This one has been the toughest for me. I think because it’s by far the most important room of the home to me. This is where I will spend the vast majority of my time, where our friends will gather, where Austin will dance around the kitchen with me, where the boys will sit at the island and help me roll out pizza dough. It’s the room where the most memories are made and that brings a lot of comfort and a lot of pressure at the same time.
We’ve deliberated back and forth on tile, counters, sinks, vent hood covers, and ranges. While there’s still a couple decisions that must be made closer based on budget concerns, the majority of the decisions are finally made and I couldn’t be more excited to share our timeless kitchen design with you!
It’s a story for a whole other blog post,
But as we’ve gone on in this process, I’ve seen my true personal style come to light. I told Austin the other day, I think I could be a really successful designer because I have appreciation for so many design styles, so finding the one that really speaks to me personally can be challenging. I just love them all! But as we’ve gone on and more decisions have been made and we think about the future and what that holds for us career-wise, I definitely established that “timeless” is the word that speaks to me. I want my designs to transcend the current year’s fads. When you’re in these spaces, I want people to focus on the people and the experience they’re having, not what pretty things are around them. I want it to last – and more than just from a material standpoint – but the whole culture of the space and what it invokes.
Gosh. Like I said, a whole post will probably be dedicated to this discussion at some point, but for now: that’s a little of my heart behind this design and I’m so excited to share it with you!
The Design Details
I’ve been planning on these amazing cabinets from Lowe’s during the whole process. They are stock cabinets, but they have an exceptionally hard enamel finish. We installed these at the teashop and they’ve held up exceptionally well under commercial conditions, so we know they’ll do beautifully at home. I’m so thankful to get these at such a great price – because getting custom would have taken up my entire kitchen budget!
Thanks to that savings, I get to splurge a little on the counters. We’ve decided on butcher block for the surrounding walls and a marble or quartz look-alike for the large center island. We are currently talking to several slab yards so we haven’t exactly narrowed down what material they will be but it will definitely look like marble.
Real marble doesn’t scare me like it does some people. I’m so careful and diligent about messes in my own kitchen, that the sealing maintenance doesn’t worry me. My theory is that it wouldn’t STILL be in style and be such a timeless style if the material weren’t built to last. It is. You just have to take care of it! And lord knows I baby my kitchen – so no concerns there!
The care of the butcher block will honestly be quite similar (stains, cutting, sealing – the whole package!) so it would probably be good for both materials to get equal treatment. I’m definitely not opposed to quartz, though I will be extremely picky – this one from Silestone is the only one I like because of it’s authentic veining. So we’ll see at a later date which it will be!
Best Surprise Ever
I’m SO excited to have found a farmhouse sink with a shortened apron that will work with our stock cabinets. This was my biggest disappointment with the house – when I thought the farmhouse sink dream wasn’t going to work out. We’ve made a lot of compromises because of budget. And usually that’s ok! This isn’t our forever home, but the farmhouse sink was one I kept feeling so disappointed about. It hit me one day to search for one with a shortened apron and God bless the good people at Kohler for making my timeless kitchen design dreams come true!
On other design decision notes: The range hood cover will directly imitate the fireplace design in the living room, which the sink and island will overlook into. There will also be some stained open shelving in a side nook that I’m dubbing “The Bar” – this will be the place to show off my pretty teacups, copper mugs, drinkware, wine bottles and everything else drink related!
Floor to ceiling shiplap with a walnut mantle!
Thank You
I was overwhelmed with all the kind words about my timeless kitchen design when I posted it first on Instagram. I just wanted to say thank you again to all of you who have been so encouraging and kind during this process! I cannot wait to host you all and put “The Bar” to good use! 😉
Sources:
Cabinets (More grey than tan in real life – online doesn’t do it justice!)
Marble Subway Tile – See more options we debated here!
Faucet (We have this in our current home and I LOVE it!)
Shortened Apron Farmhouse Sink
Flooring – We just put this in our kitchen/dining remodel and I’m obsessed with it!
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