Another gorgeous kitchen on the way!

We are in the midst of creating yet another gorgeous kitchen. I am really beginning to love doing kitchens!

The clients are young and hip, but love classic design.  I suggested earthy tones and cool shades. I suggested the following design to the client and she immediately loved it!

Classic yet chic!

This is the old kitchen before we started demolishing:

We started off by demolishing the kitchen. The old cupboards, tiles, everything had to go.

After that, we laid the floor.  I suggested the following sample for vinyl flooring:

The client chose a similiar colour and design but in porcelain.

Then we installed the kitchen structure:

As with all projects, there are always challenges.  At the moment the project is on hold after we a realised the granite we chose and the slabs that were delivered today does not look at all the same!! Eish! (aysh) – a very popular saying in South Africa used to express surprise, wonder, frustration or outrage.

As you know, granite is extremely expensive and this colour is totally different to the sample we chose!

…

If you’re able to distinguish, the bottom square is the sample we chose.  It is called Ghibli.  It is very neutral and has a light brown tone.  The actual slab has a definite red tone that will definitely spoil the original design.

…..

So tomorrow the client and I are heading to the manufacturer to try and sort this mess.  I am very hopeful that we will be able to.  Until then, all is again on hold.

….

Otherwise I am very excited about this kitchen…will keep you updated!

Update on the “checkerboard kitchen “

A few months ago we started a renovation project for a client.  I wrote about the checkered floor as seen below.

Checkered floor

The plan was to renovate the whole kitchen from floors to kitchen cupboards.  I worked very closely with the clients to achieve all their wishes in terms of colour, pattern etc.  As with all renovation projects you sometimes have setbacks and things you haven’t planned for. In this case we were held back sometime with the order of the cupboards as we made a slight mistake with measurements.  I learned that millimeters can cost you thousands of Rand!  Not a nice lesson to learn!

Kitchen cupboards being installed

The theme organically evolved into a black and white one.  Thus we decided to keep things simple. The client wanted a pattern on the wrapped cupboard doors.  Tip: order wrapped doors well in advance…they take up to 14 days to manufacture!

Then it was time to order granite for the tops. The client chose the Rustenberg design.  Granite is very expensive but very durable and hygienic.  Granite is a stone formed from fire and consists of quartz, feldspar and mica. This stone was once a molten flowing mass much like lava, and as it cooled down it became very dense and hard. In fact, granite is second only to diamonds in its hardness. Because it is resistant to blistering, scratching, cracking and scorching, granite is the number one choice in natural stone for kitchen, bath, and commercial countertops. Polished granite, with its high gloss, reflects light beautifully, adding elegance to any room or space. The high gloss finish will never wear off. Granite is easy to clean with just warm water and soft cloth.

After that we had to tackle the back splash.  I bought plain white square mosaic tiles and decided to do a checkered pattern as with the floor.  I bought a more expensive sheet with aluminium blocks and glass tiles.

Mosaic tiles for back-splash

Break up the sheet and sort what you will use

Get a capable tiler to do mosaic tiling

Test the pattern before gluing it to the wall

Almost done

Semi-completed kitchen

The kitchen is almost complete except for staining the veggie baskets on the right. Also fitting the blinds which the client will do themselves.

There you go…a classic kitchen that won’t date!  I will post more pics when complete.  Watch this space!

DIY: A twist on the classic black and white floor

We recently signed a new renovation project.  Our clients are a working couple and finally have time to tackle the renovation after buying the property about 2 years ago.

Firstly, the lady of the house is almost 9 months pregnant and they have been living without a proper kitchen for almost 24 months!  Thus the kitchen is priority.

Kitchen in much need of work

We firstly replaced the small windows with bigger frames. I proposed a different version of the classical black and white floor.  Then we got our very capable tiler to start the work.

Proposed pattern for floor

 

Tiler at work

We faced some challenges as the floor wasn’t level and we had to join the previous tile work to have the lines cohere.  The area is 20 square metres and the job took about one day.

Almost done...

This is the end result:

Completed floor

The floor is different but I really love it!  We are currently busy doing the kitchen cupboards.  I will keep you posted and will publish some pics as the project progresses!