Designing My Kitchen
My design process, links to everything, and most asked questions.
It has been about a year now since our renovation wrapped up and it still feels very surreal waking up to this view every morning. My biggest design project to date and proudest! It’s about time I get around to a whole post covering the creative direction, all the details and elements that came together just as I’d hoped, and questions I am asked quite often.
The inspiration and goal
My design style is very European-influenced. I didn’t travel far growing up but I did daydream and immerse myself into inspiration that gave me the idea that I would love wish list destinations in Europe when the time came around to visit. Matt took me to Paris for the first time in our early years of dating and I cried upon arrival. I felt similarly when on our Italian honeymoon and while traveling through Spain. Soaking up the beauty and history, the timelessness, the charm! I felt so moved by the attention to detail and immense beauty everywhere you look. Design is just next level oversees. My style has evolved and taken shape by the places I’ve been that have made me feel more inspired than ever before. My thoughts are—if I can’t live abroad (at least right now, never say never!)… I can surely try and evoke a similar feeling by my design choices and what I collect.
I love materiality and attention to detail, organic textures, and old-world charm—all considered when coming up with the foundation of our home. I can’t tell you how long I dreamt about having marble counters. It was a non-negotiable (everyone tries to talk you out of this for some reason… don’t listen to them, by the way). And the limestone tiles are heavenly, too.
My priority hierarchy for the kitchen was as follows: stone and floor tiling (the focal point), beautiful hardware, a specific range I had in mind, no upper cabinets for airiness, great lights and a bevy of sconces (it’s an obsession), and lastly cabinets. I’m so happy that we found a good cabinet maker (Yorktowne) who had an abundance of styles to choose from and a color option that aligned well with our wall color because I didn’t want to go the custom route. I just wanted something sleek and simple—and knew immediately when I saw ours because I absolutely love a charming bead detail on woodwork.
A quick note on paint colors
After buying our home and having extra rooms to play with, I decided to dabble in some color. I had a lot of fun with the apricot hue we first used on Grace’s nursery… and sage will always be such a favorite color! However, I’ve found myself going back to all ivory walls and I thought I would share why. I’ve come to learn that my version of a happy place, a sanctuary, is peaceful and grounding. I prefer the other elements in the space to do the talking. In my mind, having color on the walls creates more of a theme and perhaps I felt more limited in changing other things up. I love the possibility and versatility of a warm white wall.
But to go even deeper, I think growing up in a more chaotic environment led me to needing a very calming homebase. Home should be what we all consider to bring us peace, inspiration, joy… and it’s so cool how we all need different backdrops to feed our spirit.
Stone and tile details:
Carrara marble for counters and backsplash, limestone octagon with gray “dots” for the kitchen flooring (and we did this on our patio step too but with Cararra marble dots), and tumbled marble tiles with limestone dots in our pantry. Castelli Marble is an absolute dream to work with and have the best selection. Adore them and will look to them for every future project.
What is the paint color for walls, trim, and cabinets?
Pointing by Farrow and Ball: flat on ceiling, matte on walls, satin on trim. This goes for the whole house!
Oven, dishwasher, fridge details:
ILVE ‘Nostalgic’ range, Miele dishwasher, and we went with the Signature Kitchen line from Friedman Appliance for our fridges.
Hardware details:
Perrin & Rowe polished nickel faucet and sprayer and filter water tap. We also have the pot filler over our range as well. I had this style bookmarked for so long. In love with how classic and timeless this collection is. I can’t say enough good things.
As for cabinet and appliance hardware we have Emtek 1” unlaquered brass egg knobs and Rejuvenation pulls on the fridge, freezer, wine fridge, trash drawer, and dishwasher. I’ve had great luck with this Etsy shop for pulls, too, if you’re in the market and want another similar option.
Lighting details:
Pendant light and shades I swapped in (not seeing the exact style anymore, they were clip-on burlap from this shop), wall sconces (with vintage shades I happen to already have on hand… hoarding pays off sometimes!), Mini crystal lamps (also swapped shades on these, they are custom by a friend who owns a design shop who did a favor for me—but you could find someone local or even Etsy perhaps to do this).
I didn’t plan to do recessed lighting but ended up having to do 4 to meet code standards. I don’t mind them now, they’ve been nicer on darker winter days or when we have spills etc. but just always prefer chandeliers / the island pendant we have (exclusively only like this style) and then mid-level and low lighting via sconces and lamps. Not a recessed lighting fan. Warm bulbs and dimmer is essential!
Any regrets or design lessons learned?
The only thing I was bummed about after was the french door sils. Our contractor had asked me all of my preferences for details with our door order but forgot to ask that one (he was unfamiliar they had other options besides black). So when they arrived and I noticed, it was one of the very few disappointing moments of the remodel because I found out there was a lighter color option which I definitely would have gone with since they sit right on top of our light limestone floors. It wasn’t something we could correct, and ultimately not the biggest deal… but the one thing that slipped through the cracks. I’m past it. I’m fine!!!
P.s. on this subject, we went with Marvin’s Elevate line for all new doors and windows in our house, except the front door and mudroom door which were custom.
Anything you would change now having lived in it for a year?
Aside from the above… no! That is the beautiful thing about the length of a remodel. You have so much time to be thorough and thoughtful. I spent countless hours fine-tuning and making carefully considered choices with everything down to the air vents and door hinges. No detail was left unnoticed because of time and my dedication to making every detail count (extreme Type A in this department).