I had high hopes that I would do much better in maintaining current entries on this blog but life has gotten in the way this month.  We were both busy with our day jobs, a sick baby, 1st grade, and two renovation projects (for others) at the same time.

Anyway… Here I am in all my glory…. Our latest clients hired us to update their newly purchased home. They really wanted a face lift for the kitchen; we did paint the entire house but this post is about the kitchen. The kitchen wasn’t bad it just needed a bit of that “wow” factor.IMG_4766

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Our clients wanted white cabinets but not an entirely white kitchen. We LOVE a white kitchen (that is what I look at every day in my own home), but when we take on clients we believe the home should be uniquely theirs.  We listen to what they want and then provide solutions to give the final look they are hoping for; unless of course it’s something I totally disagree with.  I refuse to do any work I don’t believe in.  Oh yeah, this isn’t about me.

Most master planned communities provide builder grade cabinets; this isn’t a bad thing, it’s just standard. As long as the cabinets are of good enough quality wood they can be dressed up. We removed the tiny crown molding at the top of the cabinets and added 4.25 inch decorative molding to give the illusion of larger and grandeur cabinets. We also added wood trim to the bottom of the cabinets.IMG_5965

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I believe that in more traditional homes wood cabinets should look like furniture not boxes. The island in the kitchen also looked too boxy so we added a full wooden back, fluted ends, and “legs” to the bottom (darn; I don’t think I have a picture to share of those sexy legs right now, but I’ll show one later when I blog about trim).  We sprayed the cabinets in Sherwin Williams enamel white paint. We helped the couple select a beautiful quartzite stone countertop called ‘Fantasy Brown’ and paired it with a ceramic gray tile lined in white grout to showcase their color.  If you want your tile to pop, contrast the grout.  If you want to mute the tile, match the grout color to the tile color.

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The clients also wanted an apron front sink so the existing under-mount sink cabinet had to be cut and retrofit in order to install the new sink, and it was definitely worth it.

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A few minor changes can go a VERY long way in providing a significant transformation. What a chic new kitchen!