Project #812121

I actually don't know quite where to begin. From the first time we visited SITK, we were very impressed by the friendliness of all the staff. As we wandered around, a little lost - and dreaming that some of these beautiful cabinets, lights, bar stools, granite countertops, sinks, and kitchen masterpieces could someday, somehow fit into my dream kitchen... it was almost inconceiveable.

But... with one trip to our house to check out the present area, Mark and Kendra seemed to know just what to do. Calling on their past experiences, finding out what I desired to make this special for me, and using a very advanced computer program that could show us several different ways of reshaping the space I had to work with... I want to say they worked magic!

And unbelieveably, of the different layout possibilities they showed us, my husband and I chose the same one!

I won't lie... demolishing three plaster walls and taking all the wood away made a huge difference in open area size for the future kitchen, but it made a huge mess every day, of plaster, drywall, nails, wood, dust, etc. Our contractor worked to contain the mess with plastic walls put in place before the demolition, and this helped a lot.

One of the walls removed was a weight-bearing wall for the house. Without a flinch, they placed a triple 2 x 10 support beam in the attic and secured it to the rest of the structure, so that our new kitchen would not have a support beam showing below the ceiling.

It was three weeks straight day in and day out that our carpenters were here and working hard every day - shimming up the floor to make it perfectly level, tearing out old cabinets, hooking up new electrical outlets, and plumbing for sinks where they never were before! Adding lots and lots of lights (which made everything beautiful!), measuring and fitting flooring, widening doorways, having walls painted.

They added gorgeous 3 1/2" trim around all the doors, the window, and the big bay window in our dining area. We also purchased a new 36" front door with two sidelights, which has really improved the look of the house.

Soon our appliances were delivered; and then the cabinets - I was so excited to see them! The 400-lb double oven was a challenge for everyone, but it fit perfectly into the cabinet... and now it is one of the womderful focal points of our new kitchen.

What I call my "display wall" has two large display cabinets on top, decorated with two seed drawers on each side, and plenty of storage underneath. My computer desk sits directly between the two display cabinets - with a granite top and drawers to the side and a slide-out keyboard. I like watching wildlife and my grandchildren taking turns playing in the backyard right outside the window.

Then the granite tops were here! I could not believe how heavy some of those pieces were! (For our granite kitchen table, we have a thick steel plate and 2 x 6 supports through the kitchen floor into the basement support beams... and everything is very sturdy! )

Then the sinks were installed; the cook-top and backsplash... and I started using my new kitchen immediately!

Oh, I forgot our dining room. It's Lyndon furniture from Vermont, through SITK. Our trestle dining table is 96" long, with a gorgeous solid cherry top. The chairs, hutch and buffet are from the same company. (...chairs are very comfortable!)

In the new room, we included some of our antiques (Hoosier cabinet, seed cabinet, small table, lantern, and an old wall phone which works!). We think they look great with our combination of quartersawn oak and black cabinetry!

We want to thank everyone at SITK, including Nancy, Sue, Bekah, Tom, and Kenny for putting up with all of our questions and frequent calls . Thank you most of all - Mark and Kendra - for your patience, guidance, suggestions, acceptance of changes I made (even though one of them made you "a little sad", Mark) - and helping us choose handles, paint, granite, floor, etc. etc. etc.

You two were always there and always helpful. It was good to be able to keep in touch throughout the whole process. I told you before that when I don't hear from you for awhile I start missing you... you're almost like family! Thanks again so much for everything.