Thank you! Honestly, we got really lucky. I happened to be referred to an awesome contracting company and they were able to complete the project so quickly, even over the holiday season. The owner was like, ‘We can get started December 4 and we’ll have it ready for you by January 4.’ Of course, there were a few hold ups—the contractor assigned to our project quit unexpectedly. I would come to the house and check on things, and no one would be there, which was a bit concerning. I finally had to call the owner and be like, ‘I haven’t heard from our contractor in a week.’

Right?! Fortunately he apologized and came by the next day to finish everything up. He’s a great business owner and was able to pull through. But that was kind of scary!

Well, the appliances didn’t get delivered until February, so we were living in this home without a dishwasher or fridge for a few weeks. I love entertaining and I cook almost every meal, so that was unfortunate.

Definitely! 

I really just wanted to create a space where my guests could gather. Although we’ve only had a few people over here and there due to the pandemic, people are drawn to this room, which I love. The entire home is really open, and the kitchen adjoins a floating dining table, which is an ideal setup. 

Agreed! It’s a super unique space—it was built in 1920 and actually used to be a corner store. It was converted into a residence in the eighties, and they added on a lofted shed roof. Our bedroom and my office are now in the loft space, which overlooks the kitchen and living room. 

It almost looked like the previous owner just built it themselves. The cabinets were really poorly constructed and were painted this unflattering brown color. It just felt really dark. The countertops were also tile, which was really non-functional for me as an avid home cook. Plus, it was an L-shape, and we expanded it into a U-shape to fully utilize the space. When I walked into the original kitchen for the first time, I was honestly just like, ‘Great, I can start from scratch!’ Aside from keeping the sink, stove, and oven in the same place, we redesigned everything. 

I knew I wanted a lot of counter space, because our old place didn’t have a super functional kitchen, which was challenging. I also wanted some floating shelves—I really love my Year and Day dishes and wanted to put them on display! I always make a point to buy really beautiful dishware and it irks me that I’ve had to hide them away in a cabinet. I also had just launched my tile collection, so I knew I wanted to use something I designed for the backsplash. 

I can actually see the kitchen from my office, and I love being able to look at that playful pattern. I aim to design with mental health and well-being in mind, and it’s almost like a piece of art that I can look at when I need a respite from work. It just makes me happy! 

That makes so much sense! Well, I knew I wanted wood cabinets because I love the warmth it brings into a space. Once I landed on Semihandmade’s Tahoe collection, the design kind of unfolded from there. I initially wanted to go more bright and playful, but I went with black and white. Like I said, it’s very open, and you can see the kitchen from every other room in the house. We also don’t plan on staying here forever—it’s our first home and we’ll probably rent it out eventually. So I wanted to go with something more palatable to a range of renters. 

Honestly, If you’ve never renovated before, then work with a designer or architect. It’s really important to have someone on your team who knows what they’re doing. My clients always think that kitchens are simple, but there’s like 20 different things that go into it—it’s not as simple as picking a tile. 

Yeah, there are a lot of moving parts. There’s a ton of prep work involved before you can even start demo. You want to have everything planned out as much as possible to save yourself headache, time, and money. 

I love the hood and that entire wall—it’s really tall and accentuates the high ceilings. And I love how the floating shelves tie into the hood. We just love how the space all came together.