Sneak Peek

As most of you know, we have been doing some work to our kitchen the past few months. While we are not 100% complete, we are definitely a lot closer than where we were a year ago! If you remember, we removed a half wall that separated the kitchen from the eating area. We also built a banquette, bought a new kitchen table and chairs, and replaced the railing leading down to the basement!

After lots of searching and a little help from Ann with Just The Thing Decorating, my vision of how I wanted the kitchen to end up started to become a reality. So, what have we done?

The first change was to the floor. Removing the wall left a fairly large gaping hole in the floor, something we lived with for a year. We didn't want to jump the gun on re lacing and re staining the floor because we wanted it to go with the final decor of the kitchen. We ultimately decided to stain the floor a dark walnut color, which is completely different from the light stain running through the rest of the first floor. Other than it showing everything, we couldn't be happier with the color. It is gorgeous!

Finding a paint color was probably the hardest, by far, of all the changes we made. I knew I wanted something that was light and airy. A gray perhaps, but not a stark cold gray. And something with a little blue, but not too blue. I didn't want it to match the fabric exactly! We searched the color wheel and tried lots of samples and finally found Bunny Gray by Benjamin Moore. After putting the sample on the wall, it was just a little too light...bummer! Well, our friends, the Rice's, had just painted their bathroom Bunny Gray, but at 150%, which darkened it up a bit! It was the perfect color! Matt painted the walls and the kitchen started to take on a whole new look!

The thing that has created the biggest impact is the addition of a back splash. I had always dreamed of a white subway tile lining the underneath of the cabinets, but when I met with Ann she had a different idea. She suggested using honed Carrara marble subway tiles. I had a hard time thinking outside the box and picturing the finished back splash and up until the saw it completed, I second guessed going this route. Well, let me tell you, the outcome was beyond what I could have hoped for. It changed the look of the kitchen completely! The addition even makes the blue counter tops not so hideous! I can even stand my white appliances now too!! A huge shout out to Matt who undertook this project himself with the help of my dad and Ben. They did an amazing job and made this mama quite happy!

A sneak peak at the tile...

Isn't it lovely?

By far the biggest improvement was adding 5 can lights and one overhead sink light to the kitchen area and 8 can lights, a track light and a chandelier to the eating area. To say that we had no light in our kitchen would have been an understatement. We are not sure how the previous owners were able to see each other when they ate dinner. Maybe that was the point for them?!?! Anyway, the addition of this glorious light makes the kitchen seem so much bigger (and better). After getting off to a rocky start, the final piece of the installation concluded yesterday.

These beauties now hang above my table...
Matt and I had to hand string each crystal onto the base, but the effect as they hang above the table is fabulous!

We also had some gorgeous linens made by Linda at M.Y. Window Designs. I found fabric that I loved from Serena and Lily, but wasn't quite sure how to incorporate it into the kitchen since I thought I wanted something more colorful. Ann assured me that if we could start with some good bones, colors could be added and changed throughout the year, with additional pillows, accessories, flowers, etc. Boy was she right! Linda also found some amazing fabric to use for the bench cushion as I wanted something stylish, yet functional. It is a gray tweed sort of upholstery fabric, with some shimmer. Can you say gorgeous? I love it!

A couple teasers...
The painter is coming next week to paint the ceilings, as they are a mess from the electrical work. After that, Matt has some touch up work to do and we will hang the curtains in the eating area and the woven shade in the kitchen. From there, we have to purchase an accent piece for the landing at the top of the stairs and a few accessories. Once that is complete (well, maybe with the exception of the furniture piece), I will post pictures of the completed project! The little changes that we have made, have changed the entire look of the kitchen. I couldn't be more pleased!