I have learned that successful design solutions need to
satisfy the desires of the client: Comfort, color, organization, traffic flow,
conveniences, quality, and yes, budget as well. Asking the client questions is
the best way to understand their
needs leading to the client feeling satisfied that money was well spent.
Considering the 100’s of clients / guests and ALL those
un-ending opinions this job needs to be filtered through someone that will attempt to understand EVERYONE‘S NEEDS……….YEP, in this case…….that is me!!
 |
| Our current 37 year old kitchen from 1978 |
 |
| The new kitchen layout is open to the view with more counter tops for preparing meals. |
So what are OUR needs?
· More counter space
· No more corner cabinetry
· More generous traffic flow pattern (a 2 foot pass through is too tight)
· Maintain our family dining area
· Easy to clean
· Simple to operate, uncomplicated appliances
· Durability
· Maximize every inch of space with a place for EVERYTHING including the trash, small appliances, and wine bottles (of course).
· Fits the expense budget
· Appropriate quality for our 1978 Lindell waterfront home built on a million dollar lot
· Attractive and appealing to all those that LOVE a good kitchen
· Maintain the charm, character, and patina of our old cottage while adding modern conveniences
Our waterfront property was purchased in 1954 for $1200 and
today the property value, if we were to sell, would be well over a million
dollars. No, we are not going to sell but taking this information into
consideration helped us develop our budget. Stock cabinets from Home Depot were
not going to fit the value of this home but neither would 100% custom cabinetry
be affordable. We needed a compromise.
We also took a look at our rustic, well aged, loads of
patina, 36 year old beach house. What quality of cabinetry would be
appropriate? IKEA kitchens are
functional, with various quality options (good better and best) and they have
the best soft close drawer glides on the market. Hey that would be an
improvement to have quiet kitchen cabinetry!! BUT lo……… IKEA could not satisfy
me with the to-the-inch space planning that I required. Sure, I LOVED the price
but, it was not
going to meet the need to maximize and utilize every inch of limited space
available.
Finally, we chose semi-custom
cabinetry……..With the strong recommendation from Allan Peters, my architect, we chose Silverdale Hill Design to measure,
manufacture and install our semi custom kitchen. http://www.silverdaledesign.com/kitchens.html They listened intently to my organization
needs, my need to maximize counter and storage space, plus wouldn't my guests
love a beverage center for coffee, tea and wine? Chuck and Susan made the trip to Bowen and
took detailed measurements of the available space. We chose a simple Shaker
style door profile that would blend with the existing traditional / eclectic
 |
| Shaker panels for transitional styling |
 |
| timeless bronze pulls |
Our property is on an island, down a 4 wheel drive road, and
located 1400 miles from me as I type this blog. I mention this as this makes getting
it right the first time of utmost importance. Our renovation window
is tight and there will be no time for errors. We chose Chuck and Susan because
they are taking full responsibility for the construction and installation of
the new kitchen; a task that I have turned over to the experts, Silverdale Hill
Cabinetry, leaving me to
Now, what to do about the
counter tops? Durability and clean-ability is a must!! Our current 36 year
old laminate counter tops are starting to lift and bulge at the seams from
water damage. And can you believe it,
but a guest put a hot pan down on the laminate counter and melted the surface?
Who would do that sort of thing? Answer…Maybe a guest that was having
lots of fun and lots of wine? We certainly don’t want to limit the fun factor
so a counter surface where guests can make some mistakes and we won’t notice is
a GREAT idea.
Many have been recommending man-made quartz counters such as
Silestone. It certainly does have the qualities that would be perfect for our
kitchen: easy care, durable, scratch resistant, heat resistant, etc. Quartz
counters have so many patterns to chose from and solve many of the challenges
that need to be met in a vacation rental but they are at the high end of the
price scale for good reason.
 |
| Iced Brown granite counters |
Shopping for appliances required hours of research at
the computer. With the “pre-search” complete it was time to make
the trip into the Sears appliance department to really get a feel for what will
work in our vacation rental. Sears carries a wide variety of appliances as you
all know. Plus buying the Kenmore name is a budget savor and yet Kenmore is made
by the major manufacturers: dishwashers are Bosch, refrigerators are Samsung,
and ovens made by Electrolux. My
salesman was enthusiastic and knowledgeable and after 2 hours or more he was
pretty excited about the opportunity to sell me all new appliances. Although, I wasn’t SOLD: the oven had a metal
lip where food, grease, and dirt could collect and the counter depth
refrigerator was WAY TOO SMALL. I exited
Sears with all my new appliance knowledge with a “I will need to study this.”
Moving on down the road I stopped at Colony
Warehouse Appliance in West Vancouver where I met Vicki. Her goal was to satisfy me
and my guests with a realistic budget, simple operating instructions,
durability, clean-ability, and reliable products!!! Most important, could the appliances
be serviced by our one-and-only appliance repairman on Bowen Island? This
eliminated all LG appliances as they consider Bowen to be a remote location and
not covered under their typical warranty.
ON NO……….It is not an option to load up an LG refrigerator, haul it up
our 4 wheel drive road, drive it onto the ferry and deliver it to an appliance repair shop in Vancouver for the next
couple of weeks. Bowen Island Appliance Repair needs to be able to service all
appliances in a VERY timely manner.
I LOVE a salesperson that
listens and satisfies my every need!! Vicki
sourced and recommended the appliances and of course I purchased all of them from
her. I think I spent a bit more than I might have at Sears but I know that my
goals were achieved with the help of an appliance expert that was also an
excellent listener.
 |
| Whirlpool Convection with a steam clean feature |
The new wall oven is a
convection oven from Whirlpool. Anna, my star cleaner, will LOVE the steam
oven cleaning option. And I will appreciate that the steam clean and convection
are both energy saving features. http://www.whirlpool.com/-[WOS92EC0AS]-1020952/WOS92EC0AS/
Not to mention that convection is by far
a more superior baking method over my gas oven at home. Who doesn't love an evenly golden brown roasted turkey?
We wondered if our guests would find a double oven useful.
Nah!!! Who wants to cook that much on vacation? But just in case, we chose the Samsung convection – microwave oven with
a trim kit and will build it into the cabinetry. That “coffee warmer” will have
more purpose and no longer steal our precious counter space. For the ultimate in convenience it will be
located right next to our new coffee / wine station……of course!
The cook top from AEG is reliable,
affordable and the glass top is protected with a stainless edge so it can’t be
chipped. “VERY smart thinking,” I say to Vicki. Come to think of it, I may have created a deep
cleaning issue along that stainless steel edge…..but hey, the top edges won’t chip.
I love all the burner size options and the fact that there are no knobs to
clean. http://www.aeg-appliances.ca/product/hk854080xb/
For the vent hood, once again, we
consulted with my star cleaner, Anna ………..would a glass hood be easy to clean?
With her blessing we ordered the AEG island hood as it would be functional and
yet it would not visually distract from the gorgeous waterfront view.
The new stainless
refrigerator required major research to make me happy: it needed an ice
maker, no in-door water dispenser, high storage capacity and only 30” wide. When
we arrive on Bowen we come with 3 weeks of produce and groceries. Hey, I am
Island bound out of choice. No longer was the counter depth refrigerator an
option…….not enough cubic feet of storage for my needs. But hey, what about that new Samsung French
door fridge with the freezer / fridge compartment? That would be perfect but
the $4000 price tag was less than ideal. Other French door fridges were too
wide (36” or more), in-door water dispensers stole premium storage space not to
mention another moving part that could
The Bosch brand dishwasher
is the quietest on the market: reliable, water efficient, and
quiet. Our GREAT ROOM open floor plan
requires a dishwasher that is quiet for our guest’s sake. When the sun goes
down on Bowen there is no traffic noise or white noise to drown out the swooshing
of a dishwasher. Shhhhhh…….the Petite Suite guests are sleeping in the suite down
stairs. http://www.bosch-home.com/us/search.html?q=she65t55uc
Quiet was a must! Hey, the fact that we are finally adding a dishwasher that is
not manual, as in YOU and ME……is a fantastic new amenity that my guests and I will
love.
Demolition of the old
kitchen begins October 14, 2014. We are so excited and anxious
at the same time. Have we made the right decision to renovate the 37 year old
kitchen? Will we be able to maintain the charm of the cabin? Will our guests appreciate the
modern conveniences? We, “I” am hoping the answer is “yes” to all the
questions. At the very least, we know for sure that we will enjoy the new
layout and the new appliances. I sincerely hope that I have accurately tuned
into the needs of our past and future guests. We will know the results soon……..stay
tuned for the reveal at the end of December 2014. You all can let me know if it works…..or not.
.jpg) |
| The future kitchen layout to be completed by December 2014 |
Comments