MY KITCHEN REMODEL

OR HOW THREE FEET CHANGED MY LIFE...

There have been changes at the Barnett house..

Exciting changes, brought on by not so exciting events.

A kitchen slab leak, gave us the nudge we needed to take the remodeling plunge.  We figured if we were going to have to replace flooring, wall board, paint and repair cabinets, we may as well just remodel the whole kitchen.

Right?

I actually love my little house.  

But I hated that cramped kitchen
A remodel had been on my wish list for a long, long time.

There is no getting around it.... a kitchen remodel is HELL, but we seemed to manage to take it to a whole new level.
We started the repair and renovation and then 

just about everything else happened -

I traveled to Texas on business and landed in a hospital with a blood clot in my leg -
My sweet 97 year old mother passed away...
We had another slab leak.
We had to redo the plans because of new building code changes.

Because of the delays caused by the above life events,
our contractor had to take another job in the interim, and we had to wait again...
My oldest sister became seriously ill.
Life events - both good and bad...
We had them all.

In spite of having our entire downstairs torn up,
we decided to try to relax, and be grateful for the life we have.
We ate out a lot, ignored the dust and counted our blessings:
We have lovely memories of my Mother.
I survived the blood clot.
My sister is getting the care she needs.

and FINALLY - it was complete...

These are the BEFORE and AFTER views of my kitchen...

(Before)

A peninsula separating the kitchen from the family room created a tight U-shaped space

on one side of the kitchen. (Just try to get more than one person in there preparing meals..)

The peninsula made the area too tight to have any sort of island or prep area...
and I REALLY wanted an island.

(Before)

So, we removed the peninsula, pushed out a wall in the family room,
 and added an island

And found slightly industrial style pendants with cute Edison style bulbs.

The old cabinets were solid wood
but that was about the only thing going for them...
yellow oak
ugly
cramped
showing their age...
Usable counter space? - don't get me started...
30 inches over the dishwasher next to the sink, then a tight corner next to the range,
followed by an even tighter corner between the range and the refrigerator.

(Before)

Oh, and OAK.
Did I already say that?

Yes, we were long overdue for a change...

We'd never changed the previous owner's choices in this room,
not even the paint,
because we planned to remodel and didn't want to do everything twice.

We chose black honed granite counters (Zimbabwe) 

and on the island, beautiful walnut butcher block.

It reminds me of furniture.

Breaking up the range/oven/microwave into a cook top and wall oven/microwave combo

made cooking much easier - especially with more than one person in the kitchen

Beneath the counter were small, narrow drawers and equally small cupboards 
that were accessible only if I wanted to get down on my hands and knees.  
Which I really didn't. 

There were things lost in there...
waaaay back in the corners.

Instead of bottom cupboards, we opted for deep drawers wherever possible.   

They open effortlessly and close softly.  

I'm in kitchen heaven.  

No more digging in cabinets on my hands and knees...
We chose bronze toned pulls for the drawer hardware and knobs
in a clean lined style that compliments the dark granite and the simplicity of the cabinets.

We wanted to have a beautiful back splash without the eyesore of ugly outlets dotting the wall, so we had the electrician install outlet strips under the upper cabinets along with led lighting.  

A white kitchen can look cold and stark if you aren't careful -

To counteract all the whiteness we chose subway shaped (3"x 6") marble for the back splash.  

It was still light in color, but had creams, grays and beige.  

We had it installed super close together - no grout lines!

(Before)

Before, there was nothing on the other side of the room, but a small pantry cabinet.

I hated that there were only cabinets on one side of the room.
I really only had half a kitchen...

(Before)

(Pardon the clutter, these photos were taken after the slab leak -
so stuff everywhere as we emptied cabinets......)

We moved the sink  (formerly in the peninsula) to the window.  We installed a 16 gauge stainless steel sink - single bowl - which I love.  Most common gauge for sinks is 18 - 22 gauge - the smaller the gauge, the thicker the steel.  16 gauge will be stronger and thicker than the 18-22 gauge. 

We added lower cabinets and wall ovens to that side of the room. For the kitchen faucet I chose streamlined stainless by Hansgrohe.

Not a large house here, folks... which is why the available space needs to be put to good use!
The architect for this home must have been
MAD, NUTS, BONKERS!
But we fixed all that....

No more 1/2 kitchen!

None of this would have been possible without the remodel.
Our kitchen's outer wall actually extended 5 feet beyond the adjacent family room outer wall.
We decided to bump out the family room wall a little in order to open up the floor space in the kitchen.  

So we pushed it out 3 feet because the second story overhang came out that far.

That seems small, doesn't it?
Hardly worth the effort.

But those 3 feet changed our lives.

It opened up the entry to the kitchen, creating more usable floor space,
and made this whole renovation possible.

Its amazing how three feet can change a room.

New windows and french doors in place of the sliders were also added.

Going from the tired yellow oak cabinets to soft white was like night and day.  

I cannot describe how just that change made the entire space feel.  

My kitchen isn't huge, but I feel we made the most of the space, and the change is dramatic.  We had our first party here shortly after it was finished and I was delighted that there was room for everyone that wanted to help or just hang out and talk.

After waiting so long for the remodel, we wanted to make sure the cabinets we chose were good quality. A Plus Kitchens created my custom cabinets. They are simply the best.  They manufacture their own cabinets with full 1 inch thick doors and drawer fronts, wonderful finishes and impeccable craftsmanship.  I chose a soft white finish to make my space feel light filled and spacious. They helped me to design my cook-top hood and worked with me on all the little details... 

I would love to hear your thoughts on the remodel!

Best,
Claudine

BRAND NEW YEAR - BRAND NEW LOOK

If you follow my blog at all, you know how important I believe 'freshening' and 'updating' your home is to keeping or improving its overall value.

For most of us, our homes are our largest and most emotional investment.  Reams of research has shown that if your house is antiquated and out of date visually, it can devalue that investment when it comes time to sell. While you may not be anticipating a sale or refinance in the near future, when that time does come around it is much easier to deal with a few changes because you have kept your home updated, than to drown in a sea of changes and their overwhelming cost to be able compete in the current market and get the best possible return on your investment.

So, while you are making resolutions for change in the brand new year, why not set a few goals to update and freshen your home.

With that in mind, here are a few items on my list, as well as some suggestions:

Create that built-in you've been dreaming about.

Photo by Burnham Design

Built-ins are a great asset - I mean who doesn't need more storage?  A built-in bookcase or window bench with storage, always makes a room more beautiful and more useful.  It's on my list, too.

Mine will be in my master bedroom - the first room I'm tackling for the New Year.  I want built-in clothing storage (dresser) on the bottom and miles of shelves above - and no other furniture except for the bed and bedside tables....  

Create a statement at your entry - a fresh new first impression

Photo by Burnham Design

Go take a look at your entry as if you were a visitor coming to your home for the first time.  What impression does your front entry give?  You may not have a true 'entry' space - mine is a tiny landing and then a step down into the living room - but you can still create an 'entry' area that looks inviting and pulled together.

It's also on my list for 2017... I have these large antique corbels - just dying to make them into an entry shelf.  With such a small space at my front entry, this may just be the ticket to add function and a little drama!

Update your color scheme: change out fabrics and accessories

Photo by Carolyn Greco [Interior] Design

I know a lot of you are living with decades old color schemes.  I know this because I see it every day. Nothing dates a home more than old fashioned, dated colors.  The ticket to avoiding the curse of the outdated color palette is to have a base of neutrals.  I'm not talking beige here - nearly every color out there has a neutral - its a matter of finding a grayed down version of that color you crave.

I recently updated my own color scheme.    I went from color to neutrals and was blessed with instant calm.  This soothing new palette of cream, taupe and cool grays greets me with soothing bliss when I come in the door.  I can accent this palette with any hue I choose, because it looks good with virtually any color.  I chose to accent with navy/indigo - which is also a neutral - deciding against a pop of color just now in lieu of my new found calm and soothing palette.  I just found wonderful new navy accents at Pottery Barn I have my eye on to add more of that lovely color throughout the living room, so adding more of the accent color is on my list for 2017. I'm planning on pulling in a tufted navy or indigo blue ottoman as a coffee table and a fresh new rug for the family room.

But the future is wide open to whatever color strikes my fancy. All I have to do is change some accessories and a few pillows or an area rug to get a whole new look.     

Update your interior paint colors - 

I'm telling you: new paint will change your life....

I'm not kidding!  If you are living with decades old wall color, you deserve the lift fresh, current wall color can give you.  Warm tones were big the last decade or two - but warm colors move toward you, bringing those walls closer.  Try a gray toned color - your room will feel soft and soothing, cool and spacious.

I can't wait to change mine with brand new colors in the master suite!  It's definitely on my list for 2017!  I'm currently looking at Sherwin Williams COLLONADE GRAY and WORLDLY GRAY - with fresh white trim....   Any suggestions? 

Have you looked at that front door lately?  

Give it a fresh coat of a new color!  

Make it pop!

A shabby front door is the worst!  It's one of the first impressions of you and your home.  We repaint ours nearly every year, so its definitely on our list for 2017.  The sun hits our front door and after a while the paint starts to crack and fade a little.  The Hubs likes a nice fresh looking door - so he keeps it painted.  He fell in love with the dramatic glossy black doors in London, so we have a black front door, but I love it too.  Front doors should never blend in with the rest of the house.  Here, you can definitely use a bright pop of color, or a deep dramatic contrast.  Make sure there is no question as to where your door is, and make a statement!

Fireplace need a face lift?  

Upgrading a fireplace is really pretty simple.  I'm always a little surprised when I see a decades old home with the same builder grade brick fireplace it came with. 

We were fortunate in that the previous owner of our home upgraded the fireplace.  It has a nice deep painted wood mantle and surround and a nice stacked stone facade.  Still, the Hubs wants to change it a little - it has a little weird molding thing in the front that he can't stand and he's dying to get rid of - so its on the list for a little face lift for 2017.  

If you are living with ugly brick - here's a remodel that doesn't take a lot of $$. Notice here how the only demo was the raised hearth - they simply dry-walled over the existing brick and built the look they wanted from there.

You can also simply paint that brick and beef up your mantle...

 Or whitewash it.

 or cover it with a stone or faux stone veneer...

If you currently have a mantle and surround that needs a fresh look - paint it a fresh white and add some shiplap or paneling to the ceiling.

 Get rid of outdated yellow oak everywhere, 
especially on the staircase.

The men in our lives tend to hold wood grain sacred.

Even yellow-ish, orange-ish oak.

It's not about the wood.  Seriously.  

Its that particular type and color of wood that designates a certain era and says 'outdated'.  Let's be accurate... it SCREAMS 'OUTDATED'.  It can bring the whole house down.  It can devalue your home.  A fresh coat of white and a little detail molding will work wonders.

Of course, if you want to tear it out and replace it with beautiful, more current wood - be my guest!

I'm a fan of beautiful wood - but it's a pricey fix.

 The first thing I did when I moved into this house was to get rid of the horrible yellow oak banister and spindles by painting. It was the first thing you saw when you stepped in the door - it screamed 'welcome to the 90's'.

Once that was complete, I paneled the walls, removed the carpet and installed hardwood steps.

The staircase is now one of the best features of our home.

Give an old, tired, dark wood piece a fresh coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

and watch it gain a new lease on life

Sometimes you need a break from all the wood toned furniture in a room. Painted furniture gives your eye a chance to rest, a change, and can save you money by extending the life of an old outdated piece of furniture. Save the life of an old outdated piece by giving it a fresh new coat - Annie Sloan's Chalk paint seems to be a pretty simple DIY project.  I have several pieces at my house that would qualify for this project..... uh, Hubs...?  I have more to put on the 2017 list.....

How about some fresh new bedding?

Bedding can cost you a bundle.  I think that's why we tend to keep the same look for so long.

I've determined that a layered look is the easiest to change.  A neutral or white bedspread.

A colorful duvet or quilt folded down and matching shams and a few accent pillows - 

and when change feels necessary - changing the accent pillows or a duvet and shams is pretty simple

Redoing the master bedroom/bath puts this on my list, too.

Updating your lamps and accent pillows are inexpensive changes that make a big difference

I love changing out lamps. Especially the shades. Sometimes you can get away with an older lamp if you update the shade. Nothing dates a home faster than a really elaborate beaded or fringed lampshade -

it's amazing how a simple linen clean-lined lampshade can freshen a room.

Neutralize your living spaces.  

When you think about it, we wouldn't even be in this outdated rut if we invested in neutrals.

Changes are so much easier when you have a neutral background -
achieving a new look is as simple as bringing in a few new accessories and colors
 to add to that fresh neutral palette.

These two rooms have basically the same neutral palette for the large furnishings and wall color.
Virtually any color can be added to transform them into an entirely different look.
So simple.

Can't afford new flooring or carpet?  
How about a fresh new area rug.

Flooring can be a big dollar item to change.  If yours is really outdated and you crave new carpet or hardwood or tile - but that's not looking like an option anytime soon - find a way to disguise and freshen it by bringing in a new area rug.  Even if you have nice flooring - an area rug is a great way to add pattern, color and freshness to a room.

Change What You Look At

While we are at it, how long have you been looking at the same old photos, in the same old frames?

Or the same stale art on your walls?

I know those old oak framed school pictures are sentimental... but... can we please update them?

Put those in the photo album and have more current ones printed for the walls.

Your kids will thank you.

Try new updated frames, or new subject matter...  Bring in a little nature!

Light Up Your Life

Change out your light fixtures - get rid of those old dated pendants and chandeliers for new fresh

clean updated lighting.  An added perk is they will be more energy efficient, too.

Back-splashes are a quick change you can make 

for not a lot of dough

Its amazing the impact a few square feet of new tile will have on your kitchen!  There are so many amazing choices out there, too.  Consider expanding the area you cover in backsplash tile - surround a window or cover an empty wall.

Bathrooms should always be fresh!

Bathrooms are relatively easy to paint.  Not a lot of wall space in comparison to other rooms of the house.  A fresh coat will change your look, but while you are at it take a look at the faucets and the light fixtures.... need a change?  It's one of the best places to put your money - as dated bathrooms definitely scare buyers away...

What do you have on your list?
Are you planning bigger projects this year, or just quick refreshers?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  May it be prosperous!