Design, Lifestyle, Our Spaces

Our Kitchen Design + Links

Our kitchen remodel was certainly a labor of love. When we first began our whole home remodel, we said “Oh, we will just switch our the cabinet fronts and appliances…” Ohhh boy… did we go complete 180 from there. We have completely gutted the whole space and changed the layout. We knocked out walls, added beams and pillars, created a really fun breakfast nook and pantry… I am so in love with how this space turned out and so glad we decided to GO FOR IT.

The question we get asked most is “is your island a different color than the cabinets?” It’s so subtle, its hard to tell in photos. But the answer is YES!

We used Farrow and Ball Elephants Breath on the kitchen island and Swiss Coffee on the wall cabinets. I love the two colors together, they really compliment each other. The color Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore is just warm enough to not feel stark white while keeping the kitchen bright and airy. It was important to me to choose a cabinet color that would brighten the space because it doesn’t sit up against any windows. Truthfully, before we knocked out the walls, we would have to have the lights on in the kitchen mid day! It was THAT dark.

The paint colors we chose allowed us to keep it very bright and light reflecting without being too “boring”.

MARBLE:

Another question I get a lot is about marble. Truthfully, that could be a whole other post in itself. There are so many reasons we chose marble and long story short: it was within our budget and yes, I would choose it again! It is such a beautiful stone.

I will say, you have to be ok with it not looking perfect. Over the past 3 years it has definitely had its share of wear and tear. Lots of lemons squeezed, little imperfections here and there, but I don’t mind it at all. The more lived in the better, I think!

I would choose it again in a heartbeat for our own home, but for Dogwood Cottage, which will be a rental property, we will go with something more durable. It is less cute when other peoples’ lemons are leaving marks. Ha

But for the sake of keeping this post about resources, we used a White Carrara Marble.

I sourced these doors from Facebook Marketplace. They were in North Carolina and came out of an old church. They bring in so much warmth and character, they are so beautifully detailed, and the un-lacquered brass hardware is stunning.

I am a huge fan of mixing the warmth of brass alongside the cool polished nickel. I especially love it with the paint colors we chose. The Elephants Breath has a hint of cool while Swiss Coffee is on the warmer side.

The hardware and fixtures were SUCH a process. I think I looked for cabinet hardware for 6 months! (This is no exaggeration… maybe even longer.) But I am SO happy with where we landed. It wasn’t extremely expensive and has a really great weighted feel. They feel solid while still looking “dainty”…. like the kitchen’s “jewelry”.

Our range was something I picked probably on the first day we talked about renovating. I had my eye on this Hallman Range (linked below) for so long. It has such a gorgeous, timeless look and the matte black really grounds the space. We have been using it now for 3 years and I absolutely love it.

A pot filler was also a must. We ordered several fixtures from our home from Signature Hardware. I have been soooo happy with our sink choice. We got the 36″ Torun Double-Bowl Fireclay Farmhouse Sink. We are not easy on it. I promise. And it does not have one scratch. This is the perfect size for us and I am a big fan of the double bowl as opposed to the single open sink.