The Part of the Program Where We Want it Done Already...Cabinet Fun

There are a few issues with commercial buildings converted to condominiums. Water pressure. The higher up in the building, the more challenge it poses. Windows. More often than not, they cannot be opened. Storage. Even when the building begins life as an apartment building, this is a big issue. In most parts of the country, apartments are considered temporary living. As such, you shouldn't need any real storage apparently. If you are lucky, you might have an extra storage closet on the patio. Maybe.

Kirby Lofts has been many things over the years. It started life as Kirby Lumber Company and went on to be a department store, an office building, condominiums (complete with intriguing scandal), executive apartments, and back to condominiums. While there are some decent closets, there isn't nearly enough storage for Eric's armor, bikes, and various sundry sporting/recreation items and the kitchen was not exactly designed for someone who did any real cooking. The previous owners had addressed the lack of counter top by adding a very heavy and very huge metal bar table. 

Yet again, the requisite before picture.

It had to go.

So with the counter (finally) chosen, it was time to get crack-a-lackin' on the cabinets and new peninsula. Well before meeting with LeeAnne, Eric and I had done our homework and devised a plan. I had Pinterest and was not afraid to use it. To save on the overall renovation cost, we kept the existing cabinet "boxes" for the most part. Our only alterations - moving the dishwasher from the corner (where its door would hit the oven door - talk about a really stupid design decision). We decided to take advantage of the ceiling height and add another row of cabinets along the top. The doors and drawer fronts were to be replaced with shaker style doors and fronts. I wanted them to be soft closed. 

Kitchen inspiration (or reno porn)

The peninsula was a bit harder for us to get our head around. The only thing I knew I wanted was reclaimed wood on the front of it. For the rest of it...well, we knew we wanted more storage, a home for our wine fridge, and lots of counter space. This is why it is good to have an interior designer and clever contractors. LeeAnne knows kitchens and baths. She helped us navigate the design so we would get what we needed. Between her and David, our cabinet maker, they came up with some pretty amazing and innovative ways to give me the look I wanted with the storage we needed.

It's starting...OMG...YAY!!

Once work started on the cabinets, we no longer had a functioning kitchen. Since we were moving the dishwasher, the plumbing was disconnected. Dishes were now being done in the guest bathroom which was...challenging. A glass or two may have committed suicide. 

After weeks of feeling like nothing was happening and would never happen, the kitchen began taking shape very quickly. I was taking update pictures every day.

Insert witty caption here.

David knew I had wanted inset doors but could not have them without either rebuilding the existing cabinet boxes or giving up my soft close hinges. He managed to come up with a way to "fake" the look of inset doors by adding trim between the doors. LeeAnne and I were not 100% sold when he attempted to explain what he was doing but the results are pretty stellar.

So very pretty....

Weeks before the build out began in earnest, LeeAnne and I found a place in the Heights that specialized in reclaimed wood called Wayne's Barn Wood. We sort of ignored the "by appointment only" bit on the website and just showed up. Fortunately for us, Wayne happened to be there. It was so much fun walking through the stacks of old barn beadboard, beams, flooring, and molding hearing where each reclaimed piece in his shop came from. Like nearly every other person I've met in Houston, he was friendly and unfailingly polite. 

The white trim was from a dry goods store in Missouri from the turn of last century.

Another great touch by the cabinet maker were the slide-out drawers in the pantry. David made the back of the drawers higher so things would not fall behind the drawers. Even LeeAnne was pleasantly surprised by this elegant touch.

Convenient storage for my severed head collection. KIDDING. That's what the freezer's for.

Before we knew it, they were at a stopping point. The pulls would not be added until after the painting was done. And the painting wouldn't happen until after the counter tops and back splash tile were installed.