Back in December we started on updating the kitchen by changing the color again. Although I loved the color, Chad was not loving it. It definitely feels like a more modern color now. I love it with all the shades of brown, plus it really looks nice with the stainless steel appliances and my stained glass.
Chad installed both up lighting and under the cabinet lighting. I love way it reflects on the glass tiles.
In January I had Natural Stone World come and install the granite. I had 3 different companies come give me estimates. They all said my kitchen measured about 65 square feet without a back splash, and they all were very similar in price. It became clear I needed to have them do the counters. Notice that small piece of granite on the cabinet by the refrigerator behind my Kitchenaide. Natural Stone World won my business because they were the only company to tell me I would need a piece of granite in that corner. If not, there would be a gap between the counter and the cabinet. Because the walls aren't perfectly square, if a piece of paper or food crumbs fell in that small space I would never be able to them out.
One other small detail that made Natural Stone World stand out was suggesting to extend the counter just slightly past the wall. It really looks fantastic! This picture was taken before Chad added the case molding.
We asked the people that bought our last house if they would consider selling us the stained glass lighting we had in the kitchen. Luckily they really did not like it and wanted new lighting. Yay! At first Chad thought I was totally off my rocker wanting to ask them to sell it to me. Especially knowing that we would have bought it twice. But Lowe's only sells one style now, the rest of the lighting has been discontinued. I couldn't help it, I just love it and think stained glass fits beautifully in a craftsman style home.
One of the reasons I feel in love with this house was because of the open floor plan.
It's nice to be able to cook and keep an eye on Parker playing in the living room.
There are a few other things we did in the kitchen to update it that are not obvious. Chad installed a pull out spice rack to the right of the refrigerator, added a pull out trash cans to the left of the dishwasher, changed the faucet, added pull handles under the sink and the under sink mount kit which holds sponges etc.
Yesterday Chad & I celebrated our 18 year anniversary! Wow! It does not feel real saying that. The time has passed so quickly. I don't feel any older, just a bit wiser :)
He bought me the most beautiful roses!
Chad added the case molding in-between the kitchen and living room. He did such a fabulous job! It really looks like it should have always been there.
Doesn't the case molding make a huge difference! And look at the difference a wide angle makes.
We added about 14 more inches of counter space. I helped Chad install these beautiful and huge corbels. Not only were they needed to support the longer counter, but they were needed for more character and style. It's really nice having a place to sit at the counter now.
Here's a close-up of the butterfly beige granite. I love it!
Hehehe, this picture is on it's side. The glass mosaic tiles came from Lowe's, a color called mahogany. My stained glass skills and tools certainly came in handy when Chad and I were putting the back splash in.
Here's a picture of how the kitchen looked before the makeover. This one and the next picture were actually used in the marketing of the house for sale. A wide angle lens makes such a huge difference in getting a good picture of a room. You can't tell that the ceiling is so high and that the cabinets go all the way up. The counters really were in pretty good condition, but the granite is so fine now!
The kitchen is huge, so a light color was not necessary to make it look big and airy. The paint color was to close to the trim color. All the trim and crown molding was not noticeable before.
Pretty! Great job!!!
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