HOME TOUR

Oh friends you have been so patient with me! So many of you have asked for details on our kitchen and pictures and we’re finally here. I wanted to wait until touch up painting was done and the french doors into the mudroom were in and then it got decorated for the holidays and I didn’t want to take everything down just to take pictures. I can safely say, we’re finally done! So welcome to our brand new kitchen. Many of you watched the remodel progress from breaking ground the end of October 2017 up until it was finished in the summer of 2018, you can get caught up and see “before” pictures, here and here. If you’re new to our home, welcome. It’s an 1879 farmhouse victorian outside of Boston. We bought it in June 2015 and knew it needed some love, by “some” I mean “holy moly it smells like cat pee.”  Being an old home, there was lead, steep staircases, candy-colored pastel walls (as seen in this post) and closed off rooms. But from the minute I walked inside it spoke to my heart, cat pee smell and all. It had tall ceilings at 9.5+ feet and character, huge windows and a pretty porch, it just needed a little lovely.

When we started this remodel process with Cutting Edge Homes, they asked for a “must have” list. I found it the other day and we were able to implement every single item with some compromises. We now have an open family room and kitchen, large island (4′ x 8′ ft), window nook, and lots of natural light. Everyone was patient with me as I doodled out how I wanted things to look, from the range hood to the bumped out sink nook with antique barnwood beams. Design is my passion and I had some very specific opinions. This was my first opportunity to design a kitchen from the ground up, the bonus is it’s mine. I poured hours into mood boards for my kitchen, tested probably 20+ samples of grey/greige paint for the cabinetry and searched for the perfect tile.

CABINET PAINT

Our cabinets are Sherwin Williams Repose Grey. I love this color but it does read differently in different lights. To my eye, in my own kitchen with all the natural light it feels warmer than it sometimes appears in pictures. Take this picture above and below, see how the tone varies slightly as light bounces off it. These pictures are brightened but I feel like that makes the pictures better represent my real life experience with this color in my own home. Some find it too dark if they have less natural light. Try Repose Grey at 50% strength in that setting.

CUSTOM INSET CABINETRY

The custom cabinetry was made by JD Millworks in Ashland. They were fantastic to work with, timely and thoughtful. All the cabinetry is an inset style vs the more common (and less expensive) overlay design. I wanted the modern feel of inset cabinetry but it was the most expensive element of our kitchen followed closely by kitchen appliances. The cabinetry is SW Repose Grey which for me was the perfect grey, warm with no weird purple undertones. We only have two upper cabinets in the whole kitchen and I was initially concerned about storage but we have so much storage in the island (which is 4′ x 8′), there are still a couple drawers with nothing in them. The upper cabinet closest the sink nook has our glasses and plates and the one to the right of the range has baking ingredients. That bottom cabinet below the baking cupboard has my kitchen aid mixer on a stand. We used this stand but know you have to buy the wood piece separately. For a couple hundred dollars, this has been a game changer for me. I designed this portion of my kitchen to be my baking area. The drawer to the left has rolling pins and baking spices, a drawer below has my mixing bowls. Think about how you use your space and design areas that increase your functionality.

I don’t have a walk in pantry. This was a compromise because I wanted one. But we do have a Butler’s pantry which connects the kitchen to the dining room and has floor-to-ceiling cabinets and a small counter sink space for our coffee/tea bar. We had two outlets added to the underside of the island so we can plug in appliances or a laptop–super handy, definitely think about your outlet placement.  The cabinet hardware is the 8″ Edgecliff Pull by Schoolhouse Electric in natural brass.

JD Millworks also did the stain on our refrigerator/freezer unit that is made to look like an old icebox. This was a bespoke design and I do not have the stain info. We went through several iterations of the stain to get it right, I knew exactly what I wanted and they pulled it off to perfection. This built-in design for the refrigerator/freezer was made possible by going with what is called an integrated system. Now typically when you have a built-in refrigerator you can still see the venting above even if the doors have cabinetry panels. Only Subzero and Thermador appliance brands (that I’m aware of) have the option for a fully integrated refrigerator/freezer with zero seams and no visible venting. The cabinet above the freezer/refrigerator is an actual cabinet. We went with two 24″ Subzero Refrigerator and Freezer units (a total width of 48″ + the cabinetry sides) and did that on purpose for symmetry so it could be built in like a piece of furniture. The panels on the front have large pulls, ice box hinges and a latch that is decorative.

NEOLITH STONE COUNTERS

The stone counters were completely new to me. I was downtown at the Clark Showroom in Boston looking at the Subzero refrigerator and Wolf ranges when I noticed their long marble island and commented to the sales lady how I wanted marble but knew the kind I wanted wasn’t going to be in the budget and my hubby would never go for it knowing the upkeep with three kids under 6. She said, “honey, this is an amazing product called Neolith. It just looks like marble.” Sure designers everywhere say they love the “patina” of marble but our real calacatta marble-topped tulip table looks terrible already. I’m not exactly sure what kind of etching on marble actually looks good? Would I still prefer the beautiful veining of an expensive marble? Maybe. Probably because it’s so in vogue, but I have marble in all of our bathrooms and on our dining room table and I’m just not sure. No matter how many times I analyze it, the “patina” just doesn’t look nice. Everyone has a strong preference about counters and there’s literally no perfect option, this is a “you do you” thing.

I researched the heck out of Neolith, started seeing it in upscale homes online and when looking for stone at Marble and Granite Inc in Westwood, found a slab of the Neolith in the Calacatta color in a far corner and was sold. Ours is the matte finish Calacatta color with a 2″ overhang so it looks like a 2″ thick slab of marble. I think it isn’t as popular as it could be because people simply don’t know about the awesomeness that is Neolith and stone yards hide it because you need a good fabricator (we used KB Surfaces is RI). It’s only about 1/4″ thick and apparently not easy to work with. But what you gain is a surface, either shiny or matte, that looks like marble, never fades, is super resilient to scratching or staining and isn’t grainy like quartz. It also requires no special cleaning products, which after the whole living through a pandemic thing, I’m super thankful to be able to Clorox them down. We’re normally as chemical-free as we can be, I clean them with a combo of cleaning vinegar and water and it doesn’t etch.  I’ve walked on it, we’ve finger painted on it. Aubrey got ahold of a permanent marker and went to town (Magic Eraser takes every stain out and doesn’t ruin the surface). It’s amazing and my number one asked question when people see my kitchen.

Unlike quartz which is composed of 90% ground stone and roughly 10% resin and dye, Neolith is 100% stone, finely ground and compressed under high heat. Some people have referred to it as a porcelain but the company never uses that word so I’ve never referred to it as that. I know quartz is the usual winner for countertops because it doesn’t etch like marble and is easy to fabricate but try as I might, I didn’t like that I could see a grainy look to the quartz. This was 2016/2017 and I know technology is always getting better but for me at the time, Neolith was the perfect choice. We couldn’t be happier. Do your research and go with what you love. There will never be a right or wrong answer here. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You can see it being installed in this kitchen post.

BACKSPLASH TILE

The backsplash tile is a white handmade subway tile that we got from Tiles Plus More in Natick. This particular one is by Advance Ceramics and is made in Spain. We bought it in two sizes, 3 x 6″ and 3 x 12″. It has a wavy appearance and catches the light nicely. I had the tile guy lay it in a completely random pattern (which threw him off initially but he loved it after awhile). You don’t see this often but boy is it pretty. Subway tile is such a versatile tile and can be laid in interesting ways. Add this to your list of possibilities. White grout makes it blend seamlessly with the white walls in our kitchen and family room, (Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace).

ISLAND TILE

The tile on the back of the island was a design element I hadn’t seen many places but loved on a restaurant bar in New York City. I was sold when I realized what a pretty design element it added and although trendy, I knew that I could add a wood panel down the road if it drove me nuts. The truth is, it is easier to wipe dirty feet marks off tile than wood. I really loved this hand-painted Tabarka tile and almost put it on the backsplash. But I’m glad it’s on the island because it adds the wow factor without being overwhelming. It is the Nord-7 pattern in the colors oxford grey on lavan with the colors going all the way to the edge. The counter stools were initially the French Contemporary Square Counter Stool from Restoration Hardware, now I have the Balboa counter stool from Serena and Lily. Once again, my wolves, ahem children, ruined the upholstered stain-resistant fabric. If you have young kids, consider a removable cushion counter stool that you can throw in the wash. I love the Serena and Lily stools.

WOVEN WOOD BLINDS

The woven wood roman blinds are from The Shade Store. They are in the Montauk line in Morel color with privacy lining. They’re beautiful and are so well made. I know windows can get overlooked but woven wood blinds are my go-to design element to add warmth and that tailored, finished look to a space. Don’t overlook your windows. I added a decorative fabric panel which you can read about in this post.

67″ Oval Calacatta Marble Tulip Table | Stripe Pillow | Wider Stripe Pillow | Blue Pillow | Pendant Light | Tucker Chair

KITCHEN LIGHTING

The pendants over the island are quite the statement. I feel like every kitchen needs something. These are the Darlana Fancy Lanterns in brass and in size medium. They are 36″ off the island because we have tall ceilings. The pendant over the sink window nook is the Mini Boston Pendant in aged brass, size small with a milk glass shade. Our electrician cut the stem down so it doesn’t hang down quite so low, currently 21″ from the barnwood beam. The pendant over the breakfast nook table is the Goodman Pendant in size large and in antique white.  I had the electrician come back and try to lower it a bit but we must have accidentally thrown the extra spacers out and all the chain links were solder together. So we gave up, it doesn’t quite meet the standard “norms” for hanging height but there’s not much I can do at this point.

Sink Rug | Sink Pendant Light | Soap Dispenser | Dish Towel (sold out, similar here) | Cabinet Hardware |

SINK DETAILS

The window sink nook is a favorite of mine. I knew I wanted it framed all the way around with reclaimed barnwood so we headed down to Longleaf Lumber in Cambridge, Ma. I spent several hours (and many splinters later) digging through reclaimed beams and boards. We ended up going with a solid beam to span the width of the nook and then finding long flat boards of matching scraped barnwood that the amazing guys at Cutting Edge used to make the “beams” going down the walls. They also framed out the inside of the slanted ceiling. We got enough boards to make the open shelves in the kitchen and above my desk. We mounted the Mini Boston Pendant directly to the wood beam.

The sink is a Julien Fireclay sink with flat apron front, it’s the 28 1/4″ x 17 1/2″ x 10″ model. The Faucet is by Rohl, the Italian Patrizia Pull Down Kitchen Faucet and is from Designer Bath in Watertown, Ma. When you are standing at the sink, the cabinet to the right is the dishwasher and the cabinet to the left is a pull out trash can / recycling.

ILVE 48″ MAJESTIC RANGE

The kitchen range is a 48″ Ilve Majestic in the custom color Blue Grey 7031. You can read all about it here. It’s such a beautiful range and I’m SO happy with it.

| Kitchen Runner | Flour/Sugar Canisters, similar here | Tea Pot | Wood Vase (similar) | Coral Silk Pillow (similar color here) | Stripe Pillow | Narrow Stripe Pillow | Breakfast Nook Chair | Breakfast Nook Table | Kitchen Pendants | Hardware

I hope you’ve enjoyed our kitchen reveal…finally!  I probably forgot some detail and will have another post on our Butlers Pantry because it still needs a little organizing love/I forgot to take pictures of it.

Cutting Edge Homes did a great job on our old home renovation. These beautiful pictures were captured by Madison Rae Photography and Ruth Eileen Photography.

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