I’m so excited...
to finally share photos and updates of our home! We did some pretty major changes in almost every room - down to the studs in many spots. I’ve got to say, making home renovation decisions while also planning a wedding is not high on my to-do list to do again, but it was all worth it when I finally got to see all those decisions come to life. We absolutely could not have most of this without our parents providing their free labor for some of the major projects. They put in more hours at our new house than we did last year! They really helped make this home not only feel like ours, but function perfectly for our needs.
Okay first my favorite part - the kitchen. It was very much a builder-grade kitchen that I’m not sure had been updated much since it was built. The kitchen probably took the most time because we removed an entire wall and half wall. As you can see in the before photos, there was this odd wall separating the kitchen from the living room that really had no purpose and wasn’t even a load bearing wall. It was one of the first things I was hoping we could remove so that we could let in more light and add an island.
Just opening the wall made such a dramatic difference in the whole living area. I also decided I wanted to remove the cabinets surrounding the window and put up open-shelving to make it even more airy. And since I was feeling a bit bold, I threw out the question about how hard it would be to put in a bigger picture window. Since we have vinyl siding, it wasn’t too much of a lift (according to Tom) so we found one at Lowes and he got it installed!
Next was mapping out the kitchen island. I knew I wanted two levels so that Jordan and I would be able to sit at it. After a lot of design research and reviews of different types of cabinets, we ultimately decided to go with KraftMaid shaker cabinets in the color Bonsai. We customized it by adding a microwave cabinet, pull out trash can, and a thin cabinet for baking sheets. The countertop was one of the last things installed and it looks spectacular.
The most painful part of the kitchen design was deciding on tiles. I swear if you give me three choices I can (probably) make a quick decision, but thousands of options? Phew. I think the bathroom tile was harder, but I am so happy with the tile we picked. We ordered Riad White Ceramic Wall Tile - 4 x 4 in from the Tile Shop for the kitchen backsplash. Going up to the ceiling around the window makes such an impact when you come into the house!
Instead of buying all new cabinets for the rest, we decided to paint them the same color as our trim (Pale Oak by Benjamin Moore). Mom spent so much time on these - cleaning, sanding, priming, panting, repainting. They came out so well though and look so much better than the building grade look they had previously. My dad also built a custom oven hood since we removed the microwave from above the stove so we could reach it.
I could go on and on about all the details, but we’d be here forever. We've already made so many memories in the months we've been here and I can't wait to make more over the years. Stay tuned for more posts about other rooms we reconstructed. The main bathroom is next!
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