We’ve been living here in the middle of renovations for a little over two months now, and I’m starting to notice a pattern where I start a big project and work like crazy on it for a while and then I get a little burnt out on the labor or stuck on a decision or we’ll need to order something to move forward. So rather than pushing forward with the one mess I’m already in the middle of, I’ll do the least helpful thing – I start another major project. Like the stairs. I started the stairs this weekend. Why? Why wouldn’t I finish the floors before filling and sanding and painting the stairs? Just dumb.
Then last night I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and I ended up prying off the rest of granite backsplash. WHY.
I told myself that I wouldn’t dedicate even an ounce of creative (or physical) energy to the kitchen until after the floors, stairs and fireplace are finished. But we’re about 90% done with each of those projects (I knocked out a good two coats on the stairs this weekend!), so it’s hard to avoid thinking about the kitchen more and more. I think it’s because I’m a little stumped.
I’m just aching to have an all-new kitchen (I know – diva alert), but I think I’m still committed to the plan of doing what I can with the space as it is now. After posting about the kitchen last, my friend Abby emailed over a link to this fabulous kitchen reno that was done on a budget. The owners had a really nice kitchen before but one that didn’t really fit their aesthetic, so they tweaked it. I LOVE what they decided to do with their polished green marble countertops. They had a stone specialist come in and hone the marble on site.
Isn’t the veining beautiful? I love the honed finish. The owners decided to leave the newly honed marble unsealed, which I know isn’t for everyone, but sounds completely lovely to me. The author summed up my feelings perfectly when she wrote that she loves her paint jobs to be crisp and perfect and her counters to show wear and tear of use.
Of course Abby’s email and the article got my wheels spinning so I called a few stone guys in our area. One of them quoted me $200-$250 to do the whole kitchen, which was a total steal. He hasn’t been good about returning my calls though and my confidence in his skill-level is iffy at best after our one conversation. The other guy I spoke with, who came highly recommended by friends and who I feel most comfortable using, told me his company would charge about $900.
I need to do some more calling around, but it’s nice to have a range in mind. I don’t want to totally cheap out here and be sad about the finished result, but I won’t be paying a grand for tweaking countertops that I don’t even love in the first place.
As I was pulling off the splash guards over the weekend, I noticed part of the unpolished underside of one of the cuts probably looks a lot like what my granite would look like after having it honed. I love that it is chalky and matte, and I like that the color is lighter, for sure, and those things alone would be worth forking over the $200. But I think it’s just the speckling (and the yellow color) that doesn’t sit right. I have a feeling these countertops might not change enough with the honing, especially not enough to merit anywhere near $1000.
I love this post about starting lots of things at once. You ask Why do you do this ? Cuz you are creative! Sometimes I think if we don't go with the flow and do it while we are excited about it then nothing might not ever happen. I ripped in to lots of cleaning projects this weekend.
The granite is yellow / orange. It just is. It is probably cheaper to change it now.
I love this post about starting lots of things at once. You ask Why do you do this ? Cuz you are creative! Sometimes I think if we don't go with the flow and do it while we are excited about it then nothing might not ever happen. I ripped in to lots of cleaning projects this weekend.
The granite is yellow / orange. It just is. It is probably cheaper to change it now.
I love this post about starting lots of things at once. You ask Why do you do this ? Cuz you are creative! Sometimes I think if we don't go with the flow and do it while we are excited about it then nothing might not ever happen. I ripped in to lots of cleaning projects this weekend.
The granite is yellow / orange. It just is. It is probably cheaper to change it now.
I have the exact same granite in my kitchen. In what is both a blessing and a curse, there is A LOT of it. I had never thought about taking off the short backsplash like you did until you mentioned it a few posts ago. I'm excited to do this now! I had been thinking of painting the upper cabinets white and the lowers gray in hopes of pulling those two colors out and getting the yellow to recede. Thanks for the inspiration and for the other readers posting examples of the same granite!
Thanks so much for mentioning my kitchen renovation! I'm new to your site, and I just spent a bunch of time reading and browsing and it's wonderful. I look forward to following along!
Went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and ended up prying off your backsplash? Ahhhhh…how comforting to know I'm not the only one who is is so easily sidetracked :) Can't wait to see it all done. My counters are similar, and since the previous homeowners just sunk alot of $$ into redoing it, I just can't bring myself to rip it out. Waiting to see what you do!
I just did the exact same thing…took off the granite backsplash and painted cabinets white. I'm finding the cleaner look to be acceptable for now. Hope you feel the same about yours.
Or you could start ANOTHER project and hone them yourself!You have those pieces that you removed to practice on. I vote for that.
http://www.ehow.com/how_8550752_hone-granite-rid-shininess.html
I vote for change…I'd love to see you do some DIY wood counters. They are my favorite.
You can sell it on Craigslist. That's what we did with ours. Someone paid and picked it up less than 2 hours after it was posted. She used it for a bathroom. Had three more calls after she left. There is a market for it, I promise!
Nice inspiration. While reading your post, I'm also thinking to renovate my kitchen because I get pissed off when I saw cockroaches roaming around especially when I was asleep. :(
car for rent manila
I love reading your blog and you always do such beautiful things and I think you would would do something fabulous if you were to keep them but my gut says to sell them and get creative!
Okay so honed carrera would look gorgeous( which I think is the direction you were heading )… find out what it would cost before keeping that granite. Also why not try to sell it before removal to see what it might bring and/or scour CL to see what it's going for…. Let us know what those numbers are! Maybe you can have what you really want!
Also have you looked for marble on CL?
you don't have ADD… you finish things.!!!!
Forget the granite! I want to see the painted stairs! :)
Because I am a lot like you on the project starting thing I offer this explanation. Planning. It isn't about starting and finishing and then starting again for me its about planning my progress. That takes time and thought. If I didn't start a new project before the old one was finished I would have a great gaping void of inactivity while I thought about the variation on themes for the new project and just how I wanted it to look and how I was going to get the resources to make it happen and on and on. That is the fun, planning. You go girl. Ann
I am wondering how many minutes I have to wait before forcing my husband to read this tonight? I should probably feed him dinner first? So intrigued!!!
Yeah, what Vicki said. I think it's the same kind of motivator that had you pulling the back splash off instead of just getting a drink. It certainly sounds like it's going to bug you. It would make me nuts. :) Good luck!
Yeah, what Vicki said. I think it's the same kind of motivator that had you pulling the back splash off instead of just getting a drink. It certainly sounds like it's going to bug you. It would make me nuts. :) Good luck!
This basically describes my whole brain. I often wonder how you get so much done! It's actually reassuring to know you aren't all plans and focused execution. There is a little spazziness in you yet ;)
In my previous family home, we actually chose to have yellow granite. There is a photo here from the sale which shows how our kitchen was done – the cupboards are clearly a lot lighter in colour (it's farrow and ball old white, if i recall) and the walls are also a farrow ball grey. It's a smaller space, but it actually really works well (thank you savills for the beautiful photographs). You can definitely make the granite work if you rethink the incredibly dark coloured cupboards the previous owners installed. I can't help feeling it would be wasteful to remove so much of a valuable and expensive natural material when the pattern itself is not inherently horrible.
http://search.savills.com/content/assets/properties/gbyorsyos120230/YOS120230_13_gal.JPG
The actual link…
Your kitchen – countertops (perhaps these go a little more yellow than ours), cabinets, appliances – looks extremely similar to the kitchen in the house that we purchased. We moved into our house a month ago and gave the kitchen a budget friendly facelift (though we’d love to replace the cabinets and countertops eventually). We painted the walls Benjamin Moore’s Pale Oak, the perimeter cabinets White Dove, and the island cabinets French Beret. We also replaced the cabinet hardware with satin nickel bar pulls and replaced the frosted yellow pendant lights over the island with globe pendants. The changes have certainly made the kitchen feel brighter and more contemporary. Perhaps lighter cabinets would make the granite seem more tolerable…at least for a while.
I love following your blog – you have so many awesome ideas! I’m excited to see what you do with the kitchen.
I think this is your kitchen w/ marble countertops…
(and backsplash)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wvYp22SU8kk/UjsYodV8QBI/AAAAAAAAT0M/Tjfbe-db8Fo/s1600/e15ca6bdbef56985db8d2cf1df31c561.jpg
love those windows you have!
You know, Jenny, it's just now occurring to me that you should give this a whirl yourself. When I used to do stone sculpture, we had tools that made honing granite really simple. And they're not even that pricey. Given that you're so darn DIY-capable and you don't even like these countertops anyway, what's the harm in trying?
If I were you, I'd go to a stone supplier but not installer/finisher, tell them your plan, ask about equipment, and buy a couple small granite fragments to practice on. Make sure you wear a mask, though; that dust is rough on your lungs.
“Project ADD”…I have this, too! Made me laugh so hard. :) I would also go get a drink of water and demolish something in the kitchen. Perfect.