Wednesday, August 11, 2010

The Kitchen Reveal

All the trim is painted, all the counters have been oiled.

I snapped these photos before I had my brothers and their families over for dinner to see the new space. I put our cereal containers and blender under the counter, but stopped short at putting the toaster and coffee maker away as they do in most magazine shoots. This is not Young House Love afterall, I love the blog but those people are insane about home maintenance.




















I think it looks pretty good (who am I kidding, I am in love with it), but most importantly, it is highly functional for both cooking and entertaining: I have a great area in which to roll out my pie dough, and I can chop vegetables while talking to guests who are sitting on the stools or relaxing in the back room.

And I have to say, the help of my architect brother was key. I would have never thought about tearing down that wall and building our little peninsula, but it is the key to the whole space. In fact, it now seems like we have a brand new house that makes sense for living and entertaining, not one that's been retrofitted since it was built 65 years ago to keep up with the changing times. Another benefit of our new layout is that the fridge is hidden. Before it was located to the right of where the sink is now, dead center in a key focal point of the house.





















The countertops and sink are from Ikea, the faucet (soon to replaced by one from Ikea) and dishwasher are recycled from a great Allenhurst estate undergoing a facelift, and the lights are from Home Depot.

2 comments:

Angel Dog Designs said...

it looks fabulous! i love how bright and airy the space is! the brushed stainless lighting fixtures are cool too. everyone knows the best place to hang out is in the kitchen :)

Peggy D. said...

Number One on the list of "26 low-cost, high-style kitchen upgrades" in this month's This Old House Magazine is "OVERSIZE TASK LIGHTS: Put pendantas above the kitchen island. They're classier than track lighting or recessed cans...."

Great choice.