Lights! Cabinets! Action!
/ AshleyThe kitchen is FINALLY coming together with the addition of things that actually turn the empty room it into a kitchen. The range is in, the cabinets are taking shape, and lights are installed. Pinch me!
Full disclosure, this activity actually happened months ago. I took a long break during the summer and then I’ve been slowly catching up. Of course, I want to keep sharing with you instead of skipping everything that happened the past few months, so here I am! We’re time traveling, folks!
If you recall, I ordered kitchen cabinets in the springtime and they never showed up - with no real warning. I had to start over and find a new cabinet manufacturer that would make inset-style cabinets. Luckily, I found a local craftsperson that had a great price and good reviews.
They started the installation by bringing just the cabinet boxes. All of the drawers, doors, hardware, etc. would be installed on site.
A few days later, they placed and installed all of the boxes. It looked like a real kitchen! They even put the sink in its home.
We have tall cabinets for the fridge and pantry seen above, and then more cabinets on the other wall for pantry and small appliance storage. There is no shortage of places to put things! Seen above, they hadn’t installed the tops of the cabinets yet.
Hellooooo range and range hood! The base cabinets are all drawers so we’ll have super easy access to all of the things. We opted to do no upper wall cabinets, so I have work to do in order to find just the right artwork to put in that space.
Here’s the cabinet layout for your reference. The gap by the door is where an antique table will go, so it won’t look as funny as it does in that rendering.
I’ll be sure to do a full cabinet layout tour (like I did of our old kitchen) once everything is installed. Stay tuned!
My house is free of can lights thus far, and I don’t plan on ever adding any. Instead of recessed lighting, I installed three pendants down the center of the room, then seven sconces above the work surfaces. The goal is to create soft, diffused light rather than the harsh and direct light of cans.
I realize this is unconventional as recessed lights are expected nowadays, but I stand by it! I’ll do a full lighting plan blog post once everything is wrapped up so you can see the whole situation - lights, outlets, switches, etc.
I ordered the lighting a full year ago from Rejuvenation. Hot Tip: I repackaged each of the components for easy storage, then labeled the boxes so I knew which box had what in it. You can see above that the box had three sconce shades, seven sconce fixtures, and zero components for the pendants. This made for very easy unboxing!
And here’s a sneak preview! I loooove how soft and diffused the light is from each of the fixtures. I stand by my decision to skip recessed lighting.
Interested in the same lighting? These are the sconces and these are the pendants. Each are customizable to your own specs and come in different colors, so mix and match as you please. I went with unlaquered brass for the sconces and matte black for the pendants because i’m a true fan of mixed metals.
The perfect piece of art didn’t exist, so I made it. Now the kitchen walls are adorned with a beautiful (yet odd) photo with a lil’ cameo by Margot!
I debated over a hundred wallpaper pattern options for the kitchen. And I mean hundreds. I started with a giant stack, then narrowed it down to about 20 that sat on the walls for months.
Built-in cabinets and coordinating islands are lovely, but I wanted a standalone furniture piece in our new kitchen. So, I designed the layout to include a vintage wooden table instead of a peninsula of cabinetry. After lots of vintage hunting and some modifications, we have the perfect work surface, dining table, and all-around great addition to the kitchen.
I’m a sucker for a good café curtain. They’re the perfect mix of charm and practicality - two of my favorite things.
I’ve been working hard on the peeeerfect design for our open storage plate rack in the kitchen. I’ve been picky about how I wanted it, and it isn’t quite done yet, but I love where we’re at with it.
I DIY sealed our marble countertops and you can, too! Sealing protects the stone from staining which really helps me not worry about spilling coffee on my bright white counters. I did a bunch of research on the best products so I’m sharing how and why I chose the one I did, plus detailing the steps to seal that gorgeous marble.
Marble counters are in the kitchen and looking so so good! There’s a process to designing the layout, coordinating with a fabricator, measuring, installing, and sealing. So without further ado, let’s get into it.
Countertops are major workhorses and one of the biggest design elements in a kitchen. So, there’s a lot of thought that goes into the material, style, and design of them. But you know me, I have to research even further. In addition to picking a pretty countertop, I factored in the environmental footprint, worker health, land reclamation of the quarry, and the way it fits into a historic home. Ready to get into it? Let’s!
The kitchen is FINALLY coming together with the addition of things that actually turn the empty room it into a kitchen. The range is in, the cabinets are taking shape, and lights are installed. Pinch me!
I’ve heard of other blogger buds using fancy masking fluid to ease the painting job of painting windows and divided lite doors, but I never used it myself. Until Now. I learned some lessons and have some takeaways from the experience for ya. Here’s how it went.
We’re getting to the kitchen designing stage folks and it’s getting good! Before deciding on colors, door styles, hardware, and accessories, I want to nail down the mood/vibe of the space. I think it helps to identify a clear personality for the room - especially when it’s a utilitarian space. Hear me out.
A comfortable home, saving money on energy bills, and watching satisfying foam expanding videos – three of my favorite things! I insulated my new french doors with a can of Great Stuff™ Smart Dispenser™ insulating foam sealant to reduce my energy loss - here’s how!
We got appliances! And we bought them at a steep discount! And we took a day-trip to go pick them up! Here’s a video journal of that day.
With concerns for our planet and the folks that experience climate injustices, we’re all making purchasing decisions with ethics in mind. Appliances are no different. Electric and induction cooktops are becoming a popular environmentally friendly option, but I'm taking a hard look at all of the considerations to make the most conscious choice.
When we opened up the walls during our remodel, I knew I had to leave a time capsule behind the drywall. Plus, 2020 is quite a year to immortalize in the walls. Here's what I hid away to be found years and years from now!
I’ve successfully turned a perfectly good kitchen into an entirely useless box with walls and floors. But now I’m adding things back to it and making it an actual kitchen again! Finally! Now that it’s a livable space, I’m anxious to get cooking again, so I’m kicking things off with building a custom range hood.
Hardwood floors were installed in the kitchen and they look so good. Well, sorta. I hit a snag - literally. And then hit another snag - figuratively. Uuuuugggghhhh.
Our home is full of old-growth hardwood flooring that I adore. When faced with picking a new floor for our kitchen renovation, matching the existing hardwoods was a no brainer. Here’s the story of the sourcing and installation process.
Inset cabinetry with the exposed face frame and flush doors is the classic style we see in period homes. These charming cabinets are harder to come by, especially on a budget, but I’ve rounded up 10 cabinet companies you can buy from directly and install yourself!
You read that right. I ordered cabinets for my kitchen, and they never came. It was mid-demolition when everything was a mess and we were trying to piece things together. Then I got the news. The cabinets I had been designing, sourced, and paid for weren’t going to show up. Here’s what happened.
The renovation is taking shape! We have level floors (thanks to lots of nail pulling and geometry) and the beginnings of the oh-so-transformative drywall!! The kitchen is finally feeling like a safe space amidst the chaos of a renovation and a pandemic.
I came across a charming book written in 1914 all about how to plan an efficient kitchen. How perfect of a fit for me is that?!? Efficient! Kitchen! 1914! The book has certainly inspired my renovation and I’ve incorporated some of the tips and tricks into my current design. From organizing to lighting, and cooking to materials, it’s got guidelines on all of it. Admittedly, some of the lessons are comical and antiquated, but that’s the fun of it! Beyond kitchen designing, though, this book aims to make our homes thoughtful spaces that are free of waste, that value women’s time, and are utilitarian spaces rather than storage units. It’s pretty forward-thinking for a 100-year-old book!
We’re getting closer and closer to the renovation feeling less like a construction site and more like a room. We’re not quite there yet, but insulation and new flooring underlayment has me seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! Plus, we added a fresh outdoor dining set that has me itching to eat oodles of meals out there!
The crew has left so I’ve taken over the renovation project and my first task was insulation! The process was very easy and actually quite enjoyable. I can already feel a difference in the temperature of the room and how the space sounds, so I’m a happy camper. Let’s get into it!
Electrical went in last week! As did HVAC and venting! And we had our first inspection! While it was stressful for me to make decisions (that’s just not my strong suit in any application), the installation was free of drama like plumbing week! Let’s take a look at what happened, shall we?
I used to write these renovation updates in terms of weeks, but things are just so. slow. moving. So instead of a week 4 update, it’s just the 4th update in the series because it’s actually been 7 weeks of renovation. But, we’re making progress, and in this post, I’m here to chat all about plumbing! Spoiler: things started to suck this week.
There are a lot of times I’d recommend not renovating a kitchen and during coronavirus is one of those times. We’ll work it out, and we’re grateful we have the privilege we do right now, and this will all be over one day (hopefully). But It’s still less than ideal. Many of you kindly have reached out to ask how things are going, so I’m here to share with you what’s going on and how we’re moving forward with this project.
This kitchen renovation and bathroom addition are still cruising. Kinda slow, often uneventful, sometimes thrilling. This past week the guys have been wrapping up framing and that included cutting a hole into a perfectly good wall, removing a door, adding two doors, and adding two walls!
We really like the range we selected during our kitchen remodel, but despite my over-thinking and intense research for a range, I have a regret.