Did you catch the sneak peek of our very unsightly kitchen counters yesterday? Our kitchen is a far cry from the state we found it in, but overall, it needs to be gutted. We decided to add our master bathroom instead of renovating the kitchen, and it was the right choice. Our kitchen is totally functionally, just not all that attractive. And since we plan to renovate in 5 years or so, we agreed to not spend much in this space until that time. No use in paying for a band-aid if you don’t have to, right?
I’d love to tell you that I have something totally original and really creative in mind for our kitchen. But the truth is, I just love an all-white kitchen! I always have.
The biggest goals for the aesthetic of our kitchen: classic, sophisticated, and most of all, clean. Given the size of our house, the kitchen is actually fairly small. My ultimate goal is to install cabinets all the way around the room and add a large island with a breakfast bar. There’s really not room in the kitchen for a dining table AND work space, so that seems like the best option.
There’s a million little things I want…a hidden compartment for our everyday appliances (microwave, Keurig, etc.), under-cabinet lighting, a wine fridge, a baseboard vacuum (seriously), a window seat, a double dishwasher, and pull out drawers. That list could go on forever, so I’ve narrowed it down to 6 things that are at the top of my list. (Click on photos for source.)
I know that white can be a risky choice, but I don’t care. I definitely consider the style of our home to be classic…traditional…timeless. That’s the goal. So knowing that our kitchen won’t go out of style is key. I found this countertop material at Lowe’s a while back and have kept it on my “house list” for well over a year. When the time comes, it will be hard to convince me not to go with this one.
One of the perks of our house is our tall ceilings, so I think we should capitalize on that real estate up top! While I love the look of glass-front cabinets in many kitchens I see, I just know that the visible clutter would drive me crazy. But I like the idea of smaller glass-front cabinets up top.
When we were still living in a city over two hours away and working on this restoration project long-distance, Charles found a Jenn-Air gas range in great condition for $80 on Craigslist. It very well may be our favorite thing in the house (besides our bathroom!). It’s nothing special really, but I loooooove cooking with gas. I don’t think I could ever go back at this point. One thing I’d like to do when we renovate is install a new down-draft gas range in the center island. Right now our range is in the corner and I always feel like I’m being punished when I cook. Not cool.
We currently have one wall oven and, just like the gas range, I don’t think I could ever go back. I love that the oven is at eye level, and that I don’t have to bend awkwardly to try to maneuver heavy casserole dishes out of there. It’s just so convenient. The only problem is that it’s only 27 inches, so I’d like to add another for added cooking space. The cabinets above and below our current oven are already conducive to adding a second oven, so that’s a plus.
I’m a clumsy person. It’s ok, I can admit it. I am always dropping stuff (side note: almost dropped a steak knife right into my foot yesterday…it was a close call), so the idea of having tile in the kitchen just scares the crap out of me. I know there’s lots of durable alternatives out there, but I figure we’ve got hardwoods in the whole house so why not continue the trend to the kitchen. Plus, in an all-white kitchen, I think hardwoods can really pop and be a feature. I’d love to do the herringbone pattern above!
Like most of our kitchen, our current food storage setup is functional but unattractive. We’re using an old Ikea bookcase with fabric cubes as a pantry. It gets the job done, but I’m sure there’s cans in the bottom of one cube that will never be touched because I can’t see them. I’d like to have a built in pantry with slide-out drawers so I can see all the noms at any give time.
And that’s it. That’s the very top of my lengthy kitchen wish list. You can find more of my kitchen inspiration here.
What’s on your wish list? Any past reno experiences you’d like to share?
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