The Kitchen - Inspired by Sally Wheat

i am so so excited to be able to share our kitchen!  after living here for 3 1/2 weeks and really using the kitchen i must say that i am super pleased with the layout and the choices we made.  phewsh! :)

when we first started planning the kitchen i really wanted black soapstone countertops and white cabinets.  (by the way i still really love that look!) 

but when i was scrolling through cote de texas one day i stopped and stared at a post joni did on sally wheat's kitchen.

gray cabinets?  marble countertops?  i. loved. it. !!!!  so back to the drawing board we went :)

i was already planning on a gray paint throughout the house (Benjamin Moore Vapor Trails) so switching to a gray kitchen wasn't so hard.  thankfully i was able to use the exact color sally did (Benjamin Moore Fieldstone) and it compliments the walls so well!  

this picture is out of order so we'll talk food for a second.  we decided on the kenmore pro refrigerator and freezer pair pushed next to each other finished with a stock trim kit to make it look like one unit.

real quick for all my organizing gurus....the freezer drawers have dividers in them!  ahhhh... i was so excited :)

the center island top is made out of walnut.  i have been doing most of the food prep on the island and serving off of the peninsula behind it.

now, i am just an ordinary, everyday mama.  so my open shelves have the dishes that we use!  it may not look the most magazine worthy but man is this concept practical.  reach and grab.  love it.  highly recommend it.

so what i did when i saw sally's open shelves was print off a picture and bring it to our cabinet maker.  one thing that makes these shelves unique are the thick stiles and shelves.  we made the backer v-groove panelling.

the picture below is sally wheat's kitchen from cote de texas

this is a picture of our shelf.  SO pleased!

"peek a boo!"  this little passage door opens into the schoolroom :)  

you can see the painted brick wall here.  it is actual brick sliced about 1/2" inch.  we painted it the same color as the walls ( Benjamin Moore Vapor Trails).  which is lighter than the cabinets (Benjamin Moore Fieldstone).

the chandelier is from lamps plus.  you can read about it here.

the beams were stained the same color as the floor.  the floors are 5"inch oak and the beams are poplar so the color is slightly different.  The beams were made by clamping three pieces of poplar together and having them hand hewn.  here is a picture of the beams being clamped by a ton of clamps :)

okay...back to the kitchen!  we had a table made by a local wood worker.  i really like it!  it is a trestle table that can seat 12 or more if chairs are at the corners.  speaking of chairs...yeah, well these are the chairs we have for now.  i would LOVE some suggestions for seating here.  

anyways...these chairs work and we have so enjoyed having lots of people gathered around talking, eating and laughing!

the table is made from ash wood, hand distressed to perfection and stained to compliment the floors.

the complimentary brick "kick wall" under the bar counter area.  this brick is painted vapor trails too.

the counter tops are white italian marble.  we looked at several carrera marble slabs but they were too gray.  interestingly one "marble guy" told us that the mountain they cut carrera from in italy is getting cut into further and further and the carrera is "grayer" towards the center of the mountain.  

well since i wanted the white carrera look and there was only gray carrera available we went with a marble called "White Italian".  i really like it :)  i am NOT picky though about water spots.  if you are i would not recommend this marble.  i am fine with the natural patina and spotting that may and does happen :)

the hardware is from restoration hardware.  i looked at several sources for chrome bin pulls but found that restoration offered them in various lengths.  this is nice so that the longer drawers that require a longer bin pull can match the other ones.

these little lovebird salt and pepper shakers were given to me from a friend.  are they not so sweet? :)

we are still waiting on our second pendant globe.  :)  this shot gives a good overview of the layout though.

the back splash was always going to be white subway tile.  but since we have white subway tile in other places of the house we decided to put a beveled white subway tile in the kitchen to set it apart a bit.

do you see the drinking fountain?

best. thing. ever.  

today was 85 degrees outside and i think the kids used this fountain 25 times.  think of all the cups saved! :)