In mid May we finished our kitchen renovation. And I’m still kind of tired from it- haha! It was a ton, ton of work, but I am thrilled with how it turned out (here’s the full kitchen reveal post)! I’ve been getting a lot of questions about it on social media and from friends, so I thought I’d give a kitchen update of what I’m loving and what I’m not loving.
hardware / faucet / soap / candle / brass vase / sink / tile / quartz / cabinets
The sink
Hands down, my favorite part of the kitchen is the sink. It is huge and beautiful! I love that it is so deep that if you have a bowl at the bottom, it’s not really visible so the whole kitchen feels cleaner longer. The part I love most about it is that it isn’t stainless steel! It’s granite and always looks clean. My old stainless sink consistently had water marks on it and it drove me crazy! I was talking to a friend about this and she says lots of people get water softeners just so they have less stains on their sink! So for me, this was definitely worth the upgrade!
white & gold dishes / abstract art / The Year of Cozy / Eat Beautiful / bike / shelves / tile / quartz / cabinets
The open shelving
The number one question I get is how do you keep it clean and not cluttered? The truth is that those shelves are just for looks. Our everyday items go in different cupboards. I love having an area that is always set and looking pretty. I know this isn’t for everyone, but it’s one of my favorite focal points and it really always looks great. The grey of the shelves hides dust nicely 😉 .
subway tile
I’m still obsessed with the subway tile. I’m dreaming of it on the back wall of my laundry room and floor to ceiling in my bathroom. It is just so darn affordable and I love the look it gives! Our back wall used to be painted and it’d get so dirty from the trash being there. And it was really hard to scrub the wall clean. I love how cleanable the tiles are!
hardware / faucet / soap / candle / brass vase / sink / tile / quartz / cabinets
The quartz
I love, love the look of it! To be 100% honest, it makes me a little nervous to use! I used to have laminate, and I hated it so I didn’t take good care of it. I’d put a hot pan on it, I’d cut on it, because who cared?! And it didn’t show any wear. I’m a little terrified of ruining our quartz so I’m super, super careful with it! I love it, but it gives me anxiety (I’ll get over it- haha).
The stove
Similar to the quartz, I love it, but I’m not used to it yet. I was the worst with our old stove- food would fall in the burner and I’d just burn it right up. Now I have to be much more careful so I don’t mess up the glass top. So it’s definitely better. It is a bit of a pain to clean up the glass top, but it works so much better I can’t complain.
hardware / faucet / candle / window shade / brass sconce / sink / tile / quartz / cabinets / peony art / pink rug / cake stand / pineapple cutting board / white & gold dishes / abstract art / The Year of Cozy / Eat Beautiful / bike / shelves /
hardware / faucet / window shade / sink / tile / quartz / cabinets / peony art / pink rug/ Valencia Dress
The pantry
I am obsessed with having all of my appliances in one place. They’re all plugged into one surge protector and I just flip on the switch to it before using it (so I don’t waste energy). The one part I don’t like is my food is too high so I can’t really see it unless I’m on a stool. It ends up being a cluttered mess. I just need to talk my husband to switching around the configuration so that the food is easier to get to.
hardware / faucet / soap / candle / brass vase / window shade / brass sconce / sink / cake stand / pineapple cutting board / white & gold dishes / abstract art / The Year of Cozy / Eat Beautiful / bike / shelves / tile / quartz / cabinets
The Ikea cabinets
Again, this is a feature I love. My favorite part is the soft close. We planned a spot for everything and we have so much more space now that our cabinets go all of the way to the ceiling! Don even has a drawer for his little plastic bowls, baby food and other snacks. It’s so convenient come meal time!
Side note, we had baby locks on our last cabinets. I think Don isn’t used to being able to get in the cabinets so he leaves them alone even though we didn’t baby proof these. Yay!
dishwasher
Another question we get all of the time is where is the dishwasher? I love that it’s hidden with a panel that looks like the rest of the cabinets (especially in such a small kitchen). We got an energy/water efficient dishwasher from Ikea and we love it, but it does take forever to run. I don’t mind because who wants to put away dishes?! But it makes my husband a little crazy.
So there you have it! We love our little kitchen and are so, so happy its done! Do you have any question about my kitchen renovation? Stay tuned for Friday- I have a bit of a wallpaper reveal for you!
All images in this post were taken by Kalee Renee Photography.
Other kitchen posts you might love- how much my kitchen renovation cost (hint this was a budget remodel!). My kitchen reveal.
Side note, RC Willey interviewed me for their blog. I talk about how I got into interior design, grew my Instagram, and my kitchen! Check it out here!
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Eric says
So glad to hear how well your kitchen is holding up! I always wondered how people kept those open shelvex clean – now I know the little secret!
[email protected] says
Haha! I think most people actually use their open shelves. But yep, mine are totally for decoration (and I love it!)