Kitchen Makeover: The Layout

When I started planning our kitchen remodel, I had a few goals in mind. Naturally, I wanted to update the space to have it reflect our style. And, I had to replace some of the ancient appliances so that actual cooking could take place.

But, I also really wanted to improve the flow of the kitchen, increase the work space, and maximize storage.

The kitchen truly is the heart and hub of our home. There is a constant flow of kids coming and going through the side entry on the right and the stairs on the left. It's quite the circus, especially now that one of my kids has taken up juggling. He'd better not hit my chandelier!! ;)

Since we were keeping the original footprint of the kitchen, I had to give a lot of thought to how the space could function best for our family.

I took this next picture the day before demolition began. You can see there was wasted space above the cabinets. The only thing that was stored on those ledges was dust :)

The cabinetry between the kitchen entry and the door to the backyard always bothered me. It closed in the kitchen and blocked the light. And, it really didn't offer any efficient storage.

I decided I would rather replace the sliding glass door that we never used with a window, and put in more storage below.

I had to sacrifice my farmhouse table to accommodate the new cabinetry, but I LOVE our new round table. It's actually much more intimate, and makes for better traffic flow through the kitchen.


The new window opens out to the deck, and we had a small wooden bar built outside, so I could toss food out to the kids and they wouldn't have to come in and mess up my new kitchen. See... I put a lot of thought into this plan.

Inside, the new cabinetry gives me plenty of space to store the endless piles of paper that turn up out of nowhere and junk up the house.

And, it's a great spot for serving food and drinks when we host parties.

On the other side of the kitchen is our back stairway that used to house a small closet and desk underneath it...

This area was really a waste of space. The desk was ridiculously small to actually be able to sit and work, and the closet was too far from the cooking area to function as a pantry.

The space now functions as a beverage center with a refrigerator, sink and hidden coffee bar.

Our previous kitchen island housed an enormous cooktop and a prep sink, leaving very little space to do any prep work or serving.

We never used the sink. I stored papers in there. Don't judge.


I was so happy to get everything out of the island, and just have a clean expanse to serve food or have folks gather around. However, I will admit that it has been hard for me to break in the new marble. I'm getting better ... slowly...

The island is large and has loads of storage on one end. Having counterstools that slide underneath the other end helps keep obstacles out of the way so the savages can easily raid the fridge.

We kept our big ole' subzero refrigerator, because some things just aren't made like they used to be. We had some small repairs made to it in the past, and were told this beast still had a long life ahead of him. I hope so!!

Next to the refrigerator, we installed in a microwave drawer. This is the kid's favorite thing ever. Everyone who comes to our house for the first time has to agree to a 45 second microwave demonstration.

Cooking has become much easier now that we have a properly working range and oven. I'm even enjoying cooking more now. A little bit. I'm trying to anyway.

So, hopefully that gives you a better idea of the kitchen layout, and why I made certain decisions.

Hey... did you notice the crockpot on the countertop? I'm writing a blog post and cooking dinner. Seems like I really have my act together today. Good thing you can't see the rest of my house :)

Have a great day!!

Kitchen Reveal... Finally!

Happy New Year!!

I can't believe it's January, and I'm just now revealing the kitchen that we started remodeling last summer. Hopefully, you were following along with me on Insta or Facebook, so you could see some of the progress.

I really enjoyed the entire process of this renovation. Although there were some stressful moments, I feel very lucky to have been able to create my dream kitchen. I will provide more details and the rationale behind certain decisions (like why I chose not to put pendants above the island) in future blog posts. But, for today, I thought I'd go with fewer words and more photos :)


This is how the kitchen looked the day before demo began...

And, here it is now...

Thanks for your patience and for indulging my picture overload :) Let me know if you have any questions. I will share more specifics soon!


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Kitchen Pass Through Window

If you've ever lived through a remodel, you know that things don't always go as planned.

In my last post, I shared some of the changes that turned out better than expected like the planked ceiling, the painted woodwork and the new hardwood floors.

Well, lest you think it's been all smooth sailing, let me tell you about our window.


In the photo below, you can see our large sliding glass door which leads out to the deck. We never used the door, so we decided to remove it. The plan was to put in a pass through window with cabinets underneath it.

We selected a Marvin french casement window that would push open to the outside. I was really looking forward to install day, and I snapped this pic as I headed out in the morning...

When I returned home that afternoon, the new window was in place. And, guess what? I hated it.

It looked so much higher up and smaller than I expected it to be. I felt like I was looking out of a prison cell window. And, it definitely was not at a comfortable level for passing food from the countertop.

I was sick about it.

All throughout the remodel, I had a tendency to obsess over every detail and decision. Except for the window. Aside from selecting the type of window, I left the measurements to our contractor and window supplier. Somehow the window ended up being shortened by 11 inches from the original one we had planned on.


Thankfully, our contractor was great and covered the cost to replace it with a larger window. And the best thing is that I was able to make changes to the new window. I decided to go without grills or screens, and to do a wood window instead of vinyl. So, what seemed like a total nightmare actually worked out better in the end.

Or, at least, I hope it will.

The new window arrives next week. Crossing my fingers...

The Latest from the Kitchen (and Family Room) Remodel

We are in week 7 of our kitchen remodel, and I have so much to fill you in on! There have been highs and lows, moments of self-doubt, minor panic attacks and dust. Oh my word, the dust! A few times I have vacuumed and washed the floors, only to have them coated with dust again the next day. I finally learned to embrace it. Really. What better excuse is there not to clean?

I should let the remodeling continue indefinitely. I won't be able to ever cook or clean again :)

Hopefully, you've been following me on Instagram or Facebook so you could see some of the progress, like the new planked ceiling...

It might just be my favorite thing ever. In fact, no ceiling will ever be safe from planking again. Clients, you've been warned!

While we are on the topic of things I love, I have to let you in on a little secret. While I was planning the kitchen remodel, I decided to do something that I've contemplated for the past 8 years. I decided I would paint the dark wood paneled walls in the family room. I didn't blog about it, because I know painting wood is a touchy subject. And, it took me so long to build up the courage to do it. I didn't want anyone to talk me out of it! :)

We had to move out of the house for a few days because of the paint fumes.

We came home to this…

I was so pleased with how it turned out. Why didn't I do it sooner??

When the dark floors were installed throughout the kitchen and the family room, the white really popped…

The rest of the walls were painted my beloved SW "Sea Salt" to break up the sea of white. And, I started moving furniture back into the room (including a new coffee table!)

Still not done, but this is how it's looking from where I'm sitting right now…

I've got so much more to share about the kitchen, including some things that didn't go exactly as planned. Stay tuned...



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Kitchen Renovation Update

We are in week 3 of our kitchen renovation, and we're finally getting to the fun part. 

The first couple of weeks consisted of demo (that's a fun part too!), and the not-so-glamorous electrical and plumbing work.

The electrical work involved replacing 8 million can lights with smaller, more strategically-placed recessed lights. They roughed in the electrical for the new sconces and chandelier.

A gas line had to be run, as we are switching from an electric to a gas range. Yay! Water lines were moved to accommodate a new sink that will be in the beverage center area.

When all of that was complete, new drywall had to be hung.

And, finally, the new cabinets could start moving in.

So much more still to be done, and my house is an absolute disaster area, but it's coming together. I'm off to make my final countertop selection. Wish me luck!

Have a great day!!



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Kitchen Remodel Is Underway

Yesterday I got a text from a friend that read, "Blog, will ya???!?!!!!"

Sheesh. Some people are so pushy ;)


So here I am. And, I've got some kitchen progress to share.



On Monday morning, our kitchen looked like this...

And, by Wednesday night, it looked like this...

All of the cabinets were removed, and are going to live with a lovely couple that I met through craigslist. The couple lives on a farm, and brought us fresh eggs when they came to look at the cabinets. How nice was that? I think our cabs will be very happy in their new home.


The hardwoods were removed, and I've got plans to use them in another part of the house.

The kitchen looks so large and spacious that I almost hate to put anything back in it!



Are y'all on Instagram? I resisted for a long time (who has time for all this social media??). But, I'm using it more and more now, and I have to say it is very easy for me to snap pics and keep you updated on the kitchen remodel. So, if you want to follow along, you can find me HERE.

If you prefer Facebook, I generally link my Instagram photos there as well.

There's going to be lots happening around here over the next few weeks. I will try to share as much as I can. But, if you don't hear from me, feel free to send me a pushy message :)

Kitchen Design

Hey friends!

The design for our kitchen remodel is complete, and now we are playing the waiting game while our cabinets are being built. 

I thought you might like to see the direction we are heading ...

We will be doing a simple, shaker style cabinet. The perimeter cabinets will be painted white, and will be topped with a honed black granite countertop.  

The island will be gray with a marble or quartzite or quartz countertop. (How is that for a decision?) I need to look at what slabs are available when we get to that point. More on that in another post...

The backsplash will be a simple, classic white subway tile. I have always wanted a farmhouse sink, so that decision was a no brainer. And, I have been dying to use this library sconce ever since I saw this pic years ago…

Of course, it's been popping up everywhere since then, but I still love it. I'm planning to put a couple of them above this window…

If you read about my flooring dilemma, you know that the hardwood floors we put throughout the rest of our house were discontinued in the solid planks. After much research, debate and conversations with flooring experts, we decided to go with the 3/4" engineered floor that matches the other floors.

We will be carrying the new floors into the family room too…

Oh, I can't tell you how ready I am to rip out the nasty carpet in here!!! Sometimes I start to peel up an edge of it, wondering how bad it would be to live with subfloor for a month. Then I come to my senses and tuck it back in :)

The family room will be getting a bit of a makeover at the same time as the kitchen. I'll share more on that soon.

For the kitchen eating area, we are switching to a round table to allow for better traffic flow. Here's my plan for that space...

I've already ordered the table from Overstock. It is a 60" round to accommodate our family of six. 

I absolutely love these chairs…

And, I am hoping to use a chandelier from Ro Sham Beaux. They stole my heart at the High Point Furniture Market last Fall. I love their "Fiona" chandelier with robin's egg blue beads …

And their "Malibu" in recycled Coke bottle glass is equally awesome…

I may forego pendants over the island so I can save money for one of these beauties. We'll see…


So, that's the plan, Stan. I will share the layout and floor plans, as soon as I figure out how to do that. Technology is not my strength. I'll see if my 6 year old can do it for me :)

Have a great day!!