link to our kitchen remodel album

Homegrown Tomatoes · October 16, 2007, 09:49:16 AM

Thought I would show you all what we're doing in our kitchen remodel... it might come in handy for somebody's cabin, as this was a fairly inexpensive way to get a really unique look. We're still in process, but almost finished... most of the pictures on the site are older as I'm terrible at updating. Anyway, here is our website... there are several albums, some in OK and some in WI... the kitchen remodel and the home improvement albums are the main ones that I thought might give folks some ideas. We did all the work ourselves on the kitchen, including wiring new lighting and outlets, and running a gas line to the kitchen. FWIW, our energy costs went down significantly when we replaced the electric stove with the gas one. We also rebuilt the cabinets ourselves because we couldn't afford to go buy new ones.
http://homegrowntomatoes.spaces.live.com/default.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0

C.White · October 16, 2007, 10:09:30 AM

You made it look like fun with all of your details. I love your results. Thanks for showing the pictures!
Christina

October 16, 2007, 10:48:15 AM

It was fun, but boy was the grout work tedious on that big wall. Just a few weeks ago, I finally got my act together and got back to work on the tile backsplash behind the sink. I've got about 1/3 of the tile up, and another third of the wall cleared of that awful tar paper or whatever it was, so that I can tile that part. Under the window I haven't started cleaning even because I'm waiting on DH to figure out exactly how we're going to convert the former outer wall window into a pass through into the dining room. I don't think there's even a photo of how ugly the kitchen was before we started, but suffice it to say it was terrible... the cabinets were homemade out of black paneling, and were not cut square. The old stove that went out three weeks before last Thanksgiving must've weighed 800 lbs and had one of the first microwaved invented attached at the top, and that's what started us on the whole adventure. We actually got the new stove in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it only took about 3-4 weeks to do that first mosaic wall... which felt a lot longer. I've been procrastinating on finishing out the tile work because the kitchen is functional now (sink and stove, and fridge back in the kitchen as opposed to being used as a window treatment in the dining room.) We finally put the rest of the cabinet doors on last weekend (at least the ones we're going to put doors on; some will be left open) and finally shelled out the money for one prefab base cabinet to go between the stove and the fridge... we decided we didn't want to invest the time to build it. We figure we'll stain the prefab cabinet since it doesn't match the other cabinets, and if we use the same stain we're going to use on the built-in shelving unit on the end wall, I don't think it'll look bad. This kitchen is tiny, only something like 6.5' by 8'... I actually had a closet bigger once before. Anyway, we've got to get this all finished and get it on the market soon if we're moving in December!

glenn kangiser · October 16, 2007, 10:22:59 PM

Thanks for the pix Homegrown. Great job on the tile.

Note that I procrastinated finishing the tile in our other place 10 years ago because I got the kitchen functional. :-/

I am one of the worlds best procrastinators.

glenn kangiser · October 16, 2007, 10:51:59 PM

Just got through your Home Improvement pix. What a difference. Nice work.

October 17, 2007, 08:08:53 AM

Your mosaic work looks great! Tile is one of those things that I like Glenn put off for as long as possible.... :'( But it's worth it at the end!

Homegrown Tomatoes · October 17, 2007, 10:09:40 AM

Thanks everyone... I had looked at other ways of remodeling the kitchen, but comparing the prices of new materials to a bunch of old plates proved irresistable. Could've done it even cheaper in the summer by hitting yard sales, but instead bought about $30 worth of old plates and saucers at Goodwill. My husband and I make a pretty good remodel team... I guess it's our "bonding" time

. He did the wiring, the recessed lighting, the tin ceiling tiles, the floor, the gas line, and the painting. I did all the sanding, the mudding and taping (ceiling only), the designing, all the tile and grout, and a good deal of the scraping and cleaning prior to putting it all back together. We worked together on all the ripping and tearing, building the cabinet into the end wall (we busted out the wall between the kitchen and the closet in the guest room to make it), the sheet rock ceiling, and all the little details. Most of the stuff that we've done on this house is cosmetic. Our old house, on the other hand, had serious structural problems. I remember as newlyweds, we were standing outside knee-deep in mud, and shoveling out around the entrance to the crawlspace to make it big enough for a human being to get under the house, and my husband looked at me and busted out laughing. He said, "Yup, if I'd married a Korean girl, this would NEVER be happening!" He's probably thought that a million times since, and probably sometimes with a tinge of regret, but never the less, he has a heck of a lot more confidence about fixing and/or building things now than he did back then... and a lot more of a desire to do and to learn to do for himself. America is good for folks that way.

Now both of us are on the same page about building our next home (I've been there since day one, but it's taken him a bit of time to come around!)

glenn kangiser · October 17, 2007, 10:21:34 AM

Homegrown, the tin ceiling tiles -- big in our area in the old days. Did you find a deal or were they expensive?

The Korean culture. :-? Would she have got to do all of the digging? :-?

Homegrown Tomatoes · October 17, 2007, 10:27:03 AM

No, she would've sat in the house whining and yelling about what kind of God-forsaken place her husband had taken her to!!!

I ordered the ceiling tiles from American Tin Ceilings (I think that's the right name... if you google for online sources it's one of the first to pop up.) They were a lot cheaper that way than through the local lumber yards or the big chain stores like Home Depot, Lowe's or Menard's (believe me, I checked all of them out, but I am a tightwad and wouldn't pay what they wanted). The one problem was that you couldn't order directly online, so you had to call and place the order, but they were very nice and really quick. I think we had the tiles in less than a week.

October 17, 2007, 10:37:36 AM

Oh - so that's where Margaret Cho gets it.

Sounds like your husband made a good choice though.

My wife does her share -or more -also.

Thanks for the ceiling info. I had researched it once before - had another link. I don't know anything about them or price comparisons.

http://www.mbossinc.com
Tin Ceilings by M-Boss Inc, makers of Tin Ceiling, Cornice, Backsplashes, Moldings, Walls, Medallions & Decorative Metalwork and Metal Ceiling Designs.

Homegrown Tomatoes · October 17, 2007, 11:08:13 AM

I'd looked at several places (that might have been one... I forget), but I liked American because they would let you order fairly small quantities, which was important since our kitchen is so stinking small.

About Korean culture... Korea is a great place; if you've never been there, it's a place you should try to go. The hospitality and the food are great (provided you like spicy stuff.) I lived and taught there for a while, and actually stayed with my then future in-laws (DH was here in grad school.) However, I came to the conclusion that in spite of all the "macho" talk and so forth of the guys in Korea, the women really wear the pants in the family. They control all the money. The men come home from work on payday and hand over all their paycheck to the women. I remember my father-in-law begging my mother-in-law for about the equivalent of $10 so that he could go buy me some Coke from the grocery store. Ten minutes later he came whistling out of the grocery store with a case of Coke and a case of Soju balanced on his head, happy that he'd tricked her into paying for his alcohol. I also saw an older lady beating her husband with a shoe as she chased him up the hill one night; she was chewing him out in Korean about his drinking, and never stopped hitting him all the way home! She kept calling him a "gol-tong" (something like a stupid idiot) and complaining that she'd told him to quit drinking his paycheck. The man kept swatting at her like he was shooing flies, but never had any intent of really defending himself from the beating. Sometimes my husband is so calm and passive it drives me nuts, but then I realize he's just being Korean. Although, ever since he got his citizenship, he's been way better about standing up for himself and voicing an opinion (rather than letting everyone else decide stuff.) Now, if I could just get him to pick a restaurant when we go out to eat, we'd be in business.

Homegrown Tomatoes · October 17, 2007, 11:10:33 AM

Confession... I had to look up Margaret Cho to figure out who she was... I had heard the name, but didn't know who she really was.

Homegrown Tomatoes · October 17, 2007, 11:21:34 AM

OK, I've goofed off enough for one day... my kids are hollering to make pumpkin bread. I love this forum. Taking some antibiotics that make me sicker than I was before I started taking them, so I feel like loafing on the couch with a computer in my lap, but this isn't terribly productive. Maybe I can get another 1/3 of that backsplash tiled before DH gets home from work... have to get motivated on this stuff.

I am seriously hoping to be completely finished with the kitchen by this weekend so that we can get to work on the exterior trim and the basement do-over. (We sort of messed up the basement ceiling running the gas lines for the kitchen, and then it all needs minor updating that would greatly improve the value of the house.) If we get the kitchen done, I'll post more pictures of the finished project. It already is so much better than it was. I hope next time to be designing and building my own kitchen from the ground up so that I am not having to fix stuff other people have done...

Well, I think the fever is breaking and I need to get back to work... becoming horrendously lazy here.

Sassy · October 17, 2007, 12:29:06 PM

Hi Homegrown - great pix - remodeling looks really nice - that tiling looks like a lot of work, although I've thought I'd like to do some projects (table, etc). The tin wall (I thought you did your ceiling too, but Glenn says no - I looked at the pix yest) Anyway, for the past couple weeks, I've been thinking about doing the ceiling in the masterbath in a gold/copper or brass finish. So glad you posted that & also a place to order.

I was really sick for a week - never did get to the doc (I hate going, I spend enough time working in a hospital) but should have - I was so sick I couldn't even drive myself there - I was way out in the country at our place in the Valley & Glenn was working up in the mtns - he finally got a break & brought me some medication. I so seldom get sick - not used to that! Doing much better now - hope you are feeling better soon.

Interesting info on Korea - lol! Beautiful family!

October 17, 2007, 12:43:50 PM

Sassy sometimes fails to realize that I am not perfect-- I said that I didn't think you did the tin tile on the ceiling.

Homegrown Tomatoes · October 17, 2007, 01:46:04 PM

Ha ha. We thought about putting tin on the ceiling first, but then I thought with those recessed halogen lights it would get mighty hot working in there, not to mention I'd have to wear sunglasses just to cook dinner. I really wanted copper because the old light fixture in the room was a copper finish and it was the one thing I liked in the room... however, copper tiles were mighty pricey... for no more of them than I needed, I should have done it anyway, but talked myself out of it and decided the silver tiles were also pretty. We put a scrubbable white semi-gloss on the smooth sheetrock ceiling, and it literally reflects the tin tiles... you can almost see your reflection in it, it is so bright. IMO, the two best investments of all in the kitchen were the additional recessed lights (6 of them) and running the gas line to switch to a gas stove... hate cooking on electric. All the other stuff was peripheral, and anything to brighten that little cave was well worth the time and money. Switching from the 5 layers of ugly old tiles and worn out linoleum to a new laminate floor did a lot for the space as well. Building the cabinet into the end wall was also a good idea, even though I had to "convince" DH for several days because he was a little freaked out about dissecting the wall. It created so much storage space that I'm still amazed (the shelf extends behind the wall to the left for another foot or so and is enough space to store smaller and seldom used appliances, etc.)

Thanks Sassy for the comments on my family... I take it you must have looked at a few of the other albums with kids. I like them, but then I'm quite biased. Most of those pictures are pretty old... they're bigger and more ornery now.

Thanks also for the get well wishes... I'm never sick, but with all that is going on (pregnancy, moving, remodeling) I guess it is as good a time as any. I'm actually feeling better since I got up and cooked some lunch and worked for an hour... at least the kitchen is clean and the dishes are done and laundry is going. I think the main sick feeling is from the antibiotic itself. If the doggone doctor would have listened last week, she probably could have given me a weaker drug that would have worked just as well and I wouldn't have had to get really sick in the first place! (Sometimes I think docs think all pregnant women are hypochondriacs...or maybe they assume any discomfort is a direct result of pregnancy itself?)

FrankInWI · October 17, 2007, 01:59:04 PM

you mentioned saving when you switched from electric stove to gas. was in to natural gas, or LP? I am right now deciding if I should go all electric as I have no gas on site yet, or if I should order in the big outside tank of LP. Thanks

glenn kangiser · October 17, 2007, 02:18:42 PM

Thanks, Homegrown for confirming that my only fault was in doubting myself.

Homegrown Tomatoes · October 17, 2007, 02:45:37 PM

:-?

Frank, our house already had natural gas for the heat and hot water, so we just plumbed a line to the kitchen. However, if I were your wife, I'd probably pester you to death to put in propane. Very few women I know like cooking on electric stoves, and if your electric is out, it's nice to be able to still cook. I'm not sure about your neck of the woods in Wisconsin, but we live in Kenosha county and have frequent electrical outages... seems there are always maple trees splitting and taking out power lines or whatever. I'm glad our heat is powered by natural gas here, too, because even though we only use the AC for a week or two in the summer, our electric bill for that short period of time is way higher than the gas bills during the coldest part of winter. Granted, if I could, I'd heat this place with wood, but since we can't I'm glad that power outages don't force us to seek shelter elsewhere in the winter.

Homegrown Tomatoes · October 17, 2007, 02:47:05 PM

Glenn, it's hard to be humble, ain't it?

October 17, 2007, 03:03:15 PM

Wow, Sassy, I just followed the link to your website, and even though I'd read the thread about your place, I really enjoyed all the pictures on the site too. I love the cob sculptures... wish I could convince my husband to try something like that. Getting him to agree to the broken plate mosaic was hard enough even though he loves it now. The conversation pit looks really cozy, too. Besides, who could argue with gardening on the roof?! If I could do that here, I could probably actually grow enough to be fairly self-sufficient, seeing as our roof is about the only place around here that gets that much sunshine! You and Glenn must be creative geniuses (I know, Glenn is already convinced

) Anyway, I love it. You should get Countryside or Mother Earth News to do a story featuring your home... it would make a great article.

MountainDon · October 17, 2007, 06:38:35 PM

If my memory serves me right, they turned down an invitation to become a public spectacle by someone/something. ? :-/ Probably wide not to rub the local officials nose in the dirt.

And Glenn's a big enough spectacle himself.

Homegrown Tomatoes · October 17, 2007, 08:12:47 PM

Heck, the local officials probably don't read homesteading type magazines.

Sassy · October 17, 2007, 10:23:53 PM

Thanks, Homegrown - did you look at my badly kept up blog site or the Underground Cabin Update in this section?
We were contacted by a woman who helps produce & write the show "What's with that house?" She kept calling & emailing - very nice person - originally from Virginia where her grandparents had homesteaded. They still have the family home with 12" walls, land - she hates having to live in LA.

As MtnDon said - we figured it could cause us more trouble than it was worth. We were already on a local "Innovative Homes" tour & in a building magazine in Washington state.

Mr "Perfect" is bugging me right now...

Better post this!

glenn kangiser · October 17, 2007, 10:26:54 PM

Garsh, Homegrown, I'm so embarrassed... but genius is right on the edge of insanity. Which side of the line do you think I'm on? :-?

We were on one magazine but they didn't even honor their promise to send us a few copies of the article. We turned down HGTV. Don't want to make too many waves.

Spectacle ---Moi. OK Don, but actually I'm more of a telescope.

Sassy referred to this link - Underground Cabin update http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1107141843

Is that the thread you read :-?- many pix linked in the first paragraph of the first page.

Also more in the RV storage garage. http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1138433261/0