A look at kitchen finishes for our renovation!
I am realizing that in the excitement of the floorplan and demo, I have not actually given you an idea of the fun stuff! Like paint colors and finishes and hardware. Forgive me!!
Initially, I had been dreaming up cozy, dramatic, English-inspired kitchens. Think: dark greens and blues, shaker doors, maybe some wallpaper.
This whole vibe took a turn when I found an amazing deal on Craigslist from a local cabinet maker for white shaker cabinets (no! it wasn't a scam!).
(As a side note, my number one tip when taking on a big design project is to just start somewhere. When you have a blank slate, it can be really hard to know where to begin. So just pick something to get the ball rolling and the rest will start to fall into place!)
Another important design element was that we knew from the get go we wanted to continue the craftsman-style wood trim through the kitchen. We love and, and it not being there was a major source of the whole back of the house feeling disjointed before.
In the wake of committing to white cabinets, I started scouring my dream kitchen pinterest board (I have been preparing for this project since Pinterest was invite-only circa 2012), and found that SO MANY of my favorite kitchens feature white cabinetry. Even ones I had saved as a college student, that I still love today. Which gave me confidence this wasn't a passing fad that I'd be sick of in 3 years.
Our kitchen finishes:
Cabinets: White shaker
Flooring: Hardwood (we painstakingly removed layers and layers of vinyl/linoleum to uncover the original hardwood. I will write a post once I'm ready to emotionally relive the experience.)
Walls: Tongue + groove painted white
Countertops: White oak butcher block
Light fixtures: Antique brass
Hardware: Black
Faucet: Chrome
Everything has been picked, and most of it is currently taking up way too much space in either in our garage or closets. So excited to see it all come together!
Expectations for our kitchen
I don't think it's possible to describe how much you deliberate and overthink the most minuscule of details when designing a kitchen.
Like, the thought of what type of range would be better was keeping me up at night. Did I want a front-control range with no backsplash, which would be seamless with the countertop but impractical (slash dangerous?) with kids, or a back control range, which would be more practical and cheaper but not as sleek.
I was LOSING SLEEP and brain space to six inches on the back of an oven. Is this normal??
What I find myself having to remind myself of often is that the end goal here is a regular family kitchen.
We want it (of course!) to be beautiful, but mostly we want it to be a pleasant place to be in (because we will be in it a lot!), and we want it to function exceptionally well.
It's easy to get swept away with designer-esque kitchens when looking for kitchen inspiration. You see kitchens (that are beautiful!) with integrated appliances, artisanal finishes, sub zero fridges, and begin to think that if you don't have those things, your kitchen won't be beautiful.
What I'm trying to tell you (and me) is that regular kitchens for regular people are their own kind of magic.
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