Update

It's been a while since my last post. The kitchen is almost done, just waiting on a few parts.

Since my last entry I've build a few dozen drawers and installed them, installed the rosewood veneered knee wall, stained and installed the rosewood veneered doors and drawers on the island, installed the end panels, had the granite installed, along with the sink and appliances.

So, at this point the kitchen is fully functional, just lacking a few details. I did have to add an extra coat of lacquer to the cabinet doors. Working with a new product is always a learning process. Turns out I was being too conservative with the new lacquer. Luckily, it's low VOC and I was able to set up a spray tent in the client's garage and spray all the doors on sight, which saved days since the doors could go right back on the cabinets (instead of having to wait over night for the finish to fully cure before packing them.)

Since everyone likes photos, here's a few:


Just a handful of the more than 3 dozen drawers I had to built. I used 1/2" pre-finished (1 side) maple plywood. The half-blind dovetail joints were done using a Leigh jig, which I'll detail some other time. I assembled them so the unfinished side is out, this allows me to sand the joint smooth then clear coat them.



Here are some of the island drawer fronts. This photo show the difference toning makes in the color. Once again there were color matching issues between the 5 sheets of veneers needed for this kitchen, so a combination of custom blended toner and dye stains were used to make some of the veneers match others that were left 'natural.' Very frustrating, but ultimately not too difficult once the right combination was found.



Here's the kitchen a few weeks ago. You can see the rosewood knee wall and counters. I'm particularly proud of the tall end panel on the left (with the big flash reflection on it). That panel is 9 feet tall, and seamless. I'm not aware of any factory made cabinet company, no matter the price, which offers that.

In my career I've installed a number of similar designs which used 2 cabinets stacked to reach the ceiling, always resulting in a seam which is usually covered with awkward strips of molding. This approach is much more elegant, and only require a little ingenuity, all the needed tools and materials are readily available.