Hey, friends! I’m here to share a bit of a progress report about our kitchen today. A couple weeks ago I shared the before and some of our initial plans. We’re currently DEEP in the renovation and really excited to see it coming together.
Decisions you can spot in the photo above:
1. This epic flush mount light fixture from Lucent Lightshop on Etsy. It’s absolutely incredible in person and totally makes the room (and it has a cute sister in the breakfast nook right next door). I made the decision early on to embrace mixed metals. There is some brass in the kitchen and some stainless steel as well. And, so far, they’re getting along pretty well. 😉
2. Patterned subway tile. I geeked out over all these patterns for like two months and ended up choosing the straight herringbone. I loved it instantly and have had zero regrets (which is ALWAYS my favorite number of regrets).
3. Open shelving. I think you have to live with and without open shelving before you know if it’s for you or not. I’ve heard a lot of people say that open shelving drove them crazy, which is funny to me because I am so the opposite. In my last kitchen we kept all the existing cabinets and just updated them with white paint, and some time around year two, I got quotes to replace the upper ones with open shelving, which my husband forbid because we’d already reached the “max value” on that house (meaning additional updates wouldn’t increase the value for resale). Anyway, we did them in the studio kitchen and I loved them so much, I vowed that in my next home there’d be epic open shelving. And I’m SO happy with them. Next up will be the styling part (aka: the fun part).
4. New appliances. This was an obvious choice for us since the appliances were super old and some of them broken. We’re still getting used to our new oven and the dishwasher was just hooked up yesterday, so it’s still much too early to report on if I love them. But I love how they look, and that’s not nothing.
5. New cabinets. The price difference just made sense to do new, basic shaker style cabinets rather than spend money reconfiguring what was already there. I love them SO much. I have never lived in a home with new cabinets before and it’s pretty awesome. Can’t wait to add this hardware.
6. Marble tile floors. This was a tough decision for us! We’ve never done marble tile before, and we’re honestly a little terrified of caring for it over the years. We’ve already sealed it, twice! And we’ve been cleaning it with a special marble cleaner weekly. AUGH—are we doing this right? If/when I spill red wine or spaghetti sauce, is it going to be tragic? Please share all the tips.
As far as the visuals go—whoa. We really REALLY love the marble tile. It’s stunning. It goes from the kitchen to the sunroom and makes the space feel so clean and bright.
7. Quartz countertops. We considered marble (heart eyes!), but ultimately had to go with quartz because it’s so durable. It comes in a lot of different colors and patterns. We picked Lyra, which has sort of a marble look. I say sort of because when you compare it to really veiny marble (we used some in our bathrooms), it’s not as pronounced. It’s sort of a very subtle marble look.
These were my top quartz picks. I like how the gray one kind of looks like cement. I also really like the one that is completely solid white (not pictured). The one we went with is in the upper left hand corner. We got them at Stone World in Nashville. You can see the finished results more in this post.
There are some other details that you can’t see, so I guess I’ll save them for a future post. 🙂
Here’s some inspiration!
Last winter/spring when we started house hunting, I began collecting inspiration for our new home. Basically I went into Pinterest Hibernation. Haha!
Collecting inspiration can do two things: 1. Inspire you endlessly, and 2. Confuse you! Because there are SO many pretty rooms out there, and so many choices. Augh. It can be overwhelming.
Some of my inspiration starting points (above) 1. The Style Files. That tile, that floor. Wow! 2. The Hunted Interior. Love her backsplash tile and light fixture. 3. ABM Studio Kitchen. I really loved this space and wanted to repeat certain elements in my home. 4. The Hive Mag. Love the laid back vibe in this kitchen. Reminds me that the “feel” is even more important than the “look”.
This photo was taken yesterday as Jeremy was painting the ceiling. As you can see, we’re still very much in a progress zone. The next steps I need to take are adding hardware, filling and styling the open shelves (including unpacking a lot more boxes), and then I have a few semi-crazy DIY projects on my horizon that will make our kitchen a more colorful place! Oh, and rugs, I need two small rugs ASAP. I’ll probably wait for Black Friday sales though. (Anyone else COMPLETELY stop shopping in late October/early November because you know Black Friday is coming up soon?)
We just got our plumbing snaked out a couple days ago and have running water ALL through the house, including a dishwasher, for the very first time. Baby steps, you guys! These are exciting times over here. 🙂
Thanks for letting me share my kitchen progress with you. I cannot wait to share the finished space in the next month or so. And I’m pinching myself that I can actually cook food AND wash the dishes all in the same room (only those of you who have renovated recently can relate to these simple joys most of us take for granted. Haha!) Be back soon with more! xx- Elsie
Credits// Author and Photography: Elsie Larson. Inspiration images linked above.
Wow! It is looking so good, Elsie. I love how clean and fresh it looks.
Saw this post when you first published it and keep coming back to it. Really love how this room is turning out. Definitely see your style changing and maturing over the years. It’s polished and yet still has that cozy DIY/completely custom feel to it.
Nice work, guys!
Marble is porous, making it subject to easy staining and cracking. So just don’t ever spill anything or walk on it with heels! 🙂
I seriously love the upgrades! I’ll be pinning this for inspiration. 🙂
http://annescribblesanddoodles.blogspot.com/
I can’t wait to see how the renovation goes! It’s looking absolutely amazing right now. I absolutely love that marble flooring and the worktop. I’m totally one of those people that couldn’t live with open shelving – I love the look of it (my kitchen pinterest board is full of open shelving kitchens) but to keep up with the cleaning would be a total nightmare for me haha!
xo April | April Everyday
Oh I love that! Snooping in from Australia here and I’d say that is not something seen here. I want one though!!!
I currently have a very old marble floor in my rental apartment, I absolutely and positively hate it in the kitchen. Probably because it is old and was never properly vitrified. My advice is spare no expense on taking care of it, Marble is pretty but high maintenance, and you might have to have it re-vitrified regularly. Marble is a super porous stone that will absorb all the grease and spills that it can absorb. I live in India and it is still quite a trend to have marble all over the house but nobody cares about the maintenance aspect much over here.
With the kind of lifestyle I have and the pollution levels in Mumbai, I know that the day we own our own place there will be no marble in the kitchen. Other rooms, totally, but I am on the fence when it comes to the kitchen.
Love the floor, so pretty. We are mid kitchen renovation and it’s always comforting to see others going through it too.:) Yes to a lot of white & open shelving!
Oh my gosh! I love the changes you’ve made! It really inspires me to remember that spaces can be reinvented.
As a commercial interior designer, I will tell you that maintenance with your marble will be key. I wouldn’t worry as much about acidic items (like the tomato sauce you mentioned) as I would with stuff like oils. Marble is a porous product, so it will absorb and stain easier than, say, a ceramic tile. I would try to at least wipe down the floors after your done cooking – especially if you were frying something on the stove that would cause oily-ness to splatter. I’m sure you could get something for your swiffer to make it easy. Otherwise, just seal it regularly and enjoy it! It will change and wear with age and as you break in the house, but will become a part of the family (as weird as it is to call marble a family member). 🙂
Hi Elise,
Could you tell me the brand of your range/stove and hood and where you purchased? Thanks for the information!
I gave it away to someone who was here buying Craigslist chairs from us. Sorry!
xx- Elsie
I love their matte black stuff! So pretty!
Ok- I’ll add that post to my list. :))
xx- Elsie
Loving the exposed shelves. Although they seem like a pain in the ass to keep clean all the time, design wise it’s so worth it. You ladies sure do know how to remodel a home.
www.throughmyowneyes.com
“Which is ALWAYS my favorite number of regrets.” HAHA love that! And your kitchen is looking amazing! The tile pattern is perfection-cant wait to see it all finished!!
I would love to see a post regarding mixed metals! I recently put up copper curtain rods and have been trying to evenly distribute other metallic finishes around the place. And like you… I ordered a new fixture from Lucent Light Shop… in matte black out of pure fear!
Omg! Such an awesome kitchen! So, may I ask what happened to the metal floral chandelier? I have a crush on it and want it for my very own 🙂 I’m local if you were looking to sell it (I may be too late ?).
Thank you soooo much for your updates, we’re thinking of updating my boyfriend’s kitchen in the upcoming months an are thinking of what we’d like… So I’m always eager to get news from all of you!
Just a question Elsie: isn’t all-over open shelving a pain to maintain? I’m afraid of getting too much dust everywhere…
Aweeee!!!
xx- Elsie
I got them from Wholesale Cabinet Warehouse in Nashville (for the bottom, the top is custom built).
xx- Elsie