They say “best things come to those who wait”. Well, this kitchen was 5 years in the making, almost to the exact day (just off by 1 week) for the owners of this American Foursquare home. Just in time for the holidays!
Kitchens being the most expensive to renovate, can also be the most daunting to DIY-ers and homeowners alike. But that comes with its own blessing; getting to know your home over time. Live in you kitchen, work in your kitchen, get to know your kitchen. What do you like? What do you not like? What is most important to you and your family? Yes, you will have to prioritize your list of must-have’s. Most likely you will not get ALL of them. Most likely you will find as you work your way through the project, you no longer want ALL of them! That is part of the process.
With this kitchen, the homeowners absolutely knew they had to bring the refrigerator back into the main configuration of the kitchen to make room for a half bathroom/powder room. Or as they like to call it, the water closet. With that being said, demolition was almost simultaneous for both spaces. Plaster walls had to come down all around to make way for insulation, new electrical (yes, there was still old knob and tube!), and plumbing. Some finds included old wallpaper, original hardwood floors (yay!), and a baby fork (plain old creepy!). The water closet finished up relatively quickly before the kitchen. Classic black and white tile was laid down to coordinate with a whimsical black and white wallpaper along with white wainscoting. Some funky vintage inspired fixtures were chosen as finishes. The owners had kept the original back door of the home and were interested in repurposing it for the bathroom. A little elbow grease and a DIY frosted plexiglass window turned out to be the perfect finishing touch!
Now, because this is technically a galley style kitchen, the goal was to keep the space feeling open & bright. The fear was that the refrigerator and all the appliances would cramp the space. So, two side by side windows were replaced with a beautiful wood bay window. Clean, classic white shaker style cabinets also keep the feel ‘light’ along with white appliances. However, to stay true to the traditional feel of the home, we had an idea to create a floor to ceiling cabinet pantry in a natural soft pine finish. Talk about storage with 9foot ceilings! Floors were also kept natural to tie into the theme that shaped up to be ‘wood & white’. All original trim was saved during the demo, cleaned up and reused. Further interest was added with shiplapped walls and a classic white subway back splash. Copper finishes top off the look with a feminine, yet modern look. How can you not love that massive copper hood?! At the end, the room was cozy-ed up with some antique framed paintings and a vintage inspired runner.
Viola!
- bathroom utility sink – Alape from Rejuvenation
- bathroom wallpaper – Magnolia for Home Depot
- bathroom faucet – Kingston Brass
- bathroom tile – Merola Tile for Home Depot
- kitchen appliances- GE Cafe
- kitchen cabinets – Kraftmaid
- copper hood- Z Line
- kitchen faucet and potfiller- Signature Hardware
- bay window- Pella at Lowe’s
- runner- Ruggable
- kitchen ceiling lights- Shades of Light
wholeheartedhomenj.com 