Kitchen Remodel + Dining Room Plans

Several of you asked to see pictures of our kitchen since we did some updates.  I realized I never showed all the full after pics.  I am so pleased with how it turned out.  I went into the updates thinking I wanted to replace our black granite counter tops as well.  I thought I wanted all white everything,  but once we painted the cabinets white, I really came to love the black counters.   I love dark/light contrast.  I still have plans to eventually replace the tile with hardwoods in the kitchen at some point. 

BEFORE

As I was writing this post, I realized I have no real before pictures of our kitchen. Why did I not photograph everything before all the work started???   Here is one picture I found to give you an idea.  This was after a row of cabinets was taken down that separated our kitchen from our dining room.  Removing the cabinets really opened everything up. 

 The cabinets were a funky dated wood color and the fridge was just floating.  

We had placed a random cabinet beside it for extra storage and a wine rack on top.  The space clearly needed some built-ins!  

Not pictured also is that we had recess lighting installed.  There was a square florescent light fixture before.

That is my little batman breaking it down.  We like to have kitchen dance parties.

AFTER

I love how bright and open the kitchen feels now. It is great for entertaining since it opens right into our dining room.  After knocking down the cabinet in the middle I was able to buy bar stools and use the counter tops as an island.

I love having one glass cabinet for some of my nicer glasses. The glass door and cabinet was re-purposed from the middle cabinets we ripped out.

 I always knew I wanted white subway tile with dark grout.  At the last minute I decided to have it laid in this herringbone pattern and love it.

In addition to painting the cabinets we also switched out the knobs for more modern pulls.

We had no pantry before, so the built-in has been amazing for storage purposes.  The other side houses a pull out trashcan and brooms.  Of course I needed a place to store all our wine too:)

The fridge was also a new purchase.  I can't tell you how much I love having more fridge space and the snack drawer!

The view from our kitchen into our dining room that we are getting ready to re-do.  Next week we are taking down the bead board and putting up sheet rock and repainting.  Also the bar and cabinet in the far right corner will be ripped out.  The bar is so close to the kitchen and serves no real purpose.  I think it will really open up the room and make it seem larger.

KITCHEN INFO

Wall Color- Aloof Gray halved

Cabinet Color- Decorators White

Lucite Stools- One Kings Lane

Desk Chair- Lulu and Georgia

As I mentioned before I am working with Alex Kaehler on the design for the dining room.  She is a design genius and amazing to work with.  I am just thrilled with what she came up with for the space.  Below are two mood boards she created for me.

I measured the space and took photographs of everything and let her know pieces I wanted to work with and pieces I wanted to get rid.  I also sent her several inspiration pictures of dining rooms I loved.  Then she compiled two boards for me.  I could choose one or mix and match or say I dodn't love either.  Honestly I liked both designs alot.  She nailed my taste and what I was looking for in the space. I changed a few things and came up with a final design plan below.

Here is the final board we came up.  I am so excited to start implimenting the design.  Once I finalized the design Alex sent a full source list with links for shopping to make things easier.  This way you can shop and update at your pace

Stay tuned because I will document everything as we go.

Thru the end of September Alex is offering 15% off her design services- just mention my blog if you contact her | molly@alexandrakaehler.com

I am so excited to see it all come together!