A New Kitchen for an Old House

Even before we purchased our home eleven years ago, Daniel and I knew the kitchen would eventually have to be renovated.  It lacked a dishwasher.  The refrigerator, while functional, was small – fitting the latest Costco purchases into the freezer was a challenge in space utilization.  Then there were the counters: one was laminated wood; the other a weird plastic-like laminate in an indescribable color.  Over the years, we made small changes.  We added a dishwasher in 2013, and replaced the range in 2016.  Time and experience allowed us to determine exactly what the kitchen needed to be brought up to its potential – within the limitations that our 1942 house would allow.  First, space needed to be allocated more efficiently as expansion was not an option.  As it was, the kitchen lacked a logical flow.  The food preparation area was on the opposite side from the stove – not optimal for getting food from place to place.  Previous owners had installed a bulky faux antique phone which prevented us from being able to open one of the cabinet doors.  Above the stove was a tacky looking fluorescent light fixture that wasn’t a good fit for any era. 

The food-prep station, opposite the stove. 

                                                      

Note the bulky phone and small fridge.

The stove area.

Our goals were: configure the new cabinets so a modern fridge could be installed; open up counter space so we could fit our coffee maker, toaster, and other small appliances as needed; improve the flow by placing the preparation area nearer the stove.  Plus there was the “look” we were after: as the kitchen sits between the vibrantly colored dining and family rooms, we wanted as neutral a look as possible, and quickly settled on greyscale. 

As friends had warned me about how they tend to show fingerprints, we decided against a trendy stainless-steel fridge.  Plus, as our cabinets were going to be grey, we wanted a white fridge, which would not only provide a nice contrast, but match the other appliances. 

After shopping around, we decided to go with Northeast Factory Direct for the cabinets. Their designer, Alicia Kondrich, was able to translate my ramblings into a mockup that allowed us to visualize the kitchen’s ultimate state.  The quote for the cabinets was very reasonable – far less than the cost at a standard retail outfit would be, yet with the features expected in a modern kitchen: soft close drawers and cabinets, solid wood construction. 

With the cabinets decided, the next step was countertops.  We knew we wanted granite, so Alicia referred us to Bradley Stone.  Their representative showed me a generous selection of stone, and we settled on steel grey. 

Deconstructing the kitchen turned up some interesting things: the faux antique phone was covering a nook on the wall (there are several of these in our home, including in each bedroom); the cabinets were directly connected to the wall and most likely original to the house; behind the backsplash were the remains of the original plumbing – at one point the kitchen had a farmer’s sink.  The crew also made an alarming discovery: a hastily patched electrical fix in which a line was run over a wall to make room for another outlet, the cord attached to the wall with a nail – thus our kitchen renovation revealed an existing potential fire hazard and the reason that running the dishwasher and microwave caused the circuit breaker to trip.  Within one workday, the old cabinets had been removed and the new cabinets installed.  

The demoed kitchen…

…and discovered cubby

The next morning, a representative from Bradley stone came to do the final measure and very thoroughly went over the options and what would need to be completed before the installers came.  That evening, our new fridge was delivered and installed.

New kitchen sans countertops.

There followed two weeks in which we had limited use of our kitchen – no countertops, no sink, no use of the dishwasher.  We made do by using plastic plates and cutlery, eating easy to prepare foods, and going out to eat.  This did not help with my diet.  But once the countertops and sink were installed and the plumbing hooked back up, we now had a fully useable kitchen. 

The Bradley Stone installers.

The final phase was painting and replacement of the flooring.  Certa-Pro’s crew, who did an excellent job on our living room, hallway, and 2^nd bedroom in 2016, took care of our kitchen.  

The vinyl flooring had held up fairly well for the 30 or so years it had been there, but the base was creaky and the look was dated.  We went with Shaw Flooring through our local Costco and decided on Markarian Pine vinyl to replace it – both durable and in sync with our color scheme.  Once the installers arrived, there was yet another archaeological discovery: underneath the vinyl was a linoleum floor – probably from the 1960s.  The new floor is not merely attractive, but quiet and has a soft feel that’s welcoming to bare feet. 

The new floor.

Our now complete kitchen is a pleasure to cook in – and we’re already becoming more adventurous in our cuisine.  This was the most complex and – aside from the garage – our most expensive renovation.  It’s unlikely it will ever pay for itself in terms of overall home value.  But the cost and the disruption were entirely worth it.  We love our new kitchen.  

The completed kitchen.

Pepe Romero at Severance

For those of us who don’t care to make the trek to Blossom Music Centre, the Cleveland Orchestra’s Summers@Severance series, with short concerts at 7pm Friday’s followed by an outdoor mixer, is a blessing.  Fortuitously, Severance Hall was one of the first concert halls built with central air conditioning, much appreciated during this heat wave.

Originally, last night’s concert was supposed to feature guest conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, but he had to cancel due to illness and was replaced by Thierry Fischer.  This also resulted in a change of program, as Iberia from Debussy’s Images was replaced by La Mer, and Bizet’s Carmen Suite was added.  This had the practical effect of increasing the concert’s length, to which I certainly had no objection. 

The Carmen Suite (version No. 2) was a picture of orchestral splendor with vibrant primary colors and bracing rhythms, with the poetic phrasing in the Nocturne. 

Pepe Romero then came onstage, guitar in hand, for Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez.  The concerto is hardly a new work, composed in 1939 (the American premiere was given in Cleveland two decades later), although it’s entirely traditional in harmony and structure.  Romero’s playing was highly distinctive, and neither time nor age (he’s 75) have dimmed his technique or enthusiasm – I never knew a guitar could be played with such variety of colors and attacks.  The performance was warmly received and Romero graced the audience with an encore, which was composed by his father. 

Fischer’s interpretation of Debussy’s La Mer was none too subtle.  Tempos were largely within the norm, but balance choices were bizarre: percussion and woodwinds were often brought to the fore, and the sheen of color one expects to hear in this work was largely absent.  There were moments of excitement, and Peter Otto’s violin solos were gorgeous, but the overall effect was of an orchestral showpiece lacking in the picturesque qualities one expects.