The Kitchen Reveal

The time has finally come.

Our kitchen is complete.

Minus window treatments

and a possible change in light fixtures.

{Especially the one over our table}

If I have something too long or make an impulse buy,

I tend to change them down the road.

While I do like our pendants, I'd switch them out

for the Visual Comfort Sloane pendant any day of the week!

Maybe someday...

I'm pretty pleased with the final space.

It proves that you don't have to gut a kitchen

down to the studs to make it current.

Here are a few before shots.

Here's how it looks now.

It's not the easiest kitchen to photograph

 as it's broken into different work spaces.

I'm definitely not a professional.

The cabinets and walls got a fresh coat of paint.

The countertops were removed

and butcher block and honed marble were installed.

All hardware was swapped for polished nickel.

All the appliances were removed and replaced

except for the double oven.

A farmhouse sink was added.

All of these changes make for a perfect kitchen for our family!

Thanks for taking a looksie!

I Feel Summer Creepin' In...

We have 4 weeks left of school. 

Can you believe it?  I sure can't.

I'm looking forward to some me time, but I'll miss all of my co-workers.

They have been my cheerleaders throughout this pregnancy.

Once schools out, reality will truly set in.

We're going to meet our little man very soon!

This weekend gave me the taste of summer.

While I wish I could jump on a plane and get out of this town,

the scenery was absolutely beautiful.

Most moms tell me to enjoy this alone time before the baby comes,

but I'm ready.

My body aches horribly and I still get sick from time to time.

Plus, all of this renovation and updating has me in a tizzy.

Over the weekend Rob and I were out and about when we spotted

window panels that we felt would look great in the nursery.

And they were reasonably priced.

I love you World Market.

I'd sleep in this room.  I hope Carlo likes it too!

There is more to do, but now we can check one more thing off of our list!

Curtains.

Feels good!

The kitchen seems to be moving along too.

The backsplash is being installed today and

the plumbing will hopefully be completed by tomorrow.

Then we'll add sealer to the countertops!

We're still waiting on the delivery of the hardware, 

which is what excites me most! 

Now we need to start our search for the island countertop.

Honed granite or marble? Why do people seem so shocked by honed stone?

They look at me like I'm on another planet.

It must not be common around here?

Anyway, I thought I could wait.

But with so much progress,

 it's hard to leave the center of our kitchen unfinished.

I know, honey.  You told me so.

I'll stop rambling and touch base later.

Be back in a flash!

*photo courtesy of tiny white daisies

With May Flowers Comes Blooming Progress!

Today wasn't a "great" day.

I figured a little blogging could improve the evening.

The flowers around the cottage are beginning to bloom.

Of course they make me smile.

The smell of the flowers remind me of last year when we signed the papers.

pure bliss.

Our backyard. A lot of lovely green.

We can't wait to spend more time outside.

The weather has been up and down.

80's, rain, then snow.  Really?

This week sunshine is in the forecast. 

The yard has loads of potential.  We wish we could dig right in.

For now, the inside remains our priority.

Speaking of the inside, here is part of the grouted back splash.

I'm happy with my decision to stick with white grout.

While the tiles don't "pop" as they would with darker grout,

it doesn't take away from the rest of the kitchen.

We're continuing our work on the nursery.

Can someone explain to me why window treatments are so expensive?

It drives me bonkers.  Literally.

Here's a reminder of how the nursery looks.

Here are some window treatments that we're considering.

what do you think?

I hope you have a sunny week!



*photos courtesy of restoration hardware baby and child, restoration hardware baby and child, pottery barn

Tiling and Profiling

I wasn't kidding when I said we were ready to follow up our talk with some walk.

Things are moving quickly {yet slowly} around Hickory.

One side of the kitchen is almost done. 

 I didn't fool you, did I?

The other side of the kitchen where the sink and the main cooking space is located

is on hold until Monday.

Those farmhouse sinks are a doosey to install!

Here is how the one side of the kitchen that we have been working on is looking.

I'm pretty pleased so far!

We haven't grouted yet and boy has grout color been on my mind.

I've been mixed on whether or not to go white or gray.

I used gray in a past bathroom and loved the historic vibe that it gave.

Gray does make the tile pop.

I stood in the aisle for over 20 minutes...contemplating.

Rob fuming.

Fire engine red probably contemplating why I'm so annoying!

gray. white. gray it is. nope white with the butcher block.

In the end, I went ahead and purchased the white. 

I'm shocked by my decision.

I feel that the white will be beautiful yet subtle and won't

compete with our woody countertops.

We shall see.

The fireplace has finally been coated in a lovely shade of creamy white.

Things are surely coming along.

Pregnant lady nesting may have been what I needed to

give me necessary shove.

have a happy weekend!



The Beauty of Butcher Block

Rob took on the wall and won!

You go babe!

What a mess!  Kitchen reno is the absolute pits.

I can't imagine gutting the entire thing.

I have a new found respect for those who take their kitchen down to the studs.

We've done bathrooms, but something about your main living area being

under construction, is well, not ideal.

Despite the dust, I can't help but be optimistic and excited.

I know it will be be worth the hassle.

Here is a snap shot of the wood counters.

The counters are still missing the Waterlox, which we will eventually apply.

yay

Let's rewind.

yikes

I'm a happy camper.



Now, the satin nickel hardware has got to go.

It's not jiving.

We'll be purchasing the Restoration Hardware gilmore bin pulls.

We haven't decided on the knobs quite yet.

I've juggled the idea of glass vs. polished nickel.

what do you think?

We'd also love to add pendants over our island

{which is screaming for some honed stone}

I originally wanted an antique brass look.

Now I'm leaning towards good ol' school house pendants

or

some of this milky goodness!

The lights may come a bit later, but I can't help but envision the entire space.

With your help, I think we decided on subway tile.

thank you.

It's coming along...finally!

Glad your sticking around despite the few months of down time.

*photos courtesy of restoration hardware

Farming For a Deal!

Yesterday can be described by the image below.

Last week my stepfather and my husband removed the notorious built-in fridge.

There she is...remember her?

Needless to say, that wasn't an easy task.

In fact, it was quite scary? Comical?

Yesterday we had our carpenter stop by to take a look at the space

that now surrounds our new refrigerator.

If you can remember from previous posts, we decided to purchase a

traditional counter-depth model rather than the built-in look that was muchas $$$.

Our chat started out great.

I asked if he could build a dish rack above our refrigerator.

This wasn't a problem at all!

Here is our inspiration.

I wanted to keep the kitchen airy since we don't have much open shelving.

Over the weekend we took a trip to IKEA and purchased

numerar butcher block countertops.

Rob and I decided that we would stain and install wood

on the perimeter countertops.

The butcher block gets delivered today! Wahoo! 

We plan on installing honed stone on the center island.

The carpenter took a look at the wall-mounted apron sink

that I found awhile back for a steal.

Seeing as we will need to choose our sink before cutting the counters,

this was an important step.

The sink won't work.  How can that be?

I knew that our window was going to be an issue but for some reason

I've been living in fantasy land.

The issue at hand?  The sink would be too low

and I'd be breaking my back trying to wash the dishes.

He even joked that my child would be able to wash the dishes in a year or so.

boo.

I hope I can use the sink somewhere else in the house.  We'll see.

I can't seem to part with it and sell it.

Now I'm on the hunt for a farmhouse sink...and I need one fast.

Thus, farming for a deal.

I'm aware that IKEA sells an apron sink, but it's not the look that I'm going for.

Obviously, I'd like to order a Rohl.  But that's not happening.

anyone have any suggestions on places I should look?

I'm really looking forward to seeing some progress in the kitchen.

I've talked the talk but haven't walked the walk....until now!

My day got worse when I couldn't locate a cherry Jenny Lind crib.

Sold out everywhere.  Really?

Guh.

Argh.

Meh.

Ugh.

Gah.

I'm still on the hunt for that, as well.

Rob convinced me to keep the chalkboard wall in the once office,

now nursery.

Here is a sneak peek of the wall.

Rob and I spent some time putting our favorite bedtime prayer on our babe's wall.

More to come.

A lot ahead!

*photos courtesy of crush de cul de sac, patina white blog

Cool as a Cucumber

After much deliberation, Rob and I finally settled on a refrigerator.

The decision took much longer than expected due to our ongoing conversations

on whether or not to splurge on a built-in model.

We realized that the kitchen as a whole needed much more attention and would

require our piggy bank to be as heavy as possible.

Spending $7,000 dollars on a refrigerator just wasn't in the cards.

While the free standing counter depth model we decided on was in no way

inexpensive, the money we would save with this model would give us

 more wiggle room when it came to choosing counter tops.

{which, we are currently on the hunt for!}

Here is the model we chose for the cottage.

{bosch linea stainless steel sxs refrigerator}

One thing I wasn't thrilled about was the exterior water dispenser.

I guess you can say I'm not a water dispenser gal.

I prefer a seamless look.

What we did like was the long doors and hidden hinges.

Glass shelves helped seal the deal for us.

There is nothing worse than opening up a fridge and smelling plastic.

I'm odd, I'm telling ya!

The final factor was having a side by side model.

As lovely as french door units are, we weren't willing to deal with

one again.  It was a bit of a hassle for us.

Our carpenter who completed our fireplace ensured me that it would look built-in.

We shall see.

Since we currently have a 42' built-in model in it's place,

 a lot of work is in order.

The new unit will not be as tall or wide.

Since we don't have much/if any open shelving in our kitchen,

 I'm leaning towards keeping the space above the new refrigerator open.

It could be a great place to store my cake dishes

or display ironstone pieces and milk glass.

I realize that some these spaces aren't above a refrigerator

 but they inspired me for our work.

{copper kettles both old and new look pretty snazzy!}

{white cake stands and pitchers look lovely}

{i'm digging the separation between the cake stands}

Cookbooks could be another option.

{canisters filled with an assortment of kitchen essentials}

{cake pedestals, tureen's and darling bowls}

During my search for a built-in look, I came across another idea I'm considering.

{especially since the carpenter will be around...tee hee hee}

This may be sort of tricky to see in the picture or explain well.

I'll give it a try!

I like the idea of adding crown molding even though there is a soffit that

separates the cabinet and the ceiling.

The molding really finishes off the look, in my opinion.

This may not work in our kitchen due to some of our unique ceiling angles,

but it's worth asking about.

I'm a little hung up on counter tops at the moment as

no one in the area carries quartzite.

I adore the look of marble, but being as ocd as I am, I'm not sure I could

handle the natural patina.  I wish I could say I was one of those people.

I'm considering light granites, like river granite, but I'm not sold.

Any suggestions would be appreciated more than you know.

Or those of you who have honed marble and can testify I'm good to go,

I'm willing to listen!

How do you clean those awful spots?

thanks for reading, friends!

*photos courtesy of bosch, country living, country living, martha stewart, all the things that make a house a home blog, pinterest {unknown}, cote de texas