Marble No More

A couple days ago we received bad news from the showroom we were buying the Vietnam White marble countertop from. They were calling to tell us that they couldn't find one piece of marble big enough to fit the countertop under the plate and bowl shelves to the left of the refrigerator on the long wall in the Kitchen. The countertop was built based on their confirmation that we could make it up to 7 feet long. B made it under 7 feet by a couple inches. They called and said they wanted to make the top in two pieces and we could not agree.

counter section under shelves

It is an important part of the kitchen and it was based on their measurements!!! This is after they wanted us use a smaller piece on the side by the sink which meant the seam would be right down the center of where the future dishwasher will be (or now where the two shelves under the counter will be) and we first reluctantly agreed to that. Worse though, earlier, they told us they weren't 100% sure that they could make the curve of the undermount sink look good. I was already very skeptical of the whole transaction so this final call turned me off totally and we asked for our deposit back and sink (which had been sent to Malacca).

As we anticipated some issues with the marble (both marble and granite here in Malaysia tend to be harder to get contrators to do a good job, and hard to find nice product... most of the granite available that we saw was ugly 80s style speckled granite in gross colors and small slab sizes). Our backup plan if we ran into problems was to use Corian Solid Surface in Glacier White (see http://www.furnishism.com/elektra-glossy-ice-lacquered-by-ernestomeda/) if the marble didn't work out. But it means that we will be over budget. Fortunately, we located the official Corian installer in KL who had workers in Seremban day before yesterday. They came to the house and measured and we are waiting for the quote. It should be about 1,800myr more than what we were paying for the marble. Hopefully, not more. But, what it will do is make the kitchen look better and no seams will show and the sink should be curved nicely. Plus there was no guarantee that the marble wouldn't have chipped or discolored, at least with Corian we have a 10 year guarantee.

Sink and Countertops

A few days ago the measurer came to measure the Kitchen for the Vietnam White Marble Countertops. Everything seemed fine, except that he told us he was concerned that the marble cutters would not be able to do a good job on the cutting the curves for the sink (as the sink is an Undermount Sink). This Bareno (at the time of writing, the Bareno MY website was down so no link available, but here is a image of the product... we paid 679myr http://www.on-2u.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=43&product_id=248) sink has been the source of a few problems. Initially we weren’t sure if we should buy it because B told us that the standard countertop width for countertops in Malaysia is 23 ½” deep, which is too narrow for this big sink. He said that getting granite or mable wider than 23 ½”would be hard in Malaysia. Not true we thought, because we found a showroom in Seremban selling “table-top” countertops which are slats of 3 feet wide by 7-8 feet long pieces. So we could just use a number of table-top pieces to form the kitchen countertops or we could always order Corian solid surface which could be made in a wider size (for more cost)... so we went for the Bareno mainly to have the side sink where we can add a metal basket for drying dishes (this is temporary until we get our dishwasher installed later). Now we have given the sink to the showroom and they have sent it to Malacca where they will cut the marble trying to match the curves in the sink. I am very skeptical about the whole thing, but Corian would cost an extra 2,000myr and technically marble especially this pretty white pattern we found is very beautiful and will look great in the kitchen. If it is done right, it will make the kitchen look a lot richer for less cost. If cut wrong, the marble will be a disaster. We also weren’t given any assurance that all of the marble pieces will look nice next to each other. The marble, they tell us is predominantly white 95% or so, with slight areas of grey mixed throughout 5%. We aren’t sure how grey it will actually be, or if the dark parts will be near the seams causing bad match of pattern. With all of the crappy workmanship we’ve encountered, we brace ourselves for the worst.

Kitchen Progress

All of the main kitchen cabinet bodies have been installed in the kitchen, as well as the wood top which will hold the Vietnam White marble countertop. A stainless steel skirting along the floor still needs to be added to the sink and stove side of the room.

B created the three thick shelves for my dish and bowls. Other kitchen contractors who we met weren’t too excited to make these, it is one of the reasons we chose B to make the cabinets.

What R and I find interesting is that B has opted to stain the cabinet bodies and Nyatoh solid wood doors onsite when they are ready. He said staining the doors when they arrive will allow him to better match the cabinet body nyatoh wood with the cabinet doors (we wonder how staining onsite will work... the smell and the mess etc.). One other interesting thing, if you look at the photo under the shelves you can see the electrical outlets which in my opinion are pretty high up above where the countertop will be. If I hadn't asked, B would have placed these plugs immediately under the first shelf. I asked him to place them a couple inches above where the backsplash will be located, but you can see he still placed them higher. He said it is because the plugs in Malaysia have a thick heavy cord at the bottom which go straight down and can not be twisted; this is true, but it does not require the electrical plugs to be placed halfway up the wall. He then told me that Malaysia construction regulation requires all kitchen electrical sockets to be 5 feet above the floor (he said my lower plugs were ok because this isn't a new house, but a renovation). I asked him if the height requirement has something to do with keeping the sockets off the ground or away from water or why? He said he didn't know why, it is just the way it is in Malaysia.

The Kitchen

Despite the delays waiting for the house sale to finalize we have been busy trying to locate contractors for a number of jobs we need to do on the house. The house has not been occupied and does not have an existing kitchen, so in order to move into the house as soon as possible, we need to get the kitchen started first.

Traditionally Malaysian homes tend to have two kitchens: a Wet Kitchen and a Dry Kitchen. The Wet kitchen is located outside the house and usually has a roof covering but is not totally enclosed. The sink is in the wet kitchen as well as the gas cooktop (Malaysians use hobb cooktops more than ovens, some homes don’t have an oven). We were told that the reason there are two kitchens in Malaysian homes is because Malaysian cooking is done mostly via a wok with high heat so the open space eliminates the smell and heat inside the house. The Dry kitchen is historically located inside the house and has the refrigerator and counter tops for placing serving dishes, sometimes there might be other appliances or another sink in here too. We were told that this is where the food is ‘presented to guests’ and it is always clean. More on wet and dry kitchens here:

http://renotalk.20.forumer.com/a/dry-kitchen-vs-wet-kitchen_post4928.html

http://lotusleen.blogspot.com/2006/09/dry-kitchen-vs-wet-kitchen.html

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080417215148AA9DcWc

This set up seemed very awkward to us especially having a refrigerator separate (in another room!!!) from the stove and sink. Not to mention having took cook ‘outside’ with all the pests (don’t get me wrong I love to bbq once in awhile, but I don’t want to cook outside all the time). We were looking for a house that would allow for the entire kitchen to be inside. One of the reasons we chose the house we are purchasing is because it has a large dry kitchen (it also has a wet kitchen outside). So we will be able to create a fully functional interior kitchen. Currently there are only tiles on the floor and walls. As we are on a very tight budget, we will have to use the tiles even though we wouldn’t have chosen them.

the Kitchen

We met with a number of kitchen companies, some in Seremban and some in Kuala Lumpur. While most houses still have wet and dry kitchens, modern kitchen design is quite sought after in KL and so we were seeing more fully integrated kitchens (as one space) and very modern kitchen cabinets which are similar to European kitchen design (although the quality of the products here is unknown to us). See the largest kitchen company in Malaysia for an indication of what current Malaysia kitchens look like http://www.signaturekitchen.com.my.

While the house we are buying has a very modern feel, we decided to go with wood cabinets yet still try to give the kitchen a modern 'asian' feel with stainless steel elements. We have found a kitchen contractor in Seremban who will be custom building the kitchen design my husband R and I designed. The contractor will be using local Naytoh wood to make the cabinet doors. At this time, we think we will be using marble for the counter tops, a color/product called Vietnam White Marble. The center island will be stainless steel to keep the cost down. More on the Kitchen as it progresses. For now, here are a couple photos of the kitchens which have inspired us designed by Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen...