Teachers and Kitchens: I Love them Both!

Teacher Appreciation Week

First, a shout-out to Gilly's wonderful teacher Sarah Szwilski who was nominated for a "Coolest Teacher" award. She, like many, many other teachers, works tirelessly to teach our little ones. Way to go, Senora Szwilski!!

Now, kitchen picks! As you know, the kitchen is probably THE most important room in the house. You want to make sure you get the cabinets and tile right from the start, because that's a hard change to make once they are installed. We all know that colors and trends change very quickly in today's world, so pick the most trendy accessories, paint, and fabrics you want. Those things can easily be replaced. However, you can never go wrong with classic picks for cabinetry and tile. Of course, classic means different things to different people. Some folks go with a cottage look, others a clean-lined, sleek look, and still others choose the tried-and-true traditional look.

Cliff and I choose a traditional look with a twist. We knew we wanted dark espresso-stained base cabinets and light uppers around the perimeter with an island that would be either stained or painted. However, Cliff's pick was much warmer in color than mine. Here, take a look:

My pick was much cooler with a painted gray island. It's not shown, but I would have chosen to do black and white counter tops:


So with the help of Jean Ann, the interior decorator for Jimmy Nash Homes, and Samantha of Creative Kitchen and Baths, we came up with a combination that took elements from both. The dark base cabinets are almost black, but you can still see the grain. The uppers are light cream with just a touch of glaze, and the island is the stained piece and will have a furniture look with curvy table legs:


The granite you see is similar to what we will be using for both the perimeter counter tops and the island. It will be honed to add a contrasting texture to the shiny Carrera subway tiles. To add a little "extra," we will be using this style door under the kitchen sink:


And we're using these knobs and handles (the center one) to give it a little sparkle:



Since we were able to make our selections within our budget, we are going to splurge on a carrera top on the bar that separates the kitchen from the great room. It will also be on the espresso stained base. Well, at least that's the plan. We'll find out when we get the quote back! It will look similar to this photo:

This is the door style we choose. It's also that gray color that I wanted for the island. See, even I have a hard time resisting, because I think home colors are trending towards gray right now. Because I do love it, I think I'm going to use it for the paint color.



I love how Samantha and Jean Ann were able to listen to both of our ideas, and come up with an option that we both really love. The end result exceeded my expectations, and I can't wait to see how it's going to turn out...now I'm REALLY excited!!! Since this space is so open to the rest of the house, it will really set the tone for the entire house. For us, it has the perfect mix of casual and dressy, light and dark, shiny and matte, clean lines yet still traditional...waiting is going to be very difficult!! You'll be the first to see it when that time comes. Have a great night and please remember all the folks impacted by this past weekend's flooding. They need all the prayers they can get!