I’ve seen short cabinets, often with glass doors for displaying pretty pottery or glassware, installed above standard height cabinets. I recall seeing it done on some HGTV shows, too.
There’s a cabinet refinishing franchise in our area that specializes in retrofitting. They remove old trash compactors and kitchen desks then replace them with drawer stacks to match the existing cabinets. They also install additional upper cabinets to reach the ceiling. Maybe there’s a similar kitchen cabinet company near you that could provide a free quote and some design suggestions. The folks near us have painters on staff but sub out carpentry, electrical, plumbing, drywall, tile, etc. so they can handle the entire project.
We took out the soffits when we redid the kitchen but we took it down to the studs and rebuilt. We did not put cabinets all the way up to the ceiling as we have really tall ceilings on our first floor. We have 42 in cabinets with a crown molding and then just a space between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling. I think it looks just fine. I already can’t get to the top two shelves of my cabinets as I’m short so it wouldn’t be convenient, usable storage for me.
I know you are impatiently waiting for my tiling report… sorry, this 80 degree weather derailed my bath project. Mr. B decided that the days would be better spent outside. So here I am, veggin’ on the deck after hours of pulling weeds out of the ravine and carrying them up the hill. Phew…
Update: 56 bags of mulch down, veggie and herb garden planted, a bunch more perennials and annuals in the ground. We also took care of fixing a broken opening under the sunporch and did work inside the sunporch. Feels really good to have the yard looking more presentable! We didn’t get to any of the painting projects because it’s been raining on and off but we are making good progress.
@momofsenior1 I bet your garden is going to look beautiful.
I have a pile of landscaping books I’ve borrowed but I’ve done nothing but flip the pages.
My D is in the market for blinds for her house. When they painted they removed the tired stuff that came with the house. The weather is getting hot and they need to get something on the windows. Where is a great place to get inexpensive blinds that are also good to keep the heat out. I think they have 15 windows plus a slider.
The garden is getting there. Today’s project was stripping and repainting an old metal table and bench. Table came out great. Bench is horrible and needs to be replaced but for $4 worth of paint, it was worth a shot.
@mom60 We’ve had good luck with blinds at blinds dot com. All kinds of price points and great customer service. They will send out free samples of colors/swatches as well.
Good blinds are disturbingly expensive, considering what they are. Even the internet places, by the time you get the material you want, the color you want, the mechanism you want, the features you want (room darkening, etc), blah blah, it’s easy to hit $150+ per blind if you have large windows. And the places that come to your house, like Blinds To Go, can be 2-3x that.
Still it’s worth browsing through websites like blinds.com or selectblinds.com just to get an idea of what you like.
When we did our Cape Cod house, we ultimately used Home Depot. If you time their sales, their prices are decent, and for a small amount of money (like $10/window) they will measure and install them, and thus be responsible any mistakes. Which there probably will be - there were with ours.
Are blinds required? They can get nice white cotton curtains and curtain rods for less cost than blinds. Especially at places like Target, Home Goods or online.
For blinds, Christmas Tree Shops has inexpensive cellular shades. They seem to always have standard shades in various widths and often also have top-down-bottom-up. I got them as a temporary measure years ago but they’ve held up fine and I haven’t had to replace them.
Our first tiling job was 50% successful! The tiles are securely glued to the wall with tile mortar. Mr. likes it. Grouting is tomorrow, so I will let you know if the other 50% is a success, too !
I’m pretty sure I’m going to remove our tub and have a tile shower put in over the next couple of months. The room is pretty small, and the shower area has this ugly “tulip” sink right next to it. Unfortunately, they put in the tile floor around that sink, so I need to put eyes on extra tile before I have it replaced as part of the fix-up.
Originally I was thinking of going with a glass panel, and not enclosing the entire shower. Husband doesn’t like that idea.
I need your opinion on what style door is best related to cost vs looks vs ease of use, etc. I prefer not to have a metal “runner” across the bottom of the shower/door, but I’m fine having the rise between the shower and the floor next to it. (Sorry I don’t know real terms for these things). I like “minimal” stuff around the door.
Suggestions?
We have a shower “curb” with no metal as well. Our door is a simple seamless glass. I like the look and it wasn’t terribly expensive (it’s all relative though ; )).
I know I am the minority, but I hate those clear glass showers. I have used them in hotels and feel like I’m in a fishbowl on display. I guess I’m just overly modest.
Our MB shower enclosure has glass on 2 sides. It is 20 years old… has a tiny strip of metal on the bottom of one side, but no metal where the the two panels meet in the corner. I have no desire to replace it yet. It looks and functions great. The metal is almost invisible.
Before we sold House1, we swapped the old gold-framed glass with frameless, no metal on the bottom anywhere. There are options - talk to a few local glass enclosure installers!
Thanks. I’ve been looking at the various types of doors, and now I need to meet with the design lady so she can help me pick the best combination for cost, functionality, looks, etc.
Grouting project was a success! We now have a beautifully tiled wall ready to accept the Electric Mirrors. I learned that I hate grouting vertical surfaces. My previous grouting experience was our shower floor, and even though the grout was epoxy, it was an easy peasy job.
And the mirrors are up!! The TV in Mr’s mirror is up and running, Roku stick plugged in, pancake antenna buried in the wall behind the drywall! Now I will have to endure watching Cramer’s ugly mug… Every. Freaking. Weekday. Morning. Whatever makes Mr. happy.
Next - painting the door trim and painting the MBath. Then… remodel the guest bedroom!!
@rutgersmamma we took out 2 soffits when we redid our kitchen. We did replace the cabinets but the size/layout did not change. It looks SO much better! We have the empty space above the cabinet, with a small piece of molding on top of the cabinets, crown molding along the ceiling edge (matches the rest of our downstairs) and a lovely paint color to offset the white cabinets and white crown molding. I love the more open look!
@musicmom1215 H and I do not like glass shower doors! When we replaced our master tub with a shower, we built a stall with a curb and no door. We use a shower curtain and love the practicality of it, no need to squeegee and we replace the curtain when it starts to get yucky. The shower stall is tucked in a corner and the bathroom is not large so it works aesthetically, at least for H and I who are the only ones who ever see it!
Grouting is tomorrow, so I will let you know if the other 50% is a success, too ! 