Four years and two babies later…the kitchen is finally (almost) ready
First, you should know that before the character limit kicked in in the heading, it read “four years, two babies, one lawsuit and many many gray hairs later”.
Some time in 2014 I first [posted[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/critique-my-kitchen-layout-please-dsvw-vd~2669646) on gardenweb to ask for help with the kitchen layout when I began to suspect that the kitchen “designer” we hired to help with our new(ish) build just wasn’t going to be simpatico. Very nice woman and all, but hopelessly traditional, and pre-existing relationships made getting rid of her tricky.
Anyway, the advice I received in that first thread opened my eyes and thanks to the generosity of @lavender_lass, @jennifer132, @cam349, mama goose, and so many others, produced a fantastic layout that became the blueprint for the kitchen of my dreams.
It’s been four years since that thread. In that time, we started, suspended, restarted, and finally completed our house, ditched our first contractor and sued him for all our money (got back), spent 16 months in a one-bedroom apartment with two children (“it’s only for three months” – I said to the landlord first, ha!), moved in when it was just barely finished (couldn’t take the apartment life anymore), and made this kitchen come true by the dint of careful shopping, many hours of husband nagging, and embracing life on a shoestring. Here it is.
It makes me just so happy to even walk into this place. I always suspected living with beautiful spaces could add a spring to your step but I never suspected it could obliterate many other frustrations including bad days at work, ungrateful children, ten extra pounds on self, and uncooperative hair. I have no idea how my one-year old survived life in the house that was still a construction site without eating a rusty nail or killing herself with a drill.
The grand entrance
The island views.
The fridge view
The range view
The breakfast nook view.
Another one
The oven view
The bookshelf
Back of island
Young children narrowly escaping death by power tools.
Commenti (20)
Nadya
Autore originale5 anni faUltima modifica: 5 anni faWhy almost ready: life gets in the way, someone is always either crying or needs something or traveling or pregnant. Trim around oven unpainted. Toekick needs some prettying up. Pantry handle nearest the fridge is currently a loop of thread...still looking for an almost-zero protrusion handle.
Cabinets: IKEA
Custom doors: Scherr's
Knobs and handles: Build.com
Range: Thermador (craigslist score!)
Oven/mw/warming drawer: Thermador (craigslist score!)
Fridge: Kitchenaid Architect (craigslist score!)
Dishwasher: Bosch. Love how quiet it is.
Breakfast nook: from restaurant supply store
Countertop: Silestone Lagoon
Backsplash: Doremail.com, a factory in Tunisia that makes handmade tiles to order, and is surprisingly reasonable!
chocolatebunny123
5 anni faI can see why you're thrilled to be in your new space!
I love how you maximized the storage. I've seen a lot of beautiful white kitchens on this site but I think yours is the first I've seen with a restaurant style booth! The bookcase at the end of your island is a great idea - something I may steal for my own kitchen.
My favorite thing has to be your tile on the range wall. It's gorgeous!
Great job!
Nadya ha ringraziato chocolatebunny123Mid America Mom
5 anni faWow! Great outcome out of a mess. You went with ikea so that is what I think of when it comes to the pantry handle.. I would not use any handle and use Ikea's push to open hardware.
Nadya ha ringraziato Mid America Momlucky998877
5 anni faBeautiful! And nice to hear that you are still happily married after all of that ;) it must have pushed some limits!
Nadya ha ringraziato lucky998877mercurygirl
5 anni faIt looks so comfortable and functional for a growing family. The backsplash tile is really beautiful, well done!
Nadya ha ringraziato mercurygirl- Nadya ha ringraziato caligirl5
oldbat2be
5 anni faSwooning over the tile! <<Happy Sigh>> Heading back up for another look.... This is terrific.
I love the pictures of your little ones, especially in the laundry basket!! Brings back memories - I'd plop my kid(s) in and zip them back and forth across the floor.
Nadya ha ringraziato oldbat2begeo55
5 anni faCongratulations on a job well done! A long hard road with a happy ending. Looks beautiful and functional for a family with young children.Nadya ha ringraziato geo55Mrs. S
5 anni faMy favorite thing is that bump-out breakfast nook, with sunlight lighting up the whole place. And all that storage! Wow!
Nadya ha ringraziato Mrs. SNadya
Autore originale5 anni faThank you all!
For the tile lovers, there is a story behind it. I always had a strong vision for this kitchen, and part of the vision was the absence of upper cabinets and a wall of statement tile. I am obsessed with Moroccan mosaics, but when I priced them out, the real mosaic, i.e. the pattern made up of actual small pieces of tile, was prohibitively expensive. Lookalike tiles produced here that are just a stamp of the pattern on tile were cheap but looked cheap, the printed pattern began to peel off in a very short time.
The tile I ended up with, I first found online here at like $30 PER TILE. And I was ready to buy it! My DH, though, who is of Arab extraction and very wily, saw the stamp on the back of the tile that read "Doremail" in Arabic, and told me to look for the factory online first. Lo and behold, not only is this factory online, but when I wrote to them, they were perfectly pleasant and professional. We bought this tile
https://doremail.com/en/andalusian-tiles/719-sevilla.html
and this tile
https://doremail.com/en/oriental-tiles/895-fares.html
150 sqft airlifted to Dulles airport was only $1,500, which is basically the price of midrange Home Depot tile! And there are so many other gorgeous options. So very happy to give them the plug.
Re: breakfast nook, I wanted to buy specifically from the restaurant supplier because the benches/booths you get in regular furniture stores are not designed with the same level of quality and detail. People who make furniture for restaurants understand that the goal is to make the customer so comfortable in the chair that he/she will want to sit there for a long time and order more. So if you look at your standard diner booth, you'll see that it is angled in the seat, in the back, in the shin area, and that makes it much more comfortable than your standard 90-degree angle bench you buy in "regular people" furniture stores. And it's not THAT much more expensive, and you can get it made to custom size very easily because they are used to it. I mean, try telling Wayfair: "oh, this one is fine but can you make it in gray and four inches longer".
caligirl5
5 anni faI was wondering about the booth. I always want to sit in the booth in the restaurant, but have seen people here have issues maintaining the upholstery in banquettes. But makes sense that a restaurant would have something durable and cleanable long-term!
Nadya
Autore originale5 anni faUltima modifica: 5 anni faIt's naugahyde, so you can clean it with a regular cleaner. They also sell a heavy-duty degreaser people use on boat seats, and that works too. We used it after my deranged children used an ink pen to write messages to each other on the seat.
User
5 anni faLovely! What a bumpy ride, but now you have this amazing space and a beautiful family. Congrats.
Nadya ha ringraziato UserAllison0704
5 anni faCongratulations on your kitchen, new home and babies! I can see why you get excited!
Nadya ha ringraziato Allison0704wilson853
5 anni faNadya, there are so many things to love in your new space - the tile, the layout, the banquette and I love that you got it from a restaurant supply store. I would have never thought of that. Beautiful family + happy home = great memories! Congrats!
Nadya ha ringraziato wilson853Sara
4 anni faIt is absolutely gorgeous! The lay out looks so functional, and I love how you’ll be able to have your children in there while you cook and not be too crowded.
Nadya ha ringraziato Sara
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