• April 3, 2013

Kitchen Sneak Peek

Are we there yet?

Kitchens, Restoration Diary

Our kitchen is 95% done. We still have some small things left to do like install the outlet covers and touch up the paint, so no Before & After reveal or resource list just yet. But, the kitchen is functional.

Pictures of cabinets before they were painted and cabinet maker information here. The cabinet paint color is Benjamin Moore Graphite. More about the cabinet color here.

I have to say the new kitchen is absolutely wonderful and I have no idea why we waited so long to remodel it. Kitchen before…yeah, I know! What were we waiting for? The kitchen actually looks nicer in those before pics than it really was.

Looking into our back porch.

I utilized the space from what was probably an original built-in for a pullout pantry. Part of the reason it took me 10 years to do this remodel was because I felt so guilty at the thought of ripping out the built-in. There is still some debate whether that built-in was actually original to the house or added a little later.

Now that the built-in is gone, I don’t miss it at all and haven’t looked back. Having so much counter space makes the kitchen a dream to cook in. We have super deep pullout pantries and drawers. I LOVE the storage space.

I have blind corner pullouts on both sides of the room. These are so functional.

My favorite thing in the kitchen is this Franke Manor House Series faucet. I love how the nickel has brass accents and it ties the chrome, stainless steel and brass hardware used throughout the kitchen together. I found the faucet on Amazon. It was a closeout and I got it for a third of the cost, which makes me love it even more!


I love a farmhouse sink. This was the most affordable one I could find that still had the style I liked. I used to think I preferred a two basin sink, but decided to get one large basin when I found out I was pregnant. I imagined us washing the baby in there. Of course, we haven’t done that once, but now I am a complete convert to a one basin sink.

I just have to say that our new garbage disposal is awesome. Every time we used our old one it clogged up the drain and we had to call the plumber.

The wood shelves are in the space where our other built-in cupboard resided. I know for a fact that built-in was original to the house. The plumbing for the upstairs bathroom sits in the space above the shelves and the main drain from the upstairs is in the little bump out wall to the right of the shelves. We left the plumbing in place and saved 6-10k.

The wood shelves were a compromise to save money after we ran into some unexpected electrical issues. I’m really happy with the open shelving.

Instead of the stainless steel fridge imagine this. One day…sigh. Why are all the stylish retro fridges so expensive? SMEG’s are cute but don’t seem family friendly. Have you seen the ice box?

The little doors lead to storage space and shelving underneath the stairs. I also had a wide trim piece installed all around the top of the room. It aligns with the top of the doorways and window trim. I have no idea what this trim piece is called. Anyone? I have always loved the Gamble House kitchen. I wanted to incorporate that touch into our humble little kitchen.

I bought the pendents from IKEA before I had even decided on a cabinet color. What a happy coincidence! And, you can’t beat the price, $60 total for two huge fixtures.

The other thing I am loving is finally having a dishwasher…I mean one other than me!

Comments { 17 }
  1. Kimberly

    Beautiful!!!! I love how shiny, bright, and HAPPY it finally looks in your little kitchen. Congratulations!


  2. J-C

    Wow, this looks great. It strikes that ‘hard-to-find’ balance between modern and traditional 1920s. Are the cabinets black, or just dark grey/charcoal?

    I love the brass hardware, and the farmhouse sink. I’m not sure what I want to do with my kitchen just yet.

    Will you be going over your budget/sources for the kitchen when you’re done? I’d be curious to know where the cabinets are from (they look like they could be IKEA boxes with custom fronts/doors.

    Those blind-corner pull-outs are nice (I’ve installed a few of them for clients’ kitchens). They are pricey, though. The larger ones are as much as 900$.

    And now I’m starting to ramble.


  3. Eric

    The kitchen looks beautiful. I would have never dared pick the color cabinets you picked, but seeing them in place they look gorgeous.

    Did you change the layout at all? I looked at the floorplan you posted in your Kitchen Before post, but I couldn’t figure out if any doorways had been removed / eliminated.


    • Heather

      Thanks! We left the floor plan exactly the same. We did close up a portion of the space that had been a built-in to fit our stove on the east wall.


  4. Art

    Looks wonderful–congratulations! I especially love the built-in retrofit. (And I can’t even begin to imagine week #1 with a new baby in a hotel…eep! Glad you got through that as well!)

    We have similar moulding in our 1915 bungalow and have always called it picture rail, even though in some rooms like the bathroom, it is flat like yours and does not have the traditional hooked ledge for picture hooks as it does in our public rooms. It’s still much easier for hanging pictures than trying to put nails in plaster.

    Enjoy the new kitchen (and the new baby!)


  5. D'Arcy H

    It’s been a while since I dropped by your blog. Congratulations on your new daughter AND on your nearly finished kitchen! We are struggling through a DIY renovation of our 1913 bungalow kitchen, so it’s encouraging to see that these things CAN be finished someday!! I love your gray cabinets with brass hardware, and the sink and faucet are gorgeous! Nice job!


  6. Thomas

    Love your kitchen – just wonderful!

    I’ve been planning my kitchen remodel for about 5 years now… really feeling the need to get it done.


  7. Jennifer in SP

    I spent all weekend reading your whole saga (coincidentally, I know Adam J. and Colleen, who I used to work with!). The kitchen looks really wonderful, and the attention to detail really makes the room! I love that rail from the Gamble House kitchen that you incorporated — and also the cabinets, hardware, etc. – really impressive and inspiring!


  8. Ragnar

    “I also had a wide trim piece installed all around the top of the room. It aligns with the top of the doorways and window trim. I have no idea what this trim piece is called. Anyone?”

    I’d call it a “continuous head casing”. I’ve heard the term “band trim”, and even “head band”, but the latter sounds like something worn by females. :)


  9. Tiffany

    Wow! I am so very impressed with all the work! I have been browsing through your photos and other posts… I am in awe! This is exactly what I want to be able to do one day, take old homes and renew them… and your website is inspiring.


    • Heather

      Aw, thanks! That’s so nice to hear.


  10. James

    We are about to begin renovating a 1910 farm house in the Catskills. What an inspiration in this. But I must know one thing: your stove – a restored original or new retro style? It reminds me of my mother’s.


    • Heather

      The stove is a 1940′s original. We had to replace the heating element but everything else is original. It cooks like a dream. We purchased it for $200 off of Craig’s List from some college students who were in a hurry to sell it before moving back home for the summer.


  11. jolina

    where did you get the brass hardware – i love it!!


  12. Anelle

    Hi! I’ve been following you guys for a few years now, since before I bought my 1912 Craftsman last year. Ive used your before and after projects as inspiration and motivation to restore my own home. Thank you so much for this blog! :)



If you would like to select an image to appear next to your comment, go to Gravatar.