Kitchen Granite Advice . . .

[azasadny]

We have Caledonia granite and there is a single joint at the sink and you cannot see it. Good granite installers will do it so that the joint cannot be seen.

[look 171]

pull that wall out next to the stove and the whole place will feel bigger. Feel is very important, even though it isn't any larger then before. Hopefully it isn't a non bearing wall to keep cost down.

[imcarthur]

Yeah, I hear you about that small wall. The downside is it would expose the side of the stove, range hood & cupboards - as well as opening it up. My wife informed me last night that she is 'emotionally attached' to the table. We are kitchen people so it is important. Stools just wouldn't cut it.

To scale now:



Another view - from the stairs up.



Ian

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

I would spend money on minimizing that wall next to the stove before I put any money into granite. Those cabinets are problematic, so I'd cut a notch from 36" off the floor to the ceiling extending back to the face of the cabinets. Just my preference. I need elbow room.

[john70t]

The wall could go, but it channels vapor to the fan and keeps oil spatter from collecting on the floor right before the stairs...

[look 171]

that is true.

[imcarthur]

We visited the cabinet contact & made some choices. Painted wood. An off-white (of course ). The layout works with a 3/4 wire lazy susan in the corner abyss. An angled glassed cupboard above in the corner. Taller cupboards trimmed to the ceiling & higher off the counter. And an extra deep on top of the fridge that we might actually use.



I dropped the granite & a sink into the drawing. I always build a mosaic drawing as we make decisions (it worked really well when we did the bathroom 2 years ago). As John pointed out, that wall does serves as a great splatter guard. I clean it frequently. It wouldn't be as much fun cleaning the floor & the carpeted stairs methinks. And I tend to tornado a kitchen when I am in full cooking frenzy. And that back burner usually sees the pasta pot - which usually kicks the fan into auto-high to clear the vapor. And besides all of that, SHE said we should keep the wall for enough reasons that I acquiesced.

Ian

[john70t]

I like that design. Mostly.
Space above fridge and gap next to stove is fully utilized for storage.
The loss over the fridge will make the very small room a bit smaller, though.

Dishwasher water connections are accessible from under sink.

Dropped sink lets everything sweep into it quick and easy.

Darker counters break up the warm putty room and give horizontal stability and depth.

Suggestions:
The divided lights in the corner goes with the house style, but may look out of place with the other solid faced cabinets.
There isn't a long 'wall o cabinets' there, and IMHO continuity would look better.
Something to consider.
(edit: but it does add an attractive distraction element)

Having a lower pull-out garbage bin directly under the prep counter is the sliced bread of cooking. Everything disappears, counter top quickly wiped, and it's brand new and onto the next task. You'll have to lose an essential cabinet though...

[daepp]

^And lose the stove wall!

[gr8fl4porsche]

Have you thought about swapping the range and fridge?

[BeyGon]

There is a line from the inside corner to the outside corner of the wall, you can see it but it never offends, it's fine. We used only one piece, the sink top is 2'8" by 5'10", it goes to the right 5'6", angles right again 1'6". Only that one seam. It just doesn't bother me at all.


I think it 's more noticeable in these pictures than real life. Or maybe the dirty dishes just cover it up.

[imcarthur]

That joint is pretty good for an exotic granite. The join will be in front of the nuker, but we will visit the fabricator to tell him what cut of the granite we want.

Now we are deep into flooring. Anybody have an opinion on hardwood in a kitchen? We could skip the heated floor & tile & do hardwood for a little less. No grout forever. The LR & DR, stairs up & the whole upstairs is standard '60s 2 1/4" oak (except the last two have 14 yr old carpeting overtop) - which is now now a battered golden hue. We could never match it. But we could go with darker oak & finish the stairs the same . . .

Hmmm . . . thoughts?



Ian

[unclebilly]

We have hand scraped German hardwood throughout our house. It is a good thing that this is 'distressed' because dropped lids by our 2 year old distressed it further.

We put quartz countertops in instead of granite because they are no maintenance and not porous. I think granite is ok if ou don't have kids. Quartz is about the same price as granite butisguaranteed for life not o crack or discolor. Ours is the Cambria product.

[mthomas58]

Originally Posted by imcarthur

And we are go for Granite #1. We can get what we want for $3700 finished. The Blue Granite was $6920, so my wife finally gave it up.

Ian

Ian, how about a pic of the finished project? We are going under the knife next week. We picked out an exotic (Mombasa)that really jumped out at us both. Pricey and we need 3 slabs but its what we want. Here is a pic of the granite and the before pics. New cabinets will also be an off white - too much oak now.

[imcarthur]

Fair enough, Mark . . .



When you blend the granite in with everything else, wild is good.

This pic was just after completion & we have added other accents - small carpet etc.

Ian

[mthomas58]

Wow, the granite really pops! Well done. Floor tile selection is a nice update too.

[icemann427]

Like Tevak said, add the stove to an island opposite the sink and remove the table. However, design the island as a sit around where you can eat/converse, too. The new cooking/eating island could serve 6 or more people very easily, and your work triangle would be shortened, dramatically. Add cabinets where the stove used to be.

edit: Woops, sorry! You already finished it...

[matt711]

Go with soapstone and you wont even notice the joint.

[mthomas58]

Granite with color samples of wall color, cabinet color and backsplash. Not sure we want to go with the glass subway tiles but the color match is good - still looking.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by matt711

Go with soapstone and you wont even notice the joint.

You oiling the soapstone? Joint changes color/takes oil different, really stood out on last one I saw.....


Many granites are porous and should be sealed immediately and regularly. I've seen red wine stain one......