confession: our home may be much less perfect (and messier….and dirtier…..and more cluttered…) than it appears
Designing our kitchen was a fun challenge. I love to cook and entertain, so wanted it to be very functional, thus the 12′ island – perfect for when I serve food cafeteria style.
We used a software program by Chief Architect called “Home Designer Pro” to design and layout the kitchen cabinets. (I also used this program to create the bathroom vanities) There was a definite learning curve, but it was so incredibly helpful to be able to view the kitchen from different angles and tinker with making small changes to the cabinets layout and style. We were then able to take the print outs to a local amish cabinet builder who went over them, made suggestions, and did a wonderful job making and installing the cabinets.
Choosing a countertop and oven were two decisions that I spent hours agonizing over; I wanted to make the “perfect” choice, and it didn’t seem like there was one. Clint finally got sick of it all and informed me that I had to just make up my mind!
We went with a Carrara Marble countertop. From the get-go, I thought it was the most beautiful, but you can really read mixed review about the practicality of it. It is heat resistant (I don’t have to use hot pads) but it is a soft stone so if you cut on the marble it will scar the surface. The other thing – it etches. It really doesn’t bother me, it’s like a patina, but Clint flipped out a few weeks after we moved in and he saw the counter top in the right light was no longer “perfect”. I’ve read that if you’re a Type A personality this is not the countertop for you!
The oven/stove was another toughie, but I decided on a 30″ build in oven (for ease of cleaning – eliminates the crack between the cabinet and the stove) and a 36″ induction cooktop – love love love. The induction cooktop is super easy to clean, but has instant heat/cool like a gas stove. Also, the lowest heat setting is so low you can easily melt chocolate without scorching it.
I really liked the look of a white farmhouse sink, but knew from experience that I could scratch it, the scratches would discolor, and it wouldn’t be pretty. Copper was out of our price range, so stainless was the way to go, in as deep a bowl as possible – we have a lot of dirty dishes around here.
The flush mount cabinet hardware was something I had my heart set on. I ordered lots of samples; the finish looked different in real life than online at times, and also some of the pulls were rough feeling instead of smooth – gave me shivers. They were a more expensive option, but I had saved up a little nest egg in order to be able to purchase them – kinda silly, but one of the details that was really important to me.
A couple other favorites, a touch faucet, soft close hinges, (our cabinet maker talked us into these, and man are we glad he did!) toe kick drawers, lift shelf mixer and a built in paper towel holder.
The one thing I would do differently is have the interior of the cabinets sealed with a clear coat instead of being painted white; the bottoms of the drawers are already scuffed and marked up.
fridge – whirlpool white ice
sink – stainless steel undercount from Overstock.com
faucet – delta pull down sprayer kitchen faucet featuring touch2O technology
oven – whirlpool
stovetop – bosch induction cooktop
oven hood – bosch
bar stools – industry west
pendent lights – west elm
cabinet hardware – builddirect.com
blackboard – pottery barn
step ladder – crate and barrel (discontinued)
dining table – amish built
highchair – ikea with custom legs (dowel rods that we stained and painted)
kitchen cart – cheep vintage find (repainted, replaced plastic caster wheels with wood ones)