Kitchen Renovation: Materials and Finishes
So much of what goes into a renovation is the materials and finishes you choose since there are a number of deciding factors, from cost to durability and just plain looks. Now that we’ve ordered all the items that are needed to have a functioning kitchen, I thought I’d explain a little bit about the materials and finishes we chose, and the one thing that tripped me up the most that may surprise you.
Countertops
Let’s start with what we’re hoping is going to be a stunner, the countertops! Not only will they take up quite a bit of surface area in the kitchen, but the countertop will extend into the front living room so will affect the design and style of that room, as well as be seen when you walk in the front door. No pressure on this surface material, but just saying it will make a big impact!
We were initially deciding between some kind of butcher block or a very veined – but not necessarily marble – stone. We thought butcher block would look great in the living room, which is one reason why it was a contender, but in the end we decided to go with a stone.
Often when you think of veining, you think of marble. Marble is not a material that is easy to take care of and it’s not inexpensive. Both of those factors can be fine, but we were easily persuaded to look elsewhere. There are so many surface materials to choose from but we landed on a quartz, a somewhat manmade material, and a quartzite, a naturally occurring stone. Both are durable and come with many color and veining options and variations, but quartzite requires a little more maintenance than quartz. You can read more about the two materials here.
The quartz was a soft white with lots of soft and slightly brown, brassy veining, and the quartzite we saw had a grayish white background and a lot of veining in a variety of colors, including a brassy brown, blues and greens, and even pinks.
Based on price, we chose the quartzite, called Macaubas Fantasy Quartzite, and I can’t wait to see it against the green cabinets! You can see what it looks like in a modern kitchen pictured above and me below when we saw a slab in person.
(Full disclosure, the color chip you see with these countertop samples and slab is from Sherwin-Williams, a client of my PR agency.)
Appliances
Since we already had a stainless steel refrigerator, we decided to go with stainless steel for the oven range and dishwasher (although the dishwasher is an integrated appliance so the finish doesn’t matter). We chose this Cafe Appliance slide-in gas oven range, which is stainless steel but has some brass hardware details. The brass hardware should go well with other elements in the kitchen. Stainless steel appliances seem to be a magnet for fingerprints and dog nose prints, based on our experience with the refrigerator, and yet can’t actually hold magnets. Both of these things are a pain, but we overall like the look of stainless steel and we wanted our two biggest appliances to match as much as possible.
I mentioned the dishwasher, this one from Whirlpool, is integrated. It’s also narrow, at 18 inches wide instead of the standard 24 inches. I wanted an integrated dishwasher because our kitchen is small and I didn’t want the overall look to be dotted with appliances. I wanted to give some semblance of a lot of storage. I’m hoping this integrated appliance helps.
Cabinets
So what is the dishwasher integrated with? Well, our cabinets! You can read more about our cabinets here. We chose MDF fronts to save a little money off the end price (our other option was maple). Because these are flat-front cabinets and will be painted, it didn’t seem necessary to have a natural wood as the cabinet front. While solid wood is more durable over the long-term, I hope the MDF is still quality enough that this won’t make a difference in the long run.
Sink
Honestly, the sink tripped me up the most. Yes, even the sink is a material and a finish that requires some consideration, which I didn’t realize until I started reading reviews. Also, what we ended up ordering is not what we had originally envisioned.
Back when we were dreaming of the kitchen, we had thought of vintage cast iron sinks with a drainboard. They are a cool, eye-catching feature and a way to make sure our future new kitchen wouldn’t look too new and out of place in our super old house. We were thinking something like what interior designer Leanne Ford did in a former home in Los Angeles.
Because this is the first time we’re ordering cabinets, and because our kitchen is so specific, I think I in the end didn’t feel comfortable making non-standard decisions. If we’d already had the vintage sink at home and I knew its measurements, I would have felt more comfortable specifying cabinet needs based on the sink, but we don’t have one and so the cabinets were ordered and then we had to order a sink to fit the cabinet. This is just fine, it’s just an example of how little decisions can trip you up!
So we knew the size we needed and it came down to deciding between materials and design. We chose a single bowl, undermount sink in stainless steel (this one by Ruvati). We knew we wanted undermount instead of drop-in because the countertop around the sink is easier to clean. We currently have a double-bowl sink, but the sink width we needed to order to fit our new cabinets is smaller than the one we currently have, so in the end we decided to go for one large, deep bowl.
In terms of materials, copper would have been a dream but it’s expensive, and after purchasing cabinets and countertops, and still not knowing what extra costs may be uncovered during demolition, I didn’t think spending money on a sink was the way to go. A white enamel cast iron or porcelain sink would have been seamless, blending in with the countertop, but we chose stainless steel. Not only is it an affordable option, but stainless steel is durable and scratch-resistant, and overall easy to maintain.
Our faucet is a little more of a showstopper, this one by Kraus. We went with a faucet that has a water filter spout incorporated into it so we won’t have to drill a second hole in the countertop for our water filter that currently uses a second spout from our drop-in kitchen sink. The champagne bronze finish comes off as a soft, pale gold that we think will go well with the cabinet pulls and hardware we still have yet to choose, but will likely be brass or something similar, as well as the brown veining in the countertops.
Next in the Kitchen Renovation series, I plan to share how we chose our contractor and the projected timeline and costs. If there is anything in particular you’re interested in hearing about, let me know in the comments below!
