Another appliance we love is the Miele dishwasher, which is the only one we've ever known that truly is quiet and truly gets the dishes clean. Our favourite storage is the tall pantry tucked in beside the refrigerator with its pull-out drawers - we can find everything in it.
To save an estimated $13,000 on the pantry and the drawers, Steve and our cabinet-maker, Cary Sandford, recommended we buy standard Blum cabinet guts used by most Canadian kitchen cabinet manufacturers; they ordered ours from Ikea and Cary put new wooden fronts and backs on each piece to give them extra strength. Cary used five coats of Farrow & Ball high-gloss paint on all the cabinetry and woodwork, and added brass fittings I ordered online from Lee Valley Tools.
The kitchen works as efficiently as I'd hoped; it is as welcoming and comfortable as we wanted. I don't snarl at guests any longer who wander in to talk; there is plenty of room for them to sit by the fire and stay out of my way.
But probably the best part of this project was the team that helped us. Steve and Cary pulled together the nicest, most dedicated group of people we've ever worked with on a project like this, and when we told them the things we wanted, they never said - as everyone else has always done-that it couldn't be done. If we ever move again, they've promised to make us a new kitchen just like this one.
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