"Da Crib" - Kitchen Tour

I realize it has been a long time coming, but I finally cleared out my kitchen enough to snap some pictures for you guys. Granted, I merely dumped most of it on the dining room table and put it back after I shot these, but still . . . at least my kitchen looks clean for once!

Those of you who have been hanging out here for a long (LONG!) time might remember the "before" shots. 

I would have to say that the "after" is a big improvement. Some might even say "huge gigantic improvement." I love our kitchen so much, it's definitely my favorite room in the house (it's also the most "finished"). It's perfect for kiddos congregating, making big meals, sitting at the bar and chatting . . . I was a little nervous about the "Tame Teal" wall color (that, as it turns out, is not actually very tame) but i love how it turned out once we got cabinets and trim and accent colors up. We added the beadboard ceiling and crown molding, but the rest of the trim is original to the home. The cabinets are painted a light gray color (Sherwin Williams - Passive Gray).

 

Our countertops are made from these huge butcher block tables that we got for free from an industrial warehouse. They were badly scratched and beat up, and we just had out cabinet guy sand them down and voila! Beautiful butcher block counters for FREE dollars. Oh and Adam's dad made the corbels for the bar top and the open shelving from the same butcher block. No biggie, he just whittled them or whatever. He's a whiz with making things. We treated them with mineral oil and beeswax, and so far they are holding up great.

 

The pendant lights are DIY, made using a pendant light kit from Home Depot and and some old egg baskets we found at an antique store. I was just about to tell y'all they were surprisingly easy to make, but then I realized that I didn't actually do any of the work so you will have to ask Adam how hard it was . . .

The bar top is made of concrete. We made it (remember, I use the term "we" loosely, and primarily to refer to "Adam did it completely on his own without any of my help") using the DIY instructions found on Kelly Moore's blog. I will say that the counter weighs approximately 600 lbs. Not that I lifted it. Cause I didn't. I love the patina from stains and water rings and bubbles . . .it adds so much character! True story: The FIRST time we ever ate at the bar, Zack spilled his hot wing sauce all over, leaving a lovely stain that taught me much about NOT FREAKING OUT over our new house and keeping it perfect (a crucial lesson considering how many kids tend to hang out in our kitchen these days).

We were able to save most of the original hardwoods throughout the kitchen (we did have to replace some boards that were rotted), and we just had them sanded down and covered with a satin-poly (without any stain, we wanted to keep the color variation). The adorable hand towel was a gift, I think it's from Anthropologie.

Adam and I have continual debates over the open shelving. He keeps trying to make them more "functional" by stacking large quantities of plates and bowls etc. On the other hand, I insist they are meant to be decorative. Which is really a reflection of our relationship: I'm decorative and he's functional. Meaning he does all the work. My analogy breaks down a little with  me being "decorative" and yet never wearing makeup or doing my hair these days . . . oh well.

 

We used subway tiles with gray grout for the backsplash. I love how it turned out, and feel like the darker grout adds some interest and ties it in with the cabinets. The farmhouse sink (hello lover) is from Ikea. It's large and deep and perfect for stacking up many many dirty dishes. Not that I'd ever NOT do my dishes immediately. The plates on the wall are from Anthropologie, there was also a pretty pink one that didn't survive the move. Oops.

So that's our kitchen . . . thanks for visiting "da crib" (as it's named on Four Square - which Adam signed me up for and I never remember to use) Sadly, I am not the "mayor" of "da crib." Whatever that means.

Stay tuned for more room tours. Someday. When I have a chance to move the clutter around again.

*I'm linking up here -- be sure to visit!