You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
Hi, Terry. I'm just trying to get acquainted with this new wing of the Dave's Garden site! Boy, what to say about my kitchen?! It's a work in progress, but it's hard to work on a kitchen you are working 'in'. Who wants sawdust in the spaghetti sauce!
Here's a photo of our kitchen work area. As you can see, it's a log home, and we have no kitchen cabinets! I have a row of shelves for my dishes and pans, and an old fashioned 'butcher's' table in the center...can't see it in this photo. I'm sure it's pretty primitive compared to most people's kitchens, but it's a 'work in progress'.
We have been remodeling our kitchen for the past couple of years. It will be nearly done in a few more days. I haven't decided what to do for counter tops yet. They are now plywood covered with contact paper. At least we get a new color twice a tear! LOL!
I will post pictures when done.
Bernie
I am at the beginning of what I expect will be a 2 or 3 year kitchen remodel. I just want a new kitchen, since ours has never been renovated (since 1962).
My husband Andrew wants to do it slowly, so he can do most of the work and save money. I am worried that he is taking a cue from our neighbors down the street in their fifth(!) year of remodel! The wife is about to have a nervous breakdown!
So far, we have moved the fridge, taken down the paneling, ripped out the dropped ceiling, put in insulation and air baffles, put in a new triple window, and put in pot lights. We are keeping the high ceiling.
Yesterday, because it was only 18 degrees outside, water condensed on the lowest part of the slope inside and dripped down the wall, over the new window and onto the countertop. :(
Andrew was pretty upset, but I guess we are lucky that we found out while the ceiling area is still open!
And speaking of countertops, Weez and Countrygardens, How would you like these lovely Formica counters? I can't get the stains out, and the giant crack makes food preparation quite exciting! Of course, it is a magnet for spills. No matter what I do to be careful, food just gravitates to that crack!
It bugs me so much! I can literally spill WATER and it STAINS. I have bleached, scrubbed, everything. I am going to try to get Andrew to shell out the money for a nice chunky granite, so even if it does stain, I won't know!
That looks like fun!
5 years ? He must have took a day or two off now & then.
Are you going to save that floor covering ? It looks Antique!
LOL!
I've been checking on countertop material too. The formica they have now is way better than 40 years ago. If you put in on right, you will only have a little seam & they stay tight.
I think we will use the sheet formica & glue it onto our own wood. Then add a nice wood edge.
They sell it in big sheets now so you can make corners without the drated 45º angle cut. It all depends on how your tops are shaped.
Find a good top shop & let them guide you. They usually sell all types so do not push one over the other.
If you want super tops, there is a company here, called Cambria that makes the number #1 type.
[HYPERLINK@www.cambriausa.com]
Takes a giant size pocketbook though!
Keep up the good work,
Bernie
Ivy, have you considered planting thyme in that counter crack. It would fill the space, the fallen food would become compost, and your herbs are close at hand for dinner preparation.
Weezingreens- I am grateful for that suggestion! You just got me out of the doldrums I was in. Must have been brought on by actually looking at my kitchen! Agood belly laugh put me in a much better mood.
I think creeping Rosemary "Irene" might be quite nice as well. It could grow down over the edge and cover the peeling paint on my cupboards.
Bernie- That Cambria is just beautiful. We looked at quartz counters, and if Andrew won't spring for granite, he certainly won't pay for that.
Ivy, we did granite tiles in our last home. They can be installed over a wood base or even over the existing formica counters (if they're in good condition and you're not changing the layout) You can go to a good tile store and have as many or more choices as solid slab granite, for a fraction of the cost. (They typicall run $4 to $10 per square foot - which makes your counters $8 to $20 per running/linear foot (compared to $80 or more per foot for slab granite). Factor in some extra $$$ for edging - you can have small pieces cut and ground to edge the tile, or use wood edging that matching your cabinets, or even tile listels that will coordinate (IMHO, this works best with the lighter limestone-type tile, where you can get almost-matching listels in a "tumbled stone" look.)
If you go the tile route, it can be a DIY job if you're reasonably handy, or done reasonably by a pro. Just be sure to space your tiles VERY close together - the thinnest possible groutline is your goal; and choose a latex grout color matched closely to the darkest color in your granite to de-emphasize it.
Thanks Terry! We had originally talked about tile for the counters. It is cheaper, but every person I talked to who actually had tile hated it. The grout is a problem, plus things tip a lot more readily on the bumpy surface.
We still haven't made up our minds, but are looking into every possible counter material. Butcher block is good because it is anti-bacterial, but cuts show up, and it seems to be more expensive than I thought it would be. Finished wood is beautiful, but is even more expensive, and you must protect the finish. Marble is gorgeous, but not practical (it can be stained and etched).
My choice would be granite, although it has it's problems, too. For me the biggest problem is that if you knock over a glass, it will probably break. We already ordered tile for the floor, and I now have slight buyer's remorse because it is so hard a surface. Oh, well. I would have probably had the same feeling no matter what I bought!
I would agree with the reservations about traditional ceramic tile countertops (we put them in one bathroom, and I like it okay, but it's a pain to keep clean compared to solid surface counters.)
The nice thing about the granite tiles (along with their affordability) is that each tile is 12" square, which greatly reduces the amount of grout you have to worry about - an 1/8" band of grout around 144 square inches, versus 1/4" to 1/2" groutlines surrounding 4x4 tiles.)
I found the latex-based (also called non-sanded) grout was easier to keep clean, versus "normal" grout. (It's slightly rubbery, holds up well to scrubbing, and since it was dark, stains didn't show like they would on a white or light-colored grout.
Whatever you decide, I know you'll enjoy it - there's something very satisfying (if never-wracking) about re-doing a room and picking out everything that goes into it ;o)
We are lucky enough to live in a boating community, because we are going to go check out some marine supplies as well. There are a lot of products around here for sealing, staining and protecting from the elements. We will have to look around a bit for things that are food -safe, but we may come up with something new and different!
Here is a really bad picture of our tile for the floor. It is tucked away in a corner of the garage. The porcelain tiles are from Casa Dolce Casa (an Italian tile co.), 12 x 12 with a tumbled edge, and it was so expensive that we decided there was no way we could afford it. I wanted those large tiles so badly I went online when we got home. Strangely, I found it and it was less than half of what we were quoted at the store! They are so beautiful, and I wanted the big tiles so we would have fewer grout lines in our small kitchen.
