Kitchen Updates: New Direction

Design by: Lauren Caron

Surprise, surprise! Since my last kitchen post I have slightly changed my design direction. I found a fabulous new paper that I fell in love with and decided I would be happier with that than the map wall. The new paper is by Cole & Son and has a Deco feel about it. It’s black and white and may I say this, more sophisticated? I’m sure that’s a matter of opinion but when I step back and look at both the space and the rest of the apartment I think it’s a better direction to be moving towards.

On another note, for anyone who has redone a kitchen or bathroom they’ve probably hit some road blocks with the addition of plumbing. I can say we’ve had a tough time making progress on this room, because not only does the placement of plumbing dictate a lot of the design decisions, but also the fact that this is an old building and the plumbers of the past did not do a very good job when they made updates.

Kitchen Sketch

Now, why am I going on about plumbing? Well, we really want a dishwasher. It’s the one thing (other than a washer & dryer and maybe a second bedroom – which will never happen) that is missing in the apartment. There are a ton of variables that make this simple addition, somehow very difficult. The major issue is that there are these lovely pipes that run behind the cabinets along the wall. They in turn cause the refrigerator to stick out farther than it should and most importantly, the dishwasher too. The pipe that lives behind the dishwasher is a whole 3″ thick! The first thing we did was bring in a plumber to review the matter. We were told it would be impossible to do anything. That was definitely not the answer we wanted to hear. So the next thought was to buy new countertops that would extend the farther off the wall to make room for the dishwasher. . . Unfortunately, this seemed like a silly idea and unnecessarily expensive. Lastly, the final option was to put both my husband and father’s two heads together. They are geniuses and apparently more skilled than the plumber that was recommended.

They designed a plan of action and worked through the weekend. To shorten the story, they succeeded and we now have a dishwasher in the apartment. How exciting! I’ve included a few quick shots that were taken on my phone. You can see it’s all starting to come together nicely. The dishwasher is by Bosch, it’s 18″ wide and works like a dream.

The refridgerator which is also a new addition is by Summit. I discovered the brand Summit, based in the USA and produces appliances at a smaller scale. They’re well rated and reasonably priced. Ours was on sale through Appliances Connection, which also offered free shipping. Woot, woot! The fridge only measures 24″ deep, 28″ wide and 75″ tall. The freezer is on the bottom, which I find to be more convenient. The model is also available with an ice maker. All in all, I’m quite happy with the progress. Next on the agenda, the back splash and the wallpaper. Then the open shelves.