Note: This is the story of my decisions for designing our new kitchen. I have listed many of the products and design choices that I have chosen because I find it so annoying to find something that I like and then am never able to find out what it was. So I have decided to use all of the work that I have done to share my story and hopefully help you make some of your own decisions. I wanted to give you a resource I wish I had. Happy Planning!
They say the kitchen is the heart of the home. That is one reason that I wanted an open floor plan. I wanted the kitchen incorporated with the rest of the living area. We eat and hang out where we can all be together even if we are doing different things.
We decided that we wanted to do vaulted ceilings in the main area. I had a few hesitations about it though. Number one being I hate cabinets that don’t go to the ceiling. When you just screw cabinets into the wall and then are supposed to decorate the dust collecting tops of them. It was a big no for me. My cabinets had to go all the way to the ceiling. So we were back to 8’ ceilings. We were not happy with that either though. And we didn’t want 10’ through the entire house. So we did a lot of debating and searching for ideas.
So I eventually made the decision that I wanted the vaulted ceiling but in order to do so I needed there to be soffit above the kitchen cabinets. (I realize some people are screaming, but that’s okay. I feel the same way when I see open top cabinets. It’s all about preference and lifestyle.) They looked at me kind of oddly and said “we don’t do soffit with vaulted ceilings.” I said “Its my house. And it is the only way I can make this work.” And so they built the soffit. And let me tell you that I am so happy with it! And when it was done and the cabinets were in, they said that they really liked the way that it turned out.
Besides me not having open tops on the cabinets, what I love about it is that it defines the space. You know that that area was designed for those specific cabinets. Everything fits exactly as it is supposed to. And I think it looks cozier. They are not just cabinets on the wall. The wall is embracing the cabinets.
Our whole house is deep blues and wood, both inside and out. I love it but I wanted my kitchen space to feel a little elegant (Soft curves and shiny) while embracing the more modern masculine feel of the rest of the house. Obviously, I have the same flooring throughout the entire area but I wanted to define spaces while keeping it unified. To tie the space together I chose the same medium wood stain for my cabinets in the kitchen and living room built-ins. I distinguished their space by putting white quarts counter tops in the kitchen and a natural wood in the living area. The cabinet knobs are also the same shape, but I chose ones with vine etching in them for the living room. Then I chose to make my island and hood vent cover the same deep blue as my accent wall (Waterloo by Sherwin Williams) behind the couch and dining area table. And since I ordered the table and chairs from the furniture store, I had my counter stools stained the same brown, which matches my cabinetry.
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I chose the same countertops that I had when we renovated. They are gorgeous. I did change up one thing. The first time we had a sharper corner total flat edge to the countertop. It got several small chips on the edge of it. Cambria has great customer service and promptly sent someone to come and fix the chips. So this time around I added the softest curve to the edge. It still kept a mostly flat face but just enough of a curve to avoid chipping.
Our plumber works exclusively with Delta Faucets, so that put limits on our options when making decisions. That wasn’t a bad thing though because I hate when I have too many overwhelming options. It was helpful to have them narrowed down for me. Anyway, the faucet was the perfect place for me to add an elegant curve. I chose to get touch activation on my faucet. It is so convenient to just touch it when your hands have gross stuff or you are carrying things. I do give you one annoying warning...when you go other places, you feel silly when you start smacking their faucets. LOL! Another problem is the exact opposite. When people come to my house they cannot always figure out how to turn my water on. So this is something that I would say is totally preference base and I can't tell anyone what to do.
I got this one with the curved corners. These are a must in my book. If you do a lot of baking and need to wash those cookie sheets or when you have to wash a crock pot or large stock pot, this single deep basin makes a world of difference. I would never choose to go back to a short double basin. (We were forced to when our house burned down and it made me appreciate it so much more the second time around.)
This is another place that I wanted to stick with simple curves. Handles that do not close all of the way to the drawer face are a big no-no for me. I can’t tell you the amount of times I have caught my clothing on handles that stick out. So I wanted to find the simplest curves that I could. So I ended up choosing these pulls with plain arches. I also chose simple cabinet knobs. These were not the place that I wanted to draw attention, so I went with very simple. Also, cabinet hardware is one good place to save money. They are not super expensive individually but with so many, they do add up. When we had renovated our first kitchen I fell in love with some fancy ones (which were 3x more expensive) and I splurged on them. I loved them, but I also had a lot less of them that I needed. It definitely did not make the splurge list this time.
I debated on this one but ended up saying “If I’m starting over, I might as well do it right.” And I am so glad that I did. Yes, it was a major splurge but I do use it almost every day. I would definitely do it again without any hesitation.
The tile that I picked out was the exact same one I had in my kitchen before the fire. Classic Subway Tile but glitzed up a little bit. It is has a crackle glaze and is an arctic blue color. I had it laid in a 1-2-3 stacked pattern. I love it! Obviously, since I’ve picked it twice. LOL
I had this when I renovated my last kitchen. I loved it so much that I knew I had to put it in the new kitchen. And my amazing husband said, you might as well put them everywhere you like, so I have 3 mini chandeliers. One above my kitchen sink, one over my bathtub, and one in the laundry room! I love it!
I wanted pendant lighting over my kitchen island. My electrician tried to discourage me from doing this but I insisted. And I am so glad that I did! (I think he just didn't want to try to center them? But always remember to be kind, but it is your house.) I have those lights on just as much or more than the overhead lights. They light up that area but they also give a warmth to the area when I don’t want everything lit up bright. I didn’t want anything super big or loud but I also did not want just plain clear glass. I stumbled up hammered glass and I was sold. It does just a tiny bit extra to not be boring and they look elegant. (I loved it so much I also used it in my bedroom and bathroom!)
And FYI...My wall color is North Star by Sherwin Williams. The color depends on the lighting, sometimes it looks like a light blue and other times light gray. I love it!
So that, my friends are the basics of my design decisions for the kitchen. Watch for more posts about cupboard specifics and designs of the dining a living portions of the room!
