I am so excited to show you our kitchen. This space, along with the adjoining family room, is the heart of our home, and we are truly so happy with it. Not only is it a looker, but it is a worker. Preparing meals, baking, eating at the island, and cleaning up are all a joy in this happy and well-designed space. It is basically a galley style layout nestled into a much bigger space. Today we will touch on the highlights, and then I will do a second post with the details and the sources.
Originally, this kitchen was a family room with brick floors and warped French doors leading to a sunken courtyard. The old kitchen was a small space in the corner that is now our powder room and pantry. As I have already mentioned in previous posts, we knocked out the original exterior wall and extended this space about 15 feet to add a family room.
The kitchen was designed by my good friend Debra Hupman, who is with Creative Kitchens and Baths here in Lexington. We worked very well together.
I knew there were certain things that I wanted and didn’t want. I did not want marble counter tops or a subway tile back splash.
Hood
I did want an showstopper fan hood, an elevated dishwasher, a farmhouse sink, a microwave drawer, some wooden countertops, appliance cabinets, and a navy blue bar area. This kitchen has all of those things.
We eat our breakfasts and lunches at the island and move into the dining room for dinner.
Counters
Part of our counter top is walnut, and the rest is honed quartz that looks just like marble. A local furniture making company made the walnut inserts for us, and it’s a nice contrast to the quartz. I have to treat the wood with mineral oil every two weeks or so, but it is very resilient.
Kitchen Bar
The bar area is small but mighty. I definitely wanted a navy blue bar since it is my favorite color and is timeless.
It is the same blue as the front door, which you can see here.
Instead of a traditional back splash, I opted to layer different blue and white plates. My decorator friend Beth Harper, the Lone Rearranger, did the hanging for me. She is more patient with a hammer and nail than I am. There is plenty of room to store our bar glasses, wine bottles, and alcoholic beverages. I will give you a closer look at the bar layout in another post. The cabinet over the fridge holds our good china.
The View
This is our view each morning when we enter the room from the stairway. The elevated section at the end of the island is our raised dishwasher, which means we don’t have to bend over to load and unload it. LOVE!!! The French door with the glazed windows goes to the pantry.
Here’s the same view at a slightly different angle. The old wooden beam always gets compliments. You can read about the family room here.
Sink
The farmhouse sink is a 60/40 design meaning that one basin covers 60 percent of the space, and the smaller basin covers 40 percent of the base.
Art
I love our vintage poster that I bought last year at the Big Flea near DC and was so happy to have the perfect spot for her.
Sitting Area
I wrote about this garage sale find here, and it’s the perfect reading spot or sitting spot for a guest.
This is what the space looked like when we bought the house. The fireplace wall was removed, and that is where the big beam is now. The kitchen over there in the corner is the pantry now. Those blue cabinets on the left have been replaced by our stove/cabinet wall. The cabinets in the far right have been replaced by the navy blue bar. The bricks stayed, but we added hardwood flooring over them.
We are going to publish another post next week with more details and a closer look at some of the features. Sources will be included in that post.
Our kitchen will be part of the annual Kitchens of the Bluegrass Tour here in Lexington in May. It is an annual fundraiser to benefit the Child Development Center of the Bluegrass. We are honored to be participants and hope of our local readers will stop in.
If you are still with me, thanks so much for reading this post about our kitchen reveal. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section. Our other room reveals are here: mud room, dining room, guest bath, powder room, front exterior, nursery, family room , and laundry room.
Take care.
Linking to Stone Gable and Our Wee Abode
Beautiful kitchen. I especially loved the plate backsplash. I may have to copy that idea.
Very pretty; we are updating our kitchen and I am so undecided about backsplash. Would like to know why you are opposed to subway tile
Mary, I just wanted something a little different.
Such a beautiful room! I would never want to leave.
Janette, I love it! What a gorgeous space you’ve created. My favorite color is green, but I’m beginning to long for more and more navy blue in my house. 🙂
I know you’ll write about sources later, but would you mind telling me where you got the drawer pulls on the kitchen cabinets and the rug runner? Thank you so much!
Thank you, Richella!!! I got the drawer pulls from Creative Kitchen and Baths here in Lexington. I do not know which company made them. The runner is from Wayfair, and we love it.
I love the layered look of the plates as a backsplash. Would love to see a tutorial on how your friend hung the plates. Your whole kitchen is beautiful!!
Love the navy blue, Janette! And the plate back-splash is beautiful.
Just beautiful! Wish I was renovating again (not!). I’d definitely would get inspiration from yours. Enjoy!
Janette, your new kitchen is lovely! So glad I found you by way of The Scoop at Stonegable! Yvonne is wonderful, isn’t she? If you have time, we would love for you to link up at Homestyle Gathering. We are a new link party (just 7 weeks old), but we are really enjoying hosting! 😉
Julie, I linked to your party. Thanks for the invite.
Thank you for sharing! So happy to see you. Hope you join us each week!
Love the wood!!
Thank you, Phillip!
So pretty! Curious about how you hung the plate backsplash; also, are they removable to clean from time to time? Kudos to you for finding a different way to create a backsplash.
Kris, the plates are hung with nails in different lengths. Mom and Beth just pulled out a bunch of her blue and white plates and decided where to hang them as they went along. They are all on plate hangers and are removeable. Throughout the whole design process and remodeling process, which took nine months, this back splash was in the plan. Behind it is just dry wall painted the same blue as the cabinet, which were painted at the factory.
Thanks for responding!
Breath taking…love the blue as an accent.
I liked your floors, can you tell me the color and product.
I need to lay flooring in my family and living room but cant find what I am looking for. I also have 4 dogs that will make my decision for me…
Thanks
rosie
Rosie, this is Jordan answering for my mom. Thank you for the compliments. Their floors are white oak and were finished on site in a dark walnut stain with three coats of poly on top. She will not let our dog on the floors for fear that they will get scratched.
Congratulations on your lovely kitchen! Job well done. Curious about the rug runner. Do you mind sharing where you found it?
Thank you, Lori. Here’s the link for the rug: https://www.wayfair.com/rugs/pdp/mistana-hillsby-blueorange-area-rug-mtna3186.html?piid=23801089&domain=the2seasons.com&SSAID=314743&SSAID=314743&refid=SS314743&creative=65867&m=11035&sscid=31k3_5kf8v
I like it so much that I bought a different size for my son and daughter-in-law, and they love it, too.
I would love to know the quartz you used. I would like to use a marble looking quarts in my kitchen. I have an area where I think a wood counter top could be used and your walnut is gorgeous.
Ronda, thank you. The brand is Alleanza quartz. It is not widely distributed here in the states. Google it, and their website might tell you a distributor near you. I went to the showroom and selected the two slabs. I wanted a look close to Cararra marble without actually being Cararra marble, and I found it. I don’t know the name of it, though. By the way, they do not do the measuring and cutting. A fabricator will do that. Hope this helps.
Beautiful kitchen! What is an elevated dishwasher, and where is it in your kitchen?
NormaJean, the elevated dishwasher is raised up so that we don’t have to bend over when loading and unloading it. It’s probably a foot higher than a normal dishwasher. It’s at the end of our island, which is 12 feet long. I