Kitchen Renovation Hack: DIY Yoga Mat Cabinet & Drawer Liners

My first DIY project post kitchen renovation: Install cabinet liner in the cabinet boxes, drawers, shelves, and pantries. Liner padding is available from most cabinet manufacturers and comes in rolls of (usually) clear plastic that you cut to fit. I used it to line our flatware and utensil drawers and pantry shelves. But for pantry floors and, especially, deep drawers where we store heavy pots and pans, I prefer a thicker padding—yoga mats to the rescue. 

Trick to Drilling in Narrow Confined Spaces

The project is winding down and so is the punch list. Meanwhile, I've been keeping busy with small tasks. Something weighing on me has been the space at the end of the pantry run. We were left with about six inches of space and the carpenter suggested a mop closet. Brilliant! There was just one problem: With the pantries already assembled, fitting hand, plus drill, plus drill bit into this confined space in order to install any kind of utility rack was going to be a challenge. The guys actually looked at me like I'm a crazy lady. I'm sure when they suggested it they thought I'd just throw some mops in there and shut the door, job done — but I wanted to hang my handy Casabella Grook Utility mop holder and have everything organized neatly. Google to the rescue.

Jackson Heights Kitchen Renovation: Before and After

If you've been following our renovation, you know that we've been in the home stretch for some time, waiting on the lighting over the sink run and peninsula and the remaining doors that had to be recut after some field fitting around the wall oven, above the fridge, and to the right of the pantries. Well, it's all in. Let's have a look.

This Spray Paint Is a Perfect Match for Delta Champagne Bronze

The plumber was coming to do all the hookups, and I still hadn't found a drinking faucet that matched the shape and finish of our sink faucet, the Delta Trinsic in "champagne bronze." While purchasing the sink on Wayfair, I saw this inexpensive Kingston Brass Continental drinking faucet that matched the shape. I decided to snap it up and just hope for the best with the finishes. When the fixtures came in, however, it was clear they were not even close—golden bronze vs. yellow gold. You won't believe what I did next.

Trouble-Shooting the Fully Integrated and Paneled Liebherr Built-In Refrigerator

There are a handful of elements in this kitchen design that have to be just right, and integrating the paneled refrigerator is a major one. As our kitchen will be open to the living room and dining room, I didn't want the look and feel of the rooms to be dominated by hulking appliances. Now that the fridge is in, I'm 100 percent certain that paneled appliances make all the difference. The installation has gone fairly smoothly. But if you're considering a fully integrated refrigerator as we are, here are just a few things I wish I'd known in advance about the Liebherr HC2080.

Why I Went With Drawers in All My Base Cabinets

Designing this kitchen for maximum functionality and efficient use of space, I went with drawers in ALL the base cabinets. Now that they're in, I love the uniformity it lends to the design. I'll store heavy items like small appliances in the bottom drawers and flatware, utensils, and spices in the top drawers.

IKEA + Scherr's Pantries, Toe-Kicks, and Trim

And we have pantries, and moldings, and toe kicks today! I never know exactly what I’ll see when I get home after work each night this week. Yesterday the carpenter had finished up the top trim, installed the toe-kicks, and placed the pantry doors. The quality of the Scherr's woodwork is excellent so far. I'm really happy with our decision to go with them to create the custom doors for our IKEA cabinets.

The Scherr's Doors + IKEA Cabinets Are Live

And we have doors!

The sink has been repositioned and fixes made to the length of the sink run. Some doors are up, and they’re beautiful. Scherr’s did this bit of custom work. They’re solid maple in shaker style painted Sherwin Williams Simply White with a durable factory style finish. They came pre-drilled for the IKEA Blum hinges and scaled to fit my IKEA layout.

Why Liebherr Is the Only Paneled Refrigerator for Me

We all had a moment yesterday morning when the carpenter thought the fridge couldn’t be flush. I was about to have a nervous breakdown. I had done so much research and I knew this integrated model can be absolutely flush and “disappear” behind the panels. It turns out the carpenter thought he had to leave space in the back. We don’t. The Liebherr refrigerator ventilates in the front in space hidden under the front drawer panel.
 

Choosing My Paonazzo Slabs at ABS Stone, LIC, New York

This weekend I chose my marble slabs — the ones I'm standing in front of here were my final choice. When you're renovating a kitchen you have to count yourself lucky to live in a city with proximity to stone yards with optimal selection. This is my fourth kitchen renovation, and ABS Stone in Long Island City, NY, is without exaggeration the best stone yard I've ever visited.