This classy dual-tone kitchen with a subway tile backsplash and white-washed wood paneled island is the perfect blend of farmhouse, traditional and industrial styles! A HUGE thank you to D. Lawless Hardware for providing the gorgeous cabinet knobs and drawer pulls! You can find out more about them below.
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I’ve been SO excited to show you our new kitchen! I’m probably way more excited to have a useable sink, dishwasher, counter space and oven, though! I’ll never take those things for granted again!
This was not a DIY project for the most part, as we wanted it to get finished quickly and precisely the first time (this old house has lots of “quirks” that we weren’t sure how to work around), so we called in the professionals.
When we moved into our “new-to-us” 1950’s mountain home last August, I knew that the kitchen was one of the first things I wanted to update.
As far as “old” kitchens go, it wasn’t terribly ugly, though it was a little dated, but our oven was on its last leg and the dishwasher definitely wasn’t doing its job, and I didn’t want to take over. We had a tall bar on the peninsula that really cut the room in half and made the area feel choppy and “closed off”, not to mention it was hard to carry on a conversation with someone who was sitting at the table because we felt like we were separated by that wall. If you scroll down you’ll see what I’m talking about. The bar area wasn’t functional because if we had tall stools there, they cut into the limited dining space and made things feel really cramped.
We’re not drinkers, so I knew I wanted to get rid of those wine cubbies, but I owe the credit for the genius solution to my sister, who suggested turning it into spice drawers. Ding, ding, ding! Winner!
The space is now functional and I’m loving my new spice/canned goods storage!
I knew I ultimately wanted a flat bar space area that the kids could sit up to at their level, with stools that tucked nicely and almost completely under the counter overhang.
I also wanted one large, unimpeded area for food prep. It’s amazing how much space was freed up by leveling that wall with the other counter space! The area feels 2x bigger and so much more open too!
My husband knew I’d been watching a little too much “Fixer Upper” when I came to him and said, “Let’s cut that wall down!”. 🙂 But he knew it was for the best. And now that all is said and done, he’s thanking Joanna Gaines for planting those wonderful seeds of inspiration. 🙂
One of my happiest life moments was on demo day when that bar top came down. I sent a mass photo text to family and friends signifying the momentous occurrence. 🙂
Look how much more useable space we have! It fits our family’s needs perfectly.
I can’t tell you how much I get a kick out of literally throwing the kids their pancakes in the morning from the stove (I may enjoy it a little too much). And I don’t even have to wipe down the table!
The shaker-style cabinets are Maple, which made our contractor cringe when we asked him to find someone to paint over them, but I wasn’t a fan of the original light wood color. I’d always wanted a bright, clean-looking kitchen, so I wanted to go ahead and have all the cabinets painted white. Those plans changed when my husband suggested that since the wood grain was so nice on the one straight side of the kitchen, that we stain it instead. I am SO glad we chose to do this, because the walnut color adds an important richness and warmth and prevents the “hospital”, “washed-out” look.
The White Ice granite countertops, combined with the subway tile backsplash, really tie both cabinet colors together and give it that cohesive look that we were going for. I went back and forth between quartz and granite but settled on granite (and I’m SO glad I did) because the variation and movement in natural stone is unmatched.
When those tops went in, I literally kissed them! It’s wonderful to have a place to prepare food again! And it doesn’t hurt that they’re drop-dead gorgeous too!
We hired a handyman to do the planked wall treatment (a.k.a shiplap lookalike) under the counter at the bar area, although, we did whitewash the wood ourselves. We purchased the wooden corbels (i.e. countertop supports) unfinished from Home Depot and painted them to match the planks.
Our fun industrial-looking barstools were a steal of a deal at Target. You can find a similar style HERE. The beautiful wooden floors are original to the home.
I knew from the outset that I wanted a classic white subway tile backsplash with gray grout. I wanted the tiles to really pop and to be able to see the clean lines. I also didn’t want to have to deal with white grout turning brown from dirt and grime over the years.
Our hand-plastered walls really gave our tile guy a headache since they weren’t straight or square. 🙂 I’m sure he was cursing me in his head when I asked him to take the tile to the ceiling in that area. But I couldn’t be more pleased with the results!
I’d originally wanted a farmhouse sink, but didn’t want to give up precious cabinet space to put one in, so I “settled” (but not really) for an undermount cast iron white porcelain Kohler large single basin sink. I seriously love that I can just swipe the crumbs right into it and there’s no pesky lip to deal with! It just looks so clean and seamless too! And, it can hide hold about a bajillion dirty dishes, so now I’m in a bad (or is it good?) habit of forgetting about them for a long while. 🙂
We re-installed the gooseneck faucet from before. Oh, and we now have a sink disposal! I didn’t realize how much I used that wonderful invention until I had to go without one for nine months.We actually purchased both the sink and disposal from Amazon and it saved us a bundle because we got free shipping and the price was much lower than the other places we were looking for the very same products! For top professional plumbing services, consider Central Oregon Heating, Cooling & Plumbing.
I’m in love with our cup pulls and knobs! We chose the antique iron finish. You can find these and many, many more beautiful selections in countless styles, finishes and colors at D. Lawless Hardware!
You can see how well they look against the dark walnut finish too.
I was so glad that we already had these glass front cabinets to show off my dishes! The white cabinets bring out the colorful contents inside even more!
We were so excited to get rid of the tiny wooden “belly button knobs” as we called them. You can see what they looked like in the “before” photos above. Oh, what a difference pretty “cabinet jewelry” makes!
We’ll eventually replace our white microwave to match our stainless steel large appliances, but it’s just working so well and I can’t justify getting rid of it…yet. 🙂
It was nice that the original kitchen had recessed lighting, so that was one thing we didn’t need to change. At some point in the hopefully not-so-distant future when I’m feeling extra ambitious, I’ll paint the now tan soffits a light gray color to tie in with the countertops.
We installed all new stainless steel large appliances, excluding the fridge, which we purchased when we first moved in last summer. I love my convection oven! It was a stressful moment when the plumber installed this unit and it barely fit! We’re talking within millimeters of the drawers and lazy Susan on either side!
I could brag about my convection oven all day! Ahhhh…it’s the best! It’s a Kenmore from Sears. It’s got a warming drawer too!
My husband knows that I found a new love (a.k.a. my dream kitchen), and he’s totally ok with it, because he’ll certainly be reaping the benefits. 🙂
It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with cooking and baking, but now I love being in the kitchen even more! I could literally spend ALL day here! It’s my happy place! I seriously “pass by” this room about a thousand times a day with no other excuse than to stop and stare. I hope you enjoyed the tour!
Whew! Talk about information overload! I hope I didn’t forget anything. If you have any questions, let me know and I’ll gladly answer them if I’m able.
Do you have any home improvement projects in the works? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below!
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How did you finish the edge of your subway tile on the wall next to the stove?
Sarah @ logfurnitureplace.com