Our first floor renovation left us with a clean slate to create our new kitchen. We took measurements of all of our existing appliances, windows and room dimensions, and I drew a rough sketch of our future kitchen layout.
Next I sketched out different ideas for the perimeter layout. I needed to incorporate a built in pantry and work around the large windows.
We had the best chance of utilizing every inch of our kitchen with custom cabinetry. Our friend, Tim, owner of Flegel Woodcraft is a fantastic cabinet maker who created our double vanity in our bathroom the year before this project. Tim agreed to take on our kitchen renovation as a favor, and thank goodness! I love his work and always have fun working with him. We met to discuss cabinet door styles, wood choices, paint color and layout. I sketched out my ideas prior to our meetings so Tim could understand our needs and give us an accurate price. To help us stay on budget, Tim allowed us to help install the cabinets, and we installed the baseboard and crown moldings, the glass in the cabinet doors and hardware ourselves. I was relieved the cabinetry was is good hands to allow me to focus on the rest of the finishes.
With the cabinet measurements and placement nailed down, it was time to add the lighting. This side of the house backs up to a hill and is surrounded by mature trees, and we needed plenty of light to brighten up the room at all times of the day. G (my man) added 17 recessed lights, 4 pendant lights and chose under cabinet lighting for additional task lights.
Ok, time now for some inspiration:
Dark floors, marble island, stainless steel and white cabinetry. Elegant lighting
This above kitchen truly inspired me. The homeowner was successful in creating a one of a kind kitchen on a tight budget. Her choices on finishes prevents it from looking like a kitchen you would find in a big box store catalog.
I am pretty much over granite, so my counter top choices were quartz, marble or soapstone. I liked the idea of the island counter being different than the perimeter counters, and I knew that I would have to spend less per foot for the perimeter so that I could go for a sweet island counter top. We finally chose to use soapstone counters for the perimeter and we will always recommend Scott at Bucks County Soapstone.
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Bucks County Soapstone
Tucked on a quiet country road in Bucks county, Bucks County Soapstone is a must see for anyone who is thinking of renovating their home. Don’t let the unassuming building fool you- as you walk through the showroom door, your eyes are drawn to hundreds of beautiful soapstone masterpieces. Raw stone counters with drain boards create beautiful and efficient work surfaces. Polished stone work spaces showcase the natural veining details of the exquisite material. Beautiful stone tiled wall murals made me giddy with excitement and prompted me to ask my hubby how we could incorporate a masterpiece into our future bath. My budget office (aka. husband) quietly shook his head and smiled, knowing our monetary limitations. Vessel sinks, wide basin sinks, polished floor and wall tiles, and hundreds of inspiring specialty items filled their showroom and lined their hallways. As he guided us through his showroom sharing his creative process, it was clear Scott Seuren and his coworkers are gifted artists who are passionate about their work.
After we shared our kitchen floor plan and our ideas with Scott, we walked outside to the stone yard to pick our slab. Each piece is unique, with shades varying from greenish gray to blue gray to a deep, dark charcoal. Each slab has a unique veining, and after narrowing it down to a few choices, Scott explained how our floor plan layout would include certain veins. Scott offered his expertise on how to cut the slab to offer the most dramatic veining and showcase it in a way to be fully appreciated. His attention to detail is infectious. After our name was written on our stone, he offered us a personal tour of the factory. I was amazed at the state of the art facility and detailed work he was currently working on for loyal customers all over the country.
We left Scott with a handshake and a guestimated date for measurements. It was great to work with him and looked forward to seeing the vision come together.
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Next project on the list was selecting an island counter top. ‘Budget office’ gave me a price range, and I called over a dozen stone yards looking for Calcutta marble slabs. After visiting a handful of places, my very pregnant body pressed me to make my decision. I found a few slabs of white marble, although they all had more veining than I had in mind. I visited the slabs, took pictures and spent many nights reviewing the pics making sure it would work. I returned to the shop with a small piece of our chosen soapstone to make sure the materials worked together.
I haggled relentlessly with the marble owner over a slab of Manhattan Calcutta (don’t ask, because I heard they are always making up different names for different stone variations). I was not 100% sold with this stone, but it had the white background I was looking for and it was getting really close to my due date. The price was right, so we got to work making sure the cuts were perfect to make the most of the movement through the stone.
Just days away from moving in, we took a look at our second floor and realized it needed a major cleanup before we could return. I did not realize how plaster dust gets into EVERYTHING. A layer of plaster dust settled on top of every. Single. Thing. It was awful. I cleaned closed boxes to open them to find dust coated every thing inside the box. It was deep into the fibers of clothing, sheets, blankets, pillows, and I was only days away from bring home a newborn. I remember crying as I cleaned because I truly believed I would never be able to get anything clean again. Ahhhh, hormones!! But it was just awful!
Three days of constant cleaning allowed us to move our toddler back into his bedroom, and our bedroom and bathroom were clean enough to feel comfortable.
Our favorite part of this whole renovation:
Our perfect little boy is finally here and we are so excited to meet him. We carved out a corner of our bedroom for him and all of his belongings, and took time to settle into our new roles as parents to two little perfect men.
As I returned from the hospital, the next phase of discomfort began: using our only working bathroom as our temporary kitchen.
I quickly faded into the baby blues without the convenience of plumbing on our main floor. Fortunately, soon after the first set of cabinets were installed and the progress calmed my nerves.
I am sure I was not easy to work with during the days of cabinetry and plumbing installation. Multiple nighttime feedings coupled with days chasing around a toddler left me exhausted and short with everyone that came near me. I am sure my husband said “be happy you don’t live with her…” to numerous contractors that summer.
Over the next two weeks most of the cabinetry was put in place and ready for counter top measurements. No pictures were taken during this time because I was not feeling it (I wanted to run away from it!). Here are some pictures after the counters were installed.
It took a few weeks to collect all of the drawer and cabinet pulls. I searched for modern pulls and found them at RH. I had to buy 38 pieces, and couldn’t afford to pay retail. I stalked their outlet stores until I found all of the pulls at close out prices.
One of the big splurges is my pendant lighting. I had a certain look in mind and I had to coerce the ‘budget office’ to spend the extra few bucks as my birthday present. Because these pendants are technically a present for me, I am taking them with us if we ever sell our house!! 😉
Here is the finished product. Let me know your thoughts!
- Close up of back splash. I found this marble mosaic and fell in love. It was a little expensive, but we didn’t need much, so we were able to afford the splurge.
- G placed the outlets inside the cabinetry because the walls are plaster over stone. This application actually worked in our favor to create a seamless back splash. Without the outlet interruptions, we treat the marble mosaic like art.
- We had a small corner in our kitchen that was perfect for a small banquette. G built this little seating area on a weekend I took the kids to the shore. The creamy white brightens up this little corner and the extra seating adds a place where the kids can pile in for a casual meal.
your kitchen is stunning!!! I love everything about it! Well done! I was wondering if you would share where the silver cabinet and drawer hardware came from?
Thank you, Andrea!
The pulls are from Restoration Hardware:
http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1283123&categoryId=cat1512023
and the knobs are here:
http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1289003&categoryId=cat1512021
I bought them at closeout at multiple outlet stores.
The cupboard latches on the upper cabinets are from a local hardware company here in PA, but you can buy similar ones here:
http://www.houseofantiquehardware.com/cabinet-latches-and-catches-large-oval-brass?utm_source=froog&utm_medium=cse-nc&utm_campaign=gdf&partner=froog&gdftrk=gdfV22090_a_7c472_a_7c4382_a_7cR_d_08BM_d_1619X&gclid=CMzM4fGkqLoCFZSk4AodZ3EAHw
Your kitchen is absolutely stunning! Can you please tell me what type of wood your island cabinet is? I just love the wood and the stain!
Hello, Amberf, thanks for the love!! Our island is made of walnut with a natural stain. We suggest finding a local cabinet maker who is passionate about wood like our friend, Tim @ Flegel Woodcraft. Local artisans will always work hard to find the best wood to create a beautiful and one of a kind centerpiece for your kitchen. I hope this helps!
I’m sorry to keep bugging you! Can you tell me the type of wood flooring you have as well? Thank you!
Hello Amberf, we have a wide plank white oak flooring with a java stain.
Thanks for checking out our renovations!
Hi, your kitchen is fabulous! Do you have any info on the marble mosaic backsplash? Thanks.
Hello Lemon, thanks for the love! All I know is that it is a random width marble mosaic (about $30 a square foot). If you take a picture to a tile showroom, I am sure the rep will be able to help you. Thanks!
Your kitchen is stunning! Would you happen to know the name of the wall paint over by the table area where the door is?
Thank you, Jill! We used Benjamin Moore’s Silver fox on the walls
Your kitchen is lovely! I’m wondering if the homeowner of your final inspiration photo (the ‘on a budget’ masterpiece) shared their kitchen reno online? We are building a house and I love the photo and am wondering if there are other views of the space online somewhere?
Hello Dana! You have a beautiful name 😉 I do not have additional photos of the inspiration kitchen you mentioned. I would google soapstone counters white kitchen and see what pops up. Good luck on your renovations!
Hello Dana! Unfortunately, 7 years later I can no longer find the details of my inspirational kitchen. Im sure Google has an archive somewhere! Good luck and I hope your house build is a success!