21 November 2007

Kitchen details

Well, we replaced the trailer window with a nice boxy garden window. I love it. In the winter it is full of houseplants. They really thrive there. And now I get tons of natural light in the kitchen, and great ventilation.

I have six spots of recessed lighting in the ceiling, one pretty fixture over the sink, and small halogen spots under the cabinets. I kind of wish I had known more about LED lighting when we were choosing lighting. I have halogen or incandescent everywhere, absolutely no fluorescent. I realize that fluorescent is far more energy efficient, and I am all for that, but fluorescent lighting is a migraine trigger for me. So it was strictly forbidden.
When we tore the laminate off the walls we found several layers of wall covering. I'm not sure I even remember all of them, I think I've blocked it from my memory. My favourite was the genuine linoleum wall covering. I wish I had taken a picture, but later I recognized it in Jane Powell's book Linoleum. It was pink, made to look like square tiles, and it had neat shiny gold flecks. Not that I'd want a whole kitchen like that.

When we got down to the plaster, we realized it was pretty beat. It wasn't falling away from the lath, but it was just in bad shape. So, we decided to cover it with new beadboard. I don't know if this kitchen ever had beadboard walls, but I don't care. I like it, and I think it looks appropriate for a 1930 bungalow.

I've always loved beadboard. White bead board walls. But that wouldn't look right with the white cabinets. And I didn't want to commit the cabinets to a color I would grow tired of. I wanted a green kitchen. Depression green. Grandma's kitchen green. But I knew I didn't want green cabinets. So, I thought maybe we’d paint or do a green stain on the beadboard walls, something that will show the grain. Nobody else liked the idea. Well, I let the guys talk me out of it. I'm glad they did, I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out, and I'm not married to any one color.
I've got a nice piece of crown to top the beadboard, and a plate rail runs the length of the kitchen. I decided I wanted to have the crown at the same level as the crown piece on the doorways would be. Nearly all the wood trim in the kitchen had to be replicated, the original, if it was ever there in the first place, was long gone. We used all pine for the kitchen, and it was stained much more red than the rest of the house. I like the more red tone to the wood.
The grey counter was chosen and ordered when I thought I was painting the beadboard walls green. I think it would look better now if I had chosen a green. Maybe someday. It is only laminate. I really wanted soapstone, but it just wasn't in the budget.

My stepmother, Kathy, kindly thought of me when her own daughter was moving out of an apartment where she had her own practically new (one year) appliances to an apartment that already had them. And while almond wasn't my first color choice, I'm so grateful to have them: they are far more energy efficient than the stuff left behind by the previous owners, plus they were free.

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