Cocoa & Pearls: Happy Weekend

In Lifestyle

This weekend's post is all about our kitchen remodel. It really made a world of difference in our downstairs living area because not only did it open up the space, it also gave us more usable space. Oh, and not having to clean black granite is a giant bonus (white Quartz is so much easier to maintain). We wanted this to be a minimal renovation (honestly, our kitchen wasn't bad), so we kept the original cabinets and floor and instead added more bottom cabinets to extend the countertop out by 14 inches.

I agonized over backsplash tile for weeks. I hit up all of the tile stores (multiple times), had nightmares about tile, hoarded all the samples, and then when I finally made a decision...I changed it again. Finally, we ended up with a white/stainless glass tile backsplash and ceramic Encaustic tile under the countertop (I knew I wanted to incorporate this tile somewhere in the house, but wasn't sure the kitchen was a good fit. Looking at it now, it was a great decision).
I wanted to extend the upper cabinets out a little to the left, but didn't want to close off the space by putting more cabinets, so I added this planter from Crate and Barrel. Currently, the plants in there are fake (Hearth and Hand from Target), but eventually I may want to plant real basil and mint.
Of course, I got my farm sink (must have). Our divided sink setup was cumbersome for cleaning (there just wasn't enough room) and this deeper, one-basin farm sink is just a better setup for cleaning dishes. Bonus - we also replaced our garbage disposal with a quieter more powerful one (I stressed over this decision, too).
We kept our existing faucets because they are Grohe and nothing that we looked at came close to quality (Nick and I spent a good chunk of a Saturday morning polishing those bad boys with Barkeeper's Friend). We probably saved ourselves a $1000 by re-using the faucets.
I wanted a black and white theme with rustic accents (inspiration here), so I bought up all of the matte black accessories from Crate and Barrel and am in the process of convincing Nick to let me get a cognac leather couch and counter stools.
And finally, some lessons learned: it will get dusty so cover up everything and don't try cleaning before the reno is done (guilty), yes - you can match wall paint color (just take a 1"x1" wall sample from a non-shaded area to Home Depot and they will work their magic), and it will always cost more than you thought it would but it'll look great in the end (see below for more photos).