The Best Space In Our House

Regardless of how you decorate a room, whatever comfortable furniture you put in it, and the size of the tv you have, people still gravitate to the kitchen. So much time is spent in kitchens preparing meals and eating it is naturally where families and friends want to hang out if you have the space. When we planned the design for our kitchen with our 2nd renovation, we knew it had to be the best space in our house.

The Old Kitchen

You’ve seen the original kitchen when we bought the house in this post. Here are a few reminders of what it looked like when we bought it.

With some searching, I was able to find a few shots of what we did to the kitchen in the interim time between renovations. We also added a kitchen island from Ikea for additional counter space, because there was NONE.

Time to Move On

We had a great architect for the 2nd renovation who really helped us with the structural plans to connect the old and new parts of the house. He also drew up a fabulous great room and added so many windows that provide us with so much light. Once we had that plan, we took over for the rest. Rory and I designed the kitchen ourselves. I drew up the plan on a piece of notebook paper and asked Rory to make it happen. My drawing noted the exact items to go in every cabinet or drawer, so I knew the size and space would be perfect.

The renovation was happening on 2 sides of what was the back wall of our house. We used our old kitchen as long as we could, which was when the construction was finished on the other side of the wall in the new portion of the house. When the time came, we eliminated everything we could from the old kitchen (keeping some necessary appliances) and knocked the wall down. We connected the flooring and we were ready to get things installed.

The Cabinets

Rory built and installed all of the cabinets, and I painted them. I used Annie Sloane chalk paint for both. Painting the island was quite a chore, but getting the exact look we wanted and doing it ourselves was worth every second.

We painted them off-white for the wall cabinets and a light gray for the island. The counters we chose were marble in 2 different colors, as well. Black for on top of the wall cabinets, and white for the island. These were professionally installed because it took a small army to get the island slab into the house. The island is 11 ft long!

We used a Carerra marble mosaic tile in a small herringbone pattern for the backsplash. I wanted to choose a neutral and light product, that was also timeless. It starts at the counters all the way to the ceiling over the sink and adds a real wow factor to the kitchen. If we ever feel the need to change the color scheme of the kitchen, this backsplash will go with just about anything.

The Features

We only have one upper cabinet, which we use for our various cups and drink wear. I had debated open shelving for this too, but knowing that less frequently used things can get dusty, I opted for the cabinet to keep items stowed away. The glass keeps it looking light and open.

We store snacks and items we want easy access to in this tall stand-up pantry. The bottom drawers are for storage and kids’ plates, bowls, and cups.

Our dinnerwear goes in the island drawer. We purchased these drawer organizers on Amazon which helps keep everything in its designated space. We also love this because it is directly across from our dishwasher. Putting our dishes away after they are washed does not require trekking back and forth across the kitchen (which we had to do all the time in the old kitchen).

Our Pots and pans are also stored in the drawers that are right next to the stove so we can easily grab them and get to work.

We have a coffee station next to our sink. This location keeps the coffee maker fill-up simple and provided a little open space above for open shelving for the mugs and sugar. Note the Frenchie accessories as an homage to our sweet French Bulldogs.

One of my favorite additions was the pot filler over the stove. We really use it often and it is so helpful to just put the empty pot down, and not worry about spilling water or carrying a heavy full pot!

The oven hood is custom-made, as well. I found some pictures that I liked on Pinterest and saved them under my “Rory ….Make Me This” page, and he did!

On the other side of the kitchen, we have an additional small sitting area. It is a great place for chatting in itself with anyone sitting or working at the island.

Open Concept

The open concept of our kitchen to the living room has made our day-to-day living more than we could ask for. We have a close and clear space which is even better for entertaining. There is plenty of room for people to be in the kitchen and relax in our living, and still feel connected. It was ideal with a little one in the house and wanting to be cooking or working in the kitchen, but have some eyes on her while playing or watching tv.

The Finished product

I LOVE our kitchen. It is one of a kind. It is bright and happy, and we spend a lot of time here. We eat at the counter of the island for a lot of meals. It is the main congregation space for when we have visitors. They line up along the counter and people surround the island just like I thought they would.

Here is a tour of our kitchen. Links for some of our favorite items are in the captions.

Thanks for checking out our kitchen! If you enjoyed this post and want to see more of our design and DIY projects follow us on our social media channels.