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Post by evangeline on Apr 11, 2017 21:31:35 GMT -5
Groan! Seriously! Thanks to the Commune, we put a deposit on soapstone! Phew. It is so, so beautiful. I thought the cabinets would be pretty straightforward: go to Lowe's, etc. Now, because of a few structural kinks we're been steered to kitchen designers and "semi-' custom and "full custom" cabinets lines. Ok, so I only have six base cabinets. How complicated (and expensive) can it be? Oh, boy. Today met with a designer. I had high hopes. I brought scale-drawings, elevations of each wall including all doors and drawers.
She looked at pictures of the house and existing kitchen, including my Chambers and its pretty swell Vent-a-hood and said, 'The stove doesn't go with your house but you're saying you like it, so I guess it stays.'
Pause.
I looked around at the cookie-cutter elegance of the showroom displays and I thought: what am I doing here?
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Post by pooka on Apr 12, 2017 7:55:43 GMT -5
That says it all about the state of kitchens & kitchen design today. It's more about looks & fashion than it is about the function of it's parts. That designer had no clue she just insinuated that your stove was somehow sub par & you are somehow crazy to want to keep it.
She's indicative of the marketplace where your suppose to want one of those stainless steel monstrosities they sell today. That kind of comment is a back handed insult of your choice of stoves. Not that it would do any good, but you should inform her that we have the Viking stoves & the trend of pro style stove today because Vikings designer's wife wanted a Chambers for her new house back in the early 80s, but they no longer being made. So for the lack of a Chambers, now everyone wants a Viking or one of it's imitators. In the 50s, other stove manufacturers were imitating Chambers griddle & well, but not doing it justice as imitators never do. Today, as back in the 50s, it is & was about the look, & not the substance. A Chambers is MORE than just a stove. Most will never get it.
Your designer may put together beautiful kitchens, but she doesn't know spit about stoves. When it comes to owning a Chambers, people either get it, or they don't. At best, their opinion is, "that's cool, but please god, not in my kitchen". At worst, they think, it's just old, & why don't you want something new.
I'd cut the designer some slack on this though. She sells what people want, & she herds them along the way of ordinary kitchens. She probably makes commission by selling stove too. For better or worse, kitchens are off the shelf standardized things. There aren't many truly custom kitchens. It's just too expensive for most. Cabinets too often skimp on the carcass quality, & tack on a stylish front for the right look.
I hope you end up with what you want when it's all said & done. My parents redid their kitchen in the late 70s & came to regret some of their cabinet choices, like lazy Susan unites in a corner. The cabinets have pretty pecan fronts, but the hardware, the drawers & drawer guides are garbage. It can be dizzying stepping into one of those designer showrooms. All those glitzy displays of the latest & greatest of kitchen wonders. It's like going to a car showroom. Once it's over, your not sure if you got what you wanted, or what they wanted to sell you.
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Post by mach12 on Apr 12, 2017 9:37:06 GMT -5
We talked to several different designers too and generally when they saw our stove pics they were excited about them. There was one who kind of stuck up her nose and said "what's that?". I told her about Chambers stoves and it was obvious she didn't approve, so not a good match for us. I thanked her for her time and left.
We ended up going with Ikea cabinets and so far we love them. They seem well built and they go up easy. I also like the many options for cabinet door and drawer front designs and colors. I have all of the wall cabinets and the tall pantry cabinets up and my wife is putting stuff in them as soon as I get my tools the heck out of the way.
When we bought this house with the plan of doing all of this work ourselves (as we have in several other homes) I had no idea what my job had in store for me, that we'd rent it out a couple of times and so on. Or that I'd get old! I've definitely slowed down. My wife has been incredibly patient with all of this but when I put up the wall cabinets last week I could see how excited she was to have it finished and functional. We haven't started yet on the main base cabinets but they'll be going in quick once I get started. With Dwayner due here today the kitchen goes on hold while we build a few Chambers stoves - Pepper being the main one. Stop on by if you're in the area!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2017 11:20:51 GMT -5
"I looked around at the cookie-cutter elegance of the showroom displays and I thought: what am I doing here?"
You don't need to talk to them anymore. We have had the "what is that stove!" on several occasions. They will never get it. But it is great when some do get it.
Ikea is one of our favorite stores although we have to go to Charlotte as that is the closest one for us. Our cabin is a few minutes east of Asheville off of I40.
Frank
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Post by melissaf on Apr 12, 2017 11:22:21 GMT -5
evangeline - You're going to love the soapstone. Have you decided on the edge profile for your counter tops? I went with a very simple straight profile with a tiny bevel on the top (some installers call it an Eased Edge). With soapstone simple is better. My SIL (who hates her soapstone) went with a bullnose edge and she has a lot of chips on the edge, especially over the dishwasher. I think the simple edges hold up better on soapstone. Plus with a simple, eased edge is very easy to touch up with a sanding block and some fine sandpaper. Just something to think about. Sorry your designer doesn't approve of your stove! mach12 - Did you decide on a finish for your counter top? I've been wanting to refinish the floors in my kitchen because the poly just hasn't held up well. Yesterday I was reading on another forum about a hardwax oil finish called Rubio Monocoat. It's a plant based (flax), zero VOC finish that only requires 1 thin coat. From reading some reviews from professional floor finishers it sounds like a great option for my floors and it also safe for counter tops. What I like most is the water resistance, easy touch up and no harsh odors like Waterlox. Manufactures website - www.monocoat.us/ In depth review - napervillehardwood.com/blog/the-hardwax-oil-experiment-part-2-monocoat/
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Post by evangeline on Apr 12, 2017 15:39:01 GMT -5
Hi, Melissa F, Oh yep, eased edge. I like the simple look too! And I'm going to use your wax formula.
& I'll ask about the Rubio Monocoat. The broken tile floor's getting replaced w/ wood. Water resistance, easy touch up and no harsh odors. Like!!
Mach12, I need to take another look at Ikea. w/30" countertops integrating a chimney breast, husband is demanding extra deep drawers. Does Ikea do that? Also he wants cherry wood. I can't talk him out of it. Since I like him (a lot!) I'm trying to be nice to him. Also since our five year old perfectly fine fridge won't fit in the new layout I'm trying to be extra nice to him. I offered to buy him a beer keg fridge for his man cave. He said, 'Nice try. You recall that I don't drink, don't you?'
Farupp, Pooka, yep, it's an exercise in stiffening the backbone. Strange. I've got a super stiff backbone when it comes to advocating for my clients (I'm a landscape designer) but I have a hard time doing it for myself. I keep reminding myself: this may be the only time I get to do this. It's got to be right. (But I sort of thought it would be fun. ;-( )
Thanks for the spine-stiffening advice!
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Post by nana on Apr 12, 2017 20:15:34 GMT -5
Trust your instincts, Evangeline. Think of your kitchen as an interior landscape. If a client loved a particular tree or type of flower you wouldn't make them cut it down or pull it up, right? So don't let some kitchen designer make you get something that doesn't feel right( and I agree with Pooka, she might be reccommending what makes her the most commision, not what works best for you!). Cherry is beautiful, and the color deepens with age. It would look really pretty with the soapstone!
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Post by mach12 on Apr 13, 2017 0:03:17 GMT -5
mach12 - Did you decide on a finish for your counter top? I've been wanting to refinish the floors in my kitchen because the poly just hasn't held up well. Yesterday I was reading on another forum about a hardwax oil finish called Rubio Monocoat. It's a plant based (flax), zero VOC finish that only requires 1 thin coat. From reading some reviews from professional floor finishers it sounds like a great option for my floors and it also safe for counter tops. What I like most is the water resistance, easy touch up and no harsh odors like Waterlox. Manufactures website - www.monocoat.us/ In depth review - napervillehardwood.com/blog/the-hardwax-oil-experiment-part-2-monocoat/We were going to go with Waterlox but I'm going to have to check out the Rubio Monocoat. That sounds like it may be a better option. Thanks for the tip!
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Post by mach12 on Apr 13, 2017 0:07:30 GMT -5
I haven't seen where they do but that wasn't something we needed so it's possible I skipped past it.
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Post by evangeline on Apr 13, 2017 9:03:11 GMT -5
Good idea, Nana. It's a strange experience to be on the other side of the table and to feel defensive and vulnerable. I think as a designer I'm a good listener and I try to check my ego at the door. . . But after this I'm checking all those assumptions. I may be telegraphing the same contempt/hubris/know-it-all vibe. I sure hope not!
Mach12, I used to dream of doing 'everything' myself but installing cabinets was never ever going to be in my skill set. Power to ya! I'm the official House Painter. I can scrape/patch/prime and paint. Everything else, sadly: jobbed out. It is No Fun getting a little older!
Visited a business contact the other day, someone who has reached out to our firm for help. He designs ultra-high end kitchens. I asked, 'Why are you the nicest kitchen designer in the city?'
He grinned and said, 'I know you have your drawings with you. Give them here.'
He likes the Chambers! He says it stays! ;-)
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Post by pooka on Apr 13, 2017 9:16:55 GMT -5
This is an exercise in knowing your own mind & not settling for less than what you want. When a designer rolls her eyes at your choice of a stove, it's time to to find a new designer. You could use this as a teaching moment by informing her that the stove is what the kitchen is being built around, & give her a briefing on the reason it's the best stove on earth. When she's poo pooing your stove, she insulting you, so that's why you're going elsewhere for design advice. She may not take it as constructive advice, but that'll be her lose.
I'm sure there's a source out there for the kind of cabinets you want. You just have to put on your detective hat & sniff it out. You may end up spending more than you want, but you wont be kicking yourself years down the road because you compromised your vision. As you say, you may only do this once, & you'll have to live with it from now on. There is a certain science to it, but there's a kind of art to it too. They may just be an assortment of boxes in appropriate sizes, but it's the tiny details that make them feel right or not. Handles should please the hand as well as the eye. Colors & finishes so luscious, they beg to be touched. Rich wood tones that warm the heart. We all have our own idea of what that is for us. If you thought this was going to be fun & easy, well not quite. It's like an expedition battling your way though the jungle of options, selecting as you go. You have to sleuth out the rare & elusive just right. It's fun only after it's done, & you tell the tale & write your memoirs.
Around here, Amish made cabinets is about the best you can buy. They'll build just about anything you want for a price. The bad part is they only serve my tri-state area. They are craftsmen who don't know the meaning of second best quality. I don't know if you have anything similar in your area. You're ahead of the game knowing you want cherry fronts. Just make sure what's behind the pretty front is worth the investment. Take time to select the right pulls. They should be attractive, but more importantly, they need to feel comfortable to use in the hand.
Take heart. This is character building. The result should be something you love every day, not something you can just live with.
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Post by nana on Apr 13, 2017 20:20:35 GMT -5
Pooka is right. Look for quality, because nothing will be more frustrating than sticky drawers and cabinet doors that won't quite close and hinges that loosen and make doors hang crooked.
I vote for taking a good close inventory of your most used and favorite utensils, gadgets, dishware and other crockery and thinking long and hard about storage, storage, storage. And ease of taking things out and putting them away. And be honest about what kind of housekeeper you are. I love the look of open front cabinets, but I know I am not conscientious enough of a cleaner to ensure that if I pulled a bowl or platter out of one it wouldn't be covered in a thin (or not so thin) film of that grimy kitchen dreck that builds up on things. Glass front cabinets require neatly stacked and displayed dishes--also beyond my ability to maintain. So I love my dark walnut colored, easy to clean, closed cabinets that hide my clutter. I like my kitchen and I'm not looking to change it, but if I did, I would add more space for things like cookie sheets and roasting pans, and places to hide mixers and blenders and things like that, but still have them easily accessible.
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Post by evangeline on Apr 14, 2017 21:36:19 GMT -5
Nana, good point about roasting pans etc. Most everything's going in a bank of wide, deep drawers. I think the cookie sheets and platters will go over the fridge.
I dropped the cuisinart on the tile floor this afternoon while wrestling it out of a silly narrow little cabinet, & broke several tiles. Also dropped a jar and broke a chunk off a piece of MDF base molding. (The jar didn't break, but the molding did!). Luckily these things are going away!
The china cabinet I plan to use instead of uppers is getting new milk glass so I don't feel compelled to 'stage' my kitchen. I'm with you, things get grimy somehow.
Everything I've seen is so very nice compared to what is here now. These things have really come a long way; the glides and hinges are so sturdy, the doors are really nice. When the interwebs says kitchens are designed to last ten years, I can't believe it. Who would want to go through this every ten years? (Unless you're amazing, like Mach12. . .)
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Post by pooka on Apr 15, 2017 11:13:50 GMT -5
When the interwebs says kitchens are designed to last ten years, I can't believe it. Who would want to go through this every ten years? That's crazy, but I guess it keeps the designers, remodeling contractors & suppliers in business. I've read that people don't live in a house for as long as ten years on average any more, so I guess every time they move, they redo their kitchen. When I tell people my family has owned my house since 1943, they think I'm nuts. My kitchen still has the original cabinets from 1940, & it's only on it's second floor. The counter was redone once years ago too. A new kitchen to me would be a new counter-top, a new floor & a fresh paint job on the cabinets. Maybe new pulls too, but maybe not. I could put the old Art Deco ones back on. They were changed back in the 50's, but grandma saved the old one. They're chrome with three red lines on them, but I'm going for green & ivory paint, so they might clash. I'll probably stick with the white porcelain knobs. I've found these two cabinets on Craigslist that mirror the colors & stencil ideas I'm ruminating about. My cabinets have solid panel doors, but I'd like to paint them to mimic paneled doors with a stencil detail. This first one bellow is for sale locally for $700. I've got a cabinet almost identical to this tall side cabinet, & it's peeling paint might get redone to try out my ideas before I do the ones in the upstairs kitchen. Someone was throwing it out, so it was free. This print I found at Goodwill has a design that looked interesting to maybe mimic something similar. I guess I'm just stuck in the past as far as my taste in styles.
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Post by evangeline on Apr 15, 2017 11:54:16 GMT -5
Pooka, those cabinets are pretty swish. I like the soft green and that graphic would make a great stencil. Pictures when you're done!
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Post by nana on Apr 15, 2017 13:42:03 GMT -5
Cabinets of that type would complement your stove very nicely, I think. You have a good sense of what works, Pooka. Reminds me of a lyric from an old Genesis (rock band, not bible story) song: "I know what I like and I like what I know."
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Post by pooka on Apr 17, 2017 3:38:22 GMT -5
I fear I'm better at dreaming & planning than accomplishing, though not for wanting to. So many thing go undone for lack of funds & out of shear despair on my part. Hope is something I encourage in other, but struggle to maintain for myself. I grapple with melancholy, perhaps that's why I spend my pennies on on thrift store art as a salve for my soul. My collection is ever growing at discount prices. evangeline, you working in the landscaping field may appreciate one of my latest finds. It's a lovely engraving print of a picture perfect tree with grain field in the background. I think it's a fruit or nut tree, but I'm no expert. I just know it's beautiful, at least to my eye. This photo doesn't do it justice. It looks lovely in my hall where it can be seen from the front door among a jumble of my other gems. I wish I could read the title & signature, but it's such a scrawl, I've tried & failed to make it out. My hall is cluttered with my prizes. They are all original but two. This water color is a particularly peaceful scene of a hunter & his dog amid the splendour of the great outdoors. Nana, This is a Winslow Homer print called "The Boatman" of a scene up in your neck of the woods at the North Woods Club in Minerva, NY. It's an Adirondack guide named Michael Flynn who was most likely a local boy working a summer job at the club. It has such a peaceful serenity I crave. But my mind is forlorned & ajumble like this other watercolor I scored for the paltry sum of $4 at the St. Vincent De Paul thrift store. There's an eerie dark blue glow in the attic window that intrigues me. Sometimes just gazing at a crude still life is calming. It's cheery colors can brighten the day even though it's probably a students work & no great masterpiece. Despite my gloomy mood, I pondered my kitchen vision of stenciled cabinet doors, & was looking around for more inspirations. I found these old built-ins being sold in the next county west of here. I wonder if they're being ripped out in favor of some god awful new ones that will fall apart or be unusable all too quickly. Old cabinets - $150 (Poseyville) The simple flower stencil on the doors got me thinking. There's a tiny graphic in the Model B cook book of a thistle that's similar, so I went searching for a similar stencil to see what the web had to offer. Sure enough I found an Etsy storefront that sells laser cut ones that are almost made to order. Here's a link to one set, but they have two others. NorthEastLaserCut - 2 THISTLES on 1 stencils Tough Reusable 350 Micron Material Various Sizes #05One option would be to mix or match these, but another is to have them make a custom stencil which they offer of the graphic from the model B cook book. There's two versions used. I could pick one, or use one on the upper cabinets & the other on the lower ones. It would be complemented by my thistle print. Additionally, great grandpa Courtney on my mothers side was a red haired Scot, so it's applicable to my heritage & to Chambers, because John Chambers must have been of Scottish linage given the thistle graphic, tartan cover, the black scotty dog & the stylish woman wearing a Scottish tam on the back cover of the cook book. I hope great grandpa Courtney would approve.
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Post by nana on Apr 17, 2017 19:28:50 GMT -5
That was like a little jaunt to an art museum with a good docent who explains what you're looking at, but then pipes down and lets you look and enjoy. You may not be flush with cash, Pooka, but you are rich in what counts.
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Post by pooka on Apr 18, 2017 11:46:14 GMT -5
I'm driven to know about art & the things I have. I know a little about a lot of things. That's why people often think of me as some sort of expert or as being more knowledgeable than what I am. My mom used to use the old saying, jack of all trades, master of none. My dad loved art, books & music & had many big reference type books on art that I loved to look at as a child. I knew & liked Van Gogh as a nine or ten year old as well as many of the old masters like Da Vinci & Michelangelo. I know that a piece of art is often more than just a pretty picture, but frequently have a deeper meaning or symbolism. That's why I overthink something as mundane as a thistle decorative motif for my cabinets. If you're going to do something like this, put more thought into it so it has a deeper appeal & meaning beyond just a fashionable whimsy that becomes tiresome over time.
I could live a hundred lifetimes & study a hundred subjects, & still not satisfy my interests. It's maddening, frustrating & tiring. I often quote William Morris who said "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." I try to take that advice seriously. There is no small detail in our lives that we shouldn't think of in this way if we can.
Thoreau wrote,
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms."
So much of our lives are a cut & paste & all too ordinary. We sleep walk our way along not seeing or appreciating that which is all around use. We wear our masks & put on facades & populate our lives with the ordinary. I say be who you are. Do things you've never done. Go places you've never been. Have things you've never had. Live life to the hilt as much as possible. We may not be like Thoreau, but take a step on the wild side & have as much fun at life as you can. The sites on the winding path through the woods are better than on the rat race super highway.
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Post by nana on Apr 18, 2017 16:49:34 GMT -5
There is a scene in one of my favorite movies, "Cannery Row", where Susie is getting ready for her big date with Doc, the most respected denizen of the Row, and she is fretting about how she isn't one of those high class dames he usually runs around with. Fauna, the madame of the brothel where Susie "works"(she's not very good at being a floozy) gives her some of the best advice I've ever heard, applicable to any situation: "Everything will be alright as long as you don't act like you know something you don't. Act like an expert all the time and sooner or later you fall on your ass." Later on, things are going swell, and Doc asks her if she likes champagne. She says she does, then remembering Fauna's words, she amends it to "I mean, I will as soon as I taste it."
So go ahead, study what interests you and learn what you want to, and if someone asks you somethingand you DO know about it, don't be afraid to shine a little. Just remember Fauna's advice and you'll be OK.
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Post by mach12 on Sept 4, 2017 20:23:19 GMT -5
kellyjo - I didn't write down the proportions but I weighed the block of beeswax that I had left to figure out how much I used. Based on that, I'm guessing I used 1.25 ounces of wax and 3/4 cup of mineral oil. You can add or reduce the amount of mineral oil if you want it thicker or thinner. I grated the beeswax with a course cheese grater, put it in a double boiler with the mineral oil and heated until the wax was completely melted. If you haven't already ordered beeswax from Amazon, send me a PM with your address and I'll be happy to mail you enough wax to make a couple of batches. Melissa, After kicking around everything under the sun to treat our butcher block countertops I finally settled on the mineral oil/beeswax option and man is it awesome. I want to thank you and everyone else for the advice and info on that option. We couldn't be more pleased! I cut each piece and then did six sandings, wetting the surface thoroughly to raise the grain and then sanding again when it dried. I bought the beeswax in the candle making supplies section at Hobby Lobby and the has both solid blocks and pre-grated for the same price so I went with that. I weighed out 1.25 oz. and that was pretty close to 1/3 cup so just topped it up to 1/3 cup and dumped that into a little aluminum camping pan along with 3/4 cup of food grade mineral oil. I just used one of the little round wire racks in the bottom of a pan, put in water to where it was just over the rack, set the camping pan in and heated it under medium low heat until the wax was melted, removed it from the heat, stirred it, and let it cool. It was too thick because of the extra wax I added so I put the camping pan back in the water and heated it again, added 1/4 cup more mineral oil, let it cool and perfect!
We rub it in, let it soak in and dry about 15 minutes, the buff it and the wood has darkened nicely and has a nice sheen to it. The couple of times I've gotten carried away with the sprayer on the faucet and have gotten water on the counters it just beads up and wipes off nicely. It's still soaking up oil in spots (almost a week since the first coat) so we are still doing a daily rub in and buffing.
I sure appreciate the advice and info from everyone!
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Post by melissaf on Sept 5, 2017 8:00:57 GMT -5
mach12 - Glad to hear you like the mineral oil/beeswax finish. I always keep a small container of it in the kitchen to use for touch ups on the counter tops, cutting boards, wooden or bamboo spoons. It also comes in really handy in the winter for dry, cracked hands & chapped lips!
Your counter tops sound beautiful. Looking forward to seeing some pictures!
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Post by mach12 on Sept 5, 2017 11:28:59 GMT -5
I'll try to get a picture of the countertops today. It won't
You mentioned in one of your posts about keeping some for cracked hands and chapped lips and I remembered that when I noticed that our Cocker Spaniels noses were dry and cracking from the dry, hot weather we're having (and running the A/C). Since it's safe for them I tried it and it's perfect for that, too. I told our vet about it when we were in the other day and he wanted the "recipe" so he could use it on his own dogs.
For storing it, we were in a thrift store the other day and they had a bunch of glass containers with metal lids that have a silicone rubber gasket so I bought one and put the mix in it. This stuff is so useful that I'm thinking I might need to go get another of the containers and mix up some more.
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Post by mach12 on Sept 5, 2017 23:46:36 GMT -5
Here's a picture of the countertops. The short piece to the left of the stove is the last one I did and will darken slightly and they're about due for another coat. Still a lot to do with door adjustments, trim, tile backsplash and so on but it's getting close.
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Post by vaporvac on Sept 5, 2017 23:51:20 GMT -5
Beautiful, mach12!
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Post by pooka on Sept 6, 2017 5:21:34 GMT -5
I like very much. The counter-tops have such a rich warm tone to them. Much nicer than pale maple that's the standard for butcher block. I am wary of wooden top near the sink though. You have to be fastidious about caring for it to prevent water damage. I love that sink. Isn't it from IKEA? That faucet hits a warm spot for me too since I'm a dish washer, though the one & use daily is a commercial version with a taller swing arm. It's tough coming home & using my old Delta joy stick kitchen faucets. Your cabinets have a vintage flavor with the bead board detail to the fronts, & bin pull drawer handles. That bead board ceiling is also a nice touch that mirrors the cabinets.
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Post by melissaf on Sept 6, 2017 8:44:18 GMT -5
mach12 - The counter tops turned out really beautiful. The whole kitchen is looking great!
That's a great idea to use the beeswax/mineral oil on the dog's nose. My bulldog Otis has always had a dry, crusty nose. We've been using Butt Paste diaper rash cream for years (per the vet's advise). I can't believe I never thought to use the beeswax/mineral oil. I'll have to give that a try.
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Post by mach12 on Sept 6, 2017 13:36:08 GMT -5
I like very much. The counter-tops have such a rich warm tone to them. Much nicer than pale maple that's the standard for butcher block. I am wary of wooden top near the sink though. You have to be fastidious about caring for it to prevent water damage. I love that sink. Isn't it from IKEA? That faucet hits a warm spot for me too since I'm a dish washer, though the one & use daily is a commercial version with a taller swing arm. It's tough coming home & using my old Delta joy stick kitchen faucets. Your cabinets have a vintage flavor with the bead board detail to the fronts, & bin pull drawer handles. That bead board ceiling is also a nice touch that mirrors the cabinets. Thanks Pooka. We really liked the variety of the acacia too. If we were still raising kids we might have steered away from the wood but with just the two of us we're hoping we can avoid problem. One nice thing is that there are a bunch of blogs where people talk about their butcher block counter tops and one of the things they says they like the most is how easy it is to sand out any problem areas and then rub in the mineral oil/beeswax mix and bring it right back to like new. I've done my share of dishwashing using commercial sprayers and they're certainly stronger, though this one works amazingly well. The first time I used one regularly was when I first went aboard ship in the Navy. It's tradition that everyone takes their turn at what they call mess cooking, where you are the cook's flunky and get to do all the nasty work. The first place they put you is in the scullery, which is a small area where you wash all the pots and pans, trays, dishes, and all of that. I was on Destroyers and space is limited so the scullery is a small space with no A/C. Way more like a Turkish steam bath. You didn't worry about getting carried away with the sprayer since you were coming out of there soaked no matter what. The second time was after I got out of the Navy and they needed a temporary crew to work at a dining facility on McChord Air Force Base where they had fired the contractor. Remembering scullery duty I told them no when they first called me but then they called back and upped the pay a bit. Turns out it was a great job - with a commercial dishwasher. The other guys there had worked for the contractor and none wanted to bus tables and do the dishes so I did that and it was a good job. It probably helped that the customers were disciplined Airmen but having done scullery duty on a tin can certainly helped my viewpoint too. Everything's relative. We stumbled across this faucet on Houzz in a closeout, so the price was good. Less than half what it had been listed for. You're right on the sink. It's an Ikea Domsjo. I'm totally sold on the Ikea cabinets and other kitchen products. We're trying to get a vintage farmhouse look so I'm glad to hear that it looks that way, even at this unfinished point. The ceiling is Armstrong bead board and because my rafters change directions I had to run furring strips in order to properly screw in the mount clips I lost about an inch of ceiling height, though it's not really noticeable. I've never done wall tile so that'll be a new one for me. I'm kind of nervous about it but should be able to manage it okay.
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Post by pooka on Sept 6, 2017 14:11:51 GMT -5
Your kitchen doesn't have a vintage look, but the details give it a fresh take on a vintage flavor. The only thing I'd change were it my kitchen would be bigger knobs on the cabinet door, because I've got big hands. Big beefy handles & knobs work better for me. It's all a matter of what works for you though. This is my domain when I working. It rarely looks that uncluttered, but I keep it as clean & tidy as I'm able. Everything gets wiped down at the end of the night, but don't look too close, there's no time to be as clean as I'd like. The faucet has a swing arm so I can push it out of the way when It's not in use. After working here, it's tough to use anything lesser at home. At least I've got good air circulation, so It's not a steam bath. I've also got a 50" long plastic apron to keep me dry down to my rubber boots.
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Post by mach12 on Sept 6, 2017 23:51:24 GMT -5
Okay Pooka, flavor, look, style, whatever. I'm no designer but I'm happy with it.
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