Creating a Dream Kitchen in My Second Home

 We work in so many kitchens that it may seem lost on me, the impact that they have on a home’s atmosphere…but it’s just the opposite.  I don’t think I’ll ever grow unappreciative of seeing homes revived by our work!  I remember, so very clearly, when I dreamed of having a kitchen like I the ones I saw on the internet.  Heck…I remember the days of living in military housing and rental properties, where I dreamed of owning a home!! 

 Fast forward a few years, add in the buying and selling of our First Home and here we were, in our Second Home! Although, I know my final dream kitchen is still down the road, in another house, I absolutely love the kitchen I was able to create in this home!

We bought the house when it was barely even two years old, so to say it needed updating was strictly a matter of opinion. 

MY OPINION, and well we all know when Momma ain’t happy…

I managed to live with it for a while, maybe a year, and then I couldn’t take all the brown anymore!  I had to do something. 

As much as I just wanted to gut it all and do everything at once, I just knew that wasn’t going to happen.

Instead, I figured I’d get started where I could. 

So friends, I decided to paint the cabinets.

First things first, I needed to decide on a paint color!  Many say finding just the right color makes ALL the difference and we can agree! Choosing paint colors can be a difficult part of any design process.  However, choosing the paint color was the easiest and best part of this cabinet upgrade!  From an “Oops Color” - that we found when trying to match a paint a client picked up from the craft store, to the perfect shade of gray my heart just knew this kitchen needed,  the neutral gray with the warmer undertones were giving me life! 

And without looking back, from Brown to Greige we went!

Once the cabinets were painted, back to living with what I had for a while…well, at least for the kitchen.  At that point, I was simultaneously fighting my way against the boring builder beige color, that literally covered ALL of my walls throughout my house, by painting them Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore.  You guys, this color is seriously THE perfect gray!

Ah! Anyways, back to the kitchen!

 In December 2018, I had worked and saved and saved and worked it was finally time to start making moves in the kitchen again. 

This time we were tackling the floors! 

(The previous owner removed the carpet in the common area and put in the wood looking tile)

I had our contractor come in and demo out the remaining builder tile left in the kitchen. 

Can we say HOLY DUST!? No one prepares you for that!

 BUT, I’ll say, it’s definitely worth it for the final result. 

We put in the New York Soho Brick Look Porcelain Tile from Floor and Décor. And I absolutely love it!!! 

I didn’t know I could be happier with it, but having him lay it on a herringbone pattern, surely did the trick!   

Next was countertops!  I chose the Phoenix Quartz in Venentino. 

It has just the right amount of light gray veining and I absolutely love it, even two years later.

I was actually shocked when it was all measured and we ended up needing three slabs to do our kitchen. 

But, honestly, that was a blessing! 

We only needed a little piece from the third slab to finish the kitchen counter, which left just enough to do both kid’s bathrooms.  BONUS!!!!

We added a gold faucet to finish the sink area! Is the sink new?

Then we were ready to update the backsplash. 

Now, as much as I’d love to say making a decision for the backsplash design was easy-peasy, I’d be lying.  It was quite a different story. I looked and shopped, and shopped and looked, for a backsplash to make this kitchen design complete.  I don’t even remember how I found this beautiful tile, but it was a God thing, I guess.  I ordered my sample from Home Depot and when it came the angels were singing and I was falling in love! That was until I saw the price!

Of course, THE ONE STYLE that I LOVE just so happens to be…you guessed it…out of budget for this girl! 

I scoured Pinterest, I even drove to Orlando hoping for a better option!  No such luck! 

And since I wasn’t going to just go with anything, all I could do was wait, wait, wait. 

So honestly, we lived with broken backsplash for a couple months while I continued my search. 

Then one day, I saw a FB ad for WayDay on Wayfair.  I started to feel as though all the pieces were somehow coming together when I found my beloved tile! For like 40% OFF!  I knew it was then or never if I was wanting to make those backsplash dreams a reality, so without any further hesitation it was ordered!  

Isn’t it simply perfect? 

For the design, we alternated the Vintage Florid Lantern 6x7 with the Vintage Lantern Ceramic Field Tile

 and paired it with a Clean White Avalanche Grout.

Now our last to do was the icing on the cake…the finishes!

I knew I wanted GOLD everywhere I could, so new modern gold pulls were immediately added to my cart! 

 I swear if I could have matte gold appliances, LOL, I would!!! 

Thankfully, I didn’t need to drill any new holes since they were already a good size and 5 inches center to center, exactly what my hardware needed! 

Hardware link here

With the pendant lights and faucet coordinating with matte gold finishes, installing these pulls brought the whole look together. 

All in all though, my kitchen dreams for this house are done!

Nothing short of patience and hard work, but totally worth it!  I have had numerous parties, dinners, and events here and loved every minute of each one.  I have this kitchen, in part, to thank for that.  I know the day will come that I will miss this kitchen, but until then I’ll appreciate the journey it took to make her what she is and I’ll enjoy her little longer until we say goodbye!

With love,

Lauren

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