Concept to Finished Kitchen

In the very beginnings of the design process for the “L” Shaped House we spent considerable time planning the kitchen area. In this blog posting from February 2009 we included a photograph of a kitchen that both Deb and I found pleasing. The image below presents the concept kitchen and the very real space in a before and after format.

Interior Photos of the “L” Shaped House

After a little more than one year of living in the “L” Shaped House I’ve decided to take on a project to photograph all of the interior rooms. As the kitchen is the main gathering point in the house it makes for a fine starting point. The first photo below shows our mixer on the countertop in the back corner with the Cambria island out front.

The next photo shows the view of the island from the doorway leading to the breezeway. Here we see archways leading to both the dining area and the foyer inside the front door.

The last photo shows the kitchen and dining area from the far corner of the dining room table. Here we can see the archways separating all of the first floor rooms in the open style Mike Kloti envisioned in the original plans.

Fireplace…Artwork 2

Anna and I stopped in at the “L” Shaped House around 7:30 pm tonight to drop off a couple of things and wander around a little. I took the photo of our new fireplace below as the sun was setting and photo-shopped one of Harry Heim’s beautiful water color paintings above the mantel. Actually I could not resist this painting and bought it at the Heim Retrospective Art Show going on at Gethsemane Lutheran Church through the end of October. It may very well find it’s way to this spot in the “L” Shaped House.

Window treatments…Day 1

Our friends from the Little Blind Spot in Hopkins showed up this morning to install the first round of window treatments in the “L” Shaped House. We decided to put blinds in the bedrooms, bathrooms, and the first floor music room in this first effort.

The first photo below shows the pleated fabric blinds partially extended in the front music room window shortly after they were installed this morning.  The light brown fabric complements the wall color and the the blinds shade the afternoon sun nicely.

The next photo shows the music room blinds fully retracted in the windows on the front side of the room. The last photo shows the new blinds in Helen’s room upstairs. All of the other windows are getting this same style of blind installed.

Glass…Kitchen cabinets

Nate picked up the fluted glass for the kitchen cabinet doors and installed it late this afternoon. The photos here show both cabinets with the new glass installed in the doors.

Nice…

 

Furnishings…Helen’s room

Sam, Helen, and I  went to the “L” Shaped House this morning and assembled Helen’s new IKEA bed. The first photo the bed centered up on the wall in her room after all the fun was over

We absolutely loved assembling all 192 pieces that make up the slatted base assembly…!@%$#%@.

Next a shot of the finished bed sitting under Helen’s chandelier…and finally Helen trying out her new bed for the very first time…

Fireplace…Day 5

Matt Sletten was back this afternoon and finished up the cultured stone on the fireplace. I think that I’ll just let the three photos here speak for themselves adding only…

Nice work Matt!

Fireplace…The weekend report

I took my “good” camera to the house on Sunday morning to shoot a couple photos of Matt’s progress on the living room fireplace (the Canon 5D does a much better job of picking up the subtle tones in the room). I am particularly happy with the the way the wall color compliments the limestone hearth, cultured stones and dark stained mantel. Combining the Mesa Verde and Sierra colors is working really nice.

 

The next photo shows the fireplace wall in the living room from the same position as the Photoshop example we used as we selected the elements in this space. The fireplace is turning out even better than I hoped!

Fireplace…Hearth and stones

Matt Sletten was back yesterday to start the stone work around the living room fireplace. The photo below shows the fireplace just minutes after Matt and I slid the hearth into place. We placed a few of the Eldorado Stone cultured stones around the front side of the fireplace surround to get an idea of how it might look. I’m really excited to see this last element of the decorating plan come to life!

The “L” Shaped House…Lights & Laundry

As the carpenters, painters, and clean-up crew make their last pass through a space in the “L” Shaped House it is transformed into what Deb and I have been dreaming about for a year and a half. This series of photos show the first rooms that can be considered “done”. The photo below shows the back wall of the master bath with lights, mirrors, and plumbing fixtures all in place and ready to be used!

The second photo shows the same back wall of the master bath from just outside the hallway leading to the walk-in closets off the master bedroom. This view captures the “feel” of our new home nicely. Deb and Katie's decorating choices combined with the great workmanship throughout the building process have produced a really wonderful space. The last photo shows the washer and dryer installed along the back wall of the first floor laundry room. This space has honestly exceeded our expectations considerably. Neither Deb nor I were convinced it would be large enough, and getting the right laundry machines was frustrating…but in the end the room looks like it is going to be perfect!

Appliances…The basement refrigerator

I pushed the Samsung refrigerator back up to the wall and took a few photos showing how it fits into the basement kitchen. While the Samsung refrigerator is only 3” taller, 3” wider, and 2” shallower than the GE; it seems to “fit” in the space much better. The grey sides and stainless front blend into the decorating nicely as well.

A shot of the new Samsung with the refrigerator door and freezer drawer open.

Glass…Day 1

Seth from (blank) was out this morning to install shower doors in the master and first floor bathrooms. He also measured for the shower door in the basement bathroom and a giant dance/karate mirror on the end wall of the bonus room. The first two photos show the newly installed shower door in the master bathroom. Seth encouraged us to use a semi-frameless door system with 1/4” clear glass. I think the results are really very nice!

The next photo shows the door on the first floor bathroom shower. The clear glass in the shower doors will allow anyone using the bathrooms at the “L” Shaped House to admire Matt Sletten’s  beautiful tile work.

Fireplace…The cultured stone

Hedberg (masonry supplies) delivered the mountain ledge cultured stone from Eldorado Stone to the “L” Shaped House late yesterday afternoon. We ordered four boxes of stone in the Mesa Verde color and one in Sierra. The plan is to cover the front face of the fireplace using predominately Mesa Verde but have Matt Sletten “sneak-in” a few Sierra stones to lighten up the stone face just a little.

The photo below shows two opened boxes of Mesa Verde stones. Here you can see that even within one color there is a lot of variation in tone and texture. Matt is going to build the wall using a “dry stack” method that basically eliminates grout lines and should produce a beautiful stone face on the front of the fireplace.

Appliances…Day 4

Today was a day filled with changes to the appliances at the “L” Shaped House. First the new Samsung Refrigerator we bought at Lowes was delivered and set up in the basement kitchen. We decided to return the GE refrigerator we selected earlier just because we like the way this one fits in the space (it’s wider, taller, and, importantly…shallower).

Sorry about the bottom freezer Sam…

Second…Paul took the Faber vent hood down and set about accommodating our desire to have it mounted 3” lower on the wall. This required tearing one course of the tile backsplash off the wall, adding some additional blocking, extensive sheetrock repairs, and (probably) a little grumbling about fussy homeowners. It looks like he has everything ready to re-install the hood tomorrow.

Thanks Paul!

Electrical…Day 14

Luke from Wire-Rite is back today installing light fixtures in the “L” Shaped House. The first photo below shows the IKEA chandelier in Helen’s room. With this addition…Helen’s plan for a “movie star” themed room seems well on it’s way toward completion. The second photo shows the Kichler Light fixture Deb and Katie selected installed in the ceiling of the master bedroom.

Electrical…Day 12

Luke was back Friday afternoon installing electrical fixtures at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the fan Anna selected for her room installed in the ceiling.

It is simply Spectacular!

And a video of the fan in action!

The next two photos show some of the new bathroom fixtures Luke installed. In the first we see the sealed shower light and ceiling fan assembly installed in the master bath. The second shows the fan and light in the kids bathroom.

The last photo shows the new sconces on the outside wall in the book nook at the top of the front stairs. Deb and Dianne (Cartier Lighting) picked these fixtures from World Imports. The pleated shades surrounding the iron fixtures looks really nice in this space.

Cabinets…Installing knobs and pulls

Paul Winters has been busy installing knobs, Bin-pulls, and cabinet pulls throughout the “L” Shaped House. The first photo below shows the back corner of the kitchen after he completed installing the cabinet hardware late yesterday afternoon. That we decided to include an abundance of drawers in the kitchen is pretty obvious in this shot!

See Deb and Martha’s knob and cabinet pull plan here.

The next photo shows the kitchen desk area with all of the cabinet hardware installed. Here we can see all three of our hardware selections…The knobs on the doors, the bin pulls on the drawers, and the cabinet pulls on the long doors of the kitchen pantry cabinet.

The last photo shows Paul’s hardware installation operations underway on the built-in desks in the book nook at the top of the stairs.

Plumbing…Day 14

Jeremy from Steinkraus Plumbing is back working to install fixtures throughout the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the Delta Victorian faucet assembly Deb and Katie selected for the kitchen sink installed and ready for use. We decided to include a separate faucet for filtered water it the kitchen sink but eliminate the soap dispenser in the four holes we allowed in the Cambria countertop.

The next photo shows the new plumbing fixtures in the kids bathroom. Here we are using elements of the same Delta Victorian line for the tub and shower. The last photo shows where most of Jeremy's time was consumed as he worked to get all of the water supply lines fitted and shut-oof valves installed.

Carpeting…Day 2 (evening report)

We stopped by the “L” Shaped House after supper to check out the new carpets on the second floor. The carpeting has absolutely transformed the place…making the house seem like a home! The photos here pretty much speak for themselves but I will say that I think that Katie and Deb have done a fantastic job with the textures and colors throughout the space.

The view out of (and in to) the master bedroom walk-in closets.

The master bedroom.

The book nook, stairs, and hallway.