Our kitchen, but a WAY before, before photo
We are finally in the thick of our kitchen remodel and let me tell you, it is loads of fun. At least, I'm pretty sure it will be once it's all over and we have a NEW kitchen!!! The black and white photo above is of the same shot below - isn't that unbelievable? You can see where the windows used to be in the picture below. We are keeping the same basic footprint, but updating with new cabinetry, appliances, lighting and plumbing. I thought I would share some of our during photos and a few of the pieces that we have chosen.
I love that the window treatment is still up at this stage of the demo
We have chosen all of the parts and pieces for the kitchen, with the exception of the bar stools and I've asked Anthony's opinion numerous times, but each time he says "you're the designer, it's up to you!" AAARGGGHH! That's not the right answer, I'm too close to this project and it's incredibly difficult to make all of these decisions on my own. I've finally gotten what I've always dreamed of - a client who lets me, for the most part, do what I want and now it's really backfiring on me. But I've worked through it and chosen everything, right now I am just crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.
The ceiling is coming along, yesterday was the first day that it was painted and it was finished today. Once the lighting is installed I really think it will look fantastic. Our painter put up a subtle white wash, giving the entire ceiling a "pickled" effect. Here are the lights that we chose, to be placed throughout the kitchen:
And this one will go over the sink:
I initially wanted to have a marble island and soapstone countertops on top of all of the surrounding cabinets. After much discussion, we nixed the soapstone because Anthony was not a fan of how soft it is, and did not want to worry about oiling it periodically. I wanted soapstone because it has an authentic look and I don't want the Kitchen to stick out like a sore thumb once it's finished. It needs to fit in with the look and feel of the rest of the house - the perfect mix of new pieces with a classic and traditional feel. As a compromise we chose a granite countertop with a leathered finish that is more of a charcoal color. The island will be the powerhouse of the kitchen, so we are going with a material that is easier to maintain. I still get some marble - on all of the back counters. Here is one of the slabs that we picked out:
took me forever to decide on the backsplash. I eventually decided to do a simple subway tile in a matte white color, but chose a beveled tile instead of just a flat one. That little difference will add an interesting dimension and design detail that lends itself to a more interesting design. I toyed around with the idea of laying the tiles in a herringbone pattern like this:
But then I decided to do a classic offset brick pattern, because all of the cabinets are inset with beadboard and the herringbone would probably make it too busy. It should look like this:
Here are our cabinets in a light warm gray:
The hardware we chose:
And last but not least, our sink and faucets:
It should be interesting to see how all of the brass finishes work together. Like I said, my fingers are crossed, and I am hoping for the best possible outcome. We shall see!