It’s here!! Kitchen Reveal Day!! Can you hear the trumpets playing? Because I can every time I walk into this new space:) I will preface these photos by saying this: the backsplash didn’t get installed! Womp, womp. It was a tight six weeks for the amount of work involved in this makeover, and I know it will look more complete when that’s in. It’s still a HUGE transformation and I’m thrilled with it, but just picture brick behind the stove and on the backside of the island. And a fun white geometric tile throughout the remaining perimeter. Goodness, I’m so excited just typing that out! Stay tuned for a second reveal showcasing the backsplash! Now, let’s remind you of our kitchen BEFORE…
And AFTER:
Say, what?! Can you even handle this?! You guys! My kitchen was SO dark. Dark counters, dark cabinets, dark lighting. It is so bright in here now! I can’t stop staring at it! Another BEFORE:
And AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
WHERE AM I?? This is amazing! So before I go into this a bit, I will say this: as gorgeous as those chairs are, I’m not keeping them. They look stunning in this space- I love the lines and they’re comfortable, but they’re a bit larger (deeper) than I anticipated and they jut out a bit too far from the table. More importantly, they’re just too formal for my four kids and a dog. I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat myself- you should not sacrifice good design just because you have kids or pets, but these chairs feel a bit “fussy” to me for a kitchen. But, hot damn they are pretty! I found chairs from West Elm that felt right, but of course they only had three and a fourth wouldn’t get here in time, so I staged the kitchen with these velvet chairs for photo purposes.
The wallpaper from Spoonflower is so perfect on a skinny little wall like this. It’s bold and fun and easy to handle in small doses. Lol I was so excited to add this unexpected graphic wall. Every room needs a conversation piece. This is it as you turn the corner into our kitchen.
I’ve always loved open shelving in a kitchen, and I thought this area was a perfect opportunity to add some. We simply removed the upper cabinets and installed these beautiful shelves from Blissopia. I was so excited to style them! So much fun mixing old and new and adding punches of color.
The new lighting is everything! It’s all by Hudson Valley Lighting from Lighting Design Company!
The new island pendants are from Hudson Valley’s Mitzi line. I just love that they’re not like anything else I’ve seen. So unique and beautiful! I love gold accents in a black and white room. I brought gold in through the cabinet hardware as well…
I love that these cup pulls are a traditional element, but the faceted aspect gives it a modern touch. These are from Home Depot, along with the Liberty Hardware cabinet pulls…
Can we talk about my favorite thing ever in here?? The waterfall island!!!
No regrets on this extra splurge! The gorgeous quartz counters from Lakeside Surfaces are the highlight of the whole kitchen. A true show stopper. And the waterfall edge really elevates the whole look of the room. Adds a modern, sophisticated element. And I was blown away at the process during the installment. The veining flows seamlessly down the side! Stay tuned for a separate blog post all about the counters.
I spy a gorgeous new Kohler bridge faucet!
Initially, I was going to get a gold faucet to match the hardware, but I came across this matte black beauty from Branded Infusion here in Michigan, and couldn’t resist the finish and shape. Their showroom is gorgeous and as soon as I saw this in person I knew it was perfect. And let’s talk about the SINK!
There was a lot of drama surrounding this apron front sink from Blanco. I was so excited about it. The quality is fantastic- scratch and stain resistant, and just gorgeous! It just took quite a bit of work to rework the cabinetry down below, but TOTALLY worth it. I love that in this contemporary kitchen, a farmhouse sink adds a bit of vintage charm. It’s truly beautiful and looks so sharp in the black cabinetry. I also love that the sink’s front is exposed- that means it’s right up to the edge and leaves more counter space behind the sink for decorative items:)
One of my favorite things about interior design is the mixing of juxtapositions! Everything is a balancing act and for some reason that’s so fun for me. When there are sleek elements like shiny white quartz counters, it’s important to throw in some warmth. Even something as little as a wooden lantern in this vignette warms things up a bit (from Home Goods). Another favorite? Vintage/thrifted items with history!
Everything in this shot makes me so happy. One of the first things I said to the kind people installing our counters after they were done was, “I can’t wait to set out some fresh fruit for some color!” Green is my favorite color. The bowl of apples is an easy way to incorporate it, along with the thrifted pieces (in the gold frames) and this art from Josh Young Design House. He personalized this old world portrait for me by adding a slash of green over the eyes. Interior design doesn’t have to be so serious! I like a touch of whimsy. And I think that larger thrifted piece will look so good on a brick backsplash. Yes, I know art over a stove isn’t the most practical, but let’s be honest. I rarely cook. And when I do, I’ll take it down. Lol For some reason old paintings like that remind me of watching Bob Ross as a kid with my dad:) So, practical or not, it’s staying. Here is the vibe I was going for of old art against brick in my mood board:
So let’s talk about that range hood from Home Depot. I’ve always wanted one and I really feel like getting rid of the under-cabinet microwave was the first step in updating our kitchen. We ended up finding a new, smaller microwave also from Home Depot and relocating the microwave spot to the other side of the kitchen by shortening some cabinet doors and putting it inside a cabinet. Our carpenter did such a good job with trimming it out to make it look built in…
Love the new rug from Home Goods! And the apples are playing musical chairs. Lol
Guys, I can’t thank you enough for your support through this process. I’ve laughed and I’ve cried. I’ve jumped up and down with excitement and I’ve rolled my eyes and whined with frustrations. It was overwhelming and so amazing to watch this new kitchen unfold. It’s an awesome thing to spend countless hours searching and designing and then watch a mood board come to life. Especially when you have a family of six and everyone in the house is getting tired of your shenanigans and they’re all so done with having no running water and taking dishes up to our second floor laundry. But when it comes down to it, I did this for THEM. I want memories in this beautiful kitchen. I love interior design for this reason. The way you design a space makes you FEEL something when you walk into it. I want this to feel like “home” to our kids. I want them to gather ’round that island for homework and crafts. I can’t wait to see pumpkins in here at Halloween time and festive touches of Christmas that never seemed to work in our ever-so-orange old kitchen. I want my kids to remember how passionate their mom was about the arts. I’m not so sure they feel that way right now. They’re old enough to scoff at my “uncool” ideas and maybe they think it takes up too much of my brain. But I want them to find something in their lives that they feel just as passionate about. For years after I earned my art degree I struggled to find what I really wanted to do creatively. My home became my blank canvas and blogging about my interior design adventures somehow was a natural move. Thank you for following along!
And thank you to Linda from Calling It Home for creating this amazing event and to House Beautiful magazine for hosting the One Room Challenge. And of course, thank you to the sponsors who made this kitchen possible:
Make sure you visit the plethora of guest participants in the ORC to see some pretty phenomenal transformations!
Shop this room…
Cheers!
Haneen
*Affiliate links were used in this post. All opinions are my own.
