Our 100 year old colonial got her kitchen renovation glow up in 2024.  It was a long time coming!   I wanted it to not feel too different from the rest of the house.  I feel like with beadboard, an updated subway tile, and classic touches, we achieved a modern take on it.  With an old house, I feel an extra sense of responsibility to do it in keeping with the rest of the house.  I love it now.  It’s much more functional, and enjoyable.  I cook most of our meals, so having a great space to do that in and entertain has felt wonderful during the holidays. 

It was a huge pain being without a kitchen for so long, but I am glad we did it.  We did a meal service locally through Power Meals By Dawn that does Paleo meals.  That saved us some sanity!  And I would definitely recommend doing something like that, so you’re not relying on take out or eating out.  

I’ll update as we get more pictures of the space.  But sharing everything we did below!  

STRUCTURAL CHANGES we made during our kitchen renovation

We didn’t change the footprint but we switched a few things around.  We played with switching things completely around. But decided it wouldn’t look right!  

• Our contractors took the soffit out.  This soffit bothered me from day one.   We already do not have high ceilings in this home, but this made it even lower.  Now that it’s gone, I also think it makes the space feel 5x bigger too.  
• We switched the placement of the fridge with the sink.  
• We also added a little window above the sink.  I had always wanted a window above my kitchen sink!  While we did this to add a window, it also makes it much more functional.  I can easily wash dishes and continue to chat with everyone.  Before I would be more removed from any guests if I was washing dishes, making conversation harder.  

APPLIANCES

We chose different appliances.  Actually,  JB did!  He did all of the research.  But we did different ones, because all of them are panel ready but the stove and a microwave that’s mostly hidden. I wanted the stove to be the centerpiece.  

Fridge:  We wanted a panel ready fridge, so it could blend in with the cabinets.  We chose this Signature Kitchen Suite.  Fridges were on back order when we were ordering, and this one was available locally at Rice’s.   If we knew how long the kitchen renovation would have taken, we could have gone with another brand.  But honestly, I LOVE this fridge and how huge it is.  We utilize it all.  I love that some of the drawers can be changed to fridges, and the ice balls are so fun for entertaining.   

Dishwasher:   We went with a Bosch panel ready dishwasher.  So good so far!

Microwave:  We did a drawer microwave from WOLF.  I love that it’s not a focal point of the kitchen, and hidden for the most part.    It’s been great so far. 

Oven and Stove:  We went with the La Cornue Cornufe 110 in Roquefort.  We bought this in 2022!  So seeing it finally go in was the best feeling.  I was a little worried about the two small stoves, but it works great for our family and I love cooking on it.  Plus, she’s a beauty!  I do plan on doing a more in detail review of the stove after we’ve used it for a bit longer.  It’s so nice to have a gas stove! 

HARDWARE 

I went with whatever my sister had!  We used the same cabinet company, and I loved how well Molly’s had held up and the classic design of them.  I went within our budget with our cabinet company.   I felt in over my head by that selection point, and Molly has the best taste.  I do wish I would have looked into this more!  This is also where hiring an interior designer would have been key!  We only have issues with the pulls for our fridge, and our cabinet company is handling the replacement.  But I do wonder about an unlacquered brass, as it feels very 1920s.  We haven’t had any issues with any of the other pulls.  

Knobs:  Jeffery Alexander Tiffany Knob

Pulls:  Jefferey Alexander Tiffany Pull

SINK AREA

Sink Faucet:  We went with the Moen Weymouth pull down.  I was also a copy cat with my sister here!  But it’s a great sink faucet.  

Soap Dispenser:  a matching moen 

Disposal button:  this one from amazon.

Sink:  Rowena fireclay sink.  I have always wanted a sink like this.  Maybe it leans too “farm house”… but to me, it’s classic.  

Cafe Curtain:  We added in a pepper home cafe curtain.  You can find the hardware we used here.  

CABINETS

We worked with Progressive Cabinets here locally.  They will do the measuring, planning, etc.  Shawna was very patient with us throughout the whole process and had helpful ideas.  We went with a Shaker style in their white.  

I did not do inset cabinets.  I love the look!  But they are much more expensive. We’re right off the river here, and I was worried about moisture warping them over time in this climate.  

One thing I especially love is the drawers.  I know this is nothing new.  But we’re now mostly drawers, and it’s just so nice for storage!  

QUARTZ SELECTION

After most of the plans were in place, I met Holly and hired her to help me pick out the quartz.  And ask her a million questions!  I did a consult for an hour, but she would be fantastic if you have a project to manage.  Everyone I’ve referred her to, or that knows her, LOVES her.  

I went with her selection of quartz sight unseen!  That was risky lol. But I 100% trust Holly!  We chose Gan Eden Pompeii Quartz.  I wanted marble, but that was one thing JB wasn’t on board with.  I don’t mind imperfections over time, but he really did not want to deal with the upkeep of marble.    

LIGHT FIXTURES

Pleated pendants over the island:  I used Ballard Designs Margot single pendant (x2) with pleated shade.  Then had the shades sent to Cruel Mountain Designs.  I also had the Dolly fabric from Sister Parrish sent there.  I worked closely with Cruel Mountain, and they helped me figure out how much fabric I would need.  They pleated the shades and sent them back to me.  They did a great job!  

Sconces:  I used Cruel mountain to also pleat the sconce shades.  The light fixtures are from Visual Comfort.

Above the sink light:  Rosehill Semi-Flush.  Such a pretty light here!  

Chandelier above table:  Julie Neill Alberto chandelier.  I bought this in 2021, and felt it still looked great so didn’t switch anything out here!

PAINT COLOR   

White Dove by Benjamin Moore throughout.  Like a lot of my house.  I do want to do a wallpaper in here.  Maybe a durable grasscloth.  

TILE – BACKSPLASH

Subway tile is a classic.  I ordered this longer version to update it a bit from Tile Bar after getting a couple samples.  I love the look of it.  

FABRICS

I used Dolly from Sister Parrish throughout.  On the pendants, sconces, and pillows.  I went with their “lettuce” color as it also has specs of cornflower blue that I also have in the room. 

Bench seating is in this cornflower color from Ballard in a performance fabric.  I had it upholstered by Rosier here in Palmetto.  

I initially went with a similar gingham fabric from Ballard for the pleated curtains behind the glass.  But we switched to a thinnner fabric from JoAnne’s.  This is still in progress.  JB initially started on this journey then passed the baton onto my mother.  She just has the smaller panels to do.  But I love how it hides our pantry and adds some color.   I’ll share more when it’s finished.  

PILLOWS

Maxine Makes lives south of us, and made these gorgeous Dolly pillows.  I love how they turned out.

I also have some perfect needlepoint pillows I scooped up from Hope Mashall Home, a local vintage and estate sale shop.  

I’ve added these Gingham ones for the time being for the bench seating.  

FURNITURE from Williams Sonoma Home 

Topanga Counter Stools:  Couldn’t say enough good things about these stools.  Plus how easy it is to keep the cushions clean.  

Tioga Oval Table:  We went with this beautiful white table.  Honestly though, there’s so much white in this kitchen right now, that I almost always have a tablecloth on it!  

Chairs opposite the bench:  We went with a mix of the Topanga chairs, and the Aubrey Chairs.  I plan to get a cushion made for the aubrey chairs.  

ART WORK

This is something I’m planning on getting more of.  But for now, we have this precious Lily of the Valley piece from Litore Studio.  I had it framed using Framebridge.  

THE PLATE WALL

The plate wall was something I really wanted when we first started thinking about it.  I just love them!  And there was an odd spot that needed to be filled.  So far, so good!  You can read all about the plate wall HERE.