Every project has a must have, in the case of this Kitchen project the 6 must haves were accomplished and the total job costs were under $150.00 saving the Home Owner $350.00 of her budget! Sound impossible? Here is how I accomplished this task by adding an Eat-In Kitchen Counter Top along one wall :)
- A more user friendly kitchen Layout
- Additional Counter Space
- Seating and Eating area for the Grand-kids
- Final Project must blend with existing kitchen decor
- Open Floor Plan-More Space
- Budget of $500.00
I learned long ago in my college drafting classes that a good plan not only speeds up the construction process it helps the Home Owner visualize the end result. My initial inspection of the existing kitchen revealed:
- The existing counter was congested with cooking appliances and left little room for food prep.
- A small 4 person table that the Grand Kids utilized for eating and homework robbed the kitchen of valuable floor space.
I came up with the plan in the 2nd photo and presented it to the homeowner a few weeks prior to the project.
- I explained that by replacing the existing 4 person kitchen table with an Eat In Counter would open up 20 square feet of kitchen floor area and created 10 square feet of additional counter space, bringing the total counter space to 30 square feet and creating a more open floor plan in the Kitchen.
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CAD 3D Counter Top Wall Bracing Detail
by Green Builder Scotts Contracting, StLouis Renewable Energy |
- By utilizing wall braces instead of support posts for the eat in counter creates more floor space. The eye is tricked by the openness since it can see the floor along the Kitchen Wall.
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CAD 3D Eat-In Kitchen Counter Top
Layout Plan- by Scotts Contracting
Once the Home Owner and I have a plan to go from we then started the quest of looking for materials. After a couple of trips through Home Depot shopping for building materials we decided to make the trip to Habitat for Humanity ReStore -see Map
For those who have never been on a Treasure Hunt for Building Materials in a Habitat for Humanity Restore. I'd like to show you just a few of the Jewels we found and incorporated in this Kitchen Project for under $16.00-
- Keeping with the Decor of the existing kitchen we found a perfect Counter top with Wood Trim that matched the existing counter top and butcher block.
- 3 Stair Way Spindles that were incorporated into wall bracing used to support the new counter.
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The addition of the small counter top
created 6 Benefits for the Home Owner
using $16.00 worth of Materials
and a couple of hours time! |
All the Materials minus the Glue was from Salvaged Building Materials purchased for $16.00 at Habitat For Humanity Restore StLouis! I very happily report that all the must haves were met for under $150.00 saving the Home Owner $350.00 of her budget!
Projects Greatest Achievement / Personal Notes:
- I realize that being the smallest kid in the house is very challenging while eating. Booster seats are generally needed so they can easily reach their food or studies. When I seen the mismatched stools for the counter I realized that the tallest stool was a perfect size for the smallest grandchild! No modifications were needed. In time the child will grown and we can cut the legs off the stool for a more uniform appearance. But until then we made the little girls ego happy since she now has the biggest chair! See the Facebook Pictures of the Grand Kids utilizing their new kitchen counter-Being the smallest girl is tuff, when I told her the biggest stool was hers; it made her day!
- Sharon, Home Owner stated that it not only made her kitchen user friendly and open. When she is having feasts for family gatherings she could utilize the new counter for food staging and eliminate the extra tables brought in that cluttered up the kitchen. She also stated that all her friends are commenting on the new look of her kitchen on the above facebook page!
- Saving the Client $350.00
If you have a challenging building project in the StLouis area and need Design Build Assistance feel free contact me via the contact form on the right, via
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Here are few Twitter Comments about the project:
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