Kitchen Remodeling – Cabinets

We are in the planning stages of a kitchen remodel. Oh my goodness. Talk about decisions. The first decision we had to make was a big one. Do we reface, paint, or replace our cabinets? It turns out refacing or repainting is a good option if you love the current layout, have good quality cabinets, and want to avoid the pain of having your kitchen torn-up for weeks, instead of days.

Ours will be replaced. We both like the clean look of shaker style, and also want to add some lighted display cabinets above the upper cabinets. Fortunately, we have plenty of room thanks to vaulted ceilings. There are other cabinet decisions too. For example, adding pull-out shelves and other organizers to make accessing things easier.  Thankfully, those decisions are done, and right now, we are trying to be patient waiting for bids.

The hardware has also been chosen for the cabinets. Designers say you can mix metals, but generally only two. Since our kitchen is part of a great room floor plan, oiled bronze is already in play. The farm sink we both like is quartz, in truffle. Therefore, the faucet we have chosen is from Newport Brass, in antique nickel.  Happily, we found knobs and pulls we like that pair well with the selections. 

Kitchen Remodeling – Countertops

Countertops proved to be the most fun. We both love marble, but feel the care and upkeep doesn’t match our lifestyle. We both love to cook, and we, honestly, get a little messy at time. Our counters often see spills of olive oils, tomato sauce and red wine. Since marble is porous…it needs to be sealed frequently to protect it from deep stains. Neither of us wants high maintenance.

Like the rest of the world, we are so over granite. We first considered quartzsite. It too is a natural stone, but it also requires regular sealing.   Fortunately, we both remembered a former kitchen with quartz countertops. The quartz was beautiful, and gave us the carefree ease of cooking which we both prefer. No panic when something spills! 

We settled on Silestone quartz and a marble look-alike called Eternal Calacatta Gold.  Like most on-screen visuals, you don’t see the true colors, or depth, on-line. When we saw it in person, we knew it was “the one.” It will give us the look we’re going for, without the hassles. It’s stain resistant, maintenance free, durable, food safe, and cleans up with a little soap and water. It comes with a lifetime guarantee too.

Kitchen Remodeling – Backsplash Choices, Oh My

One of the goals of our remodel is to create a timeless kitchen that will withstand the years. We also favor a light, bright, and clean, fresh, but inviting, feel to the space. Subway tile is often one of the first choices for remodel goals such as ours. What delighted both of us was learning about all the different choices in subway tile. Not just colors, but in design options.

This is where we are still wavering in our decisions. Bernie likes a traditional ceramic subway tile, perhaps with a grout to compliment the darker accent paint of our large kitchen island. I’m swooning over a Clé zellige tile in weathered white. It looks like it comes from a European farmhouse. As you can see from the photo above, the irregular tiles and color variations add up to pure charm. At least to me, not so for Bernie.

Chances are, we’ll decide on something in between. A little less gloss, perhaps something like this one, also from Clé. It’s a classic subway tile, but the bevel gives it a little more interest. Although, there may be hope yet for my choice.  This morning, Bernie asked to see photos of zellige tile backsplashes again. Stay tuned…there’s more to come as this adventure unfolds.