House Update | Week 25 | Cabinets & Marble for my Birthday

Last week was a big week - maybe the most fun yet.  It was my birthday, which seems less exciting every year, but this year it was especially great.  I took the day off and treated myself to looking through slabs of marble for the kitchen, then I got to see the cabinetry come together.  (Insert huge Yay!!!!)  Mike fixed dinner (Shrimp Scampi, my favorite) and Emma decorated a very pink cake with candy decorations.  We spent the night at home, "bre-laxing," listening to music and playing games with Emma.  It was the best day - so full of warm love and blessings.  There are a couple of photos at the end of the post, mostly for me, so I remember the combination of wonderful, supertastic (Emma's word) on this special day :)

I requested no presents this year.  I feel like we are spending so much on so much right now... I'm starting to feel the pinch.   I've been having major anxiety about a very expensive (still pending...) faucet decision, so I "donated" all birthday allocated money (dinner out, gifts, etc.) to the faucet fund.  I still haven't made a decision, but I like that if I do splurge I know it will have been a sacrifice of something else... right?  Anyway, with cabinet photos to be discussed, I know you aren't interested in hearing about my faucet anxiety... On to the cabinets!

Here they are!  I have lots of photos (shocking...), but I wanted to walk you around the space so you could get a feel for it.  To the right is the back yard with the french doors leading out.  

The island will have a wood top and the surrounding (on the walls) cabinets will have marble tops. The cabinets will be painted a creamy white by our painter... in about a month.  You can see the mudroom through the doorway.

I'm thinking a wood beadboard backsplash, just like we had in our old kitchen, also painted creamy white.

This is the hutch where we will keep linens, flatware (in the drawers) and the dishes and glasses in the top... basically anything for setting the table.  It is very close to the dishwasher, so hopefully it will make it easy to load/unload.

The island is 9 feet long and 40 inches deep.  I wanted it tot have the feel of a old table (hence the wood top) so I made it a little more shallow than deep.  It needed to be very long because it houses the dishwasher, trash, microwave and 30" farmhouse sink + some drawers.  I was worried it would be too long, but I think it worked out great.

This side of cabinetry is what I'm calling my "Baking Counter" but it is where I will sit and work during the day.  There is a nook for a stool and a charging drawer for my laptop.  We'll keep the coffee maker and mixer in the open part of the hutch on the counter and my cake stands on display above.   Dangerous for me to be working so close to the coffee machine all day!   I'll have my flour and sugar canisters lined up under the window.  Can you believe that I'll be photographing sugar cookie decorating here in just a couple of months?!  I cannot.

Here's the view from behind the island.

And the view looking back to the front of the house into the old living room.  That is all of the trim materials that will be installed this week and next.

Looking into the area where the dining table will be and Mike's library/office through those doors.

This is the view from Mike's library/office doors.  One big open space.  Yay!

Here is the bundle of marble we'll be selecting from.  It is a creamy white with grey and brown veining - it great with our creamy paint color.  We'll work around that dark patch on the bottom.  It was hard remembering that we'll only see 24" deep pieces of it - a good thing to remember when looking.

I almost went crazy on the marble... there was another option, one that was twice as much.  I loved it before I knew.  After a couple of days of debate, I decided that they were soooo close.  Too close to spend twice as much.  I just couldn't do it.  Now that the decision is made, I am so glad that this is the one I picked.  I think (I hope!) it was the right decision.

Here is an upclose shot of the grey and brown together - I love how the specs of brown warm it up, which will look perfect with our brass hardware and almost ivory paint.

Can't wait to see this installed!  We are also using it on our master bathroom vanity.  It is an almost perfect match to the tile we're using around the tub and in the shower.



This is how I prepped everything for the tile setter... in Emma's room.  You might remember from the Tile post, that we saved a bundle by getting the tile from Home Depot.

I picked out the creamier more warm pieces of marble for the tub area and will use the more grey for Emma's bathroom floor.  It was harder than I thought to pick out a slab of marble that would coordinate with the tile - being natural, there are so many variations of the same thing out there... especially in the slab vs. tile world.  The tiles were all a little different, so I ordered extra and separated them into like piles so we wouldn't end up with too much color variation in the same space.

Back to the tour!  Here is a look into the mud room, and here is the dutch door that will go into it!  I LOVE this.  I am thinking of painting it a soft black... what do you think?  I also plan on giving it a porcelain knob. Make that two, now that I'm looking at it - two knobs!   There goes part of my faucet fund...

These are the mudroom cabinets - the pantry on the left, then my office homebase on the right.  I'll do all of my photos here because of the perfect light in this room.  That window is recycled from the old back wall of the house in the old kitchen.  It gives so much light!

It will be so nice to have all of my work stuff in a different spot so it doesn't have to live in the kitchen, as it normally does.  I'm looking for a cozy chair to go here - my big computer will go here, where the long hours of working on the website/uploading new products will happen.

Ok, heading upstairs....



Obsessed with this hall linen cupboard.  It was a last minute add-on the cabinetry and I'm so glad we did.  It will take our upstairs landing from very plain and standard to charming.  You can see into the 4th bedroom on the left and Emma's bathroom on the right.



Walking into our bedroom.  Bathroom on the right, closets to the left.



Bed will go against this wall.  I think we'll have a writing desk under the window to the right of the bed.  That will have to be a hunt post move-in.

French door closets... those wires are jam switches, so the light will turn on with the door opens and be off when closed.  Apparently I have a problem with turning lights off, so Mike is excited about this.



Into the bathroom from our room/bed.



Bathroom vanity - also marble top in here.  I really do love that it is floating between two windows.  It helps it feel airy and spacious in here.  You can remember all of the planning and designing that went into achieving it... here, in case you forgot or are new.



Tile in here is happening today so I can't wait to go and see it right after I'm finished writing.

Our old bedroom.  Such pretty new windows and light.

And, just for my memories...

Kitchen Cabinets | Some Revisions to the New Addition Plans

The time has come to start making some real decisions.  We've finally gotten some bid numbers back from the contractors, and for all of you who warned me... you were right.  More time, more money.  Ugh.  But, as promised, I'll be sharing all of our battles here because I want you to know how we go about making the decisions were making - even the ones that aren't so fun.

We are sticking to our guns, though, we didn't set out for this project to overspend, overdo and break ourselves, we are doing this to make our family life better, to make the time we spend at home more enjoyable, easier and more beautiful.  It is our goal to remember that with every decision we make.  (And writing it here is going to keep me in check... I hope!)

I truly believe that your home should be your safe place, a place that comforts you and brings you peace.  There is so much to battle out there in the world, and I want my family to feel love when they walk in here - whether that means a giant comfy sofa, a fluffy bed, wood burning fire or a something delicious from the kitchen.  We do our best to keep our home a positive place, where defenses are down, judgement is forgotten and love rules all - not that kitchen cabinets and upholstery can do that alone... but maybe it helps set the stage.  I do, however, think a really good soaking tub can do that.  I'm serious.  Top of the list.  As I've reminded my contractor ; )  Bathroom details later this month.

So, back to the decisions at hand.  By the way, this post might actually turn into the most contradictory post ever, as I'll be debating cabinetry for our kitchen.  For those of you that want to hit me over the head - yes, I know this is a huge privilege to begin with.  I get to pick out a kitchen, from scratch.  A complete and utter dream come true.  Don't worry, the privilege and the blessing is not lost on me.  I'm loving every minute of the planning - and not afraid being creative.  And realistic.



Here we are, back at the first floor plans.  When we got the initial bid back, I got out my red pen.  Where would I be willing to cut?  I'm always up for creative solutions (but finding a contractor that is up to the same creative thinking has been more of a challenge... It is interesting how their solution is always to start cutting square footage).  Because I am a realistic person, I compromised.  I didn't cut out the mudroom (as recommended), but instead brought the entire back of the addition in 2ft, which adds up to 180sqft from the upstairs and downstairs - a real savings.

Shockingly, we actually like this much better.  It brings the baking counter (the counter under the windows facing the backyard) closer to the rest of the kitchen - something many of you suggested.  We also decided not to pour the basement underneath the new addition - just a crawlspace.  We have a basement now that is currently unfinished, so we'll just be finishing that space instead.  I know, it would've been nice, but we're keeping it real here.

Also, by not needing the new basement stairs, I gained a lot more space in the mudroom.  So, the powder room is now going in there (away from the dining room area - another thing many of you mentioned).  This also gives us more room for the dining area, and we gain a closet.  It does make the library a little smaller, but smaller equals "cozy" in my book.

Now onto the big decision at hand.  The kitchen cabinets.  To be fair, we haven't actually gotten the bid for our cabinets back yet.  I'm just preparing myself.  As it turns out, every kitchen photo that I happened to pin features inset cabinetry, which happens to be one of the most expensive kind.  Ugh.  Of course it is.  As Mike would point out, this is usually the case - like when our contractor suggested we do some carpet instead of wood in some areas to save money, and I said, how about wool berber?  To which he then replied that the price just went from $12 to $25/sqft.  You get the point.  

This is where I need your input.  On one hand, I know that we want to "do it right," but as I said before, I don't want our decisions to burden us later with huge overages and strapped budgets.  But, we want to do it right... right?  What do you think?  What would you do for your own kitchen?

Here are some "creative" solutions I've come up with :

- Cut the hutch by the fridge.  This would cover the upgrade amount for the inset vs. full overlay on the rest of the cabinetry.  But, we'd be little short on dry food storage in the kitchen - most of it would be in the mudroom.

- Do inset on the uppers, and overlay on the lowers.  (photo example below)

- Cut the hutch by the baking counter - just do open shelving.

Here are some inspiration photos that I keep referring to, for your reference.



My all time favorite.  This is the inspiration for my "Baking Counter/Nook."

This is where I think the inset on the uppers would look great.  Also love the glass-front doors, brass pulls, creamy color, big window...

Inset.  Brass pulls.  Wood tops.  Glass uppers.  Bracket detailing.  Big window.

Inset. Simple and classic. 

Here is a sample of full overlay.  I really think it looks great here.

These are inset uppers and overlay lowers.  A great option to get the look on the upper glass-front doors.

A great example of a Shaker Style full overlay kitchen that looks great.
























So, what are your thoughts?  Compromise space or style?

Off to get ready for our neighborhood Easter party - so Springy here, I can hardly stand it!

Home | Organizing | Spice & Baking Pantry

UPDATE!  I posted this 2 years ago- ick, look at those photos... now I've redone my baking pantry in our new house... read about it here!















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Original Post :

Of all of the projects that I've done in our house, I know THIS organizing project is going to be one of Mike's favorites... my crazy, messy and dysfunctional spice & baking pantry drives him crazy. Actually, it drives me crazy, too, so I finally tackled the pantry this morning.

In this photo, you can see there is no rhyme or reason to the placement of everything - besides shoving things wherever they'll fit...

Blow-tourches, sprinkles, spices, vinegars, and endless varieties of sea salt containers... ugh.

With a $30 budget, I headed to the craft store (hobby lobby is the closest to our house). I purchased these two unfinished wood moulding shelves. Turned upside-down, they create a lovely riser for spices - a great system for maximizing space. I painted the shelves to match the interior of the cabinets. The paint will not only look better, but will help to keep them clean.

As you can see - much improved! And... I didn't relocated anything from the cabinet - amazing how a little organization can make space.

Top Shelf : Decorating Supplies : Craft Box containing Cupcake Liners (I have a huge collection - all shapes and sizes), and food coloring. Jars are filled with pastry bags, couplers and tips. Clear containers with sprinkles.

Middle Shelf : Baking Supplies : Baking Soda, Powder, Cocoa, Vanilla Beans & Cinnamon

Lower Shelf : Cooking Supplies : Spices, Salt & Peppers, Vinegars & Olive Oil