Kitchen Remodel : The Plan
The hammers and dust have been flying over the last couple of weeks while we prep our new {to us} house for its remodel.
We’re finally at the end of the demo and are ready to start putting it all back together this week. Yay for that!
While the contractor guys have been scrambling all over the place, whacking and sawing everything in sight, I’ve been scrambling to make final selections.
The kitchen was the first room that needed to be nailed down since it will take 4 – 6 weeks for the new cabinets to arrive. Y’all gave me some very good input when I asked for your advice on the new kitchen design a few weeks ago. I took all of your suggestions to heart and they caused me to change my thinking about some things. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts.
1. Diamond Reflections cabinets from Lowes – White uppers and lowers, white hood, Juniper Berry (gray) island cabinets
2. White Pearl granite – for counters
3. Moen Lindley faucet – in brushed nickel
4. Hardwood floor color
5. Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige – wall color
6. Hood style
7. Thomasville Piedmont Collection lanterns – two of these will be above the island
8. Appliances
The one thing that I’m really struggling with is the backsplash. I have found one option that I totally love, but it’s pricey and I don’t know if it will fit into the budget or not. The arabesque shapes would be in a picture frame configuration above the cooktop and the larger square tiles would be the field tile, set on the diagonal, with the little squares sprinkled randomly around. You can’t really tell in the photo, but some of the tile is a little sparkly and all of it has a crackle finish. Have I said that I love it?
While ordering the bathroom tile on Saturday, I found this second option that I love almost as much and it would be much more affordable. The granite is on the left, the mosaic would be an accent tile, then there’s a pencil tile for the frame above the cooktop and the field tile is on the right. The mosaic is made up of glass, natural stone and mother of pearl. It’s gorgeous in person.
Both choices are in the same color family and would work well. It’s all just a matter of that pesky thing called the budget. Stay tuned.
For those of you who are curious, here’s a computer generated view of what the kitchen will look like. Keep in mind that the colors in this view are not true. All of the cabinets and the hood will be white and the island will be gray.
And for those of you who are even more interested, here’s the actual layout itself.
Here’s what the kitchen looks like today. The owner’s refrigerator, which came with the house (it will be moved to the laundry room), is sitting in the middle of the floor and you can see the contractor guys at work.
It’s going to be hard to wait several more weeks before I see the plan become the reality! Pookie is just hoping this will inspire me to cook more. Hmmm…maybe I could use that to negotiate for the backsplash that I want. :-p
Suzy, I love it! Both backsplash plans are great, but I think option #2 would be my choice. Over the years, I feel you will like the simplicity of the glass mosaic whereas the arabesque may be too busy. Good luck! I definitely want a tour when everything is done!
I’m pretty sure that option #2 is the way the I’ll go. As much as I adore the arabesque tile (my photo doesn’t do it justice), I’m afraid that it’s a trend that will become dated faster than the mosaic would. I’d love to give you a tour!
Looks like a great plan…love the lighting!!!
Thank you, Shirley. I’m just ready for it to be finished!
I love what you’re doing. Wish we could gut our kitchen and start over. We’ve been doing it piece meal. We’re tiling our kitchen floor but I won’t be able to get photos as they progress — since we practically live in our kitchen we will be South as they do it.
Hi Marisa. I’m so glad you like the plan. How exciting that you’re getting to make some changes in your kitchen! I’ve wanted to renovate the kitchen in my current home ever since we moved in, but never wanted to put the time or funds into since we didn’t plan to stay here forever.
They are both lovely. If there truly is not a preference of one over the other, price would be my deciding factor in the end. Maybe you could make an accent for the kitchen using the arabesque tiles. A small project that is easy to remove in later years (a. when you are tired of it and b. when/if it starts to look dated and aged) would be a fun way to add that gorgeous tile to the kitchen. Maybe a small tiled tray? Excited to see your finished project!!!
Hi Melissa. Alas – price will probably be the deciding factor. I had only planned to use the arabesque tiles in a picture frame above the cooktop, but the field tiles that would cover the rest of the walls are expensive too. Good idea though to use it in a small project! If I don’t use it in the backsplash, I’ll be sure to see if I can order just a small quantity of it for a tray.
Hello Melissa — I love the first option for your kitchen backsplash, however, either would be beautiful. I did something a bit different with my microwave. I had an over-the-range microwave installed under an upper cabinet instead of a microwave cabinet shelf. The upper cabinet is the same size that would be used in an over the range installation, however, my microwave is over the countertops and not over the range. The advantage for me is that this is a much larger microwave, with countertop space and built-in lighting underneath the microwave. I have a commercial size vent over my cooktop.
Hi, Your kitchen remodel plans with the white cabinets and Juniper Berry island sound great! Can’t wait to see how it all turns out, including the backsplash options you’re considering!