Next Party...

I'll try out these ideas.

via Country Living

Lessons Learned.

Let me start this post by saying how much I love my kitchen. I feel like an official grown up to have a house where we can entertain. I am so proud of it. It was a lot of work but it was also very rewarding to figure out the endless details.

I have received some emails about our renovation experience and those have spurred me to write a short list of what I would do differently- you know how hindsight works.

The pendants: I selected these from Kichler.

I wanted to add a fancy, industrial vibe to our space and these were the right size and price. However, when you sit under them it feels a bit like you have a spotlight on your face. I do wish the bottom had a filter like these: I did not select these because they are 3" larger than what I have in my kitchen and I did not want the proportion to be too large.

Do you see what I mean?

Next, our spice rack. Here's the back story. We received our cabinets for free. They came from a model home that was being broken down -talk about being in the right place at the right time. Our cabinet guy needed 5" on our lowers so he used this drawer front and built a spice rack. I wish we had only 2 drawers instead of three so we could fit our taller bottles- like olive oil, Pam, vinegars, etc...It's not a big deal, those are in the pantry but I would redo that design.

Last detail: how to disguise the microwave. I hate how much counter space it eats up. We simply ran out of room to incorporate the microwave as a built in, but in kitchen planning this detail would take priority for future designs. If you are renovating your kitchen, I hope this was a helpful post. Best of luck!

Renovation is more detailed than wedding planning

I love details. I like having 100 bases to cover and remaining stress free throughout the process. This is a strength of mine and I pride myself in this attribute. In general, it takes a lot to rattle me. For example: planning the wedding. What a breeze. We had a five month engagement and we could have done it in three. (A special thanks to my Mom, Dad, Diane and Tiffany). Okay Okay, I'll stop complimenting myself and let you know how much I am learning about the increasing details that are required to renovate. I am juggling trying to please the husband (who ultimately trusts my decisions), make my selections "re-sellable" to your average Joe (i.e. do marble countertops scare everyone or just the OCD and those who don't find them as stunning as I do?) and narrow down the many styles that I am drawn to into a classic kitchen.
In the pictures above, the subway tiles on the backsplash are popping out to me. Also, in the last picture the countertop (I believe it's a quartz) is the first example I've seen that I could live with. I'm also loving the drop in cooktop and the glass inserts on the cabinets.