This year Alex and I celebrated four years in our home, which feels crazy because I still remember the weekend we got the keys:
We couldn’t fully unpack because we still needed to paint, so we focused on the kitchen. We spent that first Saturday morning cleaning the cupboards, figuring out our new kitchen flow, and finding the right spots for our plates and mixing bowls and pots. Alex made us grilled cheese for lunch, and we sat on our staircase to eat because we didn’t have our furniture yet.
It’s one of my favourite memories in our home.
This summer we’re renovating our kitchen and I’m excited to have a space that is more reflective of our style, maximizes storage, and is a beautiful area to spend time together cooking โ whether it’s grilled cheese sandwiches, like that first meal in our home, or homemade pasta. We also cannot wait to entertain our friends and family in this space once we are able to do so indoors again!
Here’s the plan for our kitchen renovation.
the plan for our kitchen renovation
inspiration
Before we get into the details, here are a couple inspo photos we used when designing our kitchen.
Image 1: Kristin Corrigan’s kitchen via The Every Girl | Image 2: Studio McGee’s Emerson Project
cabinets
For our new kitchen, we’ve ordered shaker-style Grimslov IKEA cabinets in grey. Our kitchen is located at the back of our house and is its own little space. We really wanted a colour that would feel neutral and warm.
We’re keeping the same layout of our current kitchen, but worked with an IKEA designer to ensure we maximize our storage. We’re adding a pantry-height cabinet, which we’re especially excited for, as well as a bonus cabinet on the back of our peninsula that I imagine will hold all of our wine.
hardware
We love a more relaxed look, so we chose matte black hardware throughout the kitchen. These are the handles and knobs we bought from Wayfair, which I think will add so much character to the cabinets. We’re still shopping for them, but we’re going with a matte black faucet and under-mount sink.
countertop and tile
We like simple, classy, and neutral when it comes to counters and tiles; we’re going with a white quartz countertop, and carrara marble on the backsplash and floor.
character + warmth
To tone down the white and grey, we’ll be ordering roman shades in a natural linen. We’re also excited to shop for a new dining table and chairs. I’m hoping to bring in some colour with the chairs and a more lived-in feel with the table. We have a piece of green art in our living room, and painted our front door with this grey-green colour. I think it would tie everything together nicely if we opted for something fun like green chairs!
All these final decor pieces will likely come later on in the year, but it’s fun to dream about them all the same!
We’re really excited to have this new space where we can cook together, drink wine, and entertain our loved ones.
Do you have any kitchen renovation advice for us?!
Remember the chefโs triangle! Your fridge, counter/workspace and your oven or cooktop should form a triangle and it helps with easy flow when youโre cooking away. The parents are recommending that you have lots of propane for the bbq because it will be a lifesaver! :โ)
Yes!! We are keeping the layout the same! Haha yes, absolutely will be BBQing a LOT! Huge advantage of doing this in the summer ๐
thanks, very interesting ๐