Kitchen dreams

I think my brother summed up the state of our kitchen best. He walked in, looked around and told me I needed to apply for kitchen crashers. That sounded about right to me. Its a HUGE kitchen but missing a few key things to make it function better. And its ugly. I don't like ugly. So here are some pictures of its current state followed by a list of my dreams and a few plans to help get us there.

Problem 1: The countertops are green and held together by masking tape.

Problem 2: the lower cabinets are flat and dated looking. Also super dirty and grimy feeling. 

Problem 3: This is the only prep space right by the stove. We have a ton of counter space but its far away from where we actually cook. 

Problem 4: What is this space? There are cabinets above it so I don't think its supposed to be an eat in. Also its kinda weird to cook with the stove dropping off on that side. Also we have no pantry. Everything is tucked in lower cabinets. And yes its lazy, but a total pain and harder to inventory what food we do and don't have. 

Problem 5: See above and below photo. Florescent lighting. bleh. 

But here's what I like. We have a ton of space. And those glass upper cabinets are beautiful! I'm also madly in love with our new chalkboard wall that we added a few weeks ago. 

I also love the porcelain sink and huge window it looks out over. This kitchen could be amazing! And hopefully one day it will be. We are going to take small baby steps to get us there, but oh do I have plans! 

Heres the List:

-Paint chalk board wall on back wall

-Add shaker style detailing to flat bottom cabinets (see this tutorial)

-Add pantry and lower cabinets to random side of stove (MLW's granddad is super handy, plan below)

-Paint uppers "Decorator's White" by BM

-Paint lowers a blue/grey slate

-Replace all hardware with ballin' brass hardware (that I already purchased when it went on sale)

-New Countertops

-Subway tile backsplash with grey grout (dark grout=less dirty looking)

-Get a new dishwasher to match stove and fridge 

-Actually install hood above stove 

-Replace lighting 

-Style all those pretty glass uppers

-Cook something yummy when its all done 

Lawd. Its a list. But hopefully with hard work, penny pinching and lots of painting we can get it done. Below I've got a couple of ideas we have started throwing around. 

So here we have a swatch of Silestone's Quartz in Lagoon. This is our dream countertop, it looks like marble, and shockingly also costs more than marble. Crazy right? I'm looking at getting a "faurble" that costs more than the real stuff! But marble is super soft, scratches and stains easy. Quartz is crazy strong, stain resistant and can basically take a beating and still look band new.  Our budget might nix this in the end but while we are still dreaming it can't hurt right? I'm open to basically any countertop as long as it has some blue/grey veining in it. 

The brass pulls are pretty sweet right? I've got smaller round knobs for all the doors. The pulls are just going on the drawers. I would also love to switch out the hinges to hidden hinges, but all signs point to them being crazy expensive and we have A LOT of doors to do.  So I think I will just switch out the current hinges to match the new hardware when we get to that step. And yes, I know brass is super taste specific, but I'm going to keep all the old stuff so if we go to resale we can put that back on for a more neutral look. But we aren't selling this house for a long long time so I'm going to live with what I love! 

This drawer has some BM "Nocturnal Grey" slapped on it and I think its a winner. MLW is leaning more towards the bottom photo which is BM "Vermont Slate." If you scroll back up you'll see we auditioned a third color "Newbury Blue" but we both decided it was way too navy. 

Here is MLW's Granddad's amazing rendering of what our pantry and beside stove area is potentially going to look like. Its crazy right! I'm so happy and honored he is willing to do this for us. Granddad's are the best.  :D

And finally here is my inspiration for the kitchen. The lower right photo was another Pinterest find. I love the white upper and darker lower combination. I also am really intrigued by mixing metals in the kitchen ie: Stainless fixtures with brass hardware and lighting. Its a huge fashion trend and I'm of the school that good design is good design whether its clothing, print, bridal, styling, or home.  

So wish us luck and dream big my blogy friends. I'll try to keep you updated as things progress. : D