I’m finally sharing some finished photos of my own kitchen remodel which we completed almost a year ago now.
I was missing a few things for awhile, like the custom table I designed, the framed little houses my daughter made in art class years ago, and some other miscellaneous pieces, until it finally all came together. I wanted to get all those last details in place before my daughter photographed it for me.
I must say, I have no regrets.
I don’t regret any of the purchases or splurges and I definitely don’t regret the fact that I went all in with it, pushing out into the garage a bit for my new pantry and building in a landing station by that door. I really love my nugget ice machine too, such a treat and a luxury that I enjoy every single day.
Before - My outdated kitchen
Here’s where we started. A very outdated, builder standard kitchen with spotty granite countertops and a yucky tile floor that never looked clean. I have spent time on my hands and knees, scrubbing those grout joints in the past (with a small brush) and that floor bugged me to NO END.
Before - Kitchen Remodel
Before - Tile floor of Kitchen Remodel
But forget about all that, it was the walls that really embarrassed me! That was something I did right after we moved in, around 2001??? Lots of uggo texture and glazing. (Okay, I’ve been working so much the last 10 years, I ignored my own kitchen. That’s my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)
Before - Kitchen Remodel
My pantry was a super tiny closet down by the back door to the garage and it was really inconvenient. It made for a crowded small hallway where we all ran into each other continuously through the years. Other than the pantry, the plan of the kitchen really works well for us, so I didn't change the basic layout.
Before - Bad texture on walls, ugly tile and a tiny pantry at the end of this hall. The pantry closet was literally 12" deep inside.
Here’s how the plan was changed by pushing out into the garage to make room for the new walk-in the pantry. And well, I tweaked it again here.
I love how the pantry is so accessible now. I painted it ALL indigo blue to match my Kitchenaid oven that is also blue inside. :-) That blue is one of my fave colors and I have lots of accents and dishes in that color.
I am a fan of high contrast and have used Sherwin Williams, Black Fox, on all the interior doors in my house, my fireplace mantel and stair railings, so I repeated it here. I used that color on the upper cabinet doors, to accentuate the curved design. That design is repeated in the window film on the pantry door and then on the doors to my home office at the front of the house. I love how repetition of details can create a sense of balance and purposefulness of design. Here, it brings a bit of graphic quality to the kitchen, which I love.
I also repeated that color and contrast in the countertops. I used a leather finish, marron cohiba granite that is a dark black/brown color. It wears like iron and doesn’t show anything. I love that when I run my hands over the counter, I can feel the quartz shapes. It feels rich and valuable and adds some natural texture to this kitchen.
My limestone floor picks up that color too. I love the natural look here, not as durable as a porcelain tile would be, but we are just the two of us living here now, with kids and doggies gone and we work every day outside the home, so we can handle them.
I love the polished nickel cabinet pulls, (I know, I keep saying "I love") they give just a little gleam and sparkle and look great, especially on the SW Black Fox color. My kitchen faucet and sink by Blanco are super useful and gorgeous. I can’t imagine ever going back to a double compartment sink and I love the flexibility of the faucet.
I did a post on all the organizational features of my cabinets in this post, and shared some of the progress shots here.
The backsplash tile was carefully selected, even though it played a minor role, I wanted an elongated size of subway tile and it had to be just the right color. I’ve used SW Aesthetic White throughout the open areas of my house and that color came into the kitchen as well, on the cabinetry, walls and ceiling. I didn’t want the tile to look too white or yellow next to it, so I found this Ann Sacks tile to be the perfect fit both in shape and color. I did some darker grout there to add a little texture and detail to the wall elevation.
The breakfast room repeats the same details in design
I’m kind of a ceramics fiend. I’ve been collecting all kinds for years. The blue and yellow on the wall in the breakfast room were carried in my bags from Deruta, Italy, some years ago, when we were there on a trip with friends. I have a tendency now, if I was starting out from scratch, to just do white or textural, handmade ceramics, but I do love this blast of color and pattern that reminds me of our time living overseas.
I selected the trelliage fabric at the windows to relate to the graphic design of the cabinets and pantry door and trimmed it with my fave blue. The chairs are Ikea because I’m a big fan of the high/low combination and I wanted something casual and lounge-y. (Of course, I topped them with custom pillows. :-)
Here is the overall end result, below.
No regrets. (And, BTW, that’s the BEST way to end a remodel.)
After - My Remodeled Kitchen
Contractor: Tony Knepper, Photographer: Tori Aston
See how the arch at the bar (something I had built a few years ago with intent on fixing the spindle looking columns that were there previously) is repeated in the design of the cabinet doors, the pantry door, and then in the window treatments? That was done intentionally. Oh, and the bar countertop curves out and repeats that slight eyebrow arch as well.
Good design is like a very finely detailed puzzle. That's why, when you pull out one piece of the design of a space and tweak it, the whole thing can unravel and fall like a house of cards. :-)
Want to shop my kitchen? I've got some links.
Kitchen floor
The rest are linked below. Some of the furnishings shown in the photos above are items I’ve had for quite some time and are no longer available. Oh, and I painted that little wooden stool myself about 15 years ago, to match my Deruta pottery. ;-)
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BEFORE AND AFTER - Kitchen Remodel Reveal / Designer: Carla Aston, After Photo: Tori Aston