Brightened Kitchen

Our 1977 Modern Bungalow came equipped with a galley kitchen floored in speckled vinyl, and layered with light blue, laminate countertops that flowed right into a laminate backsplash. This was topped with custom cabinets in a dark, walnut stain and recessed, fluorescent ceiling fixtures. It was so immaculately preserved that you could have sworn it was installed yesterday.

For this reason, the decision to rip it all out and start over wasn't as easy as you'd think. It felt like we were tearing away a part of history. We decided then, that we were not brought to this house to completely transform it - we were brought here to be stewards and just bring it into the 21st century. So, we began the transformation...

The lighting was the first to change. We had a local electrician from Double R Electric (since retired) come in to replace the fluorescent boxes with recessed can lights and it made a world of difference! Then we moved on to the flooring.

The flooring was the first hard surface to be decided since it would be going throughout the house. Hardwoods would be laid in all main areas; tile in baths; carpet in bedrooms. So, the hardwood needed to be modern enough to fit with the style of the house, but rustic enough to fit with the landscape (pine forest in the high mountain desert of Arizona). I visited one of our local flooring companies (Flagstaff Wholesale Flooring) and brought home so many flooring samples. Beware if you choose to do this - hardwood flooring samples are not light or small. They are big enough to give you a really good look at what you're going to get.

Being in the high desert, water is a pricey commodity so our landscape is made up mostly of cinders (no lawn). The floor needed to withstand the beating the cinders would give it, so we went with the handscraped, rustic quality of Castle Comb Malmesbury in 7 1/2" hardwood planks. So glad we did. It just feels right.

Forever Floors LLC in conjunction with Flagstaff Wholesale Flooring installed all of the flooring as well as the backsplash. Now, with a slab foundation, it is typical to glue the flooring to the slab. Having done multiple floor renovations in years past, I opted to simply glue the tongue & groove while the floor floated. The glued seems kept it from spreading, and the floating make future repairs easier. This required a little more labor on the front end, but it was worth it in my opinion and Forever Floors was very accommodating. I would do it exactly the same way again.

Once the floor was done, we were over the moon with how it turned out. This gave us more than enough confidence to keep going. So, the countertops were next. We put quartz in our last kitchen remodel, so I knew I wanted something similar in durability. I picked up samples from local and big box stores, including quartz and granite. I've never been a huge fan of patterned stone so I thought for sure, we would need a solid color. Well, I was proven wrong. The solid just felt flat and with the slightly rustic flooring, too modern for the space. We also wanted to blend with the cabinets, since at the time, we thought we were keeping the stained

cabinets.

I ended up finding a Caesarstone quartz in Atlantic Salt with an "eased" edge from our local HomCo Lumber & Hardware. They contracted the delivery & installation and it could not have gone smoother. They were professional and very informative of the whole process. I was quite pleased with everyone involved. Our kitchen required simple straight slabs without any seams so this was a relief. I've dealt with seams before and it's always a little unnerving making sure they are "seamless" in appearance. But, as I said, this installation went very well and professionally.

The backsplash was the piece that brought the countertop and the flooring and the cabinets all together in one coherent package so a lot of pressure was put on this strip of tilework. I originally settled on a crackled glazed subway tile in a beige/gray finish but this went up against the diamond pattern in gray and lost. I loved the crackled glazed finish, but the brown color wasn't right. I didn't want a "brown" kitchen and an all gray subway tile and white grout was too overdone. So, I ended with the Highland Park Dove Gray Diamond Mosaic from MSI with a gray grout to match.

Jason from Forever Floors LLC was very patient with me while I questioned every thing and made little changes occasionally to make his life just a little harder than it had to be. I am not one to shy away from asking questions of my contractors. I need to know everything that is happening and be involved in everything. Just in case I ever get the wild hair to do that particular job myself, as I have been known to do. So, he was agreeable and answered all of my questions and I appreciated that very much.

Since the installation of the hard surfaces, it has been a couple years and we have finally decided to lighten the cabinets. This is a project I had taken on in previous homes so I knew I would do this job as well. I was a bit more nervous this time since the cabinets were custom built on the property. There was not going to be an easy replacement if I screwed anything up, so I had to be double sure of the primer/bonder and the application. I chose Zinsser Bulls Eye 123 primer/bonder and Behr Campfire Ash for the color applied with a foam roller, all purchased from Home Depot. It took me about four days to complete since I did one section at a time. I removed the doors, then the hardware and degreased them. I didn't sand them since I was using a primer/bonder. It seems to have held up so far. I primed the front and back sides of the doors & drawers, as well as the face of the cabinet boxes then applied two coats of paint. All coats were applied with a foam roller to ensure a smooth finish and given plenty of drying time in-between coats. I reattached the hardware and rehung the cabinets. I am very pleased with the end result. The change in color had us shaking our heads wondering why we didn't do this two years ago!

We could have ripped out walls and broke into the adjoining dining room, but as I said, we decided to be keepers of this house, not destructors. The house was built to replicate a mid-century modern style - not 2010 open floor plan as most homes are going for. To tear out this galley kitchen would have meant tearing out it's original style and intent. I, personally, have a hard time enjoying my dinner whilst looking at dirty pots & pans all over the kitchen area. And, I'm pretty sure that was the reason kitchens were hidden away in the first place! I understand the congregating that tends to happen while preparing the food, but there has to be another way than breaking down every wall where the only way to relieve myself of my less-than-clean kitchen is to go to my room! My house even comes equipped with pocket doors to completely close off the kitchen from the great room and the bedrooms! Out of sight/Out of mind! I love it and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm hoping I will be able to find a similar floorplan on our next adventure.

I hope you enjoyed the journey through the kitchen renovation. The room at the end of the kitchen is the new mudroom/laundry room - go check it out!