Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Bayfield Cottage Kitchen Makeover

"I am excccccessively fond of a cottage." - Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility


Here's the photos of our kitchen from the previous owners. These were professional photos, so the kitchen actually looks better than it did in real life. Photoshop is an amazing tool. Just say'in. ;)


Again, previous owners when the house was for sale. Now, there is nothing wrong with this kitchen at all. It's functional and gets the job done, but it's just not us. Way to boring and not enough cozy cottage feel. We knew we wanted a white kitchen and after two and half years of living here, it was time.


Also, we never liked this area to the right of the fridge. It was awkward and frankly a waste of space. We like having a pantry. Not that we have tons of food, but we like all of our food items to be in one place and organized. I don't like wasting food and I feel if I can see what I have in one place then, I will use what I have and not waste.


So, I contacted the same people, Hollingsworth Cabinetry, who did our custom bookcase in the living room, which we really love.



They are true craftspeople and it shows in the quality of their work. I had them draw up a custom pantry to fit that awkward space.


We had to wait about a month for the cabinet to be built, which gave David plenty of time for demolition.


He found these pictures behind the cabinet. I think the older lady was the second owner of the house. We are the fourth owners.


Here's how it looked after demolition of the cabinets and tile. The hardwood is solid white oak, which was popular back in 2001 when it was built.


Even though the wall would be covered by the new pantry, David couldn't stand not making it perfect. ;)


Our pantry arrived right after Halloween.


Roll our shelves. Yaaaay!!


Next, starting on November 7th, David took down all the doors and sanded them and the cabinet frames. Yes, it was a large, giant, huge MESS even with plastic covering everything and blocking off rooms!


He then spent the next few weeks painting the doors and frames. I got new knobs and pulls and then, the weekend before Christmas, he removed the booger backsplash with the ugly grey grout. They had adhered it to the sheetrock and boy oh boy did that get destroyed taking the tile off. Yet again, another large MESS!




After a gazillion trips to the store for tile samples and not liking one single thing, I decided I was going to trust my gut and go "old school" with a simple beadboard backsplash. Plus, it only cost $54 for the entire thing instead of $2500. Yaaaay!


Our island already had beadboard around it and also the end of the lower cabinet near the sink. So, I had David add a piece of beadboard to the end of the upper cabinet to make it cohesive.


Next it was time to add some crown moulding to the top of the cabinets. This takes them from looking like boxes to looking like high end and custom.


David bought a special mitering tool and it worked great! Everything fit perfectly!


Hi honey! Looking good! :)


Then, I got another wild hare idea and decided that the end of the top cabinet looked a little boring. If you remember from the photos at the top, the previous owners had photos hanging there. Well, I decided we needed three little shelves instead to put some "what nots" on. hee,hee,hee. David did a great job building them and making the edges curve. Once everything was secure, he painted them the same white.


My next big idea was to address this sad looking window. It needed something to make it look more important instead of just a box.


So, I had David add a crown moulding shelf above the window.


It brings your eye up and makes the window look finished. Pretty huh?


Then, I really wanted a new stove. The one that was here was 18 years old and while it worked, it had some issues. Also, I'm a Vegetarian of 11 years and David is not. I love this stove because I can cook two different things that need different temperatures at the same time. Like roasted veggies with balsamic seasonings for me and chicken tenders for David (yes, he eats like a toddler). Plus, it's just the two of us and the little oven on top is perfect when we don't need to heat up an entire oven. :)



So after all my dreaming, pondering and designing and then all of David's incredible hard work to make it a reality (he really is amazing), I absolutely love how my little cottage kitchen turned out.

I would love to change out the countertops to a lighter, warm color, but the budget has to wait another few years for that. However, I did get some new stools and the warm texture they add and the fact that they slip under the counter, out of the way, was just a perfect finishing touch for now.


The leaf and bird piece on the island is handmade by my dear friend and talented artist, Natascha Rieper. It was a gift to myself this year, but David really likes it too.


This is actually a media cabinet from Pottery Barn, but it stores all our extra platters, place mats, etc. It breaks up the kitchen from being "all white cabinets." Sabrina even has her Italian pottery bowls in the kitchen. She deserves fancy dinnerware after all those years living outside and being homeless.


I like the element of a furniture piece mixed in with cabinetry.


Preparing food in there and eating it here"Sparks Joy."


Yes, I am truly fond of a cottage, especially my little Bayfield Cottage surrounded by trees and under Carolina blue skies. I count my blessings every single day.


See ya back here next week!

Light, Love and Hugs,
Michelle

20 comments:

Kaisievic said...

Not sure if my comment got through or not but, Michelle, your kitchen makeover is inspiring.

Jeanette said...

Oh wow. Your kitchen is fabulous. Love the little shelves for your what nots. Hugs, xx

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

H O L Y S M O K E S, SHELL! YOU GUYS did a huge and improved make-over!UGH if only I could have convinced my husband to at least paint the old cabinets in ours! What a beautiful, open space you have now and the light that comes in! You are like me: you like open, clean, tidy and uncluttered, focused design. Perfect. Bravo to all who designed and hauled and lifted and nailed and did such a fine job! Love this!

Frog Quilter said...

Great renovation. It really suits you.tell hubby that he does wonderful work. Hugs.

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

Wow this is gorgeous, and really inspiring. I need to look into adding crown moulding throughout my house!

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

You two are awesome and do awesome work and designing together!!
luv, di

Myra said...

Oh my goodness what a transformation. Not that the old kitchen wasn't nice, but..... oh my. You and your husband might consider going into the renovating business.😉 You could start first with coming to Michigan and re-doing my kitchen. Just sayin'.

Tanya Simmons Weiss said...

What a beautiful upgrade! I love all the little touches and especially your decorating above the cabinets. Perfect choices!!

Laura Bullinger said...

It turned out nice! I could get some major eyestrain with all that white-on-white-on white! But hey it's your thing! I love that you get vertical with the designing elements. That's my favorite thing to do with rooms in general. Thank you for sharing your kitchen re-make!

Barb N said...

Ooooh, the bead board is perfect for the look you wanted to achieve! And the crown moldings add so much, and with a handy man like your husband, it's the pièce de résistance! You'll love the new cabinet . . . and everything!

Erica said...

Looks fantastic! 👍

TerriSue said...

This is what I plan to do with my kitchen this year. The white cabinets I mean. I will be doing the work myself though since funds took a dive when my husband died last year. I am making the kitchen over into a Blue Willow theme. Jim so liked that pattern. I will be doing a lot of repairs also around the house. We will see if I can actually pull this off.

kc said...

Simply gorgeous! The headboard is absolutely perfect! All very clean and modern, yet still very cozy and cottagey. Love that stove, too!! Y'all really did a great job. Lots of elbow grease and hard work, but the craftsmanship really shows. So glad you shared!

RG said...

Very nice and congratulations on it turning out so very well!! ... and I learned some things (or relearned some things.)
A. There is a cartoon of three guys in firefighting gear. Two are hosing down the hot fire and the third is sitting back on a chair with one leg over the other. "Actually I'm an idea firefighter" he says. I see in your household which is which!!

B. BL is NOT reading this post of yours.

c. Any thoughts I had that a bit of a kitchen upgrade would be nice are "on hold." Too tired.

D. That hairbrained idea of buying a nice used Mazda Miata and country-roading the summer away seems better and better!!!

E. The cat food dish looked empty.

Shirley said...

Your kitchen looks so inviting and comfortable. I love what you did to your window. It gives it a beautiful look. You have such wonderful ideas to what you want to do. You and David are so talented. Have a great day and I love your porch. Hugs and prayers from your Missouri Friend Shirley.

Little Miss Titch said...

Looks amazing Shell,David did a fantastic job,xx Rachel and Speedy

Barb said...

Your kitchen does look awesome and speaks you

Robbie said...

Love your kitchen redo!!!! We too have white cabinets..when we built in '96 everyone had pine color...we had white...we love it...our walls are white too but easy to touch up and to add different color with each season (pillows, etc.). I love the white...a friend is building a home and hates the white..not sure why...your home is lovely!!!!

Createology said...

Your design vision and David’s implementation is perfection. I LOVE your new Cottage Kitchen. Yes, everyone including Sabrina, deserves to use the “good stuff”...every day! Gorgeous Dear.

Judy1522 said...

I love what you have done to your kitchen. I am a big fan of beadboard so I love that idea for the backsplash.

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