Our Kitchen and the Inspiration

Oh, kitchens. I feel like they are the heart and the soul of the home.  Typically, this is where everybody gathers and hangs out...like it or not.  And, even if you do not love to cook...you tend to be in there a lot (you have to eat) and if you have kids...you pretty much never leave the kitchen (at least that's how I feel sometimes:)).  So, if possible, you better make this room as appealing as possible.

I wanted our kitchen to have a cottages' rustic charm with some modern elements to make it stylish. I wanted it to feel like this had been a cool house with charm that had always been here (like a farmhouse) and we just kind of moved our furniture in.  Well, if you look back at the remodel it was not a cool house.  It was a 1969 ranch house that had undergone some funky remodels and the other parts had not been touched since 1969.  In other words, there was nothing cool about it.  Except for the floor plan and the location.  And, these are pretty important, my friends!! Everything else you can change...ha ha:)

SO, here has been some of my inspiration over the years...I crave a feeling more than anything.  To me, decorating and remodeling is about conveying a feeling that you want to strive for.  How do you want your home to feel?  I wanted mine to feel modern and rustic meets farmhouse and bohemian.  This is what makes me feel good and comfortable.

First up is this kitchen by Brooklyn Home Company. I think it is a perfect example of modern meets rustic.  Love the soapstone countertops with a more modern white cabinet with the rustic wood contrast.  Yep, pretty perfect:)

Close up of the kitchen above

I knew for a while that I wanted barn wood for backsplash but this kitchen by Jessica Helgerson pretty much sealed the deal.  Again rustic wood with some more modern cabinets and you throw in a bunch of charm is ideal in my book.

Beautiful kitchen by M. Elle Design as seen in Elle Décor. My favorite elements are the countertops, wood ceiling and basket lighting. This design team does everything spot on!!

My all time favorite kitchen from a movie would have to be the one from It's Complicated. Well, nothing in my kitchen really looks like this except for maybe the woven blinds but it is about a feeling.  This is one of the most charming kitchen's I have ever seen. And while Miss Meryl Streep's character wanted to remodel it...I would not have changed a thing.

And here is a Wendy Young kitchen .  Love everything about it but especially the chunky black countertops and white cabinets.  Love that beam going across and that light is amazing!!

Daryl Carter's kitchen below from Elle Décor ...well just perfection!!

Love this inspiration from Remodelista.  Again, in my eyes, it does not get much better than some barn wood, concrete countertops, a little white, a little gray, some brown and of course a healthy dose of some antlers :)

A close up of the kitchen above

I love the wood island and table against the white below from Elle Décor

This sink pretty much sold me on concrete

The two kitchens below look nothing like my kitchen but had to throw them in the mix because they are just so beautiful and convey a very charming feel.  The first image is from House Beautiful.

Below is Carolyn Murphy's home

Now on to our kitchen...hello orange cabinets!!

A before

 

 

 

 

 

And now...

 

What do I love about our kitchen? The concrete countertops, for sure!! I was super worried about the durability factor and I have been very pleasantly surprised. I highly recommend them if you have a good fabricator. I am also so happy with the wood backsplash. The look of the barn wood gave me the "mood" I was striving for. And the creamy white paint of the cabinets against the dark countertops...I would definitely do that again!!

 

What would I have done differently?

 

1.)Replace the cabinet doors. This was a budgetary constraint. After all, you have to stop somewhere!! I am hoping that this is something we can do in the next few months.  We would like to go to more of a shaker style like this...

 

 

2.) The light over the sink.  It is fine and cute but I would like something with a little more power (style wise). I love this one by Cisco home. I think it would give this little kitchen what it needs. I had the larger ones in our family room in our previous home and these lights are pretty special.

Or I would have moved the electrical to the wall for a sconce.  Like this beauty from The Urban Electric Co.

3.) While I am happy with the concrete countertops for the island, I may have used another stone like marble to break it up a bit.  Even though, we did paint the island a blue/gray which does the trick and we have enough other things going on in there...sometimes I wonder if I should have used another material.

4.) Last but not least I probably would have painted the whole house white.  I love the neutral greige in person but it just does not photograph as well as white. It looks a little yellow in the photos and it does not look like that in person.  It is kind of silly but we all know how obsessed people are with photographs these days.  That is a whole separate issue that I will touch on one of these days.

There you have it...the little kitchen that could be transformed from those orangey cabinets and a sea of wallpaper into something that makes us pretty darn happy:) And, every time I walk into it reminds me of a charming little cottage that has always been there.  And, I am hoping that one of these days it inspires me to be a really good cook...not sure if that will ever happen....but my fingers are crossed!!

xo ,
Paige