Doin' The...Kiiiiitchen!

Hi there Pigeons! 

So, now that we have our skybox renovations done, it's time to start furnishing. When I furnish a place, I try to put all the big furniture down first, before adding knick-knacks. This is especially important to do if you're on a small parcel, with fairly limited LI availability, as I am. It gives you an idea of what you'll have left for decor and clutter, once all the main stuff is rezzed. Because it doesn't do you much good to use 80% of your prim allowance on just two rooms, when you have five to work on. 

It let's you edit...is your kitchen too primmy? Do you have too many chairs in your living area? Is your bed's LI count ridiculous? You have a chance to select other items that might suit your LI availability better, and give you more leeway for decor. 

Today I'm going to concentrate on the kitchen. Since it's usually the most intensive room to put together, I like to get it out of the way first. As with your parcel, it's good to get a measurement of the available space.

As with buying a house, you want to make sure that if you're going for an "All-In-One" kitchen, where everything is included in one linked mass, or just a couple of pieces rather than being fully modular, that it will fit in your allotted space. Below I'll post some that I happen to have in my inventory that fit the area shown, to give you some ideas. But when you go shopping, remember to take a copy of this prim, so you can use it to "measure". 

This pretty kitchen is made with the following:

Dysfunctionality - Cozy Country Kitchen Sink & Cabinets (Kitchen 3 LI, Oven 1 LI)

Post - Marquette Monitor Top Fridge (6 LI)

  Both of these items feature color changeable options, and have a cute, early 20th century look. And Dysfunctionality is WONDERFUL about keeping the LI low, while keeping a lot of the pretty details. 

This more industrial looking set is made up of:
Vespertine - Small Spaces Kitchen (5 LI)
Balaclava!! - Tricia Shelf & Plates (2 LI)

  (Not on Marketplace, so here's a SLURL. Comes with a plain shelf and separate plates, too.)
ChiMia - Kitchen Trolley (1 LI) and Ladder Pan Rack (3 LI)

  I've used this kitchen in a more cottage setting, but it really isn't appropriate for an elegant Parisian apartment, but I figured I'd include it. Of course you'd want to find some more stuff to fill it up, this is just a very basic look. 

This cute kitchen is from:
Trompe Loeil - Timeless Kitchen in Teal (29 LI as shown.)
  (Also comes with a Cafe' Table and Chair - Not shown)
  I love this kitchen, and have used it A LOT. Trompe Loeil also has bigger, newer kitchens, too, so if you like this, you can check out the others. This has a more mid-century-modern feel to it, which again isn't the most appropriate for the space. 

Now, let's talk modular kitchens. Like RL kitchens, these give you most flexibility with setting up your kitchen space. They generally also use up more LI, but it can be worth it to get just the kitchen you want. They're especially great when they allow you to change colors on anything from the cabinets themselves, to the backsplash and countertops. I'm going to give you links to the ones that I have, but of course you'll need to do your own research and figure out what works best for you. 

Consignment - Catia Kitchen (Comes in White or Black)

  This is a VERY pretty kitchen, that goes with any number of home styles. This kitchen does have glass fronted upper cabinets, and remember...that means more decor is needed to make it look "full". But, this kitchen comes with custom, low LI decor items, which is a nice feature. 

Cheeky Pea - Cape Point Kitchen

  This is a great galley kitchen, that works with vintage and modern styles. I've even mixed and matched the upper shelves and cabinets from this set with the Vespertine set I showed above. 

Apple Fall Plantation Kitchen (Comes in other colors, as well.)

  (The Stove is sold separately, and is not on the Marketplace. Kitchen and Stove may still both be available at the Apple Fall store in the Outlet/Discount area.) SLURL

  This is a gorgeous set...it's from Apple Fall after all...so you know the textures and workmanship are exquisite. Again with the glass front upper cabinets, so keep that in mind. 

~BAZAR~ - Toronto Kitchen (PG)

  This is an older kitchen, but still great! Just note it rezzes with Full Bright turned on, so you'll want to turn that off. Also, it's a bit oversized so keep that in mind. It's wonderful in an industrial or cabin type space, being all wood and iron. I have the Dining Room set too, and really love it. I've used this one a lot in my more modern homes. 

ROOST - Palm View Kitchen Set

  This one is fairly new to me, and I've only used it once, but it's wonderful in a big, modern, airy house. The big island is great for additional seating, and to use as a divider of sorts if you have a multi-use space. 

So now...(drumroll please) let's get to the kitchen I'm using for my space.

Muniick - Wickman Farmhouse Kitchen Cabinet Set v2 (PG)

  Optional Decor Package (Also available as separate items)

I chose this kitchen because I like that it has four different colors of cabinets, and the light or dark countertop is a nice feature. It has a nice European type look to it that I thought would be perfect in this space, and I've bought some other items from Muniick, so I knew the quality would be good. I did get a few individual decor items, but skipped the whole set, as I already have a ton of kitchen decor. The picture below shows the different available colors. 

So, how did I set it up? Let me show you!

Figure 1 - First, I set the corner cabinets. I suggest NOT resizing these, and putting them down first, to set the base for your kitchen. 

Figure 2 - Next, I add the other major items, here being the sink, range, and refrigerator. (Note: The fridge and fridge cabinet in this set are ginormous, so I did size them down to make them fit the space and my avatar better.)

Figure 3 - This is where you can fill in space with the individual cabinets. I added another lower cabinet to the right of the stove to give it a finished look, and a set of drawers next to the sink. Generally with these cabinets you can fiddle with the size to get them to fit properly. In this case, I stretched the drawers to fit the space between the sink and the corner cabinet. 

Figure 4 - Lastly, I added the upper items, in this case the range hood, a couple of corner shelves, an upper cabinet, and the fridge surround. 

Below, is the finished product. 

I did make a couple of changes to the range hood. I wanted full tile for the kitchen area, so I did an "Edit Link" on it, and made the pot faucet transparent. Since the partial backsplash contained the script for the light, I made it transparent as well, and moved it so it would be in front of my tile wall, thereby still accessible. I thought the Art Nouveau tile suited the space well, and I tinted the cabinets a bit, as they were still a bit bright for the space. 

All in all, I'm pretty happy with how it came out. It's about 30 LI as shown, and I think I can live with that. But you never know...things could still change, but let's hope I can keep it. 

 I did start work on the dining area, but as this post is already pretty long, we'll get to that in the next one. Take care, and see you soon! 💖