A Rug For Our Kitchen

We have had the floor bare in the kitchen for quite a while now but I kept thinking it would be nice to try and add something in here to add a little warmth to the space. We found this rug at Rugs Studio and even though it had a plum accent color in it instead of the navy I was hoping for I decided to give it a try  because I loved the vintage style pattern of it. The first day it arrived I was a little unsure, but by day two I absolutely loved it! I loved the way the pattern flows and the different colors - the grays, browns, plums and charcoals. Plus in a kitchen it will hide lots of stains - ha!

We also played around with a couple of other different ones including this plaid one. I loved how this one looked but was afraid it might show stains pretty easily and seeing how the girls love baking and cooking I decided against it.

And we also tried this smaller blue one. I absolutely LOVED the color of this one. The blues were so pretty and the pattern was beautiful. However, I didn't like the smaller size quite as well in here (they have it in a larger size as well, but at the time I was looking the larger size was on back order although I think it is available now).

Detailed Source List:

Cabinet Color- Winter Gates in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore

Wall Color- Horizon in Eggshell by Benjamin Moore
Trim Color - Simply White in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore
Door Color - Mopboard Black in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore

Rug - Rug Studio (the plaid rug is also from there and can be found here, and the blue one can be found here).

All appliances are Whirlpool and were purchased at Lowe's during their Memorial Day Sale

Hood - Custom Built
Farmhouse Sink - Signature Hardware (similar size and style here) 
Faucet - Wayfair
Backsplash - purchased from McKenzie Restoration (but just basic white subway tile that can be purchased pretty much anywhere) 
Counters - Honed Carrara Marble
Hardware - Home Depot (think they were by Martha Stewart) 
Counter Height Stools - World Market
Mug Holder - World Market
Menu Chalkboard - Dear Lillie (no longer for sale) 
Pendants - Birch Lane
Circular Mirror - Painted Fox Home
Rolling Wooden Horse- HomeGoods
Metal Baskets - Joss and Main
Canisters - wedding gift - Williams-Sonoma
Knife Set - TargetMarble Rolling Pin and Board - Sur La Table 
Table - Pier 1 years ago and has since been painted in Winter Gates by Benjamin Moore
Three Tiered Stand - Painted Fox
Polka Dot Bowls - Painted Fox
Metal Chairs - Arhuas
Slipcovered Dining Chairs - IKEA
Oversized Chalkboard - made by me, you can read more about it here
X Sideboard - made by me, you can read more about it here
Wooden Box - HomeGoods
Bottle Caddy - HomeGoods
Plaid Mixing Bowls - TargetBottles - Mineral Water from Fresh Market 
Crackle Bucket/Planter - Birch Lane
Antlers - World Market 
Striped Roman Shade in Window above Sink - made by me, you can read more about it here.
Little Deer Head - Dear Lillie Painted Fox Collection
Little Sheep Head - Dear Lillie Painted Fox Collection
Blue Vase - Birch Lane 

(Family Room side in background of photos)
Mirror - Painted Fox
Rocking Horse - gift from my mom (from RH Baby and Child) similar one can be found here

Fireplace Color - Winter Gates in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore

Artwork above sofa - was a gift

Sofa - 94" Emory Sofa in Deso Sand from Arhaus Furniture

Rug in Family Room- The Nellie Rug from Birch Lane

Stone Colored Pillows of Sofa - Armelle Pillow Covers from Birch Lane

Other Pillows on Sofa - HomeGoods

Slipcovered Wingback Chairs by Fireplace - Savvy Home and Garden 6 or 7 years ago

Pillows on Chairs - HomeGoods

Blanket on Chair and Sofa - HomeGoods

Lamp - Aidan Gray during a 75% clearance sale 8 or 9 years ago

Lamp Shade - HomeGoods

Milk Bottle Vase - Painted Fox

Metal Sphere - Target (similar here) 

Script Chairs - TJMaxx

TV Console - Antique shop in Camden, SC about 8 years ago

Frames above chairs - tutorial here 

Drapery Panels - IKEA Ritva Panels

Drapery Rods - Lowe's 

Sconces - RH Baby and Child

Gray Tufted Ottoman - We built it. You can read more about it here.

Flush Mount - Lowe's

We hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week!

Rugs were provided by Rug Studio. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, we may get a commission if you make a purchase through one of these links.  

Darker Gray Cabinets and Our Marble Review

The reasoning for re-painting all the trim in this room (our eat-in-kitchen and family room) white and the doors black probably made sense to most people seeing how it now matches the rest of the house as well as lightening up the room. However, my many reasons for painting the cabinets just a few shades darker than I first painted them a year ago make lots of sense in my own head but I think I can safely say will mostly seem crazy to everyone else, so I won't bore you with all of that. I will say though, that I even though it was a pain to do I am so happy I did it. I also changed out the hardware to go with our faucet and I like the sparkle it adds. So at this point all we really have left to do in here is have an electrician come and add some recessed lighting and once that happens we will get rid of the flush mount lights, and then I will probably swap out the rustic looking pendants for some nickel ones.

So, while I won't bore you with my somewhat irrational reasoning behind painting the cabinets again, I will fill you in on our marble now that it's been several months since it was installed. We get lots of e-mails asking how we like our marble, if we would do it again and if we would recommend it.

What kind of marble is it? Honed Carrara Marble

Did we use a stain blocker? YES, we had InvisaBLOCK applied professionally by the company that installed the marble and it's supposed to last at least ten years

Do I still love the marble? YES

Would I do it again? YES (In fact, I really can't imagine doing anything else - I love it that much!)

Would I recommend it? Definitely not for people who want a completely "perfect" looking counter, but anyone who is okay with some water stains and imperfection that comes with it yes!

Okay, so that probably sounds pretty confusing saying I would use again in a heartbeat but wouldn't recommend them for a lot of people, but let me explain. I can honestly say I love the marble and am so incredibly happy I ended up going with it (I was really torn between quartz and marble). I read a million different reviews and opinions and ultimately decided to just go with what I had been dreaming of for the last several years. I found this post by Joan from For the Love of a House to be far and away the most helpful. And re-reading it now I would say is EXTREMELY accurate and there is no way I could possibly write or explain it any better so I won't even try. If you are considering marble I would highly recommend going over to her blog and reading her very in depth review. Plus I have been lucky enough to have been able to visit her in her home and I have to say it is the probably the single most beautiful home I have ever been in so take some time to check out her entire blog. Every single room is stunning and so timeless. 

I have to say that even though I am pretty easy going about stains and all the wear and tear that goes with young children I was a little stressed about the marble the first couple of weeks. We had a major "marker leaking through a picture one of the girls was coloring" incident just a couple of hours after the marble was installed - haha! Fortunately it all came up and didn't leave any stains at all and after the first week or two I haven't even thought twice about being "protective" of the marble. In fact five months in we have had zero issues with staining. And we heavily use our counters. Although I am certainly not a very good cook, we do quite a lot of cooking in here as we regularly have groups of people over and therefore along with our daily cooking, baking, eating, coloring, crafting etc. on the counters we use the peninsula area as sort of a sideboard/serving area and it's taken quite a bit of abuse and I've been so happy with how it's held up. We do have plenty of water stains but you really only see those when you are crouched down at eye level and the light is hitting them a certain way. That being said, those water stains are probably what would drive a lot of people crazy. 

I do think going with honed marble and having the people that installed it use a stain blocker has been very helpful. We used a polished marble for Jason's island and even though I think it is stunning (I like how it looks even better than our marble) I think Jason would probably say he is not a fan of it at all because of how easily the polished marble scratches and the etching is more noticeable on the polished marble. So with that said, I think it's hard to really recommend it to people because I think there are plenty of people that would hate the etching. For me though it's just part of the beauty of it and I can't begin to describe how much I love it and I honestly can't imagine ever using anything but marble again if I was given the choice when doing over a kitchen. 

Now for some before and after shots of our kitchen: 

 

I think I have probably switched this table (which was on the porch) and the oval one we had in here about three or four times in the last two weeks. And probably about 10 times this last year.  Neither one is quite the right fit. I love that this one is so narrow, but it's about a foot too long. And the oval one is a foot shorter which is nice but is a little too wide. I've pondered building a shorter farmhouse table or hunting the local consignment shops for a circular one but haven't decided which route I want to go yet.

 

And couple of weeks ago we showed you the family room side of this space:

And you can see more pictures of this side of kitchen and pantry in this post from last year here.

Source List:

Cabinet Color- Winter's Gate in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore
Wall Color- Horizon in Eggshell by Benjamin Moore
Trim Color - Simply White in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore
Door Color - Mopboard Black in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore
All appliances are Whirlpool and were purchased at Lowe's during their Memorial Day Sale
Hood - Custom Built
Farmhouse Sink - Signature Hardware
Faucet - Wayfair
Backsplash - purchased from McKenzie Restoration (but just basic white subway tile that can be purchased pretty much anywhere)
Counters - Honed Carrara Marble
Hardware - Home Depot (think they were by Martha Stewart)
Runner - Gift from my mom (from Home Decorator's Collection)
Counter Height Stools - Target
Mug Holder - World Market
Little Bird Tea Cups - Heritage Lace
Menu Chalkboard - Dear Lillie (for sale in our shop coming very soon!)
Flush Mount - Lowe's
Pendants - These were a hand-me-down from my mom and they worked perfectly in here (originally from Bellacor)
Circular Mirror - gift from my sister, Dana (from Antique Farmhouse)
Metal Baskets - Joss and Main
Bowl on Peninsula - Wedding Gift
Dishes - Emma Collection from Pottery Barn (wedding gifts)
Dishes - Mikasa
Canisters - wedding gift - Williams-Sonoma
Vase on Stove -HomeGoods
Three-Tiered Display Piece with buckets - gift from my mom (from Mothology)
Vase next to wire basket - gift from my mother-in-law from Spring Mill in Indiana
Marble Rolling Pin and Board - gift from my mother-in-law (from Sur La Table)
Table - Pier 1 years ago and has since been painted in French Linen from Lady Butterbug
X Back Dining Chairs - IKEA
Slipcovered Dining Chairs - IKEA
Oversized Chalkboard - made by me, you can read more about it here
X Sideboard - made by me, you can read more about it here

Cereal Containers - World Market

Glass Jars - Some from HomeGoods and some from World Market

Wooden Box - HomeGoods

Bottle Caddy - HomeGoods

Bottles - Mineral Water from Fresh Market 

Wreath - Birch Lane

Marble Board - gift

Oversized Mason Jar - World Market

Crackle Bucket/Planter - Birch Lane

Antlers - World Market 

Pumpkin - purchased at Michael's and then painted

Frame - IKEA

Organization Items in Pantry - Target, HomeGoods, World Market

Sectional - IKEA
Rug - HomeGoods
Lamp - Joss and Main
Pillows - Birch Lane, Joss and Main
Plaid Throw - HomeGoods
Slipcovered Wingback Chairs - Savvy Home and Garden
Script Chairs - TJMaxx
Painted French Cabinet - makeover here
TV Console - Antique shop in Camden, SC
Frames above chairs - tutorial here
Striped Roman Shade in Window above Sink - made by me, you can read more about it here.
Drapery Panels - IKEA Ritva Panels
Drapery Rods - Lowe's
Sconces - RH Baby and Child
Mirror - gift from my mom (Restoration Hardware)
Rocking Horse - gift from my mom (from RH Baby and Child)
Urns on Fireplace - Seasons in Williamsburg (years ago on clearance)

I hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday!

Our Kitchen Makeover on a Budget (Phase 1)

I am finally going to show you the progress we have made in our kitchen! First, I want to give a few disclaimers. These aren't true "after shots" because we aren't finished with the kitchen but are taking a break from it for now to work on about forty million other projects in the house so I thought I would show you where we are at now. I am currently mid-way through making over the dining room, entry way, hall closet and powder room so about half of our downstairs is kind of a construction zone but at least now the kitchen, family room and den are tidy and presentable. And when you walk upstairs everything is still all a mess except for Lillie and Lola's room (which I shared last week). I have finally made some decisions on the direction I want to go in the other bedrooms so I am excited to start working on them once we get the rest of the downstairs a little more under control.

The second we walked into the kitchen when we first saw this house we loved the open concept and the wood floors. Other than that I don't think there was anything else we were crazy about. I would have loved to remodel the entire kitchen but seeing how we plan on completely gutting the master bath and expanding it and there are quite a few other projects to do in every single room we knew we it would be smarter financially to work with what we had in the kitchen and stick with just brightening it up and updating it vs. completely overhauling it. If we completely overhauled it that would mean no master bathroom updating and the master bath needed it a lot more than the kitchen so it was an easy decision. For this first phase we pretty much just replaced the appliances and hired a wonderful contractor to help us with building the hood. He also fixed up the ceiling and beam area where we pulled down the upper cabinets that divided the room. Other than that it was pretty much just painting and replacing the lighting and hardware!

For phase two we plan on replacing the counters and adding a new farmhouse style sink and new faucet and adding a nice backsplash. When we add the new counters we are going to have them overhang on the peninsula so we can add some counter height stools which I am really looking forward to. I cannot wait to do all that but seeing how we are going to be working on other parts of the house before we come back to the kitchen and finish it up it might be a little while before we make those changes.  I'll keep you all posted.

For now though here is what we've done:

Pretty much as soon as we got unpacked we got to work on this space seeing how we spend by far the most time in here. My parents came to visit the night after we moved in and my mom got right to work scrubbing down the kitchen cabinets. I cannot even begin to tell you how disgusting they were. I actually have a photo of one of the cabinets that I will show you later in the week when I do a full post breaking down how we painted the cabinets (this is the third set of kitchen cabinets along with plenty of bathroom cabinets that I've done and I've done them all a bit differently and learned several things the hard way - haha).  Anyway, I owe her big time for that because it was a pretty awful job. Then we all went to a family wedding in NC and my parent's returned home and Jon's mom and dad arrived and we got right to work painting. Jon's mom helped me with all of the priming and painting in here. With both of us working all day (between the two of us we were practically working around the clock - she would get started each day around 8 and I was finished up around 4am) it took us about 4 days. The actual cabinets themselves were not that time consuming - they probably only took about ten hours or so I would guess. It was all the trimwork, the fireplace, and windows and doors that took so long. I can't imagine having done it without her. I've done all the rest of the painting and projects in the house on my own (I've been working on the entry way which includes several doors and of course the dreaded staircase for over a week now!) and have to say it was so much more enjoyable painting with a partner! I am so grateful for both my mom and mother-in-law's help in transforming this kitchen. And my dad and father-in-law too - although neither of them did any painting they helped with a million other things!

I replaced the black frames on the chevron art for thicker white ones however they hung lower so they look a little off in these photos. The night after I took all the photos I moved the nail a little higher up on the chevron so the white frames are now nicely centered. I still need to distress the white a little so it isn't so bright but I'll get to that eventually. I also plan on painting the table a darker gray color but I'm also thinking about building a smaller farmhouse table for in here so I'm holding off until I decide for sure what I am going to do.

I ended up moving the mirror back above the mantel and I think that's where it's going to stay.

I originally was really torn on whether or not I was going to paint my cabinets white or light gray. Once we decided to hold off a little on replacing the counters (and therefore the backsplash) it helped me to pull the trigger with the light gray that way we could leave the walls white and it would help hide the dated backsplash - especially the weird part above the stove. If we painted the cabinets white I would paint the walls gray and with the backsplash in it's current state it would have made it really stand out which would not have been so attractive. Once the microwave was removed it left a weird patch where there was old wallpaper and some bumped out wood pieces so the easiest thing to do to hide all that for now was to just put a piece of beadboard and just wedge it in there to hide all the mess that's behind it. The big piece of Corian behind the stove with the beadboard above it drives me crazy right now but at least because it's all white it's not too noticeable until you are up close. I can't wait until we get ride of all that and do counters that have no backsplash and do subway tile. At that point I may switch and paint the cabinets and trim white but until then I am happy with how this all looks and how the white walls make the strangeness behind the stove not stand out too much. I am not sure why but in this picture below the white Corian below the beadboard looks similar to the gray on the cabinets. In reality it's more of a white - or was once upon a time many years ago, white. =)

I love this little basket from my sweet friend, Allie. It has wheatgrass in it now but also has been fun to use for holding our silverware.

Here is the old piece of furniture that I turned into an island cart I showed you in this post. However as I mentioned last week we've been playing musical furniture quite a bit over here.

And right now we have this more industrial looking one in here. Although, as I mentioned in the other post neither of them are really quite what I am looking for. =)

Just this afternoon I hung our first chalkboard canvas in that bare space between the end of the cabinets and french doors. I can't wait to get that photographed.

And yes, I still need to paint and wax the legs on our sectional and add a rug and recover the ottoman... and on and on it goes...haha!

And one last before and after shot:

Source List (for both kitchen and family room):

Cabinet and Trim Color: London Fog in Semi-Gloss
Wall Color: was here but very similar to Simply White in Matte
All appliances are Whirlpool and were purchased at Lowe's during their Memorial Day Sale
Flush Mount Drum Shade Fixture - Lowe's
Pendants - These were a hand-me-down from my mom and they worked perfectly in here
*update - my mom gave me the info on them: Kichler Seaside Nautical Dome Light from Bellacor.com

Wood Topped Island Cart - read more about it here
Metal Island Cart - IKEA
Circular Mirror - Antique Farmhouse (from my sister, Dana)
Oversized Clock - Joss and Main
Metal Baskets - Joss and Main
Dishes - Emma Collection from Pottery Barn
Chocolate Cups and Saucers - L. A. Burdick (from my sister, Jamie)
Canisters - Williams-Sonoma
Three-Tiered Wire Basket - Collections at Laurel and Grove in Peterborough, NH
Table - Pier 1 years ago and has since been painted
Dining Chairs - IKEA
Sectional - IKEA
Chevron Picture Frames - tutorial here
Pillows - Home Goods, Target, Dear Lillie
Tufted Chairs - TJMaxx
Script Chairs - TJMaxx
Painted Cabinet - makeover here
TV Console - Antique shop in Camden, SC
Frames above chairs - tutorial here
You Are My Sunshine Print - Dear Lillie
Runner - Home Decorator's Collection
Sconces - RH Baby and Child
Mirror - Restoration Hardware
Rocking Horse - RH Baby and Child
Floating Shelves - Target
Urns on Fireplace - Seasons in Williamsburg (years ago on clearance)

I'll be back again soon as we have several new products to share and also I will be doing a full post dedicated to painting cabinets.

I hope you all are having a fabulous week!