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Recently, we had the chance to buy the home that my husband's grandmother grew up in. Picture a quirky mid-century two-level home absolutely oozing with character in a neighborhood where the thick trees tower over the houses and neighborly kindness isn't above anyone, all right in the middle of miles of rolling farm fields. Everything we need is within a mile radius, and the town hosts the best events for every holiday and a few things in between.
It's hard to imagine a more idyllic life for our little family, and living in a home brimming with family memories has proved to be the perfect choice for raising our kids.
Even before moving in, we knew we'd have some remodel work to do. Our goal with the house was to retain its mid-century charm while still infusing some of our personality and functionality for our family.
First on the list was the kitchen remodel. The kitchen, in all its 1947 glory, was complete with tile and grout countertops, wood paneling and wallpaper everywhere, and ancient appliances. It was a boxed-in square (apart from the gorgeous bay window) with zero storage and no dishwasher.
Here are a few before pictures:
And here is a view from the living room (the kitchen is behind the wall with the blue arrow, and the room you can see on the right is an extra little TV room):
With such a big project, we reached out to our friend and owner of Finch and Heron Interiors, Rebecca Miller. She is an absolute genius when it comes to interior architectural design and came up with the perfect kitchen layout to maximize our space for storage, utility, and aesthetics.
Her final layout:
And a couple of 3D sketches:
Once we had all the measurements, demolition began! It was definitely a bittersweet process full of plenty of ups and downs (as you'd expect with any remodel). We weren't able to save some of the original cabinetry as planned, but we uncovered gorgeous ceiling beams that we were able to integrate.
We had plenty of hiccups and an absurd number of small decisions to make. It was ultra-time-consuming but also an exciting and fulfilling process.
The demo:
The final kitchen skeleton:
In terms of design, our goal was earthy and natural. We went for lighter LVP flooring and dark knotty alder to skin the ceiling beams. We tried to minimize the sterility of adding a lot of white, so we put pure white on the cabinets but then a cream on the walls to match the living room, a matte-finish quartz island, and black granite countertops.
Canned lights were scattered throughout, but we also added hanging iron and bronze pendant lights over the island and added a unique modern fixture over the space for the dining table.
The island base color was the hardest color choice to make, but we ended up going with a gorgeous dark green to offset the creamy matte finish quartz top. We also added color with gold handles and fixtures, stainless steel in the appliances and sink, and an earthy rustic red on our pantry barn doors.
The finished product was beyond what I could have imagined! Plus, all the fun added kitchen features have made our kitchen ultra-functional and maneuverable (I'm borderline obsessed with my spice drawer, hidden garbage, and appliance lift). My double oven with integrated stovetop griddle and my three-shelf dishwasher have proven their worth time and time again, too!
The final product:
The finished product is even better than expected - we love it! Next up, living room accent wall.
Paint
Walls: Sherwin-WIlliams Natural Tan
Ceiling: PPG Delicate White
Island base: Behr Premium Plus Interior Matte Rock Bottom
Barn doors: Behr Ultra Interior Burgundy Wine
Fixtures and Curtains
Sink: 27-inch Stainless Steel Slope Bottom Undermount Kitchen Sink
Appliance Lift: Rev-A-Shelf Kitchen Cabinet Spring Loaded Appliance Lift
Kitchen Faucet: Brushed Nickel Faucet (gold)
Bay Window Curtains: Floral Linen Curtains
Pendant Lights: I can't find the ones we used, but here are two similar options equally gorgeous: Matte Farmhouse Pendant or Solid Wood Pendant Light
Appliances
Fridge: GE 21.8 Cu. Ft. Counter-Depth Fingerprint Resistant Side-by-Side
Oven: GE 30" Free-Standing Gas Double Oven Convection Range
Dishwasher: Kitchenaid 44 dBA Freeflex in PrintShield Finish
Flooring
LVP: Republic Woodland Oak Post Oak
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