I wanted to write this post a few weeks ago, but I kept putting it off because I’ve had so many fun things to share. I am glad this post was pushed back, though, because it gave me a chance to really use our cabinets and to give a report on how we like the customizations we made as well as the choice to have some of the cabinets sit on the counter. Was that a mistake? Do we miss the counter space? Would I change anything about the cabinets?
Also, I’m asked almost daily to share the color of the cabinets and, since I bought the cabinets in this color (Painted Sage by Waypoint), I don’t have a specific paint color to share. I am going to pull out my paint decks this week, though, to see if I can find at least one good match to share. It really is a beautiful color that sold me on this cabinet line and swayed me from my original vision of blue/gray cabinets.
antique baker’s table | hardwood floors | Ilve range | brass pot rail | quartz counters
The cabinets we selected were the 540F style made by Waypoint. I always envisioned shaker-style cabinets, which are both trendy and classic, and an inset door/drawer style. After looking at the cabinet options as well as budget allocation, a full overlay door was at a lower price point and still offered a clean look. I also liked the little beaded detail in the panel of the 540F design. To me, it is a design that will be timeless. And, these cabinets have soft-close doors/drawers and the hinges are fully adjustable to make a tight fit where the doors meet.
Since Waypoint didn’t have a stock appliance garage with the dimensions I wanted, I ended up ordering a cabinet with a door that opens up and the hinges lock in the raised position.
I knew that the door opening up and sticking out probably wouldn’t work well if we were trying to use a toaster or other small appliance inside, but we gave it a try for a few days before we went to plan B, which was to order hinges that would open the door up and out of the way. THESE are the hinges we ordered. We did have to make a few modifications to be able to install this hardware on our cabinets, which included adding blocks to make the sides flush and gluing a backing on the doors to make them thicker so they could hold a screw.
The result, though, is one of my favorite customizations we made.
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The small appliances are hidden and easily accessible at the same time and I don’t miss the counter space one bit. I figured the appliances would either take space on the counters out in the open or hidden and I preferred to have them hidden. I ordered and installed sliding shelf organizer to hold the toaster, so we could slide it out when in use. It is working perfectly.
The only mild annoyance is if you’re toasting something, you have to push the toaster in and close the door to get to the glasses and then open it back up again. If you just plan a little bit, this isn’t an issue at all, but there have been a few times that it’s come up. Still, it’s totally worth it to me. I realized once the kitchen was coming together that all of the appliances are either hidden or paneled except for the gorgeous range and I love that!
We keep the kettle, hand mixer, waffle maker, and immersion blender in the garage on the other side of the range…
And, again, it’s worked very well.
I opted for one drawer with a two-layer utensil organizer but customized the rest of the drawers with bamboo organizers I already had.
Aside from the cabinets that flank the range, the only other upper cabinet we got was for the dishes and it’s hung to the right of the sink. I really wanted to put corbels under this cabinet, but the light switch ended up being in the way! I do love the glass doors and the dishes are conveniently located just to the right of the dishwasher.
And the last appliance, the microwave, is in the pantry next to the fridge. We had a microwave in the pantry in our last house and it worked well for five years. I figured we would repeat that since it worked so well for us.
One of the nice things about designing the kitchen from scratch is that we were able to have dedicated outlets put in for the microwave and each appliance garage, so we can have the lights on, run the microwave, toast something, and boil the kettle all at the same time! Of course, that rarely happens, but we’ve always had a stipulation when running the microwave in our previous homes. “Wait! Turn off the dining lights before starting the microwave!”
You can read a full review of the Forte Panel-Ready Fridge HERE.
Once the kitchen is completed, I will do a full tour of the cabinets to share how things are organized. So far, though, I wouldn’t change a thing. I might have a change of heart over time, but I really thought through every cabinet choice and placement of each drawer and I love how it looks and how it functions.
Now, I am writing this with my fingers and toes crossed, but the kitchen window is supposed to be installed this Tuesday! There are some other little details to finish, but the kitchen window is the last big piece of the kitchen renovation and it will be awesome to have it installed. I’ve sort of gotten to the point where I look past the hole in the wall and dirty insulation hanging there, but I can’t wait to see a shiny new window installed and all of the light it will allow in.
If you missed any of our 1970 kitchen renovation, you can catch up HERE.
Hahaha, I’ve been wondering about that kitchen window and why we weren’t seeing it. I’m glad to hear it’s about to happen.
me, too.
Me three! It’s funny how familiar we become over the years when invited into the home of a favorite blog. Thh he is Marianne! Loved this entire kitchen process, everything is looking so special and bespoke.
Love it. I would not have had the vision to put the cabinet together in an unconventional way so good job. What is your plan for a back splash ? Is that after the window, or did you decide not do it ? Lately, I’ve seen wallpaper which is old school but everything seems to come back around.
We do have to wait for the window before we can add the backsplash and that’s given me time to look at samples and really think about it. I’m still debating!
Marian, your kitchen is so lovely and its green is my new favorite color! Thank you for sharing honestly and fully your decisions about each aspect of the design and renovation. You prove why it’s so important to take the time and do the research for every choice that is made.
I had to order windows and it took 7 months for them to be made. As trying as it is – could be a much worse wait.
That larger window is going to be AH-MAZING! Can’t wait to see how nice it looks. Try to do a before/during/after of it too – because the light will be killah!!! ♥
Marian. Everything looks new, clean and crisp ! And also YOU ! Much Luck going forward and now get to work on some fabulous dishes ! Cannot wait for a tour of your pool !
Every time I see your email I think “today will be the window post”!
Still I waited patiently and pretty soon I will see it! in the meantime your kitchen looks stunning and I can’t wait for the full tour to see all the inner workings!
Marian, your kitchen is so beautiful. I just love everything you have done. You have put so much time into the planning of it and have done a fabulous job! So glad that your window will soon be in. I know you will enjoy your lovely kitchen each and every day!
I’ve had kitchen garages in the last 2 houses and love them. I keep small appliances, often used. In my current house I use it for a large toaster oven (which gets daily use) and a stand mixer (I am addicted baker). I’ve never seen a garage, however, with the wood barrier at the bottom like yours. That presents a problem. My garages have just met the cabinets on the vertical edges with no horizontal barrier. I just pull everything out and slide it back in. Enjoy!
Yes, that is because these cabinets weren’t meant to be appliance garages. We installed that slide-out shelf to get over that, so the toaster just slides out and it’s very easy.
Your kitchen is beautiful, but do you ever wish you’d gone with green for all the cabinets? Personally, I’m not a fan of different uppers and lowers and wondered what you think now that they are in.
I really waffled about that, but I ended up going with cream uppers mostly for the glass cabinet. I really wanted my white dishes on cream instead of the green. I think it could’ve gone either way, this was just what I thought would work best with my vision.
Are the upper cabinets vanilla or biscotti or what color please?
They are Painted Vanilla.
Maybe move the glasses over to the cabinet with glass doors? They would be closer to the fridge, too. Surely some of those plates, etc. that are not used everyday, or often, could be put in the cabinet where the glasses are now. (Unless you have a hodgepodge of glass, plastic and coffee “travel containers,” then I can see where that would be a problem – maybe those could be put in the pantry.) But glassware and wine glasses would look very nice in the glass doors cabinet.
Also, if I really wanted corbels (and I think that would look fabulous), I’d move the light switch over to the left (toward the sink).
Yeah, that’s possible, but we really do use most of those dishes and I like keep them together. One day, though, I might get a bee in my bonnet and switch things up!
Very Jean Stoffer.
Just a thought… since the corbels on the glass front cabinet are not possible, how about molding around the bottom edge that mimics the top?
Altogether beautiful!
Your kitchen is beautiful. I love the colors and how you have things arranged. Very inspiring!
I love your kitchen. Can you please share the green color of the cabinets? Thank you.