Sunday, February 10, 2013

Our Kitchen Makeover

Our kitchen was "just okay", when we decided to give it a little face lift. You won't be seeing a dramatic before & after where an old useless kitchen is gutted and old outdated materials are replaced with new. The layout worked, we had decent, cherry stained cabinets and carmel colored granite counters. But what I envisioned was lighter, painted cabinets with a more modern face, brighter and simpler patterned counter tops, a brighter back splash, a more dramatic hood area and a new sink that was not stainless! So a pretty thorough face lift I guess:)!

Here is a before photo... I didn't get it photographed before they started doing work in there. In this photo you will see a void space where there was a wall mounted microwave with glass door double cabinet above it.

BEFORE:


AFTER:








The hood was designed by GB Design. I told her I didn't like the look of having the microwave over the range. We were going to redo the tile and I wanted to see a taller space to showcase the new tile. We got a microwave drawer that is under the counter instead. I liked the idea of a display above but hated my old glass double doors with muttons. You couldn't see inside very well and they always fogged up from the microwave. The open display with the light is more dramatic and a much better display area.



The lamps I found at Home Goods. I love the shadow that lamps in the kitchen cast. Also it looks cool when you can dim the overheads cans and keep the lamps on. Makes a great night light.


For the back splash I almost chose regular subway tiles which are usually 2x4 tiles. I knew I wanted white but I wanted to make it a little more unique than just diagonal across the area. I chose the 2x6 tiles instead. They were inexpensive tiles- well, that is, until we had to cut every corner at a diagonal to get the pattern you see here!:) This is a chevron tile pattern, not herringbone. They are similar but chevron is more modern and the layout is slightly different.

I really wanted white Carrera marble looking counter tops on the island but knew I had to use darker counter tops on the perimeter because it would be against the white back splash. I have heard nightmares about solid black shiny granite so I went with a leather finish black granite that has a lot of dark chocolate and gray tones. The thing I love about this finish is that it is a dull finish, has a lot of character up close but is not a busy pattern at a glance.


 Below was an area we had by the fridge. Kind of a pointless counter top area.

BEFORE:


AFTER:





A new age appliance garage! They have come a long way from the old accordion style role up appliance garage! I hate having coffee makers, toasters, etc on the counter top. That comes along with my organizational OCD! This was a the perfect use of an otherwise pointless counter top space!


BEFORE:


AFTER:



This is a Kohler Farmhouse sink. It is cast iron, in white and has a single bowl. Love that it is white and I don't have to deal with scratched up stainless! The sink is a Delta touch sink. When your hands have raw meat bacteria all over them, all you have to do it touch the faucet with your arm and its on! Very cool!

BEFORE:


AFTER:





BEFORE:

AFTER:

...A tad more interesting than the painted on wall squares that I had done around the island in the before photo. Before it was just drywall and I decided to paint on a faux trim look. The new design was applied with wood onto the drywall and than painted all the same color to give it a clean look since it was a busier pattern.


Above is just a shot of it where it stood before they came in and painted the existing cabinets and the new applied woodwork done around the island. They painted the shells of the cabinets inside the house and then they sprayed the doors in a booth before bringing them to hang. The key is to use catalyzed paint to ensure you have a finish that will hold up as well as stained cabinets. The color I chose for the gray is SW6072 Versatile Gray, a warm beige gray as to not appear to stark and cold. Gray is tricky but if you are not trying to go ultra modern you can go with more a "griege" look and it will be a safer bet.

AFTER:




As I mentioned above, the cabinet faces were the only thing replaced. The shells of the cabinets never came down, they were painted on site after the old doors were removed. The original doors were a more traditional raised panel style and our new doors are a more modern frame less flat panel.





You can see that the frame less gives the cabinets a cleaner look because the doors come right up to meet one another rather than seeing the frame behind the door around each cabinet.

The island is my Carrera marble looking surface without having to deal with the marble! Marble is nearly impossible to deal with in a kitchen because of how porous it is. It will stain, change colors if spilled on and scratch. Kids and marble don't mix! So, I hunted for the most realistic look alike to marble. We decided on a Cambria Quartz product called "Torquay".  I love it. Here is a closeup.



And to end, just some of the decor details.... We have display shelves on both sides of the island. On the inside island display, I have my cookbooks, so this outward facing one is a good space to display an accent color, in this case the greens.

The tall vases below we a present from Dana, knowing I wanted to bring in greens and yellows in the kitchen. The paper flowers are from West Elm. Love the look of flowers and the idea that they won't die anytime soon!


Hope you enjoyed! Cheers! {Laura}







19 comments:

  1. Thanks for stopping by - I am now following you on google friend connect - I don't think your "follow" on my blog worked - I don't see you there! :) Maybe try following again on GFC on my page. I LOVE this makeover - how awesome is your backsplash! Great style - also love the color of your cabinets! xo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks! Yes I love chevron. Someday I may grow tired of it which is why the all white keeps it in check and not too trendy for a more permanent piece. Thanks for following!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow i LOVE your kitchen make-over ..... beautiful job! excited to find your blog .... stop by and say hello sometime!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Emma! Thanks so much! I will for sure check it out. Thanks for commenting!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi and thanks for stopping by my blog earlier. Your chevron subway tile looks amazing...your kitchen looks amazing :) so bright, big and beautiful.
    I looked at the Torquay too but then I decided to go with a white sparkly quartz instead can't wait to have them put it in.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Julia! Good choice! I looked at that one too and loved it. So many choices, so much dust:) hahaa! Good luck. I'll be following along!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very nice! It’s like your kitchen has been pulled out from a home design magazine. =D The frameless cabinet doors do give a sleeker look. I’m not sure about the lamps being near the stove. Isn’t that dangerous?

    Darryl Margulies

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Darryl, thank you. Probably not regulation to have them there but I don't really hardly use my back burners and I don't hardly ever fry or do anything on my stove that would kick up a lot of grease. I am sure when I make food for a dinner party or holiday I will need to move them away a little:) Thanks for following!

    Laura

    ReplyDelete
  9. FABULOUS! That was a terrific transformation of your kitchen! I’m actually planning for a kitchen redo and I guess your kitchen can be my inspiration. You’ve done a great job, Laura! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mirian! And thanks for commenting:) good luck on your redo!!

      Delete
  10. My family is moving to Carmel from Northern Virginia next month. Our new house has dark stained cabinets that I would love to have painted white. If you were satisfied with their work, would you share who did your cabinets? Thanks,Kelly

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Kelly!

    Send me your email and I can send you the contact information. My email is ldstutzman@hotmail.com or you can reply to this post too! Welcome to Carmel! Let me know if you need any suggestions for anything else local!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love how you went with light and dark colors with your new kitchen. It makes the whole thing look modern, and at the same time classy. My only point of concern are those lamps, but you seem to have that under control.

    Ryann @ Yancey

    ReplyDelete
  13. When you have the budget for a kitchen makeover, you should really go for it! Look at the transformation of your kitchen. That’s truly impressive. For me, the island was absolutely the star! It’s one of the best space-saving solutions I’ve seen, so far. Are those cookbooks filed under?

    Arthur Bryant @ Contractor Express

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful! Where did you get the high seat bench?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We made it!! I knew I was sick of cleaning dog hair off all those bar stool legs:) where there's a will there's a way right?!

      Delete
  15. Love the chevron backsplash. How much extra tile did you need to order for the chevron pattern?

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...