Before and After – Kitchen Renovation<\/h1>\n

You know that saying, the kitchen is the heart of the home?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that so true though?! Everyone naturally wants to gather in the kitchen no matter what the occasion. I rarely get anyone to sit in our adjacent family room.\u00a0 So, I\u2019d agree there is certainly something special about a kitchen and its ability to gather loved ones in one place.\u00a0 Ask me which room I was most eager to design and I would tell you it was the kitchen.\u00a0 Everyone wants a nice kitchen whether you cook or don\u2019t cook, it\u2019s one of the rooms in a home that you put the most thought into. The kitchen will give you the biggest return as far as resale.\u00a0 It is also one of the most expensive rooms of the house to renovate so you do want to give it a good amount of thought when planning your kitchen renovation.<\/p>\n

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Lets Start From the Beginning<\/h2>\n

So for my kitchen renovation, I would still call it a work in progress.\u00a0 But really it\u2019s only missing some finishing touches. We started renovating our kitchen along with the rest of the home in June 2019.\u00a0 A bit of the backstory on our home, it was bank-owned and was not lived in for at LEAST a year.\u00a0 The house and surrounding property had not been maintained for quite a long time.\u00a0 Everything outside was overgrown, everything inside was moldy and falling apart.\u00a0 The house was in such bad shape that we were the first people to put an offer. The house literally scared other buyers away.\u00a0 When my husband and I first toured the house, we DID see that we would be taking on a major fixer upper, but we also had vision for this house of what it could become.\u00a0 I honestly saw the house for what it was, a center hall colonial (one of my favorite floor plans) with just enough space for my family of four. At just under 2,400 sq. ft. I knew the house would be perfect for us after a complete renovation, and I was so right!\u00a0 The kitchen was never a huge kitchen and we had to work with the layout that was there.\u00a0 Like everything else we started with a budget, a wants vs needs list, and thought of anywhere we can save money on the renovation.\u00a0 I knew for sure I wanted good quality cabinets, quartz countertops for low maintenance, and I really really REALLY wanted to squeeze in a second oven if I could (I love to bake bread)!<\/p>\n

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Gutting the Kitchen and Putting It Back Together<\/h2>\n

Once the old kitchen was gutted and we were done putting down the engineered wood floors (which I laid down myself \ud83d\ude09) it was time to put together our new kitchen!\u00a0 My dear husband who is extremely handy was able to install the kitchen cabinets himself.\u00a0 We purchased our cabinets from Millhurst Mills<\/a>. We love them! I went with the white shaker design for a classic white kitchen look. I have loved all white kitchens since FOREVER so this was a no brainer decision for me.\u00a0 The countertop decision was a bit more difficult because there are SO MANY options out there.\u00a0 I knew I wanted quartz. I always loved the look of natural Carrara marble, but to be honest I couldn\u2019t commit to it for our kitchen due to its high-maintenance reputation. I was just too worried about staining. I went in search for a quartz that still had the natural organic feel that I wanted, and I steered away from anything that was trying too hard to look like real Carrara. In the end I fell in love with Carrara Caldia<\/a> from the MSI Quartz Collection<\/a>.\u00a0 Yes, I know what you\u2019re thinking, it has \u201cCarrara\u201d in the name!\u00a0 But it doesn\u2019t look like Carrara at all. To me the colors in Carrara Caldia are much earthier and creamy colored. I love the calmness of the stone with the soft golden veining, it really makes this quartz a beautiful neutral option that will never look outdated.\u00a0 And I cannot forget to mention the durableness of this stone is amazing! I have literally put everything on it and not a single mark or stain!<\/p>\n

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Kitchen Details<\/h2>\n

Moving onto some of the other details of the kitchen. I opted for a farmhouse sink by Kohler<\/a> and I remember holding my breath when placing the order for it. Ha! Let me tell you, I was SO nervous about a farmhouse sink.\u00a0 I did so much research, read so many mixed reviews and I feared that the sink would be super hard to keep clean. Gladly, I was very wrong, and my sink is actually very low maintenance and easy to keep tidy and stain free.<\/p>\n

I love the look of matte black fixtures and it\u2019s the finish that I chose for all the lighting and doorknobs throughout the entire house.\u00a0 But when it came to the kitchen hardware, I wanted to try something a little different and went with champagne bronze for the kitchen faucet, pulls and knobs. It\u2019s a beautiful accent in our kitchen that receives many compliments from family and friends!<\/p>\n

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Final Phase<\/h2>\n

Lastly, we needed appliances. This is an area that took a lot of time and research. I wanted high end appliances but didn\u2019t want to pay high-end prices. The appliances I originally wanted were completely out of my price range (yikes!). After some research and visiting local dealers, I decided on the Bertazzoni<\/a> line of kitchen appliances. They had that beautiful high-end look that I was going for but at a mid-range price.\u00a0 We were able to find a great appliance package that included everything we needed (Fridge, Range, Range Hood, Dishwasher, Wall Oven and Microwave).<\/p>\n

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Finishing Touches<\/h2>\n

Since our renovation two year ago, we\u2019ve added some new things such as crown molding around the room, shiplap ceiling and better pantry organization. We have plans to put in some really nice wood shelving in the open space in the corner and stain the wood to match the vent hood. That final touch is really going to make the whole kitchen come together. In the meantime, I\u2019ve been having a blast switching out different d\u00e9cor pieces and always having my farm fresh eggs on display \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n

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Before and After – Kitchen Renovation You know that saying, the kitchen is the heart of the home?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that so true though?! Everyone naturally wants to gather in the kitchen no matter what the occasion. I rarely get anyone…<\/p>\n

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