Now that you have seen where we began we can begin to share where we are headed. While I certainly like to give a house a few months to speak to us, give us its opinion on who it wants to be as we fill it with our story, I also have this compulsive need for it to begin that journey immediately. I am not fond of living with it until I know exactly what we want. So, we made some pretty big decisions early on, like, before escrow even closed early on.
First up, the kitchen. A reminder of where we started at close of escrow.
Its not bad, just not us. We knew we didn't want to completely gut it. The cabinets and the counters were practically new. The lighting and appliances had to go, as did the 6 inch backsplash. Its a much smaller space than we were used to so we knew we needed to open it up, but we couldn't move either wall and certainly not the brick fireplace. Off we went seeking inspiration.
Serious stove envy here! I also love that its an IKEA kitchen, but it doesn't feel like it because they took the time and effort to add custom details. Also, not a single upper cabinet in sight! Its functional and pretty.
We love the two toned cabinets, the open shelves, and the backsplash all the way to the ceiling. On the other side of the room, she added texture and additional functionality.
On the cheap, in a good way.
On the cheap, in a good way.
Open shelves, simple cabinetry, and a rustic countertop all add up to pretty function with minimal expense.
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Here the brick gets center stage. And those windows...definitely need more light in our humble space.
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More brick goodness. There is a part of me that kind of wanted to paint the brick, but hubby very strongly said NO! He doesn't usually voice his opinions, so when he does I tend to accommodate. He loved this. A more industrial look it is.
And that lead us to this sort of look. No upper cabinetry over the main counter areas, lots of natural light, cool overhead light fixtures, exposed vent hood, two toned cabinetry, etc. We knew we were putting wood floors throughout the first floor, so that would warm things up a bit.
House Beautiful
But we also really liked the idea of bringing in some rustic wood tones a little higher. The forged iron brackets on the brick, yummy ;)
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We also have the issue of the other side of the kitchen. The granite counter isn't going to work when we move the fridge to the other end. IKEA to the rescue! The look is coming together. Implementation time!
That wraps it up for today. Happy Friday! See you next week :)
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