A Kitchen Redo

Happy March, peeps. I unintentionally took a month off blogging. Wow. I’m not sure that has ever happened in the 5 years that I have been blogging, but oh well. Life has been crazy. It’s a season. I look at the calendar and wonder how we are almost finished with March! We were plagued by the most awful flu ever for a few weeks. In 32 years, it was the worst sickness I can remember. A few friends have since had it and totally understand this feeling. It was ROUGH. Then we headed to California on spring break to see my family and here we are, over halfway through March. It was a fabulous trip and I must admit I am a tad bummed to be home! A happy note from our trip, my mom’s kitchen was finally finished! They started the demo in August of 2015…so, you can imagine the excitement when it was finally finished. Her old kitchen was a galley style that was built in the 70s, so this update was a long time coming. It was a last minute decision to take down the wall of cabinets and open up the kitchen to the living room and a decision that she is SO glad she made. The dining room was originally the area where the new bar area resides and originally this area was to be the dining room again. I thought this area needed more cabinets to add space and there is so much more cabinet and counter space because of it. Another last minute decision, that totally helps make the space! Kitchens are probably one of my favorite home spaces to look at. I have planned out at least 6 kitchens for my next house, thanks to Pinterest. Ha! Take a look at this happy space!

Sources:

Table

Chairs

Kitchen Table Chandelier

Island Pendant Lights (These come in lots of finishes)

Barstools

Kitchen Rug

Cabinet Pulls

Cabinet Knobs

Bar Cart

A few design details:

Her original plan was to do wood flooring again, like she had before. After our experience with wood floors (you can read about it here), we have fallen in love with wood tile and we have been raving about it. She found a wood tile that she loved and went with that! So much easier to clean than wood and it can withstand water. Totally ideal for homes with pools. She went with quartz countertops after looking through a bunch of samples. I must admit, I was unsure of the quartz by looking at the small square sample, but I just LOVE the outcome and think it’s such a great countertop for this kitchen! It’s so pretty and so easy to keep clean! The cream subway tile is a perfect addition to the kitchen without adding too much. I have a love affair with a simple subway tile. It is perfection. Something I wish we had done on our own island is to add cabinets on the front (where the barstools go), for more storage. I will for sure do this in my next house! It’s such a great spot for fancy china and Christmas dishes, that you only use a few times a year. These three cabinets are such an ideal space saver in this kitchen. A farmhouse sink was a total give-in in this area and a choice that I think all of us who have them, would make again and again. A tip from me, we love a one basin sink. I will never have a sink with a middle divider again. Once you get rid of that, you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Love having just one large area for dishes (and dog baths)! The island pendant lights are one of my favorite parts of this space! They just make the kitchen and finish it! The double oven is something that my mom and I will always have in our homes. I learned that from her years ago! We use both ovens on a regular basis! Such a nice bonus to have the extra cooking area! The bar cart was a last minute addition, as it had been ordered and didn’t have a spot in the house. It’s perfect in this little area and so close to the wine fridge! Her old kitchen was red and she wanted to keep some red in the room. We ended up with these chairs to add back in some red. They are really so cute and so easy to keep clean. Perfect for when the grandkids are in town! All in all, my mom is thrilled with this space (as am I. I just LOVE it!) and it’s so nice to be able to enjoy it now that it’s finished! Everyone in the fam bam loves it too!