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!
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.
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In front of the kitchen is our 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.
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.
But in the end it was worth it!
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.
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.
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.
Well, that’s all of my kitchen goodness…don’t miss the rest of the kitchen tours this week!
Thursday, August 22
Debbiedoo’s
Friday, August 23
And now for the 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
Step 2: Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below!
Shannon @ Fox Hollow Cottage
Whew! So awesome they were able to fix that mix-up. What a great builder!!! Your kitchen is so cute. I love your dark cabinets. They look fabulous in your space with the neutral walls and all that light.
Melissa Riker
Thanks Shannon! I was so happy they agreed to move the island, it was a process but totally worth it!
Kelly @ thelilypadcottage
Love the dark cabinetry so pretty!
Melissa Riker
Thanks so much Kelly!!
Jamie
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
Melissa Riker
Thanks so much Jamie, wasn’t it fun to see everyone’s spaces?!
Kim
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
Melissa Riker
Oh yay! That’s awesome, great minds think alike, right Kim?! So glad you stopped by!
Caitlin
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!
Melissa Riker
Hi Caitlin! It’s from Lowes and it’s part of the Allen & Roth collection. Good luck! ~Melissa