Decorating & Renovating
shesthetoast
member
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Anyone heard anything about Wilsonart Oiled Soapstone counters?
I was cleaning out my house plan bookmarks today and found a reference to it. Some googling brought up this kitchen:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0218124620479.html
From the picture, it appears that the square profile + the color look really nice. Has anyone seen them IRL? Do they look hokey?
I'm trying to compromise with DH and cut costs SOMEWHERE for now (lol - really, we are on the same page about wanting to be affordable for our budget, and I would rather have good-sized rooms for now than all high-end finishes). I am thinking that countertops are something that could be upgraded down the line, depending on cost.
Re: Anyone heard anything about Wilsonart Oiled Soapstone counters?
we looked at a lot of soapstone. I wanted to love it and part of me still does. But the scrapes and stains from every piece we tried just turned me off.
We went with a honed (satin) granite called Verde Italia. A lot of people ask me if it's green soapstone. I love it. If you don't like the shine of granite (I don't) then look at honed granite.
SJH I hear you. I just convinced DH that we need to go with a bigger house than what he was thinking. He thought 1400 would be "huge." We laid out his 1400 foot house in the front yard using marking tape and he discovered that it was way too small for our needs. So we're going with closer to 1800 feet, just by taking his plan and adding 11 feet to it (all going to kitchen/dining room and living area).
But he keeps telling me he's not building me a mansion and I'd better be okay with not doing high end finishes. I like the look of the kitchen that you posted. They don't look like laminate counters at all. I love the look of soapstone and it's what I really want to put into the house, but I love how low maintenance my laminate counters are. I can take things out of the oven and plop them on the counter, I've cut things up on them, etc. I don't know that I want to lose that functionality. Le sigh.
What plan did you end up deciding on?
What kind of laminate counters do you have that you can put something hot on?
signed, the woman with the melted laminate counter. Thanks.
The super cheap ones precut from lowes!
I never knew you couldn't just put stuff on them. I always did when I lived with my parents too and they had a modular from the 80s - I doubt that it was high quality laminate there either.
Oh, I hear you too! I don't have a plan yet. (Sound familiar?) I have a few (uh, like 30 saved on my computer) that I'm working off of right now. I think we might end up taking a 1700 - 1800 sq foot plan and do the same thing - adding square footage to the living/dining/kitchen. Because I have been taking 2000+ sq foot plans, then shifting things around, moving a wall out a foot, etc and obviously things get big fast. If I am a. paying to build it and b. paying to heat it and cool it and c. either cleaning it or paying someone to clean it...2000 - 2200 on a basement is MORE than enough space for us.
I love the look of soapstone too. It looks so soft and warm in photos. I was really surprised when I pulled up that link and found out it was laminate. And, FYI - I'm sure your H can build them, if you're looking to save even more. You can buy sheets of laminate (the veneer part) and build your own counters. My H did that at our old house. It's way cheaper than having them fabricated. I suggested that this afternoon and got a mixed reaction from mine, lol.
Are you still doing the same cottage-y type plan that you posted before? I remember liking it! (I think it was a William Poole one?) Do you have a time frame for building?
Vic I love your "before" house and I'm so excited to see your forever house.
SJH I seriously will pick out one of your 30 for you. Anytime. I have house planning envy right now.
I promise I'll think of all aspects of life... the important ones... like having access to pee in the middle of the night, a good spot to put a trash can in a kitchen, avoiding small rooms with 3 openings, and WIC.
The William Poole ended up being too small. I think we're going with this one: http://www.houseplans.com/1584-square-feet-3-bedrooms-2-5-bathroom-cottage-house-plans-0-garage-33519 and adding 11 feet to the other side of the porch to make it symmetrical. Then the kitchen/dining area will be way bigger and we'll have space for a place to put the laundry appliances - rather than right when you come in the back door.
The only problem is that we don't want to move the stairs - and that makes one of the upstairs rooms really big. If we do end up having 2 kids someday who gets the really big room
Though I suppose we could make a hallway, wall off the bedroom and make an office where the bay window is.
If we build countertops I think I want concrete...but if he's doing most of the work building the house, he won't want to build me a countertop too. I saw a tutorial somewhere about using soapstone remnants too. Found it: http://www.ikeafans.com/forums/articles/4858-diy-soapstone-tile-countertops.html may try this!
Thanks Erica!
Re timeline: we're breaking ground in the spring