Bright, White, and Grey: Kitchen Remodel Round Two

Thankfully the kitchen did not remain in it's "gut-job" state. In fact, a few short weeks after the demolition, we were just about ready to move back into the house. So what did we (er, our contractor) do?

The entry way to the kitchen was widened and the door to the basement was moved from the kitchen to the dining room. This allowed us to line the kitchen with cabinets and storage, maximizing the space.  We kept the original pressed-tin ceiling in the kitchen, which was one of the key selling points for us when we purchased our home a year and a half ago.  Before the work, the kitchen felt very dark in spite of having two large windows, so we also added a great deal more lighting and changed out the back door for a full-window (double paned and shatter proof) door. First we installed a spot light above the kitchen sink, then a series of three brushed-nickel barn pendants, as well as under cabinet lighting. One of our favorite features is the top row of glass front cabinets that have individual lights in each cabinet.

 

We went with white shaker style cabinets to keep the feeling of the kitchen classic and used bright substantial hardware to help the room feel updated and current. 

While the location of the sink stayed the same, we went with an as-large-as-possible apron front stainless steel sink for the remodel. I love that I can wash even my biggest pots and pans without a problem thanks to the immense dimensions of the sink. And who knows, we may be bathing our little guy in there in the days ahead! Of course, the dishwasher, where it all started, is still the highlight of it all for me. I cannot get over how much more functional our kitchen is with the dishwasher.

 I absolutely love this hardware. I actually saw it in another friend's kitchen and snapped a picture with my phone to forward to our contractor. I was so pleased that he was able to match them.

Here is our "peninsula"... not quite an island, but rather an extension of the Carrera marble counter top that provides room for meal prep or sitting and eating breakfast. All along I wanted the room to have a place for people to sit and stay a while if they wanted. This perfectly fits the purpose I had in mind, and I love that this can also serve as a place to set out drinks during a house party.  The backsplash is white penny tile, which you may recall is one of my favorite materials original to the house. This is not 100 year old tile, but it's the same material we found original to the house when we purchased it. The oven range hood is glass, which gives a more modern touch to the kitchen and demands less visual attention than a more typical stainless steel range hood.

To widen the entry way to the kitchen, we recessed the half bath wall 8 inches, which narrowed the half bath slightly. We have been amazed at how much the 8" added to the kitchen floor space helps make the room feel larger, and seems to draw people into the room. Of course, we were so thankful for the excellent condition of the original wood floor, so we simply refinished it with a dark stain, "Provencal" from Min-Wax. The color on the walls is "Wickham Grey" from the Benjamin Moore Historic Colors collection. The paint is the Sherwin-Williams Duration line.

It has been wonderful to move in, to figure out the best way to use the storage and the abundance of new counter space. Finishing touches are still in the works (ie installing roll-out drawers in the pantry) but we have been amazed at how much more we use our kitchen, and simply enjoy being in the space. 

We just cannot believe we get to use this kitchen every day. We love it, and are so thankful to have it done before Little Mister arrives. 

-Domestic in the District