When we set out to find our first home, we knew we had our work cut out for us. Though we agree on most things, Sunny and I disagree on a lot of stylistic elements for homes. I like brick, Sunny prefers stucco. I wanted a fireplace, Sunny didn’t need one. I prefer carpet for living spaces and Sunny prefers hard-wood throughout the house (I mean, rolling around with your puppy on the carpet is THE BEST, amiright?). There was one thing we agreed upon: We needed an open floor layout! We wanted our kitchen area to be open and visible from the great room. Imagine hosting a party, who wants to be stuck prepping in a kitchen all alone when everyone’s having a great time in the living room?! Although, to be completely honest, with our friends and family we never make it past the kitchen island… We prefer to hover around the food! (Hence the 8 ft. kitchen island.)
For me, the kitchen is the most important part of the house. I know that your bedroom is supposed to be your sanctuary but the kitchen is where the real magic happens. It’s where you prep, cook, eat, clean, laugh, talk about how your day was… I could go on and on. I’ve always been insistent on having a decent sized kitchen, even when we had our one bedroom apartments. This was super problematic at our last apartment because while we had a beautiful bathroom and gorgeous kitchen, we essentially had no living room. #thestrugglewasreal. I knew when we finally bought our new house that the kitchen would very quickly become one of my top priorities!
We purchased our “quick-delivery” home right after the framework was built, just in time to pick out a lot of the details/color schemes. Also, before you think we’re seasoned “fixer-uppers” it’s important to note that our first house was a new construction – there wasn’t much rehabbing to be done, especially since we picked out most of the finishes. My husband and I definitely still wanted to add a bit of “us” to the house. I sometimes dream of buying a huge fixer-upper when we retire and spending the latter years of our life renovating it but Sunny is quick to remind me that while the idea seems lovely, the work would be extensive and never-ending.
Back to the point – I envisioned a very inviting, rustic, warm kitchen – think “farmhouse chic” with an extra splash of chic. Once Sunny saw the vision he was with it whole-heartedly. After the amazing work our builders did we’d only really need to update lighting fixtures and add a backsplash to complete my perfect kitchen! Unfortunately, one of the only things our builder didn’t offer was the perfect backsplash. Luckily for me, my hubby is pretty handy and he thought we could easily tackle a backsplash ourselves. While pretty mosaic tiles are always stunning – I wanted something a little more timeless and simple. We went with classic subway tile with grey grout to match the white and grey theme we already had going. I couldn’t have been happier with the results!
I’ve said this before and I’m sure I’ll say it again and again and again… one of my favorite parts of wedding planning was seeing how well Sunny and I worked together. It really solidified the fact that I had found my lobster. I saw the same magic unfold while working on this project. I’m thankful for moments like these, where I can take a step back and smile because we truly do make such an amazing team. While it wasn’t all roses and it was definitely a lot more difficult than we had anticipated (message me if you wanna know more about the not so fun stuff), I wouldn’t have had it any other way! ❤
Reemskii 