Kitchen Reno

The Reveal

Kitchen Reno

Last Saturday — precisely four weeks after Mark and his brother demoed our kitchen — Ben and Mike put in a 10-hour day and largely wrapped up the renovation. Once again, they had plenty of help:

Here’s how things looked before and after:

Note how we used to use the top and sides of the refrigerator for storage and hung keys from a bulletin board over the island (which also housed a desktop organizer filled with miscellanea). Clear plastic shelves, shown at top left next to the larger window, held alphabetized spices in labeled glass jars — an OCD project I obviously undertook before having children. Not pictured: the hanging shoe bag we crammed with oversize utensils and craft supplies.

Now we have wide drawers that accommodate all of our stuff (and, bonus, don’t fall out of the cabinets and spread sawdust when you open them), including ones for keys/junk/phones and spices:

Appliances formerly parked on the countertops are tucked into a cabinet and compartment in the island:

And the freestanding round table everyone was always bumping into has been replaced by a beautiful hickory-topped one Ben crafted and attached to the island:

Speaking of craftsmanship, as former owners of cabinets crowned with blocky soffits, an over-mount sink ringed with moldy caulking, toe kicks that fell inward when you tapped them, and laminate countertops with sawed-off edges, we are particularly appreciative of details like these:

Juxtaposed with the new elements are the home’s original plaster walls, baseboards, and door moldings, and the sweet little vintage flue cover we found inside the sink wall and displayed just above where it used to hide.

So, what do you think of the final result? I am dying to hear your thoughts!

SOURCES

Kitchen Designers/General Contractors/Cabinetmakers/Child Whisperers/Incredibly Hard Workers: Block Brothers Custom Cabinets

Assisting Carpenter: Barrett Made

Cabinet Hardware: Handle It!

Dining Chairs: West Elm

Glass Pendants: Fogg Lighting

Faucet and Sink: F.W. Webb Company

Himalaya White Granite Countertops and Subway Tile: Morningstar Stone and Tile

In-Drawer Electrical Outlets: Docking Drawer

Painting Contractor: Jed’s Painting Co.

Red Birch Flooring: Atlantic Hardwoods

Runner: Crate & Barrel