We were asked to help a couple fix some water damage their dishwasher had caused.  While talking with the couple, multiple issues and desires were discussed and before we knew it we were helping the couple remodel their kitchen/breakfast room.  The kitchen had been designed back in the 70s.  The walls were all knotty pine paneling.  The cabinets were all the same color (amber shellac).  There were three distinct areas, the back wall with both upper and lower cabinets, a center island with the sink, dishwasher and wine cooler, and a cook top island.

   

We started by pulling the center island out and the old flooring around the island to determine how extensive the water damage was.

We used our Fein Oscillating Multi-tool to cut out the damaged sub-flooring.  This tool allows you to cut material out pretty precisely.  It has different blades to allow you to cut different materials.

In addition to the water damaging the sub floor, it was determined that the center island also needed to be replaced.  The customer decided to have the remaining cabinets painted.  The flooring would be replaced with Armstrong Luxury Vinyl Tiles in Warm Oak.  The cook top would be replaced with a new Thermador gas cooktop.  The countertops would be replaced with Quartz.

For the new center island, we replicated the previous cabinet and used 1/2″ plywood.  Since we were going to build raised panels for the back and sides, we decided that the back of the base didn’t need to be a full piece of plywood so built just a shell that we could attach the panels to. We used amber shellac to seal the wood to match the old cabinets.

Since the cabinets were to be painted, we decided to use quarter sawn poplar to build the panels.  Poplar creates a smooth panel.  Quarter sawn makes for a stable, consistent wood.  We needed three panels for the back and then each end end needed a panel for a total of 5.

  

After the panels were glued up, they were cut to size and then taken to the router table.  We used the raised panel bit from CMT Ogee Kitchen set.

 

The styles and rails were also cut on the router table.

 

The styles/rails were then added to the panels and glued up.  They were then painted using Benjamin Moore’s Advance paint in Revere Pewter with a satin finish.  This was done to match the color the customer painted the knotty pine wall paneling in, only they used flat on the walls.

 

We used hard maple for the face frame of the cabinet.  This was painted in Benjamin Moore’s Advance using Snowfall White in satin to match the color chosen for the rest of the cabinets.  The kick plates were also painted in the Snowfall White.  The new island was then ready to install.  We used Kreg pocket screws to attach the back plywood, end panels and face frame.

   

The remaining cabinets were painted, the Quartz counter tops from Better Granite Garcia out of Manassas, VA, were installed and then the cabinet hardware was installed.  The customer chose a Bosch dishwasher which we installed for them.

     

In case you’re wondering, the round hole at the end of the kitchen is from an old fireplace flue.  We will be creating a plug to cover that.  The space for a refrigerator is a little smaller than the normal size refrigerators being made these days so the customer is still weighing their options for replacing it.  One of the options includes having us cut the cabinets above the refrigerator down to allow for a taller fridge. The bi-fold doors will either be replaced or painted another time, as will the wall oven and microwave.