we needed (24X64) and the perfect thickness (3/4in). A few cuts on the table saw (and a hole) later, it was the perfect fit. Since it will be a sewing table initially (or a home-office nook with data/cable/phone close at hand), we wanted it to be sturdy, so I fabricated an aluminum brace from a stock "L" for the front support (which happened to compliment the IKEA aluminum plinth at the base of the cabinets). We’ll eventually top it with some glass for protection, but there are larger projects still to tackle.

Sometimes, it’s easy to get a bit down about the assumed lack of progress — but as I mentioned to a friend recently, with us doing most of the work on a 40 year old house, a little job often turns into a much larger project… you peel back one layer and find 3 other problems (or "opportunities"). So while it might be two steps forward, one step back, it is progress… albeit slow.

But this week, we’ve put the finishing touches on the laundry room (specifically bi-fold doors and cabinetry which will house Casie’s "sewing nook"). Admittedly it is not the most important room in the house, but it did make sense to start here and work back… many of the decisions we dealt with here will be reflected in the upcoming kitchen, plus it was easier to wire with the wall open. We also added some solar shades to the sliding doors to block the afternoon sun which has been effective so far…

And when looking at a few of the "before" images, the "after" ones do instill a slightly greater sense of accomplishment…