I’m going to do three posts on this project. Starting with the kitchen and ending with the Primary Suite.

Have you ever wondered about the Interior Design process? Just over a year ago I was introduced to a homeowner thru a friend of mine. The woman of the house wanted help selecting paint color for the kitchen cabinets. This turned into a year long odyssey of hard work, vision, working with what you have, and a series of saving here and spending there.

Throughout the process the man of the house (talented in his own right) showed patience, perseverance, and an open mind. A willingness to try something new, and a “can do” attitude that makes my DIY heart flutter. While the woman of the house, with very definite opinions of her own, listened and challenged me. She forced me to think farther outside of the box! All part of the design process, as we learned each other’s taste and boundaries. We learned to laugh, and began to respect and trust each other. What started as a small easy project turned into monumental change that would carry them through a year of hard work, and not only change the kitchen but, every room on the main level. You see it would take the home from his house to their home.

What started out as a nice 90’s builder house that needed some freshening up ended up as a spectacularly restful sanctuary for the two of them to grow together. A place where both families can now come to spend time, and be comfortable.

When I first walked into this kitchen it was brown. Everything was brown, the cabinets, the floor, the counter top. The decision was made early on, not to change the layout of the kitchen. It is just the two of them and they found the kitchen to function well. If you live in NE in a builder home from 1970-2010 you can guarantee your cabinets are going to be golden oak with a raised panel door. The lady of the house didn’t care for the cabinet doors at all but, we were sure a coat of paint would improve the look. The man of the house was comfortable with the way it was. After all, it was his house. But wanting to please the new lady of the house, he was open to some changes.

The cabinets were only 36″ tall creating that awkward space above. Stopping the eye and forcing it to jump to the ceiling. Extra storage was something that wasn’t required for them, so we decided to fill in the upper space. The homeowner tackled that problem, by using plywood to fill in the cavity, creating a soffit above for a much cleaner look. Crown molding would be added. Just selecting the crown was a challenge. We wanted a more contemporary look but, those crowns just didn’t work with the cabinet doors.

Concerned about the grain coming thru the paint, the decision was made to replace the door fronts. Then it was decided to replace the dreaded Corian type counter top, along with a new backsplash.

Then there was the refrigerator. Yeah, we all know how that one goes. You replace it with a new refrigerator and now it sticks into the room way too far. There wasn’t anything we could do about it as my clients didn’t want to replace any of the appliances. I asked if we could build a box to somewhat hide some of the side that was sticking out. My next visit a box was built.

Over the summer a lot began to happen. The cabinet doors finally came in, the new quartz counter tops were installed, and a new more modern back splash came to life. A contemporary crown molding went in along with under cabinet lights. We decided to paint out all the trim. And, we painted the ceilings, the walls, and the trim all the same color. Benjamin Moore Himalayan Trek. The Ceiling we did in flat, while all cabinets and trim are in a satin finish.

The homeowner had already replaced the light fixtures so we worked with those. In the desk area we updated with new cabinet doors and quartz and decided to create a bit of a cocktail area. We accented these cabinets in an old Benjamin Moore color called Dragons Breath and added all new hardware throughout. We worked with a collection of china and figurines that she already had, supported by some pieces from our ALO online shop. They were the perfect editions.

A trip to the consignment store yielded this fun pair of pears that we hung on the wall leading to the home office.

Which created a bit of fun for the laundry room wall color.

The kitchen table is a nice big square parsons style table. A table the homeowner had and chairs the lady of the house brought to the mix. I loved both the table and the chairs so we decided to work with them. Giving the table a fresh coat of Wise Owl One Hour Enamel Paint in Earthen Ash, created some nice interest to this overall neutral space.

Then it was finally time to refinish the oak floors. We had selected a vinyl plank for the foyer and the home office. This was a high traffic area and with the dog we needed practical. The homeowner laid that floor but, when it came time to refinish the kitchen, I wanted to be sure that the two floors matched. There is a 3′ area in the hall to the home office where the floors meet. I arrived as the flooring guy was just finishing up sanding that area. He put down a walnut stain and felt it was good to go. I said no. Could we add one part gray? His concern was that the gray addition wasn’t going to come thru the walnut. The color was better but we weren’t quite there yet. I asked him to add one more part gray and that was the ticket. These floors are gorgeous.

The last piece of the puzzle was new counter stools. We looked and looked, hoping to find something preowned. After many months we gave in to “the right ones”. These were a splurge from Grandin Road. They just finally came in and they were so worth the wait. They are perfect in gray woven leather and as a bonus, they’re comfortable. Believe it or not these stools were the only “new” purchase we made for the kitchen. Well besides everything else!

This March there will be a new sunroom addition going on the back of the house.

So that’s it. Lots and lots of sweat equity on the homeowners part. We hired the cabinet doors, and crown molding installation, as well as the painting. The rest was done by the homeowner.

I will leave you with a peak into the Great room.

Thanks for stopping

Shelley