We are finally here! The kitchen design. I’m excited! We will talk about the process of the kitchen design as well as our plans for the future. So much went into designing this kitchen: sleepless nights and endless research. I learned so much, and I’m excited to share a couple of things to consider if you are designing a kitchen or hope to in the future. I listed ideas that helped me. I can’t wait to help you design your dream kitchen.
The feeling:
How do you want the kitchen to feel? It’s an important question to ask yourself. You get to live in this home, no one else. Do you want a cozy cottage feeling or more of a modern industrial colder feel? Both are great. It’s all preference. When designing our kitchen, I wanted it to be chic, classic, and timeless, unique but cozy all simultaneously.
Gather Inspo:
I gathered my inspiration through anything that had any design, such as Pinterest, books, magazines, tv shows, buildings, etc. I made a Pinterest board, made a folder on my iPhone, and saved images, making it easy to access. I made a mood board with all my final inspiration; this will help narrow down your ideas for a clear vision.
Ceiling Heights:
We wanted our home to feel grand, but the kitchen we wanted a cozy feeling. So that in mind our ceilings hights were important. The entrance is 18.5 ft high, our living room is 14.5 ft, and our kitchen is 10.5 ft tall. I felt it was the perfect height to add that cozy feeling.
Note: Pay attention to ceiling heights when you are gathering your inspiration. The style of the cabinets comes from the size of the ceilings.
Wood Type:
We went with white oak. I loved the beautiful natural tones it brought out and the quality of it. I have so many little ones with sticky, dirty fingers that will be touching them. I wanted a wood that would last and bring out and tie in the natural elements to our home.
Note: Pay attention to the wood type in the cabinets when you are gathering your inspiration.
Stain Color:
The stain color, to me, was the most stressful part of the process. I wanted a tone that had a natural feel that would add warmth to my home, but I also didn’t wish to have an orange, red, pink, blue, purple, green undertone, haha! I went to Sherwin Williams, created many samples, took them home, and saw how the color reflected my flooring and the paint on the walls. I picked one out, and it turned out to be perfect! I’m so in love with it! I will link the color below.
Above are the images of the stain color I got at my local Sherwin Williams. I would go and ask for them to make it. We added pre-stain before the stain to make sure not to get a yellow undertone.
Style:
I wanted the cabinetry to feel like a piece of furniture, where chic and timeless. I added glass cabinetry to make that elegant piece of furniture statement. Another detail I asked my carpenter to add was the bottom baseboard around all the cabinetry. We added beautiful crown molding to add a timeless look. We also made all our drawers flushed to add that very custom look. Small details that bring the whole look together.
Appliances:
Let’s talk appliances. We chose to go with the cafe refrigerator and dishwasher. I did my research, and these were an excellent price for the size and beauty. They are both beautiful and luxurious, and they add so much to our kitchen. We went with the Z Line rang. I did research, and it’s known to be a luxury appliance at an affordable price. It’s beautiful; we have been super happy with it.
Hardware:
The hardware I went with is dainty and adds the perfect touch to our cabinets. The natural oak wood is so beautiful I didn’t want to take away from it.
The silver pulls are no longer available. Im so sad but here are the round knobs. Link bellow.
ROUND KNOBS LINK
Future Plans:
I feel accomplished by what we have designed so far. Every time I walk into our kitchen, I still can’t believe we created it. It’s everything I have ever wanted. We have done so much, but we still have a way out to be fully complete. In our plans, we hope to add a beautiful white marble for our backsplash. A stucco hood gives it a European feel and beautiful floating shelves on each side of the hood to add style. I want to complete the look with beautiful brass lighting to bring the look together.
We are excited to one day show the final reveal. So much love and cleared-out design aspect have gone into it. It was so much fun creating this. I hope this information helps you design the kitchen of your dreams.
XO arlyn
