Our Kitchen Details

Way back when, I posted the before and after pictures of our kitchen.  I promised to come back with the details on the sources we used, so here I am several months later as promised.  Better late than never? :)

The majority of our kitchen is from Ikea.  You really cannot beat Ikea's prices when it comes to pre-made (ie. non-custom), yet good quality cabinetry options.  Sure, I will drool over the amazing work of cabinetry artisans like the next person, but Ikea was definitely the right choice for this house.  We couldn't have afforded high-end cabinets in the first place, but even if we could have, we would not have gotten a return for our investment when we sell this little place in a few years.  Real estate out here is just a different animal…but that's another post for another time!

We opted for lower drawers instead of cabinets, which we love (Our drawers/cabinets are the "Adel" style).  So much easier to keep things organized and to access hard-to-reach items.  In addition to features like soft-close drawers, Ikea has a variety of options for organizing your drawers and cabinets.

On the pantry wall, we chose to do drawers on the left (again, really increases the efficiency of those cabinets!) and shelves on the right.  We had our electrician wire the wall behind the cabinets so we could keep our microwave in the cabinet.  I love that it's out of sight!

By eliminating upper cabinets, we were able to save some money and keep the space feeling really airy and open.  Trading upper cabinets for shelving is pretty popular in kitchen design these days, and we figured why not try it out?  We'll be selling our house in three years, so if we hate it, lesson learned and no harm done.

Philip cut wood to make the shelves and we purchased the brackets from Home Depot.  I painted both the shelves and the brackets to match the trim (Snowfall White by Benjamin Moore).

testing them out…no babies were harmed in this demonstration, I assure you :)

A few months in and I would say I like the open shelving. Everyone seems to worry about dust, right?  Here is my take: the dishes on the bottom shelves get used on a regular basis, so I haven't had any problems with dust.  I'm sure that the lesser used items on the upper shelves have their share of dust, but since I don't use them often, I just don't worry about it :)

Our counters are quartz.  Ours were fabricated by the company Counter-Fit, though they were part of our Ikea order (word to the wise:  if you are considering using Ikea for a relatively large kitchen renovation, wait and do so until one of their kitchen sales!  At least twice a year (maybe more? anyone know?) they offer 20% off your total purchase if your total spent equals $4500 or 15% off if you spend $3500.)

We debated going with soapstone or marble (two personal favorites!) and settled on quartz (in part because they were our main option if we wanted to go through Ikea), and we are really happy with them!  To my understanding, quartz is a composite of some natural material and some man-made materials.  They have a look (and price) very similar to granite, but there is very little upkeep required.  (for example, no sealing needed).  They have held up great with young kids and with a cook who may or may not leave various foods and residues to linger till she feels compelled to clean them :)

Our range and hood are all also Ikea (though I believe they are made by Whirlpool).  They are pretty basic models without any bells and whistles but they get the job done.  Aside from the fact that I find a true "simmer" somewhat tough to achieve, I have been very happy with their performance.  My biggest complaint is that I had to get an electric range top instead of a gas one (but that complaint is directed at the city of Davis and their ridiculous regulations! again, another post for another time.)

The sink (I can't find it on their site to link…sure hope they have not discontinued it!) is Ikea and the faucet is Lowes.  We ended up with this faucet because the city of Davis only allows faucets with a low enough flow rate…(are you sensing a theme?)  It was relatively hard to find one that would meet their requirements, and in an effort to get everything taken care of so we could pass our city inspection in time, we grabbed this one.

whoops! you caught me thawing hotdogs in the sink.

Our dishwasher is a bosch that we were able to get on major sale.  Key to our satisfaction was a quiet dishwasher since our living space is very close to our kitchen.  It delivers in this respect and does a good job of cleaning our dishes.  I had always heard bosch referred to as the cream of the crop for dishwashers. I'd say ours works well, but not necessarily more so than others I have used.

We really wanted a counter-depth refrigerator, so we went with the least expensive model that received good reviews.  Counter-depth models are great because they mimic a built in style and don't stick out in the room like a traditional fridge.  You do pay an up-charge for them, but I feel like it's worth it.  We have been really happy with this fridge, and I would definitely recommend it.

Our pendant lights (which I debated over in this post) are from Home Depot.  I feel like they were the right choice for the space.  Not a lot of visual weight in our small home, but enough interest and style to please the eye.  You can see that we also had our electrician wire the ceiling for a total of five can lights.

The pulls and knobs are from Home Depot (I think? or maybe it was Lowes…).

The counter stools are from Overstock.  They were having some flash sale right around Christmas last year where you could get three stools for the price of two.

Let me know if there is anything else you would like to know about the kitchen!