Well I have finished that Roycroft shelf, just haven't documented it yet. But I did start the kitchen remodel project. It wasn't a complete overhaul, but there were some fairly involved changed like new countertops, new cabinet configurations and all new doors and drawer fronts that I constructed here in the shop.

Here are some before shots, well technically some things were already done like the new paint. The kitchen used to be the orange color as seen on the backsplash but now is cream. But the photos give you an idea of the cabinet state, rabbeted plywood doors, gross pinkish white paint and mismatched pulls. Also the drawers used to just slide on wood and were quite awkward for storage, not too mention things were a bit undersized in the cabinet area just to the left of the sink.

We chose the following for the remodel:

New paint that transitions from the living room to the kitchen and belonged to a classic American Arts & Crafts palette.
Granite tiled counter tops
Inset frame and panel, flat panel doors and drawer fronts with simple hardware.
Classically styled yet modern fixtures.

Kohler Langlade Smart Divide sink
http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?item=9952502&tab1=0&prod_num=6626-1

Kohler Brushed Nickel Duostrainers
http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?from=thumb&frm=&module=Duostrainers&item=468202&prod_num=8799&section=1&category=7&resultPage=0--1195974031

Kohler Forte Pull-out Faucet
http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?item=9559802&section=1&category=4&subcategory=32

Then I went for it and tore out the countertops and gutted an impractical cabinet. The cabinets were weak and I spent a good part of a day adding reinforcements to the cabinet in order t

o support the granite tops. A pocket hole jig and screws was an invaluable tool for this, not to mention my miter saw!

Notice in these pics the new doors have already been built, painted and installed, also note the lack of support framing in the cabinets, especially around the sink area where a heavy cast iron sink is to be installed!!!

Anyway, this website was my best friend during the entire countertop project.

Granite Tile Kitchen Countertops

http://www.rd.com/17870/article17870.html

I was going to build my own drawers, and if this was a furniture project I would have for sure. But being that this is a kitchen cabinet retrofit, and I view the kitchen as a place that needs to function efficiently, I looked into other options and discovered that I could get nice sturdy steel drawers on ball bearing slides with soft close dampers for about the same cost as it would have cost me to build them out of poplar, minus the labor! In this case, the Ikea Rationell drawers came in very handy and only required a bit of fine tuning to the cabinet face frame to fit. I also had to add some cleats to the inside of the cabinets to mount them properly since the Ikea drawers are designed for faceless European style cabinets. I basically needed to add cleats to bring the drawer slide mounts flush with the inside edges of the face frames, not too bad as long as you have a thickness planer and a miter saw and pocket hole screws.

Here are pics of the countertop, sink and faucet installed. Also all the drawers mounted and drawer fronts fitted (but yet to be painted).