Farmhouse Kitchen Remodel & Design Week 4 Update

The farmhouse kitchen remodel continues! We’ve been under construction for 4 weeks and we’re moving along considering we accomplish the most on weekends when hubby is off – although we’ve hired a lot out that has been done during the week.

If you missed the other farmhouse kitchen remodel posts, my last update is here and the original kitchen reno project introduction is here. We’re also remodeling the area off of the kitchen including the powder room, mudroom, pantry and adding a wet bar.

Demolition Complete

Since my last update, we finished all the kitchen demo and had the AC ductwork re-routed from the exterior of the wall above the kitchen to the attic.

We also tore down all of the walls in the area off of the kitchen in preparation for the re-configuration of that area.

Flooring Removal

We hired out for the removal of all of the old flooring to make way for our new wood floors.

Plumbing Progress

Having the flooring removed meant the plumbers could come in to move the kitchen sink plumbing, add a water line for the pot filler, add sink plumbing for the wet bar and move the sink and toilet plumbing in the powder room.… Read more

Our Small Mudroom Design Plan

If you’ve been following along then you know that as part of the kitchen reno we’re also remodeling the space off the kitchen that will include a mudroom, pantry, wet bar and powder room. I’ve talked a little about the mudroom on Instagram but today I’m sharing all the details and plans for our small mudroom design.

Previously, the area that we’re making into the mudroom was being used as an office nook with desk space. The space greets you immediately when you enter the house from the side door, the door we use primarily. It has a tall window you can see out when you’re standing in the kitchen. There is also an attic access door on the ceiling. We toyed around with the idea of changing the way we access the attic but either our ideas wouldn’t work or were just too difficult, so we’re leaving it as is. The purpose of the mudroom is to provide storage for purses, briefcases, future kiddos backpacks, jackets, mail, etc, which all used to accumulate on our kitchen countertops. I want the new kitchen island to remain free of clutter, so we need a better solution.… Read more

Introducing our Wet Bar Design Plan

We’re still in the messy phase of our big renovation but progress is happening and lots of decisions have been made. Since my last update, we’ve decided to work in a wet bar/coffee bar in the area off the kitchen so I’ve had wet bar design on the brain.

Here’s how the whole lets-do-a-wet-bar-thing went down. After we opened up the area off the kitchen that used to be the powder room/coat closet/pantry/mudroom, my wheels really started turning. I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted to reconfigure the area, but something just didn’t feel quite right. I wanted to make sure we were taking advantage of the opportunity to make the best use of the space. We are moving walls, plumbing and electrical so if we want to do something, now is the time. And then it occurred to me. What about a wet bar that could also serve as a coffee bar? It could house not only liquor, stemware and bar accessories but also the coffee maker and coffee/tea accruements. Since we are moving walls we could recess the cabinets and since we’re moving plumbing and electrical we could add a bar prep sink and a mini-fridge.… Read more

Roundup: Brass Cup Pulls For the Kitchen

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Kitchen Reno Details: Brass Cup Pulls

Despite being deep in the messy stage of the kitchen reno, I’ve been thinking a lot about cabinet hardware and mulling over about 8 samples. Hardware is literally the last thing that gets installed but a girl can still dream, am I right?! Our farmhouse kitchen will have shaker style cabinets and one thing I know for sure is that I plan to use is brass cup pulls, aka bin pulls. I think cup pulls will add a vintage, old-world feel to our kitchen and the brass will really pop off of our off-white and “clay” colored cabinetry.

Check out these beautiful kitchens that showcase brass cup pulls:

Via

Hardware is tricky and really something you should see in person and against your cabinets before pulling the trigger. There are so many finish options that often are not represented accurately with an online photo. Feeling the weight and texture of the hardware can help make a decision too.… Read more

Powder Room Remodel Plan & Introduction

Renovating The Area Off the Kitchen

Last week I introduced you to the kitchen remodel and explained that in conjunction with the kitchen, we’re simultaneously doing a powder room remodel, as well as the pantry and mudroom directly off of the kitchen. Today I’m introducing our powder room project with you guys! It’s been a little overwhelming designing 4 areas at the same time but as we finalize the kitchen design plan, I can finally start focusing on the others.

Here’s an overview of the area off of the kitchen:

mudroom, pantry and powder room remodel

Floor Plan Before:

The space is oblong and as you can see there’s currently a closet right off the front entry, the powder room on the other side of the closet, a pantry and an office nook that we’re planning to turn into a mudroom. We’re planning to reconfigure this area a little bit to make the pantry larger. There is also a finished L-shaped attic above this whole area and the kitchen. Currently, the attic is accessed by pull-down stairs in the office nook/mudroom, but we’d like to try to add a narrow staircase for easier access so that we can use the attic for an office or small guest room.… Read more

Design, Kitchen, Our Home
July 17, 2018

Kitchen Cabinet Planning & Remodel Update

Our kitchen remodel is moving right along. Since last week, we got down and dirty with some demolition and worked a lot on kitchen cabinet planning, which was pretty darn exciting.

Demo Update

Over the weekend, we tore out the entire island and most of the back wall and started on the overhead built-0ut. There was a lot of ugly tile to demo.

That’s pretty much where we ended after two days of demo and completely filling up our dumpster. We have another dumpster on the way and this weekend we should be able to knock out the remainder of the back wall/wall oven/microwave and upper build-out.

The next step is the demolition of the floors, which we’re hiring out for. It’s just too difficult and time-consuming for us because of the way they were installed, so we’ll leave it to the pros who can do it in 1 – 1.5 days. (The floors extend into the dining room on the right, as well as the hallway and entry, so it’s not just what you see here.) After the floors are removed, we have to install a gas line for our new range and move the sink plumbing about 3 feet (closer to the back wall).… Read more

Design, Kitchen, Our Home
July 9, 2018

Farmhouse Kitchen Remodel Project Introduction!

We have lived in our house two years and we’re finally going to embark upon the most exciting project yet…our farmhouse kitchen remodel!!! Remember when I outlined our planned projects for 2018? I was hopeful for a kitchen reno but I wasn’t sure it would happen this year but IT IS folks and I am pumped! I have avoided sharing any peeks of the kitchen because it is so, so bad. But that all ends today! I’m sharing the current (sad) state of the kitchen, some inspiration for the design of our new farmhouse kitchen and some material and finish options I’m leaning toward. As part of the kitchen reno, we’re also reconfiguring the area off the kitchen which includes the powder room, pantry, and the office nook that will likely become a small mudroom. We’re also hoping to make a change to the way we access the attic above the kitchen and replacing all of the flooring that extends all the way into the dining room. Detailed plans for the powder room, mudroom and pantry will come later – today it’s all about the kitchen!… Read more

Checking in…

Hiya, friends! It’s been a while since I have blogged (I miss it!) so I wanted to touch base with you and just give ya a little heads up about why that is and whats been going on over here.

Design Work vs. Blogging

I feel so lucky to be taking on more design clients, but with that comes less time for blogging and I haven’t found the balance yet. I want to be able to do both, the blog has been my priority from the start so I need to figure it out. There’s a lot of day-to-day behind the scenes design stuff going on that I typically don’t share until the client project is finished, but I’d like to figure out a way to blog more about the process and bring you along for the ride.

(This shot is from the most recently wrapped client project, my friend Rana’s photography studio.)

Stylistic Shift

Aside from client design work, I’ve been experiencing a little bit of a creative rut lately in terms of blogging. Or maybe it’s that I’m expending so much work and creativity into the client work that my creative gas tank is running a little empty when it comes time to brainstorm blog topics.… Read more

Our Finished Staircase with Horizontal Stair Railing!!

After living months and months (years?) without any railings on our two staircases or the second story of our house (not recommended BTW), I’m thrilled to report our staircase renovation is finally complete! Today I’m sharing all of the details on the staircase reno and horizontal stair railing.

We went through a lot of considerations before pulling the trigger on anything related to the staircase. We debated cable railing, tiling the risers, vertical vs horizontal railings, tread coverings, etc. It consumed hours of research and I even thought we could DIY some or maybe even all of the project. In the end, we hired everything out! Staircase work is meticulous and it was definitely the right decision to bring in the professionals.

Check out that sexy before photo! When we bought the house, the second story and the stairs themselves were covered with nasty, old carpet and the railings were orange-y colored wood that I knew had to go. Shortly after buying the house we had new hardwood floors installed in the downstairs living area and entire upstairs.… Read more

A Contemporary Photography Studio Makeover

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Last fall my sweet friend Rana of Roohi Photography went and got herself a new, spacious studio space and I’m flattered that she asked me to help with the design. Her new and improved contemporary photography studio has been finished for a while but we just recently got around to photographing it, so today I’m finally showing it off!!

a contemporary photography studio

The studio is about 900 sq ft total and is divided into two equally sized rooms. The front room has a full wall of floor to ceiling windows that provide amazing natural light. We divided the room into two zones, a comfy lounge area with a mounted TV for client consultations and presentations, and a more formal area with a dining table and cafe chairs. contemporary photography studio

The change that made the biggest impact in the makeover was replacing the ceiling tiles. The old ones were basic office ceiling tiles (you know the ones) but replacing them with these traditional style white tiles really elevated the space and gave it a polished look.… Read more

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