This project was a labor of love since it happened to be my own kitchen. I love to cook! I have been wanting a real, gourmet kitchen for years now. However, with home prices sky rocketing, I couldn't find a home I loved within our price point that didn't need remodeling. So with much discussion between my husband and I(eventually becoming hostile negotations), we decided it was more economical to gut our kitchen and make it exactly what we wanted. I know that in the past five years this has been a common debate for lots of families. I hear, "we love our house and what it could be." I have worked on lots of homes in the past ten years. The pricing for a true custom build verses a track home/neighborhood home aren't that different. It's the quality of materials that are very different. What I have observed is that the custom builders give you more freedom to source your materials (i.e., plumbing, lighting, tile, countertops...etc); whereas the track home builders give you what is available in their showroom. I find that the "top tier" materials at the track home showrooms are overpriced and very generic. You are also limited in what you can pick from these showrooms based on availability to your timeline. For example, if you ordered a certain tile for your guest bathroom and the tile becomes backordered, the builder will make you pick a different tile instead of waiting for what you want to come in stock. This becomes very difficult because usually your other materials are already in their possession so you can ONLY change the floor. You are basically at the mercy of timing thus limiting your options for your dream home. From these experiences I knew that I wanted to pick EXACTLY what I wanted instead of what the builder said I could have. So, without further ado, here is the remodel as we experienced it.
First: The Before.
I feel I had done everything I could to bandaid my kitchen. I had the cabinets painted, updated the hardware, put in a new faucet and light fixture.
What I hated most about my kitchen was beyond cosmetic:
Lack of Storage in the cabinets. These older 2000's homes put in cabinets with no shelves. Just open cabinets. There is only so much you can do with stacking pots and dishes. It became a mixed game of Tetris to put away dishes and Jenga to take them out.
The stove was too small. I needed more than 4 burners and more than one stove.
The ventilation was awful. I don't even know if you could call it that. It was the obligatory microwave above the stove. When I would try to make smash burgers or filets on the cast iron we would have to have our phones on hand for when ADT called about the smoke alarms going off. Not a good look for someone who prides themself on loving to cook.
I had a closet for a pantry. I wanted more space for all of my spices and dry goods as I wasn't ever able to see everything I had. Again, another game of Tetris and Jenga!
My table of four barely fit.
I highly recommend leaving town during this part or even renting for a few weeks. We chose to visit family in Omaha. I cooked like crazy at my brother's since I knew it would be awhile before my meals no longer consisted of take out or an air fryer.
Third: Midway
When we returned two weeks later, we had cabinets. While we were gone they had put in a beam to remove the load bearing wall. They moved the plumbing to the center for the sink and dishwasher and to the far wall for the fridge. They rewired the electrical for the island, backsplash, canned lighting, chandelier and outlets in the cabinets for my microwave and appliance cabinet. I will spare you the dust filled chaos of those two weeks and show you what I got to come home to. I was so in love already.
Fourth: Floors and Countertops
One of my concessions to my husband was to not replace our wood floors. He liked the ones we had and frankly, we'd just put them in 8 years earlier and he refused to spend the money twice. I had to find a floor that would coordinate with what we had but still gave me what I wanted. I started looking at vintage bricks but decided they were too porous and I wouldn't be able to keep them clean. I couldn't do herringbone wood because it would look off with the wood I currently had. I refused to do a plain tile because, #basic. I spent hours searching my online tile sources and fell in love with the Montana collection (Rock Creek) from Bedrosians. It was a perfect pattern and color to coordinate with my current floors.
I knew I wanted Quartzite countertops. As much as I love the Taj Mahal Quartzite I wanted something different. I loved this Mustang Quartzite I found from KLZ Slabs. I had originally found a similar one at MSI so I was excited when the fabricators source had a similar one. I have since found this at a few locations and it's named something different at each. What drew me to this one was the organic lines and color. For the backsplash I wanted to continue the counter tops. I felt that since I didn't have a lot of backsplash it would make the space feel cleaner and larger to use the same materials. Plus I knew it would be easier to clean the quartzite backsplash verses a tile with grout. I mean, the heat, smoke, and bubbling goodness that inevitably makes its way onto the backsplash can discolor and stain grout easily.
Step 5: Paint
I love picking paint. LOVE it! However, I hated doing it for myself! In my mind I had thought a really warm taupe was what I wanted. However, when I put the taupes near my countertops they all washed out. I needed something more in line with the dark accents in the countertops. My living room was already Hooper's Head by Farrow & Ball so picking a blue felt like over kill. I really wasn't planning on a gray, but hey, you've got to roll with what looks best. In the picture above you see the two colors swatches I picked for the cabinets and island. I will also note that I wanted white oak cabinets to stain, but again, hostile budget negotiations.
Cabinet Colors:
Main Cabinets - Alloy SW 9569
Island - Limestone SW 9599
Step 6: The Details
This is the step that adds the signature to your space. It's all the pieces of personality. The piece that was the must have for me was the chandelier. I have wanted the Menil Light somewhere in my house since it was introduced years ago at Visual Comfort.
https://www.visualcomfort.com/menil-40-chandelier-mf5175/#1651=8281&2461=35811
The next part of the details was the Hardware for the cabinets. I went with Top Knobs Ashbury Grace in a Gray Pewter (color is now discontinued). My faucet and air switch was from California Faucets - Graphite. The Gray Pewter was an exact match to my faucet. I also added oversized pulls to the fronts of my open bookcase to add an architectural accent. With all of the cabinetry I needed something to showcase all of my cookbooks and antique accents without clogging my work space.
https://www.calfaucets.com/kitchen/faucets/pull-down/pull-down-kitchen-faucet-high-spout-k10-100-xx
The last few details were the most bold of my choices. I picked the willow tree wallpaper from Thibaut and the matching fabric for my barstools. With the big wall by my kitchen I felt that if I just painted it my kitchen would just be bland. I needed a pop of color to pull the neutral color of my countertops and cabinets in with the pops of color in my living room. I love this wallpaper. I will say that it is amazing in person and a bit chaotic in pictures. However, I will share the photos anyway!
Basically, this wallpaper brought the blues from my living room and married them with the softer tones of my kitchen materials. I know this choice will be divisive, but as I tell all of my clients, "It's your house, do what you love since you're the one who lives in it."
https://www.thibautdesign.com/products/wallcoverings/AT23110
Finally, the barstools. Oh how I love my barstools. I picked the matching fabric of the wallpaper. I wanted people to see boldness of both sides of the hallway. Plus I am just obsessed with this pattern. I ordered my barstools from Gabby Home. They are the Winston Counter Stools. I thought they were a great price especially since I was going to be recovering them. I did the surround of the stools in the Willow Tree fabric and the interior of the chairs in a Faux Leather Toni by Kravet. I needed something that was easily cleanable as I have two boys who love wings and not paying attention to their hands. I prefer a real leather hide, but oils and greases on the hands can still discolor them (hence the faux option).
https://www.thibautdesign.com/products/fabrics/AF23110
This kitchen remodel took 7 weeks. I used a great local builder, Morales Custom Home, for the project. Victor and Cole are my favorite team! You can find out more about their work at www.moralescustomhomes.com
I have loved cooking in my kitchen! Especially my huge stove. Even my husband is happy with the results. He kept telling me I didn't need to remodel the kitchen. He said, "Look at what you can do with what you have." If you're wondering where negotiations turned hostile, I will say that that comment was the turning point. I hope you've enjoyed my renovation story. If you are looking to take on a project I'm more than happy to help!
