A tale two kitchens

We've spent time in a few of the homes that are our floor plan to get a good feel for what we want and what to expect. During these visits to other people's not quite finished homes we've learned that we wanted a different cooktop, we wanted the expanded master bath option, and a larger deck. We've taken photos along the way and it's been helpful to review these from time to time to not only pass the time but to trigger questions for the builder.

Lot 44

We have a weekly call with the project manager, but this week it was cancelled due to his being in meetings all week. Since they asked we fired off a few questions such as is it too late to add a nickel covered power plate in the floor in our giant open space? Since the electrical hasn't really started we're hoping it's still a possibility. I also followed up on something we noticed in "lot 44".

They also opted for the cooktop and wall oven configuration (likely for the same reason we did, we saw it in Redmond and LOVED it.) But when we were in lot 44 we observed that the height of the vent hood was very low to the point that it may impede Jason's joy of cooking. We can't have that, because I miss his shrimp scampi and he is far better at eggs than I am.

Redmond House

I reviewed the photos of lot 44 and Redmond and thought I saw that the countertops in lot 44 did not extend out over the cabinet box. I studied the photo and was 100% sure that it looked wrong. Before I fired off a friendly but nervous letter to the design center contact to determine what was standard for our builder, I researched the standard counter depth overhang. It is amazing what you can look up on the Internet. My extensive research (10 mintues) tells me that a 1.5" overhang is standard. That is enough to cover the depth of the drawer and door fronts that are added to the cabinet boxes.

I hit send and seconds later Jason finally replied to an earlier comment I made to him about the issue. He said "Study the other pictures, this one seems like an illusion. I think the overhang is there." Well shoot. I went back and looked at the other photos and sure enough - overhang. I recalled my question and have a bit of egg on my face.

 Two reminders: look at all the other photos you have and be thankful you weren't a jerk when you asked your question.

 

our cooktop

Now, onto other things we noticed about the two kitchens. The Redmond kitchen has a bit more color with the grey back splash and the darker countertop.  Lot 44's cooktop is top mounted which is fine - but we loved the look of the kitchenaid in the Redmond house, so that is the one we ended up ordering.   I truly believe that Lucy has passed the age where the knobs are toys.  I also think the stainless look blends more with the over all look.  Without putting any thought to it, our fridge and cooktop are from the same line and will look superb together.

The folks at lot 44 spent far more $$ on their built in wall oven/microwave oven thing.  It's beautiful, and a part of me wishes I could have it, but the idea that one part could fail and you'd have to replace it all hurts my soul.  So, similar to the Redmond House pix above ours will be two separate systems housed together.

our selections

Personally, I think the Redmond kitchen is more interesting than the lot 44 kitchen, but when I look at the things that make that kitchen seem more interesting I'm worried we made mistakes.  Our tile is WHITE, our countertop is WHITE.  I hope the style of the tile and the darker grout provides enough pizazz to keep it from looking like a hospital.  Our cabinets have a different profile than either of the other kitchens, so I feel confident we haven't selected a cookie cutter kitchen, and I am over the moon in love with our flooring.  The hardwood is fabulous and will warm up the space quite a bit.  See, as I write, I'm talking myself back in love with our selections.

I love where our house is and how it sits on the lot, so my next statement is just an "if only" type comment.  The Redmond House had the kitchen on the right side of the main room, and our house will be the opposite.  I liked how the Redmond House was laid out from that perspective, but on our lot and with our amazing trees in the back it simply wouldn't work.  It's funny that I feel so strongly about it, because the lot in Redmond was so small that they had to trim trees at the property line to clear for the build. Specifically trees that were growing at the edge of the property line were trimmed to remove any branches (and big ones) that protruded over the property line.  It looked kind of bad. We have trees on the back side of our lot, but they are far enough away from our useable yard space that they get to live on without impediment and we get to enjoy a reasonable outdoor space.

It has been hard this week because it doesn't seem like much has been happening.  I"m so ready to be planning the last piece of this project (the move in) that even a few days of little to no visible progress is frustrating.   This will all be over soon and the Apartlandia portion of our lives will seem like a sweet memory.  Or not.