Kitchen reno update: Trouble in River City

[dr.girlfriend]

So, the kitchen is coming along great for the most part.  They managed to cover the side of the island very nicely.  The big problem is, they went to put the fridge back and it is too tall!  I'm not sure WHAT happened with my math, we should have had plenty of room, but the back fits in but not the front hinges.  And the over-the-fridge cabinet is 15", so it's not like I can get a smaller one even if they could disassemble everything at this point.  So, it was BACK to IKEA for the third night in the row for me.  I got two 12" drawerfronts, and then went to Home Depot for some hinges.  They might end up being visible, but whatevs.  I'd much rather have the expensive counter-depth fridge we paid a fortune for go all they way back than worry about an unwieldy space above the fridge that we'll probably never use.  Here's hoping they make it work tomorrow.  Here's the problem:


And in cheerier news, here are more pics of the progress so far.  Crown molding makes everything look amazingly better!:

The high cabinets on the dining room side:


The problematic fridge wall.  I love the pullout pantry though!

The sink side:


The shallow cabinet beside the fridge.  I got this idea from a post on here about stupid ideas!  :-)  The exposed side of this will get covered by drawerfronts tomorrow.

The stove side:

[pitterwoo]

Oh no! This kitchen reno math is brutal. I actually had a rough time with the fridge opening too. My issue was with the width. I swear that there was supposed to be a few inches of wiggle room in case we ever got a wider fridge. Instead there is no extra room at all. I still haven't quite figured out how I went so wrong.

Also, our upper cabinet is higher than the top of the pantry cabinet. My fridge wouldn't have fit under there either. I don't think it looks too bad because the pantry, fridge and upper cabinet are built into that wall.

[dr.girlfriend]

And, I just realized one of the drawerfronts I got tonight is damaged. FML. ANOTHER trip to Ikea is in my future! I hope at least that the guys agree to wait and put the replacement on when they come back to hook up the sink.

[sjh722]

Cabinet measuring is so particular! There were all kinds of dimensions I never would have thought about.

Bright side: you can dine economically at the Ikea cafe while you are kitchen-less?

[kaylie]

Yikes. This might be a stupid question, but did they make sure the leveling legs were as low as they could go? I ask because we ran into a similar issue with an appliance =)

[demandypants]

GAH! that sucks that the fridge hinges went and messed everything up! I am sure the end result will be worth it though. It looks so great already!

[AmyRI]

Wow, what great progress! I think you're going to win the unofficial H&G Summer '14 kitchen reno challenge at this pace.

Is your fridge an LG? If so, we have the same one. I absolutely adore it. The pull-out shelves, the split shelf, the 3 produce drawers... I love it all! The one thing we did do was buy an extra divider for the lower freezer drawer. It has made it much easier to organize in there.

[juliahenry]

Wow! It looks gorgeous! And yes, kitchen math is a PITA.

[cosmowife]

I love those shallow cabinets on the side of the fridge - that is a great idea! It is probably so much space for canned/jarred goods.

[mlvmd]

I love everything. And I'm stealing some ideas because my kitchen is a similar size and want the same look that you've achieved.

[dr.girlfriend]

Jul 31, 2014 22:10:22 GMT -5 sjh722 said:

Cabinet measuring is so particular! There were all kinds of dimensions I never would have thought about.

Bright side: you can dine economically at the Ikea cafe while you are kitchen-less?

Ha, I've eaten dinner at Ikea for like five of the last 7 nights!  I'm SICK of salmon!

[dr.girlfriend]

Aug 1, 2014 7:40:06 GMT -5 mlvmd said:

I love everything. And I'm stealing some ideas because my kitchen is a similar size and want the same look that you've achieved.

Feel free!  All the plans and dimensions and stuff are in an earlier post, and also on my Pinterest board.

[dr.girlfriend]

Aug 1, 2014 6:58:49 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Wow, what great progress! I think you're going to win the unofficial H&G Summer '14 kitchen reno challenge at this pace.

Is your fridge an LG? If so, we have the same one. I absolutely adore it. The pull-out shelves, the split shelf, the 3 produce drawers... I love it all! The one thing we did do was buy an extra divider for the lower freezer drawer. It has made it much easier to organize in there.

Yes, it is, and OMG I *adore* it!  We got it a few months ago and were using it in the old kitchen, and it is a revelation!  Of course our old fridge was horrible and had no light inside, so it was always a jungle adventure finding out what scary stuff had gravitated to the dark interiors of it.

[315]

Oh boy. Hope you sort it all out.