Kitchen Reveal

As we near a year on being in our house, it's about time I post some pics of the finished product. Well, almost finished. Between trying to finish some little projects and keeping the house quasi-clean amidst a toddler's endless energy, it's been tough to get photos. Let alone upload them and find time to post them. So, bear with me.

We are really happy with our kitchen, to say the least.

It started ugly, but with a little inspiration like this...

...we went from drab to fab.


We didn't do too much in this room from a structural perspective except remove the peninsula. Knocking down the bulkheads helped to elevate the ceilings and open up the space all around. We removed the pantry and replaced it with floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinets for more functional storage.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Some of my favorites in this room:

• Dual fuel range - this sucker can turn out some yumminess in a jiffy
• Bench storage & window seat - perfect spot for coffee and family meals
• Open shelving - this is uber functional for us and we're surprisingly able to keep it tidy. We love the mix of old & new that this adds, too.
• Marble counters - we languished over this decision a good bit, and we're ultimately really happy with it. More on that coming in a future post. 
• The openness - we originally planned to have a small island in the middle of the kitchen, but we nixed that after living in the space a while. We love being able to dance during dinner prep (neighbors must love watching us) and Burke can spread out his toys to really make quite a mess.

Details:

• Cabinets: Wellborn Shaker full overlay, glacier white
• Countertops: honed Carrara marble, more on that search here
• Shelves: Custom from reclaimed Douglas Fir
• Hardware: Signature Hardware and My Knobs
• Bench: Custom
• Paint colors: see here
• Lighting: Restoration Hardware (over sink) and Ballard Designs (over table)

ballard designs shelf makeover

when we bought these shelves, they needed some love. but for the sweet deal we got on Tuscan media console, hutch, + bookshelves, it was totally worth it.

when we moved our bedroom furniture around, it was the perfect time to give these guys some long overdue attention.

the Lowe's shopping list:

• quart of paint, matched to a chip from the busted backing
• panel of beadboard to match the existing backing
• 1x12" boards to make shelves
• ribbed trim to match the shelf-fronts
• brackets to mount the new shelves

we cut the new piece of paneling to fit, then rolled on two coats of paint. while that dried, we built the shelves and glued the trim to the front of them. once dry, we primed + painted. while all of the paint was drying outside, i touched up the shelves themselves.

once everything was dry, we put the shelves into place + replaced all of the accessories. it's amazing what a coat of paint does! the new shelves really help to anchor the fixture, and now the TV doesn't look so miniscule amidst the massive hutch. it's a much prettier site when you walk into the bedroom now, don't you agree?

before:

[busted backing]

[there's a reason they call it scratch + dent]

the makeover cost less than $100, bringing our total for the Ballard Design Tuscan shelves to about $850...still WAY below the $2,600 retail price tag [plus delivery]! woo hoo. i think i could give william shatner + his negotiator buddies a run for their money.

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