Kitchen Re-remodel

I’m writing to you in a balmy 100+ degrees. I’m sitting out in the Lanai at my in-law’s house while Rosemary is out swimming in the pool and Gloria is napping in the frigid interior. The heat feels so good, as if my skin has been deprived of true humidity for the better part of a year. So happy my in-law’s decided to become snow birds.


I wanted to fill you in on some details of my little tormenter I shared with you on Tuesday. Yes, our kitchen has been disassembled. Here’s the scoop.

There was a misunderstanding of the drawings for the cabinet that encloses the refrigerator. It’s no one’s fault and a minor adjustment, but one I felt really needed to be corrected. The cabinet above the refrigerator was built set back from the front of the refrigerator.

This isn’t THAT uncommon of a look, however, if a cabinet is built in this way, you often see the upper cabinet set back a good 12”+. This cabinet was set back only 4-ish”. It was the first cabinet they brought in on cabinet day and immediately I knew it wasn’t right. I ran up and double checked the plans and sure enough, it wasn’t. When I pointed it out to the cabinet maker (who I thought might just haul off and smack me after wrestling this cabinet into our house), he explained why he built it the way he did (and showed me how the plans dictated it to be that way). I was convinced I was wrong afterall (HURRAH…would have saved us having to make any changes), but figured I’d double check with the architect anyway. Unfortunately, she validated that it wasn’t in fact the way she had drawn it and affirmed my feelings that it should be corrected. I hate being right.

The cabinet maker Keith was so kind and didn’t smack me, but rather said he wanted me to be happy with the finished project (que the ‘awwwww.”) So he installed the cabinet as was since all the other cabinets had to be fitted up next to that one and was kind enough to leave it there until after we finished hosting our family and friends for Gloria’s birthday (and it served as a perfect spot to place more decorations for the party!).

The cabinet has since been removed for appropriate modifications to be made (basically the top cabinet hacked off, moved forward, secured and repainted and then will be reinstalled). This is all taking place asap (like…should be getting reinstalled today) so that the floors can be final coated post installation. Anytime cabinetry is installed, especially floor to ceiling cabinetry, the floors are bound to take a little abuse. This way all those impending scratches can be buffed out once everything is installed.

Finally, the other purpose for our little kitchen re-remodel was the vent hood.

I wasn’t feeling the little brackety pieces on the front of it. Not sure if it was the fact that there were 3 (felt like there should have been more), or if it was that they were multiple sizes or if I just wasn’t jiving on their profile…either way, I knew it needed a little tweeking. We modified the initial design of the paneled hood during our meeting with the architect & cabinet maker. The architect sketched ideas as I talked about things I had seen and we eliminated the slanted hood the plans showed and came up with this more ledgy looking one instead. I actually have fallen quite in love with this hood design…especially since it was adorable trimmed in all of Gloria’s birthday decorations. I think a few little adjustments will have it act as a centerpiece of the kitchen. Here were a few of the inspiration images I used for the redesign.



After living with these two cabinets since they were initially installed, I was starting to feel like a lunatic for having them redone. Taking these HUGE cabinets out, having them hauled back to the workshop, re-built, repainted, hauled back to our house and reinstalled is NOTTTTTTTTTT easy. After having them in for 3 weeks, the design of them really wasn’t bothering me, but when I stood back to take in the kitchen as a whole, the left side of the kitchen felt really busy with all the dimension in cabinetry and the two ledges on the hood and refrigerator. The right side of the kitchen felt so much more streamline and classic with its simplistic cabinetry.


I think to have the whole kitchen feel cohesive, the changes needed to be made (even though I’m well aware of the headache it causes everyone…including myself). So a huge thanks to Keith for obliging my obsessive nature.

More posts to come on the finishing bracket touches added to the upper cabinetry, the basement overhaul and main floor furniture and window selections!