Progress Update: An Almost-Kitchen!
Look at our beautiful cabinets!
A few days ago, our cabinet guy (the proper term, I’m sure) finished installing our lower cabinetry and we couldn’t be happier with the results. Cabinets were one of the few jobs we chose to hire out, mostly because dear Ken is a massive perfectionist (if you didn’t realize from our flooring debacle!) and we’re both aware that building precise kitchen cabinets ourselves would call for an estimated move-in date of July. In 2018.
I should tell you up front that these cabinets are not what they seem. They’re insanely special, fully equipped with slow-close hinges. Fancy, yes? I’ve been repeatedly slamming them since they were installed last week, completely in awe of how magically slow they close (even when faced with full force bashing from me)!
We chose all-white kitchen cabinets (surprised?) to flow seamlessly with our Pure White Caesarstone countertops. In fact, the countertops are being fabricated as I type this and I am bubbling over with excitement. Until they’re ready, of course, I thought I’d give you a sneak peek of the kitchen layout and design as it is today:
Above is our island, complete with a space for oven and cooktop. (Both are from Maytag and are gorgeous in person!) That big pipe in the middle? We love it. We’re keeping it. Our mothers think we’re crazy, but we like the charm of it all and are envisioning our galvanized pendants to fit beautifully nearby.
Here’s a shot from the other end of the island so you can get the full effect of the layout. (Ken’s installing the dishwasher in this photo—isn’t he dreamy?)
Anyway, things look a bit crazy in this stage, but trust me—we’re in for a treat once we install our shiny stainless accents!
1. Our Maytag cooktop is white and seamless, creating the perfect cooking surface to blend with our Pure White Caesarstone countertops. This might be my favorite piece of the entire kitchen.
2. Our Kohler faucet is just as pretty as I imagined.
3. We chose a half-load dishwasher because we don’t cook all that often and are super interested in conserving as much water as possible. I can’t wait to give this one a go!
4. Our apron-front sink is stainless, and although I voted for white, Ken lobbied for the functionality of stainless. I’m still pining for a white ceramic, but I suppose marriage is one big compromise, yes?
5. We actually didn’t realize we needed a down draft until the very last minute, so this was a late-in-the-game addition to the team. Welcome, Down Draft!
6. Last, our built-in oven is super gorgeous. And it smells shiny and new, which is almost as intoxicating to me as a shoe store. Almost.
Above is a bad photo (Ken’s the photographer in our duo!) of Ken installing the sink, and that’s all you get from this sneak peek. I can’t wait to show you the rest in due time—get ready for a big reveal!
See you next Wednesday, friends!
As someone who used to have a white ceramic sink, your husband is right. The problem is that you actually have to USE said sink and white ceramic is a maintenance and cleaning nightmare.
I really admire your choice for Pure White Caesarstone countertops…i want to get them too, but i'm worried about red wine and other stains. How will they hold up???
They are heat, stain and scratch resistant just like all of CaesarStone's other colors so you should be cool. If not the lifetime warranty has your back!
Hi Crgilvr — Amen! I knew I married that man for a reason.
Rachelle — I've heard excellent things re: Caesarstone's surfaces and will definitely speak to cleaning them once they're in use! From what I've read, soft scrub tends to do just fine for cleaning and stain-resisting!
e.
About 7 years we did our kitchen and I also choose white and silver on our appliances, I cant wait to see yours done
Love all your new updates! I like that idea of a half-load dishwasher …. but we run ours at full load daily! We do have a half-oven deal, and it's the best thing we have. PS, good choice on the stainless steel sink. I wanted a white ceramic, and got one, and really regret it now. When it's clean, it's gorgeous. But, it scraches very easily (from a pan), and stains even easier (like, just washing spaghetti sauce down the drain), so it's incredibly hard to keep clean! Anyways, LOVE the updates! And your ceilings….insanely jealous!
Gorgeous! I too lusted after a porcelain apron-front sink when we did our kitchen 4 years ago but decided it didn't fit the rest of our design. The stainless was a good choice – I'm a personal chef and work in different kitchen every day; one client had white porcelain and was so unnerved about the idea of it getting chipped that she asked me and my helper to wash roasting pans *above* the sink! You know, in midair. No problem! No longer a client
Good luck with the rest of the project. (Ours took us 7 months! Drywalling sucks.)
Erin, it's gorgeous! Love the cabinets and the fixtures and the cabinet hardware! I agree with the other commenters that the stainless sink will be so much less of a headache than the white porcelain (plus, it's gorgeous). We had a white sink when we moved into our house and I could never keep it as clean as I'd like; the stainless we replaced it with has been great. I think the Caesarstone will hold up incredibly well – quartz surfaces are really scratch and stain resistant.
I LOVE your kitchen, so clean and updated. I agree with Ken on the sink in stainless. We went with a pounded copper apron front sink to go with our white glazed cabinets, I got matching hardware (much like yours except in silver stainless), you won't regret it! I can't wait to see the final photos with countertops, the progress is amazing, I bet you guys are starting to really freak out to move in!
I'm sooooo happy you guys are with us on the stainless sink! Form is great, but function is better!
It's official: I am majorly crushing on your kitchen.
Thanks, sweet Stacy! Come visit anytime!
Love the cabinets! Where did you get them?
This is honestly a nice design. Now imagine having all that in your basement with great waterproofing. At Guardian Basement Waterproofing we can comply with prices and what you would like to have done in your home. Give us a call at (410) 265-8888 or visit our website guardiandry.com
Eeeee! This is awesome, Erin! I love the pipe, the cabinets, the sink! Obsessed.
@juice We custom built the cabinets with a local carpenter.