The Happier Homemaker

Modern Homemaking Made Easy

All About the Details: Blogger’s Kitchen Tours

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kitchen-home-tour

Do you remember last month when I joined some of my favorite bloggers to share my home tour? Well this month we’re back and sharing our kitchens-and it’s “all about the details!” So without further ado, here are some of my favorite things about my kitchen…be sure to scroll all the way to the end of the post to see the other great bloggers sharing their kitchens today and tomorrow as well as a big giveaway!

kitchen1

The kitchen is one of my favorite spaces in my home. We have an open floorplan so the kitchen is the centerpiece of the downstairs. It is flanked by a generous eat-in area with windows overlooking the backyard. We love this eat in area so much we abandoned our formal dining room in favor of a sitting room and use this area full-time.

dining table

In front of the kitchen is our living room.

home tour living room

Because we built our home we were able to pick out our own finishes. We opted for dark cabinetry (better to hide grime from our three little boys!) and a medium tone granite with flecks of brown and gold. We put in a white subway tile backsplash with white grout but I recently changed the grout color (it was so easy!) to a darker grey for a more classic look.

dark grout subway tile

The island is the crowning glory of the kitchen…the original floorplan had a tiered island with a breakfast bar and it sat much closer to the other counter area making the kitchen seem narrow and galley-like. We asked the builder to give us one large flat slab for the island because this blogger needs some counter space to bake all my goodies, am I right?!

I also asked them to move the island out farther into the living room area to open up the kitchen walkway and take advantage of the large open layout which they agreed to. Unfortunately there was a mix up in the blueprints and my island ended up 7 inches CLOSER to the cabinetry against the wall!

We lived with it about a month but it was just too narrow (we couldn’t open up the dishwasher and oven at the same time because it was so close…not that we do that all the time but just to show how narrow the space between the cabinets was. The builder was awesome though and came out and moved the entire island out 15 inches towards the living room. This was no easy task-they had to take everything out down to the slab, move plumbing, electrical, tear out the wood floors…it was a mess.

kitchen island move

But in the end it was worth it!

Kitchen Tour 3

We don’t have a ton of counter space and storage in the kitchen but a few things have helped me take maximum advantage of the space we have. I created a “drop zone” in this little countertop space between the refrigerator and the hallway that leads to the garage and mudroom. This is where I can drop my purse, without it being in the way (and keep it out of reach of my two year old who thinks it’s great fun to dump the contents on the floor!) I also have a basket I purchased at World Market to keep my magazines, our library book, and the iPad stashed in.

kitchen drop zone

On the main countertops by the stove I have our Keurig which is pretty new for us, and I use a small dollar store hurricane to store the K-cups in nearby.

k-cup storage

Under the sink I try to keep it organized so I can find what I need when I need it. I hung an inexpensive tension rod across the top of the cabinet to hang all our spray bottle cleaners on and that keeps them handy while freeing up the bottom of the cabinet for sponges, dusting rags, etc.

organize kitchen

Well, that’s all of my kitchen goodness…don’t miss the rest of the kitchen tours this week!

Thursday, August 22

Atta Girl Says

Practically Functional

While Wearing Heels

The Creek Line House

Back Porch Musings

A Stroll Thru Life

Recreate and Decorate

Worthing Court

The Happier Homemaker

Rain on a Tin Roof

Mom 4 Real

Town and Country Living

Debbiedoo’s

Friday, August 23

The Everyday Home

Good Life of Design

French Country Cottage

Marty’s Musings

Adventures in Decorating

Cedar Hill Ranch

So Much Better With Age

Our Southern Home

The Lily Pad Cottage

Fox Hollow Cottage

Stone Gable

And now for the giveaway!

Kitchen Tour Giveaway!

Pfister generously donated a faucet for this giveaway, and the winner of the faucet will also receive a $250 Visa gift card! To enter for your chance to win, just follow the steps below, and good luck!

Step 1: Follow the bloggers below on Pinterest

Practically Functional

Step 2: Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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previous post: Wine Tasting Party & Free Printable!
next post: Quick Bedroom Decor Update

Comments

  6. Melissa, you were so wise in designing your kitchen island area the way you did. I love a breakfast bar that is big and spacious. I know that is where everyone will sit and talk to the cook. Great layout and love the dark cupboards with the crisp subway tiles back splash.
    Kathysue

    Reply

  7. I’m not usually a huge granite fan, but I love the color you picked! There’s just something about the way it plays with that subway tile that’s extra special. 🙂 Thanks for the tour!

    Reply

    • Thank you so much Amy, it’s one of my favorite spaces (which is good because I spend so much time in there!!) thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  11. You have a gorgeous kitchen!

    I actually groined out loud when I read about the blueprint mess up and builder re-do. You must have been completely freaked out till it all was righted. WOW.

    And – well, frankly- having that bar under your sink using that upper air space in such a smart was is GENIUS!
    Seriously, that is such a simple but amazing idea. I showed hubs and hoping he got the hint. : – )

    I am so excited about the details in everyone’s kitchen tours I decided to feature my own kitchen for the first time. You see? You are all so inspiring!

    Have a great weekend.

    Reply

  14. Gorgeous! Your countertops are beautiful! And I’m pretty sure that light fixture over your table is the same one over my sink, just a different color!

    Reply

    • Thanks Shannon! I was so happy they agreed to move the island, it was a process but totally worth it!

      Reply

  23. Gorgeous kitchen tour! Love your table {and kitty photobomber!}!! Can’t believe they put your island 7 inches closer! So glad it’s all moved, totally worth it I’m sure 😉 I would do a flat slab kitchen island too, more space to bake!
    Hugs,
    Jamie @ somuchbetterwithage.com

    Reply

  24. I found your gorgeous kitchen on Pinterest and I just had to comment because we are kitchen twins! We remodeled our kitchen last year and like you opted for dark cabinets and lighter granite with a subway tile backsplash. We don’t have your gorgeous island though! Looking forward to checking out more of your blog!

    Ki

    Reply

  25. Beautiful kitchen! I’m wondering where you found the pendent light over your table? I’ve been searching for one for over our sink & haven’t had any luck!

    Reply

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