open shelves in the kitchen

One of the projects on our list of things to finish on the house was to build open shelves in our kitchen. Because we repurposed the two existing cabinets that were in the home before we purchased it, we don't have a great deal of cupboard space. I don't mind, as I enjoy arranging my dishes and serving ware on display.  Finding the right style of shelf however, proved more difficult than I imagined it would be, as I couldn't quite find the style I was looking for. I wanted a substantial bracket that had a pretty silhouette to it, and I wanted shelves that were extra deep. The 12" depth allows me to not only stack wider pieces, like dinner plates and cake stands, it also allows me to layer pieces in front of each other, which I find visually makes the shelves much more interesting to look at.

We had our carpenter build a bracket that I had sketched, and cut large pine boards to our custom dimensions. The original design was inspired by Tessa of Nine & Sixteen. Though for anyone asking, I have seen very similar ones, also available to order extra deep, from Home Depot online. Whenever I'm styling shelves, as with so many other things, it takes a bit of tweaking and adjusting before I feel like I've found what I'm happy with. And of course, in time, it will change again, especially as the seasons change. I enjoy the few pieces of brown transferware and a couple pumpkins for autumn, but they'll likely change again come Christmas.

I think a good shelf style includes variety, but also uniform and balance. Mixing heights and depths is aesthetically pleasing. I try to mix a variety of shades of white, from more creamier dishes to cooler white ironstone. And because most are white, I like to add pieces that have pretty details like ornate handles and pretty patterns. I don't even mind a few pieces that are damaged, as usually having them turned a certain way can conceal that damage. Both of these pieces on the bottom right are significantly damaged, but you can't tell.

I also like adding texture, like these rattan highball glasses and my bamboo flatware.

The shelves are quite high, so high in fact that I need a chair to reach the top shelf at nearly 8' high. But the items on the top shelf aren't ones I use often, so I only need to reach to clean them occasionally. The height is also perfect as the ceiling in this part of the kitchen is vaulted and 18' high, so the higher mounted shelves help draw your eye upwards. The also balance the large, mounted cabinet on the opposite side of the kitchen. Having a lot of height to work with also meant that I could space them slightly higher apart. This is perfect for being able to stack items one on top of another, and also, to be able to stand larger old platters behind things.

I will eventually add a small strip along the back to keep the platters from slipping, but they were out. For now, thought they don't move, I made sure to put enough weight in front in the event they did slide forward accidentally.

Here you can see the profile of the bracket. Originally we were going to do a solid bracket, but given the extra depth, and the weight of the dishes, we decided to do a bracket in this design as it's a lot more strong.

I will remove the pumpkins this week. It's funny, I didn't realize until I was editing these photos that the one pumpkin has started rotting from the inside! You can't tell as clearly in person as you can in a bright photo.

While most of these are antique pieces, some of you have messaged for sources,

so I've listed what I can below.

White Dish Set - Antique White by Mikasa

Footed White Bowl and Cake Plate (on top shelf) - Martha Stewart for Macy's

Vintage Bamboo Cutlery - @baltimorevernacular

Rattan High Ball Glasses - Monika Hibbs Home

design - kitchen inspiration

[ nine & sixteen for Victoria Magazine]

I wanted to share some of the inspiration behind my design for the kitchen. It was the hardest room in the house to design, by far, because I had never stepped foot in it. Having to design an island and figure out how the layout would function was so challenging for me. I really feel like you need to live in a space before truly understanding how it functions best, hence why a lot of it has yet to be finished. We decided to build the island, as we needed that to function, but hold off on any other cabinetry and just re-purpose what was existing.

It was also important for me to have some antique pieces incorporated into the design and it takes time to find those perfect pieces. I love the cozy feel of the space Tessa designed (above), and it was what convinced me to keep our small antique table.

                                                                                            

 

[de Vol via @cotswoldsinteriors]

I love the look of unlacquered brass, especially with marble.

[de Vol Kitchens]

I also love the warmth and character of exposed beams. This kitchen from de Vol also convinced me to commit to a darker island, and by darker I mean not white. The colour I selected was Edgecomb Grey by BM.

[de Vol Kitchens]

[@farmhouseforfour]

This kitchen was a huge inspiration in the designing of our island. I just love the simplicity. This, and the kitchen above, were also very influential on the style of the island - simple, shaker style feeling very English.

[@in__the__fields]

Catherine of In The Fields is always so inspiring. From how she uses antique finds to bring beauty to the everyday items, to the lovely open shelves of her former  kitchen. I'm looking forward to seeing how she finishes her new one.

[Julie Blanner]

 

I also always love the simplicity of Julie Blanner's kitchen. She probably convinced me to commit to the brass faucet. I also love her hood and plan to design something similar, but in reclaimed pine from the original floorboards.

[dreamlightforyou - Etsy]

I'm waiting for this Etsy shop to reopen so I can order the pendant lights for above our island.

[@junehomesupply]

Another lovely sink - this one from June Home Supply. I also love the very simple open shelves.

[@cat_in_france - Rabbit Hill]

Cat's beautiful home, filled with all of her lovely antiques, is also a huge inspiration. To me, it embodies a personal kitchen; one that functions according to it's owners needs and style of cooking. I plan to add a wooden piece for between my range and fridge..

[Martha Stewart Living]

On top of the wooden piece by the range will be a set up similar to this one in Martha's Kitchen. I love the urns filled with cooking tools and the storage underneath. Functional and beautiful. I also love the putty-beige colour of her kitchen with the gorgeous marble tops. Again, a kitchen curated around how it's owner uses it.

[Barefoot Contessa]

I also need to find a large basket, similar to this, but to conceal my garbage and recyclables.

While I love a good, satisfying before and after, the designing of our home is something that takes time. It evolves as we live. I'm okay with that process. In fact, I enjoy it. And I have a feeling so many of you enjoy seeing the process just as much as the final reveal.

kitchen tour

Lately I've been spending quite a lot of time in the kitchen, and have been attempting to document it more. As I've been posting more of this room, as well as more tours of the rest of the house as it currently is, I've started getting a lot of requests for more. I know that I've already shared a tour of the kitchen with sources, but I thought I would walk through it again. For now, I will go over the details that still need to be finished and then tomorrow, I will show the inspirations for what the rest of my plans are for it's design.

Currently our appliances are in place, but not finished off. I am on the hunt for a larger piece for between the fridge and stove. It will serve as mainly storage, but also a workspace. I'm hoping to add a runner down this side of the island and we're hoping to be able to build the fridge in, and add a cupboard to the top for storage. This will help draw the attention away from the fridge.

We will also add open shelves above my baking counter and I need to find shades for these windows, as this one in particular is Western facing, and the sun is extremely bright when we sit down for dinner.

Lighting wise, we are waiting to order two pendant fixtures for above the island, as well as two sconces for the back wall, on either side of the picture window. I actually ordered two different sets of fixtures for here, and neither came in the right finish I wanted. Eventually there will be bench seating under the window, but for now, it's fine as it is. I also want to add some peg hooks beside the door to the porch.

I have some salvaged floorboards, from the original floor we had to remove, and I'm saving them for a vent hood above my stove. It will be in raw wood, to match the exposed beams.

I'm also still waiting to find four stools for this side of the island. This was an old one we had, but unfortunately, Ikea no longer carries this same style. I had found two sets of nearly identical wooden stools with cane seats, but I wasn't sure about painting them. We'll see.

This is the view of the kitchen from the living room couch. I always think it's a pretty one.

the kitchen

As I write this, I can hardly believe I finally get to share this with you.

I can hardly believe that we're finally in our new (but wonderfully old) home, and that the first stage of our renovations are finally complete.

But most importantly, I can hardly believe that this is ours. That we envisioned this, and designed it, and saw it unfold into reality.

For little perspective, while it seemed to take forever, a mere four months ago, this was what my kitchen looked like.

The entire space (the whole house really) was stripped down. We then made some adjustments to the kitchen to help open the space up, most significantly removing the den above it and opening it up as a cathedral ceiling. We also raised low windows to accommodate counters in the future and two doorways that were like little hobbit doors, barely five feet high.

Doing all of that work required a lot of our budget, but we knew it was one of the best things we could invest in. One of the other significant costs in the kitchen renovation was a custom island. There was originally a large island, but poor plumbing, and then being left vacant, left the cabinetry and many of the floorboards rotten and moldy. Ryan and I designed this piece together and I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out.

I wanted it to have a more traditional, English feel to it, with simple inset cabinets, a stone top, apron sink with mounted faucet, and pretty unlacquered brass hardware that would age perfectly over time. I will compile a list of sources at the end for those of you who have messaged requesting them.

I mentioned earlier that this is the first stage of the renovation. As I'm sure is the case with every major renovation, we were long past our deadline and over budget, or at least were required to make adjustments to our budget as unforseen issues arose. The amount of work required in the kitchen meant full custom cabinets were no longer an option. We will eventually finish them, but until then, we salvaged what we could of the originals and freshened them up with some paint and new hardware. We had also planned to have the majority of our pantry storage in our butler's pantry just off this kitchen, but that required custom cabinetry, and therefore was also put on hold. It's required a lot of creative storage solutions! It also left a few gaps in the layout, like between my fridge and range. I don't mind though. I am currently scouring our local antique shops for something to put here in the form of a storage cart or antique table. And honestly, once it's all complete, I don't think we'll end up changing it. I have a feeling I will like the feel of it so much more.

Whatever ends up beside the range will be where I store my cooking utensils and cutting boards, my seasonings and oils, probably in an assortment of crocks and old jars.

There will also be a custom hood above the range for a vent, likely from salvaged pine floor boards that were originally in the kitchen. 

Here you can see where we made the alterations structurally. The wood beam was added. At that point, everything to the left of it was three feet lower, so you can imagine how dark and closed in this side of the kitchen felt.

I'm also looking for an antique hutch top or cupboard to have as closed storage for everyday items like breakfast cereals and smaller baking items.

Opening it up (you can see the old beam still) made everything open and so bright! It changed everything, and I can't tell you how many times we've said we're so thankful we took the chance and made that huge change. That window up in the rafters is southern facing, so I have light all day long.

And the large picture window looks out to the river.

Stage two also includes installing the remaining fixtures, including sconces on either side of the table, and two pendant lights above the island. Also some sort of simple window treatment on the picture window and end chairs. And painting that little inside of the cabinet to the left by the plate rack.

The door to the back porch is the entrance we use daily. There is no storage at all, so we had to get a little creative. I will put some peg board to the right of the door above the boot tray.

Any idea where we store shoes for our family of six?

The end of the island is a shoe cabinet. It also hides duct work to allow for heating in this part of the house where previously, there was none.

I managed to fit all my everyday china in this cabinet - thankfully it's pretty to look at!

Beautiful hardware just adds so much charm. I also decided I wanted the island to be painted a colour to contrast the light top and add a bit more warmth to the space. In the end, I settled on Edgecomb Gray and it's exactly as I hoped it would be.

We used HanStone, a Canadian company, for our quartz stone counter top. It's called Tranquility. We went with quartz for the durability. We do have four boys after all!

Also, here you can see the entrance to the butler's pantry. This doorway was only five feet tall originally. We moved it to allow for better storage in the future and added a transom window (to come) to both add some much needed light, and to show off it's beautiful exposed ceiling.

The boys requested the island had stools, and four sons means four stools. So the entire other side of the island is pretty much seating. I haven't settled on stools yet, but have narrowed it down to a few styles. To balance out the shoe cabinet on the other end, we added small drawers. I think that the inset tow kicks and small feet details make it so beautiful.

Because we had to replace so much of the flooring, we decided to salvage what we could for other use, and replace the entire floor. We used local wide plank pine flooring in an assortment of widths (between 8" and 12"). We then finished them with a clear, matte oil-based finish, again for durability. In the photo above you can see the transition from the kitchen (top) to the living room (bottom).

I will share my inspiration for the kitchen soon, as well as my design plan for the remainder of it.

But at least I could finally get around to sharing the progress we're making!

SOURCES

Wall Paint Colour - Simply White by Benjamin Moore, Matte

Trim and Cabinet Colour - Simply White by Benjamin Moore, Eggshell

Island Paint Colour - Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore

Countertop - Tranquility by HanStone

Sink - Charleston Farmhouse Sink by Gracie Oaks

Faucet - Heritage Standard Bridge Faucet by Kingston Brass

Cabinet Hardware - Rejuvination

Appliances - Home Depot (Whirlpool Fridge and Dishwasher, Kitchenaid Range)

Chandelier - Andover Mills