October 2011 – Page 6

Remember these drawings?

We’ve made some kitchen changes since I made those lame sketches in 2009. Here’s the ~~new and~~ improved 2010 model. Side note, I hate the phrase new and improved. How can something be both new and improved? If it’s new, there’s no room for improvement. If it’s been improved upon, it’s not new, is it? Ok, rant over. New kitchen drawings, courtesy of Lowe’s.

Notice any changes? Well, that’s because there aren’t many. But, 2011 brought about many changes, some major, some minor. All for the better. Except we’re back to my drawings. Though, I did pull out a ruler.

Now do you see the difference? Let’s discuss.

Big change number 1: We’re moving the trash can. The apron front sink is six inches narrower than our current sink, so we’ll have room for the trash to the left of the sink, not across the kitchen.

Big change number 2: Switching up the cabinet size. In the past year, we’ve been discussing all drawers in the lower cabinets. Really, this isn’t that different from our current set up because we have cabinet doors with pull out drawers behind. The small drawer stack to the right of the stove is so small that we have utensils in three of the four drawers. Because of this, we’ve decided to make each drawer stack as wide as possible. Instead of two drawers, we’ll have only one on each side of the stove. One will hold our knives from the knife block. Three cheers for less counter clutter. Hopefully Ben can make something as cool as this.

Big change number 3: Extending the upper cabinets to go counter to ceiling. We plan to use the two smaller cabinets as ‘appliance garages.’ We don’t have room for a microwave to sit near the stove, so we’ll use the cabinet to the right of the sink to house a microwave. Hopefully. We’ll have to hunt down the world’s smallest microwave. It may be this one.

Big change number 4: No more spice drawers below the bar top. Originally, we planned to build small spice drawers to double as a back splash. This would also allow us to use a cheaper stove with a back. Game plan change. We’re going with a slide-in (backless) range and the larger drawers below should accommodate spices nicely. Oddly enough, I’m most concerned about where I’ll put spices.

Small change, known as number 5: The small drawer stack will now be part of a larger, wider drawer stack, as mentioned in number two.

Small change, number 6: When I made these sketches, I loved the idea of legs to replace the standard toe kick. Reality (and building issues) have set in. Problem number one, the flooring will transition at the dining room and this will be obvious. We could make a nice transition of the floors, but the second problem is cleaning under the cabinets. This seems fine and good, but I think I’d get sick of it really quickly. And, Ben brought up another good point. We’d probably stub our toes on the legs constantly.

There’s the plan, Stan. We’ve already made some progress. Mostly purchasing items (plywood, studs, a sink, range, range hood, and paint) to get our ducks in a row. Notice I said mostly. Dun, dun, dunnnn. Cliff hanger.

Now it’s your turn. Do you have any of these features in your own home? If so, love it or hate it? Where do you store your spices? How many planning phases have you had for one project?

After Thursday’s discussion about new paint samples, I talked myself into Benjamin Moore’s Sonoma Clay. I couldn’t live with the bright pink walls any longer. On Friday, the boys and I went back to Ace Hardware to get a 16 ounce Ben Moore sample can, hoping that pint would cover the entire bathroom. When we returned home, I compared the test sample to the paint swatch.

Nice match, but will it look good on the walls?

Right away, I loved how much darker and muted the color was. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, I painted small areas on each wall to test the color in different lighting.

Yep, this was the right pink. I touched up the white paint, let it dry, then taped off the edges. I had Everett’s nap time to get this done. Vincent watched me paint.

In one way, the ugly, bright pink helped me. It served as a great primer. The Ben Moore paint covered well with one coat, which means I still have half of a pint of pink left. Wahoo, my math was right! That’s a first, just ask my ninth grade geometry teacher. Ha.

Like most paints, the color varies based on the lighting, which I like. Because the back wall gets less light, it reads as a more moody purple-gray-beige-pink.

Au revoir ballerina pink. Helllloooo sophisticated mauve. Eww, I hate describing the color as mauve. It seems so old lady.

One gallon of Wal-Mart paint: $15.00. One pint of Ben Moore paint: $7.00. Finally choosing a color we like and don’t have to repaint: priceless.

Just to clarify, Ben has never said he hates this color. Usually, he’s forthcoming about what he doesn’t like. Not so much with what he does like. I’ll take his silence as approval.

To summarize, if you’re looking for a very pale pink, check out Martha’s Pink Sea Salt. Don’t try to make your own color. If you want something more dramatic and moody, try Ben’s Sonoma Clay.

Did you tackle a painting project over the weekend? Was it the first or fourth time you painted it? Out of curiosity, what’s your favorite brand of paint to use?

Please note: We were not compensated for this post, we simply love the Ben Moore paint we purchased and want to share with you.