Our_Florida_House

Plans and Ideas for our kitchen remodel

2012-02-17T17:55:00.001-05:00

Forgive my basic drawings! I used the Microsoft Paint program (do not have access to my drawing program at this time, so I decided to make do so I could visualize the direction I was headed)

This is what the plan is so far. The first Elevation is the sink wall, Wall A, I plan on making a wood overlay on top of the soffit to tie in the soffit treatment valance connecting the two cabinets on either side of the hood over the stove.

The cook's pantry cabinet will be full 24" depth and have dawers on the bottom for special bakeware, the upper part will be custom fit for spices and foods used in meal preparations. This design is TBD (to be determined).

So is the island TBD, so far it will be Ikea butcher block counter on top and sides with legs added and an antique butcher block fit into the back end. The tile you see (black and white) is an actual tile insert to appear as a floor cloth under the island. The black tile will also be worked into the back splash in the square behind the stove.

Last you see my IDEA board where I saved photos from INSPIRATIONAL photos to add to the photos (before kitchen at top, our fridge, our hood, our butcher block).

The inspirational Idea photo collage also shows the ceiling treatment I want to use and tie in the wood colors with the island. The picture below shows an antique mahogany bed footboard that I have and want to use for the legs of the island (solid Mahogany and very hefty and heavy). The wood slab is the butcher block island counter top from Ikea we plan on using, and using less thick for sides to create an illusion of an 11" thick butcher block since our Antique one will be set into the back side of the island I wanted to keep it all similar in texture, color and one design.

Our kichen interum (as we are living with it and planning our remodel)

2012-02-17T17:37:00.001-05:00

The plan showing the RED shows where we plan on changing what is existing already.

The Green plan shows where we will build or move something in the plan.

The kitchen will be

emptied of existing cabinets and existing tile flooring
New floor tiles to go with rest of the house (tile the same throughout)
stove hood installed properly (now have non-venting, new one will vent to outside)
Desk area removed and that path to the laundry and back door will be widened
Instead of laundry sink, there will be a 72" wide Elkay stainless sink used as a vegetable sink where we can wash what we bring in from the garden (we have started building raised beds in the yard) from that small window over the sink in that small room, I have full view of my herb garden raised bed.
Peninsula will be gone and island put in so that we can walk into the kitchen space from two directions easily and have extra counter for the cook
Kitchen area designed for the cook, with island, chopping block, cook's pantry, stove within easy reach, food prep for veggies can be second person station on pantry sink, leaving main sink for cook's use.
The small A/C closet is removed so that we can use that space to create more counter space for the cook area
Washer/Dryer show slightly now, so the new plan has that opening change a few inches to hide the front of the machines from the main view of the kitchen, the way it is designed (and our Bosch front loaders are quiet already)
The refrigerator will be built-in where the desk used to be so we do not have a huge refrigerator box in the kitchen any longer.
The area where the Peninsula used to be joined to the wall to the right of the sink will now become visible from the front door, so will be a drawer base there, used for all tableware for dining room table which is to the left of the kitchen space.

Our Kitchen BEFORE (we plan to remodel)

2012-02-17T17:21:00.002-05:00

These are BEFORE photos of our kitchen in our Florida house. Pictures taken at time of inspection. I could hardly stand all that pinky beige and no electricity and it was cloudy out, made for a dingy place. The ceiling is so blocked up with the boxed lighting that is in the room.

The small open closet ( no door on the A/C closet in the kitchen) we took that out, had new A/C installed and the unit is now in the garage. The 3 floating shelves are used as a desk in other houses on the street. (a development with similar houses). across the 3 shelves is a laundry sink and next to the shelves is a pantry. Past that little room you can see into the laundry room, and the garage entrance is to the right.

The kitchen has a Peninsula that blocks 3/4 of the entrance on the side of the kitchen towards the eating/dining area. And the opening above the sink is to the Den with a counter to eat at. So, we have counter at sink, on Peninsula and 6' away place for a dining table. Too many...

I included the floor plan of this kitchen/ dining/den and back room relationships to show how they work.

Phil's kitchen 3

2012-02-17T16:38:00.002-05:00

These are cell phone photos. I had to leave the jobsite early so my son took these pics. This is as far as we got with photos for now, we have had a couple of delays and when we get back will work on the wall on the other side of the room (hang cabinets) and hopefully finish that counter top. Then some little bit of work at my daughter's house, then onto MAKING DOORS!

Phil's kitchen continued 2

2012-02-17T16:32:00.004-05:00

The first photo is of the Formica brand laminate top. The second photo is the motivational photo I found online that the kitchen will end up looking like. The 3rd photo shows the whole sink wall torn out. Almost 2 days were spent on electrical (new feed to this wall and all new GFI receptacles etc.) and plumbing for DW, garbage disposal, water lines, etc. The last photo shows the handle we got for the kitchen which are exactly like the inspirational photo. I found them on Craigslist for $1 each! That was a great deal!

We started work on my son Phil's kitchen

2012-02-17T16:26:00.000-05:00

We have started work on my son Phil's kitchen. We have not finished with my daughter Amy's kitchen yet, but all the cabinets are being made and installed first so they can put things away, then the doors will all be manufactured once installation of all cabinets are finished.

Fabric for Amy's dining chair seats

2011-11-29T17:36:00.000-05:00

My daughter Amy loved the fabric (1st photo with circles) It is Waverly Circular Motion (wood will be gray as the cabinets but distressed on chairs)
The second (yellow) is the feature wall in the dining room color. You can see this wall directly across from the kitchen. The 3rd color (gray) is the color of the base cabinets. The upper wall cabinets will be white.

Lizard (Gecko) gift tag that is so Florida!

2011-11-27T23:11:00.002-05:00

Found this gift tag on Printerest today and it led me to Larissa Holland at mmmcrafts Blog who posted the Tutorial on the Blog: Skip to my Lou.

click on photos to see larger

Check out the Blogs for Tutorials and many other crafts to make!

This is my official Florida gift tag for any gifts I give. I am thinking I will also make it my calling card! Informal card to give out my cell # and Blog address to new friends! Don't you just LOVE finding a great idea!
Picture of a gecko type we have in Florida (this picture I found online) they are so cute and we love having them around.

Printerest is FUN to look at eye candy!

2011-11-26T19:51:00.001-05:00

PRINTEREST
That is the link to my Printerest board page
I am Mary Ruth Kozma as I am everywhere online even Facebook if you want to connect or see what I have saved on Printerest

Amy's Kitchen remodel continued 4

2011-11-26T17:40:00.001-05:00

Above is the sink after installation. The backsplash (formica Celesta) is 1 3/4" ht to allow for more room for the tile backsplash they are going to install themselves. The wall has to be repaired from pulling down what was on the wall prior to our install. The sink drain (looks gray on right side) due to screen placed over drain.

Below: Amy's dining room wall that faces kitchen is Yellow. That is a temporary table for the dining area.

Below: a CL find for Amy (she found). You can't see too well, but it is a set of drawers in island style wood. You can get a glimpse into the kitchen with cabinets installed but no doors or drawer fronts yet.

The top wall cabinets will be painted white, the lower base cabinets will be painted a dark gray. Amy's choice.

My daughter's Kitchen continued 3 floor plan

2011-11-21T15:36:00.000-05:00

Here is the floor plan after measuring and making a ton of small decisions, ideas had to be scrapped and we had to bend with what was there (windows, doorways, sink wall etc) See how lucky she is to have a laundry/ pantry room next to the kitchen! We incorporated that room into the kitchen design. This room is on hold until the shed is finished to alleviate the storage they have had to keep here. Gives us a break to move on to kitchen #2, my son's, who lives near my daughter's house.
PLEASE excuse my drawings I had to draw them with Microsoft Paint because I cannot find my drawing program! This was not easy to do! I used copy and paste a lot!

Stove wall shows drawer for utensils and small cooking gadgets to the right and pot drawers to the left of stove with full extension glides to hold all pots and pans.

Sink wall under window. This wall, the plumbing had to be redone before we could install any cabinetry. I made this wall an extra 2" deep because we were customizing the counter top (we were making it anyway) and the sink I found was going to be so large, I wanted to add extra depth.

Refrigerator wall, there is a soffit obstruction above the fridge so we minimized cabinet cabinet work by having a basic cabinet here that will get cut around it.

This is the pantry/laundry room. We added a customized area for a wine cooler (we had and don't need, so we gave it to her) and the storage here will help to take away any clutter from the kitchen with not-so-used items going here under cover in the cabinets. There is a counter to provide an area to put things that need returning to the store, or for items purchased and not put away yet. The side door entrance is across from these cabinets.

Amy's Kitchen continued 4

My daughter's Kitchen continued 2

2011-11-21T15:19:00.000-05:00

The material chosen for the counter top was Formica (brand) and she chose a light gray because base cabinets are going to be painted dark gray and wall cabinets white. Peter made the counter tops and applied Formica.

What this photo shows is the full back. We used 1/4" material for the full back that is slid in a dado on the panel sides. Then we added a rail at the top and the bottom for installation. This would provide secure places to attach the cabinet to the wall (where studs are). No edgebanding is required on the back side because it is against the wall.

The cabinets were primed inside and out, then painted on the inside before transporting to my daughter's house.
Amy's Kitchen continued 3

Amy's Kitchen remodel 1

2011-11-21T15:10:00.000-05:00

We had a long year full of recovery (Cervical spine surgery) and therapy, rest, therapy, rest, therapy. And here we are today. I am doing more around the house which is not all unpacked yet. Who cares, I am in retirement mode! Or is it just the way Florida creeps into you with its relaxed carefree mood? Either way I got it!

What I am up to?
My daughter bought a house that needed work, so we are helping her out by making the kitchen for her. She really had nothing as it had been torn out by former owner hoping to replace it with new cabinets that never happened. So, she opted for no kitchen and extra room in her price range. She bought across the street from the neighborhood entrance to a wonderful park she enjoys walking in every day! We have a 2 1/2 hr drive to her house and go two times a month to deliver the cabinets. My husband follows the plan we drew up and goes to a shop we share with his friend and cuts all the material for a Euro style cabinet that is paint grade 3/4" plywood. We chose this style because it shows the least reveal around the door (where you see cabinet behind door). This first photo shows the box with holes for adjustable shelves and edge banding on the front of the cabinet (box).

This photo shows the drawers Peter (my husband) made from wood and drawer box bottom. We didn't use the drawer box stick material (sold at lumber yard) because the top drawer was made to be deeper than the typical drawer. We made all top drawers at 6" all around. This allows for double height than typical. I like the drawer sides to be taller too so that nothing gets thrown out of the drawer if it sticks to something when you close it. I put a drawer divider in the drawer with silverware to give a scale for the drawer size. We used regular drawer glides for these drawers and full extension glides for the pot drawers. This drawer base went to the right of the sink and had 3 6" deep drawers and bottom around 8" deep.

Amy's Kitchen continued 2

OH MY been just about a year since my last post!

2011-10-02T22:50:00.000-04:00

IT was a long recovery from Cervical Spine surgery and therapy. But I have gone through it and am doing so much better now.

I have to take more time to do things, so I have not much time to post about 'me'. I have done a couple of small projects, one being a chair for my grand daughter. I was so happy to do this considering the use of my hands is not what it used to be.
I had found 2 of the chairs (shown as before) for $10 on Craigslist. My grand daughter saw one and liked it, but of course in her fabrics. So, I decided to go 'funky' with her and try it out. This is my very first attempt at reupholstering a chair. I have done lots of dining room chair seats, but not as extensive as this project was. I will learn as I do more in the future as I enjoyed it very much. I especially loved the look on her face and her reaction when she saw it for the first time. This is a vintage chair, so it is smaller scaled than living room furniture, so it is appropriate for her bedroom and gives her a place to sit and put on her shoes, or catch clothes! I picked the pink zebra print and she wanted the other white background print. I combined the two to make the chair more funky. IF you look too closely you will see the fabric is not taught on the seat, or is it perfectly straight! She forgives me, and I know she will change her mind next year or so and I will probably do it over in another color! The fabric was on sale, and the chair $5, so we could afford to give her what she wanted so she can learn her own taste and try out colors and prints.

UPDATE Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T09:09:00.000-05:00

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration this year! As for me, I am counting my blessings and am thankful to be closer to family this year and am where I want to be (back in Florida). I am from Nova Scotia (where it is COLD) and now, Florida is where I call home.

I have not been on here for a while. As some of you know, I fell about 3 1/2 years ago, it was a life changing event. I have had a few surgeries to repair bone and recently had 3 discs in my lower Cervical spine (neck) repaired. I did get a cage and some screws put in (not by choice) and am home recovering from this recent surgery. So, not much has been going on in the way of decorating! But that didn't stop me from dreaming and planning. A LOT of ideas collected for this small 1700 sq foot house!

We were not going to move in right away until certain things done first. But, closing date and surgery date (we were waiting 6 months on both) came about very close together! We got everything done we wanted for before-move-in condition. I wanted the floor finished as well, but it didn't work out that way. So, we have the existing carpet. It was professionally cleaned, has stains, but is livable for now. I cannot deal with a reno-type upheval in the house at this time so that is on hold until we are ready.

My main computer is down, we shut it off at the apartment, put it in my car (very carefully) and then brought it into the house, put the tower on the floor, plugged it in and nothing! All my pictures and links are on that computer. So, I do have a lot working against my posting updates on this Blog. I will persevere and find a way to get back to posting.

I am in FB and have had a few of my followers find me and ask me to update, so here I am. I hope to increase my time back on the Blog and bring my projects to this online page to share with my cyber decorating friends. Thanks for you patience in waiting for me to go through some of my trials and changes. I feel blessed I made it this far and am ON THE MEND!

Floor plans

2010-08-20T13:27:00.000-04:00

I reposted the photo of the house here to help relate to the floor plan.

This is the floor plan AS IS. The house is about 1700 sq feet, with a one-car garage (I know we really wanted a two-car) but Peter said it was a deep one and good sized, he could work with it.

There are some funky walls in the laundry/pantry area that we are going to change. I didn't get a split plan as I had looked for, but I didn't mind the Master being separated by a hallway. We have grand kids that will sleep over and like that they would be on the same side of the house to be able to hear them when they get up and about.

The kitchen is usable until we are settled in. But it is getting a total remodel. I want an island for better traffic flow and the small pantry will be an extended part of the kitchen. I will post before pictures soon.

Craigslist find - 2 iron chairs

2010-08-20T13:22:00.000-04:00

Of course what do I do with my spare time while waiting to take posession of the house? Browse Craigslist of course! I found these chairs, they are real wrought iron and had been purchased some years back at an antique auction. They are solid, heavy and in good condition. The original color is a deep blue, I will keep them that color and preserve the finish until I find where I will put them. They will be under cover from the elements in a screened in area. This is not my photo, it was the one used by the seller in the listing. (I do not keep cats)

East Coast Florida beach

2010-08-17T19:44:00.000-04:00

This is how the beaches are laid out in this Space Coast area. There are 3 bridges to connect mainland (where I will live) and the beaches. So, if you live a good short distance from any of the 3 bridges, you have a shorter trip to the beaches! There are many spots to stop along A-1A. The bridges go over the intercoastal, and then onto the peninsula where it's East Coast is accessable to the Atlantic Ocean. Orlando is not far to the West of this Northern area.This is a Google Earth map. We have shells here on the beach, lots are broken because they bang around rocks before reaching our coastline. I have found some and will find a place for them in my yard.

Not too many people at the the beach last Sunday morning. There are usually a few men fishing along the shoreline as we walk by. This is not a tourist area so the beach stays pretty calm peope-wise, mostly locals and their visitors. I am living within a 10 minute or less drive to the beach, the house we bought will now be 7 miles more South West of the beach, but it is worth the drive!

Overview & orientation of backyard

2010-08-17T19:37:00.000-04:00

Our backyard to this Florida house. There is a canal beyond the trees so the breeze is wonderful. Our yard is small, which will eventually become all patio rooms. beyond the fence is grass that is common area and we don't have to mow it or take care of it, just enjoy the greenery! The grass in that backyard is now mowed and no longer looking through weeds!

New Blog, we bought a house in Florida

2010-08-16T09:59:00.000-04:00

I started this new Blog because I wanted it to be separate from my other Virginia House blog since we moved last fall to Florida.

We bought a Foreclosure house. I was not looking for one, but since we are heading for retirement a few years ahead, and the economy is the way it is, my realtor (after having viewed my VA house blog) said we might be interested in some of the TLC type homes. That way we would be putting in the finishes we like. I had commented to him how I hate paying 20 to 40 thousand more for a house only to tear out all the 'new' floors and kitchens' they put in to sell, to put in our taste. So, after viewing about 20 houses online from the listings he sent me, I finally found about 6 to drive by and view.

I got a lot of chances to see other neighborhoods here in the area we settled in by driving around. We fell into this pocket of a neighborhood that is older but has older trees with shade. We found a cute 4 bedroom house a few weeks ago that gave us the buying fever. The only problem it had was that it was near a preserve with lots of Peacocks! We loved seeing the birds, but upon doing research online and talking to the neighbors there we discovered that they are very loud and destructive to plants. Someone told us they scratch your car when they land on it and ruin the finish. So, we kept looking.

I came across this listing, and as I walked in, I felt this house had a lot of the features that I had come to like in other houses I had viewed in person. It sure pays to look around when buying a house and to remember the feeling you get as you find features you love, such as a yard, a view, or the layout of the kitchen, etc. I made a list of what I liked. This house had 70% at least of that list and I felt it right away. We put a bid in, and it was accepted. We close within 3 weeks.

Here is the listing photo: House 1650 sq feet, all on one floor, small yard (easy maintenance).