Saturday, December 11, 2010

Kitchen Features


 In 2007 the kitchen was professionally remodeled.  The existing original 100% real wood cabinets were painted, and a few new cabinets were added that were custom built to match the old ones. That way all the cabinets would be solid real wood.  The cabinets were professionally painted, and the paint they used was an industrial oil paint.   Even though the cabinets are white, marks and spills wash off very easily, so it's easy to keep them clean.  The cabinets were also fitted with new invisible hinges, and under cabinet lights.

The insides of two of the lower cabinets also got a make over with custom built sliding drawers and shelves for better organization and storage.


Pull out shelves under glass cook top
                                                                                  
The Kitchen has a Lazy Susan, and added during the remodel, a pull out trash and recycle bin right next to the sink.

During the remodel, the pass thru bar area between the kitchen and dining area, was turned into a full kitchen island that has a wall oven, and an extra cabinet and drawers for more storage.  With the addition of the large granite counter space on top, it's a nice space for baking.

As shown in the above picture, a space was created for the fridge to slide back into next to the pantry and a deep cabinet was added above.  The space has two small wall sections that could be removed in the future to accommodate a little bit of a larger sized fridge if needed.

Next to the fridge is the pantry, it's a very nice size and with shelves and a little cabinet inside, it also has a space behind the fridge large enough to store an upright vacuum, brooms, and mops.
Kitchen Pantry
Area behind the fridge in the Kitchen Pantry

Another custom feature added, was two little pull out spice cabinets on either side of the vent hood.

The wall oven, dishwasher, glass cook top, and refrigerator, were all updated and new in 2007 they are Sears Kenmore and have a sleek black mirror finish. The dishwasher has special jets for cleaning pots and pans, the oven is self cleaning, the refrigerator has pull out shelves, ice maker and cold water dispenser.  The glass stove top cleans easily and blends in nicely with the granite.

All of the kitchen counter tops are granite, and it is the traditional thick granite with an expensive decorative bevel edge, they were hand picked and professionally installed from a local stone company in Rockford, the color is Uba Tuba.

The kitchen floor is not your average laminate, it's a vinyl laminate, which is a newer product that is 100% waterproof.  There are no liquid worries with snow, spills, or cleaning and it came with a 25 year warranty.  You can leave the laminate in a bucket of water for a few days and it won't affect it.  We know this because we tested it out before purchasing.  Pet stains are also not an issue with this floor and it is fairly scratch resistant.  The floor is floating, so it can easily be removed in the future, should someone want to install something else.

Lots of Storage

This house has a lot of storage areas in the upstairs and on the unfinished side of the basement.  In both bedrooms upstairs, there are storage areas off the closets.  The second bedroom has a full sized storage room off the closet that is unfinished, and is the space above the Master bedroom.  It has electricity and could be finished off as another room if you wanted.

Second Bedroom Closet
Second Bedroom Storage Room thru the back of the closet.
The Second bedroom has a 2nd storage area that is on the right side of the room, it has a small door to it, and is the space above the bay window in the living room.


Second Bedroom second storage area.

 Third Bedroom closet

Third Bedroom door to small storage area in closet
The Basement has a closet at the top of the stairs and one at the bottom, and also has a lot of storage space on the unfinished side as well as underneath the basement stairs.

On the outside of the house there is a little extra storage, on the side of the garage.  It's a little fenced area that has a shed (2008) and plenty of space to store your garbage bins.






                                                                       

The Neighborhood

The house is marked with the red marker.
This North Church neighborhood is a wonderful, quiet, neighborhood, with mature trees and larger, well taken care of yards that offer nice space between the houses. There are very caring and friendly neighbors that live on this block.  They will watch your house while you're on vacation, shovel your drive way in the winter if you're out of town, or offer to lend you a hand or a tool if you ask. It is a mix of younger and older families. In the summer time children are playing outside or riding their bikes up and down the street heading to the park just a block away. The park is a great place to walk your dog, or for the kids a place to play, and in the summer, they often have baseball games there.