Projects › Lower Manhattan › 85 Stanton Street
Completed project · Lower Manhattan, New York, NY
A Lower East Side kitchen rebuilt on its own footprint around a mustard yellow crackled backsplash. The existing dishwasher was protected and kept, an icemaker line was run where there had never been one, and a second ceiling light went in over the peninsula on its own switch.
Job record
- Location
- Lower Manhattan, New York, NY 10002
- Building
- 85 Stanton Street
- Scope
- Kitchen renovation, closet doors and entrance soffit
- Cabinets
- Executive, Antique White, shaker door
- Stone
- Caesarstone Goldfinch, polished, 3 cm
- Appliances
- Bertazzoni range, Bosch refrigerator, Frigidaire hood; existing dishwasher kept
- Completed
- 2024
The kitchen before the work
Honey oak base cabinets under white uppers, a dark mosaic backsplash between them and a slate-look floor tile. The layout was sound: a corner run, a range wall and a refrigerator at the end. What it lacked was light, counter and any reason to look at it.
What the crew did, in order
Strip the kitchen, but protect two things
Out came the floor tile, the wall and base cabinets, countertops, backsplash tile, the sink, p-trap, faucet and shut-off valves, the plumbing branch lines, the ceiling light, the under-cabinet lights, the GFCI outlets, dimmer and plates, the gas oven, the ductless hood and the refrigerator. Two things were protected rather than removed: the wood saddles, and the dishwasher, which was staying.
Sound-deaden the floor before tiling
A waterproof membrane went down first and was turned six inches up the walls. Over it, 120 square feet of ECORE QT sound control underlayment at 10 millimeters, glued with Bostik EFA. Then the floor tile, grouted, caulked and sealed.
Run the lines the old kitchen never had
An icemaker line was installed, because the refrigerator being replaced had none. New shut-off valves, check valves and water hammer arrestors went in, with new hot and cold branch lines run back to the risers where those risers sit inside the kitchen.
Give the peninsula its own power and light
Two outlets were added to the peninsula, and a second ceiling light was spliced in above it and run to a separate switch and dimmer, so the peninsula can be lit without lighting the whole room. Dedicated lines were run for the new refrigerator and for the dishwasher position, and the above-counter outlets near the sink were adjusted to suit the new layout.
Hide the appliance outlets, show the switch plates
The four outlets serving the appliances are specified as not visible behind the cabinets. The five that sit in the backsplash are Lutron Claro in Brilliant White, chosen to sit against the yellow tile rather than disappear into it.
Fit cabinets, stone, then the tile that decides the room
Antique White shaker cabinets from Executive, delivered by tailgate and carried in, then a Caesarstone Goldfinch counter at three centimeters, then the backsplash: a Tile Bar Kanbina crackled glossy ceramic mosaic in mustard yellow, five by eighteen inches, thirty square feet of it.
Replace three doors and rebuild the entrance closet
Outside the kitchen, new paint-ready doors and locksets went on the existing jambs for the bathroom and both bedrooms. The platform above the entrance closet was demolished, a new shallow soffit built in its place, and bi-fold pivot-hinged doors and hardware fitted. The entrance ceiling light was replaced on its existing point.
The finished kitchen
The cabinets are Executive in Antique White with a shaker door, carrying Top Knobs Minetta tab pulls at six and five sixteenths of an inch in brushed satin nickel, twenty-two of them. The counter is Caesarstone Goldfinch, polished, three centimeters.
The floor is a Tile Bar Macro Bianco Chips porcelain, an eight by eight terrazzo look in matte white, eighty-seven square feet, divided from the adjoining wood floor by a satin aluminum Schluter T-profile. Against it the backsplash does all the work: Kanbina mustard yellow in a crackled glossy glaze, grouted in Laticrete Silk while the floor is grouted in Walnut.
Three appliances are new and one is not. A Bertazzoni MAS244GASXV Master Series 24 inch gas range. A Bosch B24CB80ESS counter-depth two-door bottom-freezer refrigerator, also 24 inches, which is what the new icemaker line was run for. A Frigidaire UMV1422US over-the-range microwave hood at 1.4 cubic feet. The 18 inch dishwasher is the one that was already there, protected through demolition and reconnected.
The sink and faucet are both Blanco and both white: a Precis single bowl at 27 inches, a Linus pull-out at 1.5 gallons per minute, and a color-matched basket strainer. Under-cabinet lighting is Richelieu FlexyLED at 3100K warm white in recessed Apex profiles, on a 24 volt dimmable supply with sixteen ports, run from a Decora slide dimmer.
Materials and finishes
Appliances
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Gas range | Bertazzoni Master Series MAS244GASXV, 24 in, stainless, 23.875 x 25.25 x 37.125 in |
| Gas connection | ACC FLEXCOATED FTGC-YC12-48BK, 4 ft flex coated 5/8 in line |
| Refrigerator | Bosch B24CB80ESS, 24 in freestanding counter depth, two door bottom freezer |
| Microwave hood | Frigidaire UMV1422US over the range, 1.4 cu ft, stainless, 23.875 in |
| Dishwasher | Existing 18 in unit, protected through demolition and reused |
Cabinets and stone
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Cabinets | Executive CO-180986, Antique White, shaker door |
| Cabinet hardware | Top Knobs Minetta tab pull TK1043BSN, brushed satin nickel, 6.3125 in, twenty-two |
| Countertop | Caesarstone Goldfinch, polished, 3 cm |
Plumbing fixtures
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Sink | Blanco Precis single bowl 401894, white, 27 in |
| Faucet | Blanco Linus pull-out 526373, white, 1.5 GPM |
| Basket strainer | Blanco 240319, color-coordinated white |
Tile and floor
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Backsplash tile | Tile Bar Kanbina Mustard Yellow, 5 x 18 in crackled glossy ceramic mosaic, 30.08 sq ft |
| Backsplash grout and caulk | Laticrete 3 Silk |
| Floor tile | Tile Bar Macro Bianco Chips, 8 x 8 in matte porcelain, terrazzo look, 87.36 sq ft |
| Floor grout and caulk | Laticrete 94 Walnut |
| Floor divider | Schluter T-profile T9/14AE, satin aluminum, 17/32 x 98.5 in, two |
| Soundproofing | ECORE QT sound control underlayment, 10 mm, 120 sq ft, glued with Bostik EFA |
| Waterproofing | Membrane to the floor, turned 6 in up the walls |
Electrical and lighting
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Backsplash outlets | Lutron Claro SCR-15-GFST-BW, brilliant white, five |
| Backsplash plates | Lutron SC-1-BW and SC-2-BW, brilliant white |
| Switches | Lutron DVSCCL-153P-BW dimmable, brilliant white, three, on an SC-3-BW plate |
| Appliance outlets | Lutron Claro CARS-15-TR-WH, white, four, concealed behind the cabinets |
| Dimmer | Lutron Maestro MACL-153M-WH, plus a Decora slide dimmer for the LED |
| Under-cabinet LED | Richelieu FlexyLED HE6PW, 24V, 3100K warm white, 19.7 in and 39.4 in lengths |
| LED power supply | Richelieu DP2450, 24V, 50W, sixteen ports |
| LED profile | Richelieu Apex recessed profile, 78.75 in, with end caps |
Beyond the kitchen
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Doors | New paint-ready doors and locksets to the bathroom and both bedrooms, on existing jambs |
| Entrance closet | Platform demolished, new shallow soffit built, bi-fold pivot-hinged doors fitted |
| Entrance lighting | Ceiling light replaced on its existing point |
| Paint | Benjamin Moore Regal Select, matte walls, flat ceiling, pearl trim, over Sherwin Williams primer |
The result
More MyHome projects in Manhattan
Questions this project answers
Can I keep my existing appliances in a kitchen renovation?
Yes, and this job is a clean example of how it is written down. The scope lists the dishwasher under protection rather than under demolition, alongside the wood saddles, so it was covered and left in place while everything around it came out, then reconnected. Everything else went: the gas oven, the ductless hood and the refrigerator. If you intend to keep something, make sure it appears in the protection clause of the scope and not merely absent from the demolition list. Absent is ambiguous; protected is an instruction.
My apartment trips a breaker whenever I use two appliances. Can that be fixed in a renovation?
Yes, and the fix is dedicated circuits rather than more outlets. On this job separate lines were run for the new refrigerator and for the dishwasher position, two outlets were added to the peninsula, and the above-counter outlets near the sink were adjusted to the new layout. A detail worth copying: the four outlets serving the appliances are specified as concealed behind the cabinets, so the wall you actually look at carries only the five that are meant to be seen.
Will my downstairs neighbor hear a new tile floor?
Not if something goes under it. This floor has a waterproof membrane turned six inches up the walls, and then 120 square feet of ECORE QT sound control underlayment at 10 millimeters, glued down before any tile was laid. It is invisible once the floor is finished, which is why it is the first line to vanish from a cheaper quote. Many co-op and condo boards specify a minimum sound rating for hard flooring, so check what yours requires before you compare prices.
How do I make a small kitchen feel like a designed room rather than a fitted one?
Spend the decision, not the money, in one place. This kitchen is white shaker cabinets, a white quartz counter, white sink, white faucet and a terrazzo-look floor. All of that is quiet. The entire character comes from thirty square feet of mustard yellow crackled ceramic between the counter and the wall cabinets, lit from beneath by warm white LED at 3100K so the crackled glaze reads amber. One strong move against a calm background survives better than several competing ones.
What are change orders, and how do I avoid being overcharged by my contractor?
A change order is a written amendment to what was agreed, and this job shows the honest version of one. The original materials list left the tile, sink, faucet and backsplash outlets marked “TBD later”, because those had not been chosen yet. A materials change order was then issued a month afterwards naming every one of them with a manufacturer, a model number and a finish. That is a change order doing its job: it records a decision that was openly outstanding, rather than introducing a cost that was always going to be needed and simply was not mentioned.
