I am so excited to share this with you guys today!
As most of you know, and if you are new to the blog you can
head over here to see the progress, we have been re-doing our house. We are currently living here and enjoying it, but I still have so much to show & share with you guys! This is something I had a vision for from day one and I am thrilled with how it turned out!
For this area we needed to make it appear to be larger and more open then it really was. We widened the pass into the kitchen, lowered the counter, moved the wall on the left as far back as it could go, and removed a soffit on the top of the ceiling! And Voila, a large wide open space!
To also make the entire area look clean, fresh and bright we went with pure white paint every where! I just love how much bigger everything "appears" even though it is still the same size.
To keep it open we wanted our lights to appear to be floating (even though I do love those large, industurial looking fixtures!) and not take up the space we just spent all that money creating, so we found these small globe lights at Ikea and I love them! The wires became straighter as time went on, thankfully! We also added pot lights in the kitchen along the whole ceiling so it could illuminate different work spaces.
We made the countertop extend into the dining area so we could have a secondary seated space and it has proven to be one of the most used spaces in our home! We kept it all one level (though some thought we should have the counter part be higher then the sink) and I am so glad we did. I love the large countertop!
As you can see in the first photo, nothing was worth keeping as far as cabinetry, appliances, and flooring was concerned. We gutted it all. I hated the large "gingerbread" type scalloping and the entire layout of the kitchen as it was. We knew if we took the cabinets wall to wall we could achieve a "Galley Style" kitchen. We left the sink, dishwasher and oven in roughly the same spaces but swapped sides on the refrigerator so we could add a huge pantry and cleaning cabinet.
We went with the Ikea for all of the appliances. After looking around and pricing everywhere, their appliances made by Whirlpool were more affordable with longer warranties! And I am pleased with what we chose, they might not be the fanciest name brand but I am so happy with how sleek everything is! We even managed to get some floor model's so we saved even more money.
The cabinets are the Ikea Adel in Beech and we went with 4 glass cabinets to put our glassware, plates, wine glasses, ect. I love how it breaks up the all wood look and ads a little color into the cabinetry. We went with the Lansa pulls in various sizes and I love that they don't show any hardware at all. We can also use the larger ones to hang towels on.
Always, always check the As-Is section if you are doing a project like this! I went there weekly to scope out what was on offer.
A bit blurry, but this is the opposite side (and view) of the kitchen! We could have put a matching Beech panel on our dishwasher, but I kinda liked adding the stainless on this side to balance out the stainless on the fridge on the opposite side. I also love this dishwasher because all of the buttons are hidden inside the machine not the outside so it looks sleek and clean.
We also went with a sink that was available through our countertop manufacturer because Ikea didnt offer an under-mount option. We got this sink sight unseen and all I was able to choose was if I wanted 2 sink compartments even sized or one small and one large. To keep it symmetrical I went with 2 even sized basins, which is just a personal preference.
I also wanted a huge faucet with a pull out option and this one fit the bill. It is Ikea's Ringskar in Brushed Nickel. I loved that it was slightly curved, but the pull down is hidden inside. Not to mention the handle is really sleek and you just rotate back for hot water and forward for cold. Pretty easy!
The dining room has been painted white and it has made the original hardwood look darker and even more vibrant! We were able to use the boxes from all of the kitchen pieces to keep workers and paint off of the floor. They got dusty (as you can see) but were in way better condition then they could have been!
The countertop is white (though it looks grey here) with lots of white, grey and light brown flecks. It is a quartz countertop made by Caesarstone in Nougat. I saw this right in the beginning of designing the kitchen and knew I had to use it. I love how it looks and that it really disguises crumbs and spots so it always looks clean! I wish I had a better photo, but it really is gorgeous!
The backsplash was a easy decision as well. I chose a large glass subway tile. This is Arizona Tile in Fog. I knew I wanted grey but not much else, so we took multiple samples in different shades and left them in the house for a week until we could see how the light would hit the tiles and what it would look like in the space. I would recommend this with any sort of tile. Many of the tiles looked so blue in our house but in the store they looked completely different!
The floor is also from Arizona Tile and is called Metalwood in Argento. It is a large, rectangular shaped tile with a grey-ish, wood grain like texture. We had no idea when it came to flooring what we were going to pick but I knew I wanted a large tile in a very modern style. These rarely exist. Everything is in shades of brown and square. This tile was perfect. We laid the tiles long down the kitchen to mimic the wood in the other room. I am over the moon with this decision and this tile is gorgeous.
Completed Kitchen!!!
