Kitchen Reveal

I'm so excited about this reveal! This kitchen was a true labor of love. Toll and I sat down many times to sketch it out and then draw it to scale. I overanalyzed the placement of the islands. I wanted to make sure there was adequate space to walk, but I didn't want them to be so spaced out so much that it looked awkward. I wasn't convinced we had done it well until I saw them installed and breathed a giant such of relief! That wasn't the only issue though. We had to jack hammer into the foundation after they didn't allow for the double islands, the 2 dishwashers or the proper sink placement in the original foundation pour. A structural engineer later, and we were good to go! We also had to have the marble replaced after the hardwood floor guys used the marble as a work bench and cut wood on it. It was so scratched. They tried to patch it instead of replace it, but that didn't fly. All said and done, I love this kitchen. It functions so well. I use the back island for cooking and the front island is where the kids eat, draw, do the summer math workbooks they love (ha!), etc. With this set up the messes don't cross contaminate, and I have a sink and dishwasher in each island so clean up and loading dishes is a breeze. So far it's worked out really well.

Here's the heart of our new house! Ignore the strange 5 oranges. I'm not sure which kid arranged those!

I love these barstools. They're the Easton Counterstool in platinum. I got them for 20% off at One Kings Lane. They also come in sand. They're so comfortable too. I love that they both blend and make a statement. I scotch guarded them too because, well, Caroline and chocolate. . . I bought a different set originally and silly me bought barstools. I just wasn't thinking. Obviously they didn't fit (unless you like eating with your legs on the countertop) and I had to rethink. I'm secretly glad they didn't fit though because I think these work better from a design stand point. It worked out well because a friend needed new bar stools and she bought the original ones form me so I didn't have to load them up in multiple trips and take them back to the store. Yay for friends!

Here's the view from the breakfast room. . .

The light is from Circa Lighting. It's the Bryant Large Billiard Light by Thomas O'Brien. I knew I didn't want pendant lights but something more linear. I saw this one and knew that was it. It's perfect in the space. I toyed with the idea of two lights- one over each island (I wouldn't have chosen the bryant if I had done that) but ultimately decided that visually I wanted to keep it as an open sight line. I'm glad I made that choice.

A few more pics. . .

View from the back stairs. . .

The bread boards are from Magnolia. They come in several different sizes. The canisters are from World Market. They're currently empty, but the kids are hoping they're filled with cookies soon. The plant was a Home Goods find, and the cook book is one I've had for awhile. And to be honest I've never read it. Whoops.

I put things in and out of the upper cabinets about 17 times. At first I thought I wanted all white. Then all glass. Then all shades of blue. Yep. I climbed up and down, up and down! I ended up with a mix of glass and color. I like the simplicity of the glass, but I wanted a little punch of color too because there's so much clean white there now. I have a mix of pitchers, cake plates and trifle dishes in glass. The plates I actually found on Target.com. I loved the colors.

I knew I didn't want any of the nickel options Toll had for hardware. With the crisp white and the coolness of the navy islands I knew I wanted to warm it all up with brass. I fell in love with these pulls at a local store. They're the Emtek Freestone. I ended up looking online and build.com had the best price and they had a 5% off coupon. I measured and marked, lost the sheet and measured and marked again. In my opinion they're timeless. I didn't want something I would want to change in 5 years.

So this little coffee nook was something I knew I wanted early on. I don't drink coffee, but Adam does. He's a bit messy with it too. :) I knew I wanted a place to tuck it away because I think it's an eye sore. It' on a rolling tray and easily pulls out and slide back in. It's been great so far.

This little Onslow Tray was a gift from my Mom from Crate & Barrel. I placed it next to the stove to keep all the essentials close at hand. I filled it with a wood and marble wine cooler, also from Crate & Barrel, and salt and pepper shakers and bowls from World Market. The olive oil was a gift at a Christmas gift exchange so I have no idea where it came from. It keeps everything handy and looks cute!

I found a set of framed intaglios that I really liked. The price, however, I did not really like. I searched high and low and finally decided that I would buy intaglios and frame them myself. I ordered the intaglios off Etsy. Then I went to Hobby lobby and bought mats and paper backing. I ordered the frames from pictureframes.com. They will custom make any size you need, and the turn around is fast. I've ordered from them several times and always been so pleased. I mounted the intaglios on the paper backing, placed the mats into the frames, put it all together and ta da! The only small issue was that when the frames came they were a little brighter gold than I would have wanted them to be. I fixed that with a little bit of black Annie Sloan wax rubbed on with a light hand. (If you haven't tried her chalk paint you should. It adhere sand covers everything and is amazing!) Now they're just what I was looking for. The ones I originally loved were around $800 each. This whole project cost me less than $500. So much better!

That's our kitchen! I hope you enjoyed the "tour" as much as I enjoyed planning it out and decorating it!

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