I thought I would never write this post. It seems years ago I first shared with you that we were going to be redesigning our kitchen...and now it is finally finished! It really has only taken us 4 months from start to finish, not years like it feels, but I couldn't be any happier with the end result. We have taken our drab, outdated kitchen and turned it into a chic farmhouse inspired cucina.
Click here to see the "before" post.
The colors, the elements, the attention to detail really helped transformed this space.
We began by replacing the cabinets with an Arlington White style cabinet. Since this covers the majority of the room, I knew that light cabinets would give us the open airiness we craved. The steel grey granite helped ground the room and tie the cabinets and appliances together. We completely lucked out with the backsplash; we bought all the italian ceramic subway tiles for $30 at a tile sale in town. They weren't exactly what I envisioned, but who could pass up that price? We also laid the backsplash ourselves which saved money and my husband finished the grouting on his day off, thank the Lord. Let's just say the couple that grouts together, will fight the rest of the day.
And then there is the showstopper; the piece that grabs your eye as soon as you enter. A cross between a piece of furniture and a functional kitchen island. I know I may have thrown you all when I shared with you my island inspiration post seen here, but what we ended up creating is exactly what I had envisioned. We took a dry sink cabinet and turned it into a rustic farmhouse island.
Plenty of storage, a pull out extension and a durable, usable walnut butcher block top.
The color was a risk that I was willing to take. I knew that I didn't want cream because it would have been difficult to match the cabinet color. Blue was an easy compromise since this color is seen throughout the kitchen; in the drapes, in the accessories. I knew it would tie in nicely. My husband began by pulling off the original top and back. He then created the barn door look by running 1/4" x 4" boards horizontally along the back. Then on top of those he used 1"x 4" boards to create the X and the frame around the outside, mimicking the barn door look. We then sanded down the original stain on the cabinet till it was almost completely gone. Next we stained the entire cabinet black. Yes you heard me right, black! Scared me to death, but I knew that I needed depth and age and this was the best way to create it. Plus we were just going to sand most of it off anyway. After we sanded off just the right amount of the black, we painted it Benjamin Moore "Slate Blue". Wiping away the paint quickly after brushing it on helped the black show through in places giving it that distressed look.
The hardware was key. I wanted something authentic to the look of a barn door. I couldn't have been happier with our "pick" that October day in Warwick, NY where we happened upon a "barn sale". A BARN SALE!! Perfect place to pick up barn hardware right? There was an old kitchen cabinet in the back of the barn that wasn't in the sale area, but when I asked if it was up for sale, the owner gave it to me saying it was just going to be tossed anyway. I was beyond thrilled! The hardware was exactly what we were looking for.
Another statement piece in this kitchen is the pendant light that hangs over the island. We knew that we wanted something retro. This coated metal barn light was just the thing. We found it at an antique store in Nyack, NY and got it for a steal of a deal.
Because the existing electrical box did not end up being center on the island and we didn't want to create more work for ourselves, we decided to use this old wooden pulley to cleverly center the light over the island. We bought this pulley on our trip to Adamstown, PA, blog post seen here. We weren't sure how this was going to end up looking or working, but after a few tries we got it just right. Putting the electrical wire through the pulley and centering the pulley over the island did the trick. I think the end result really brings home the farmhouse feel I was hoping for.
I hope you enjoyed this peak into my home. I'd love to hear what you think of the reno!
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