Our next big home project.

September 11, 2020

kitchen renovation

Today is the day we are starting our next big home project! We knew right going into purchasing this home, that the first big renovation project would be the kitchen!

Current view facing the kitchen from the living room.

We are in the rendering phase, weighing all options with the space we are working with. We had wanted to tackle a kitchen reno in our last home, but didn’t expect to move as soon as we did. So even though this home has a different style, it is a similar layout to our last kitchen, and I have had ideas that have been brewing for years now! I can’t wait to get started. The reality with kitchens is that it takes multiple contractors, lots of time, and plenty of important measurements to consider.

I will be sharing this renovation process in phases so today, I am sharing first thoughts and design direction…

pastel kitchen cabinets
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Let’s talk color first! I have it narrowed down to a few color options. Unfortunately there is only one small window in the kitchen area. While there are several windows in the eating area, direct light is slim. I love dark and moody kitchens, but am going with a light color due to the fact that I need to feel motivated to cook 178 meals a week. (You know I love to dramatize numbers.) A greige green is what I would choose if we did color. It goes well with our design direction of the new house, and is light and airy.

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The second option is a light ivory color similar to Studio McGee’s above (Creamy White by Benjamin Moore). I love these colors with natural wood tones and antique brass finishes. Since this most likely won’t be our forever home I also think of re-sale. White and Ivory are timeless and popular colors for kitchen cabinets. I also think it would pair beautifully with a dark smokey charcoal island.Which of the two above color examples would you go for?

tall kitchen cabinets
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Cabinet options – We will be working with a local cabinet company on the cabinets, and currently are getting quotes on options. I love the look of open shelves, but practically speaking I would love to have more cabinet storage as well as avoid all of the dusting open shelves entail. These tall cabinets above are a great example of what I would like to do for uppers!

glass front doors kitchen cabinets
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Another cabinet option I considered was glass front doors on some of the cabinets. It’s visually appealing, but only if you can keep it styled;) Soooo, I think I would rather hide all my mismatched plates and chocolate stash in solid front cabinets.

kitchen pantry
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Pantry – We will be taking out the built in units to make some space for pantry cabinets like pictured above. These will be the same color and style as the kitchen cabinets!

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Backsplash – If I could I would just design a whole home around a French or Spanish kitchen, but even though that isn’t a reality, I can take an element or two to work with our overall goal right? The textured stone background in The Gristmill is the closest thing I can find to what I would love to achieve in the kitchen if we were going with creamy white cabinets. If we go with a lighter green I would keep it simpler.

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Appliances – I don’t want to spend all of our budget on appliances, but I admit I can’t stop dreaming about the one above! However, functional and cohesive with the design is all I am really hoping for! Our current fridge is too deep for the space and since we will be taking out that pantry to move food storage to the other side, I would love to consider a custom front wider fridge. The corner stove we will be moving to where the stovetop currently is in our kitchen, and cornering out the diagonal space.

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A wider view of The Gristmill kitchen. I just can’t get over that stone. I will be sure to share the kitchen renderings, budget, plans, and all of the rest as we go! Progress videos we will continue to share on instagram.

Alright, I want to hear your vote on kitchen color below!

Leave a Comment

  • Oh I am so excited to follow along with this kitchen Reno! Thanks for sharing your process with us! I LOVE the studio McGee kitchen and those colors and textures feel more timeless than the grey/green option (even though that is beautiful too!) I vote the creamy white/ivory!

  • I love the green/gray color!!!

  • I love the creamy white kitchen. And the stone is beautiful, but the practical part of me can’t help but think about how all that texture would be a magnet for kitchen grime-especially behind the stove. I would definitely opt for something easier to keep clean.

    I know whatever you decide will be beautiful-can wait to watch the process!

  • I’m having a similar debate and I’m leaning towards cream. The green is gorgeous, but will probably feel dated more quickly. Cream is classic!

  • Jamie Sparger

    Greige green!!! You only live once!

  • I vote for cream! Love them both but I’m a big fan of cream in so many settings.

  • I pinned almost all the same pictures as you did for our new kitchen. We are almost to the final stretch (lights today; countertops Monday). We did green cabinets! I love them! And Zline for the oven. It looks more high end but doesn’t break the bank.

  • Elaine Kean

    go with the cream…its timeless!! on the stove idea I inherited a gas stove in our new to us home similar to the one you pictuted… it is SO HARD TO KEEP CLEAN!! and it’s just my husband and I! just a thought….

    • Thank you Elaine! That is good to know! We had a gas stove in our last house. Definitely needed a wipe down more often!! The deep grooves aren’t easy to keep up with that’s for sure!

  • Christine C.

    Such pretty design inspirations you’ve chosen! I honestly love the McGee kitchen in creamy white with the brass hardware. It feels so classy and timeless. I never would have considered that stone backsplash, but I agree, it would look marvelous with the lighter cabinets! Either way, I know any choice you make will look amazing. I can’t wait to follow along for updates!

  • I love the green! And I don’t think that it will look dated after time. I also think that even if this is not your forever home and you may be tempted to keep it neutral for selling, you DO want this home to be home for your family and to spark joy to YOU, not just to potential future buyers! The future is uncertain! Live how you love now! Just my two cents! 🙂

  • Cream for sure! Love the creams and natural old world stone look. You have such great taste and I can’t wait to see what you choose!

  • I vote for Ivory, but the deciding factor was resale. Love the idea of it with a charcoal island!

  • We have grey/green cabinets and I love them! Easier to wipe down than white and it sets a tone for the open great room

  • These are beautiful! I think you should go for what makes you happy now and then reface or repaint when you sell if needed. However, one thing I have been considering for our very small, no windows, condo kitchen is two colors—white/cream on upper cabinets and a light gray or similar on the lowers. If you have high ceilings it won’t break up the space too much, the lowers won’t get gross as easily (especially with littles), and the uppers keep everything bright while still having the fun lowers. I’ve seen it on Pinterest a bit lately. Plus, this way you could reface or repaint only half of them when you sell. If you do go with a greige/green for all or part I would personally go for a slightly lighter shade though as I think it will darken the room a lot especially around dinner time. Excited to see what you do!

  • You will love your new kitchen whichever color you choose. However, that green stirs the soul in a way ordinary white never could.

  • I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Gristmill kitchen!!! The light wood cabinets, the stone walls/backsplash, the stove and hardware are all just PERFECT. If you aren’t going with natural wood cabinets, I guess I’d choose white cabinets because it seems like the houses in the south are still in love with white cabinets–for resale value. I have had white, gray, and ivory cabinets and I’m over painted cabinets.. They don’t wear well over time, show so much dirt, grease and handrpints, at least in our experience.

  • Thank you very much for our next big home project, it’s difficult for me to get such kind of information most of the time always… I really hope I can work on your tips and it works for me too, I am happy to come across your article.

  • Does anyone know the paint color of the cabinets that are in with the lacanche range Image?

  • I love the look of a few glass front uppers to break up a wall of solid cabinets which is why I’m thinking of doing a frosted glass with inlaid brass lattice work for our kitchen next year. That way it doesn’t have to be styled exactly perfect all the time and can hold dishes and glassware

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