Hi there! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend – and your Monday! We managed to make a little headway on our kitchen renovation this weekend. We installed the hardware and the pendants, and I’m really happy to have that done. The countertops were templated last week, which means that we’ll be getting the call to set up our install appointment any day! Yay! Things are moving along, not quite as fast as I wish they would, but we’re making progress 🙂 In the meantime, I thought I’d show you all some of what we’ve done so far, along with my plans for the new and improved kitchen! If you are now feeling inspired to update your kitchen, just be aware that it is a huge commitment. There is so much that you can do to your kitchen, for example, there are things like water filters that you can install in your sinks to help get clean water. If this is something that you are thinking of doing then you should Read this best under sink water filter article before purchasing. Make sure you know exactly what you want before you start making any changes. The best way to get the kitchen that you want is to plan. Sit down and spend a couple of hours thinking about what you need. You might need to buy a brass square bar to work the material into decorations for your kitchen. All these elements must be thought through, learning from professionals can help you plan out your kitchen more effectively. Because it’s not just the way that the kitchen looks but also how practical it is for your use. If you are unsure about what you could get for your kitchen, then you could always check out something like these nuwave brio reviews to give you a better idea of what you can get for your kitchen.

But before we get into all of that, I wanted to share something with you. As I was mentally ‘writing’ this earlier, my mind kept wandering back to a photo that I saw years ago that really resonated with me, and I knew that I wanted to make it part of this post. Awhile back, someone I’m friends with on Facebook posted a photo of a woman cooking over a fire in a kitchen with a dirt floor.

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This isn’t the exact photo, but it’s similar. And it was captioned with something like, “May I never forget that this is the kitchen she cooks in everyday.”

We’re so fortunate to have what we have in this country, and I think it’s important to keep that in perspective and not get lost in all of the glitter. My ‘gift’ with decorating has, in a way, always been a struggle for me. For a long time, I felt like the thing I did best in life was inconsequential and materialistic, and I hated that thought.

I’m not a materialistic person, and I didn’t want to be perceived as one. Creating, decorating, designing. All of these things have always just been an outlet, a sort of therapy for me. And I love knowing that I helped to create a space that brings people comfort and a bit of joy. I said this to a friend one day, and she said something that changed my outlook.

She said, “Hey, God’s a designer too. He clearly loves beauty, and He’s not materialistic!” I’m not sure why, but that thought somehow helped me to reconcile the way I’d been feeling.

But anyway, this isn’t meant to be a heavy post! And I most definitely do not want to make anyone feel bad about creating lovely and comfortable homes. That’s what I do, afterall!

I think that creating a space that’s warm and welcoming is a gift that we give to our families and to all of the friends and loved ones that we welcome into our homes.

But I also like to try and remember that while beautiful, functional spaces are fabulous (and I’m so thankful to have the chance to change mine up a bit, and work in a field that I love), the things that are most important in life, aren’t things. And my mission everyday is to try my best to never lose touch, or forget to approach everything I do with gratitude ?

So anyway, on that note, I’d like to dive in to some of the kitchen progress we’ve made, show you some of the spaces that have inspired me, and share a few ideas that I’d like to incorporate into our updated kitchen with all of you! Let’s get started!

Here’s a couple of photos of what went on this weekend.

A pretty sconce is hung above our sink now… No need for my husband to hold it in place as I take pictures anymore! 😉

Which reminds me, if, like us, you are in the process of a kitchen renovation project and are thinking of investing in a farmhouse sink, then you must take a look at this useful guide from Annie & Oak: www.annieandoak.com/blogs/design-style/farmhouse-sink-materials-an-in-depth-look-pros-and-cons. Finding a style that you like best is so important if you want to give your kitchen a unique finish.

The cabinet hardware is installed…

and the pendants are up, but there’s still {clearly} a little fine tuning that still needs to be done… Ok, I know I’m not showing you all that much here, but honestly, this is one of those projects where each little part of the design is critical to the overall plan, and I don’t want to lose any of you!

There’s a fresh coat of paint and some pretty lighting up, but see the green backsplash that’s still on the wall? It c o m p l e t e l y clashes with everything else that’s going on. There’s also half of a vent hood above my cooktop! And, in all honesty, if any of you have a hard time seeing the vision until a project is almost complete, you’d most likely never come back to my blog if I showed you all of the details in this room right now 😉 But that’ll change soon!

What do you think of the lanterns?! And how do you feel about the aged brass?! I had such a hard time deciding on what I wanted to do for lighting here. There are SO many pendants that I absolutely LOVE for a kitchen. Ultimately, I chose to go with lanterns, particularly brass, because I love that they’re traditional and farmhouse-y, but the aged brass makes them feel a little more elegant, and the clean lines on these give them a little modern flair. Have you seen lanterns in a kitchen before? They get loads of heart eyes from me! 🙂 And I’m loving the feel of antique brass, especially when it’s mixed with other finishes like it is below.

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Can you see those lanterns hanging off to the left in the photo down below? And that wall! We’re not doing anything like it in our kitchen, but it’s super pretty, isn’t it?

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Michael’s really never been on board with an all white kitchen, which would be my dream, but I understand that ‘all white’ isn’t for everyone, and I can absolutely appreciate lots of different approaches when it comes to design. I think for me personally, white is just the perfect canvas because I like to change up decor so often! But anyway, my job for our kitchen was to come up with a plan that we’d both be happy with. So I decided to go with a gray/barely blue subway tile, and I am so excited to see it go up. None of the photos below look exactly like the tile we’re going with but they’ll give you an idea of what a light neutral tile can do for white kitchen cabinetry.

Here’s an example of what glazed ceramic subway tile looks like…

and an example of gray/blue glass subway tile….

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And here’s another example of aged brass fixtures in a kitchen….

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more aged brass…

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I’m also loving the look of curved vent hoods! I’m {hoping} my husband can find a way to DIY this, and when he does, I’ll share it with all of you! I LOVE the shape of this one…

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And last, but not least, I’m planning to install some pretty, patterned, roman shades, but I’m still undecided on fabric. I’m in love just thinking about the pattern and soft texture that they’re going to add to all of the smooth, shiny, metallic surfaces though!

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Wishing you all an amazing rest of the week!

Laura ?