Kitchen Remodel: The Details

As I promised yesterday, I am sharing all of the details and sources associated with our kitchen remodel. On yesterday’s post I shared the before and after pictures. I have to be honest and say that this is the most exciting home project I have ever done. I may gush about it for a while! Also, my husband is a saint for going along with it! My parents were gracious through the process as well, as we had to live with them for over a week during the renovation.

Here is a list of all of the projects we had done in the kitchen:

• custom island
  • add built-in microwave
  • add pull-out trash can
  • room for 3 stools in the front
  • more storage
• refinish cabinets
• refinish hood
• move the sink back toward the window (it used to stick out too far)
• redo the backing of the bookshelf beside the refrigerator
• new counters
• install backsplash
• new faucet
• sink dispenser and water filter at the sink

To get the remodel going, I contacted Katie Schindler of Fine Grit. Her brother, Brian, has taken our family photos twice now, and he told us about her business. She does wood and metal design and cabinet refinishing. Plus, a female-owned business in a mostly male-dominated industry? Even better. Katie helped with the design, she put me in touch with the other necessary contractors, and the carpenter that works with her built our new island and wine rack. They did all of the work on the cabinets, bookshelf, and hood, and were meticulous with the details. Her team was a pleasure to work with, and we would absolutely hire Fine Grit again. (not sponsored! but I do recommend them if you are in the Charlotte area!)

We hired an electrician, recommended by Katie, to install the microwave and outlets in the island.  Choosing a built-in microwave seemed to take forever, but I finally decided to go with something relatively basic that would fit the space. Who knew microwaves were so dang expensive?! We also added a pull-out trash can in the island. The island has storage for serving dishes, our toaster oven, Vitamix, and a couple other small appliances.

custom island with built-in microwave, storage, pull-out trash can, and a larger countertop

Before the cabinets could be refinished, the island was built, and the countertops and backsplash were installed. Picking new counters was a bit stressful, but we finally decided on Aurea Stone, color Epitome. We knew we wanted quartz counters, because of the durability and the light color scheme. OHM International has a showroom in Charlotte, and they carry Aurea Stone.  We absolutely love it, and are so happy with our choice.

We hired Mediterranean Tile & Stone to install our counters and backsplash. Our backsplash was a deal, and I love it. It is a subway style tile from Lowe’s, but it is larger than the basic subway tile. It has a farmhouse feel.

backsplash and counters

Our cabinet color is Sherwin Williams Eider White. We had to choose a color that would blend with the warmer tones in our house, but also brighten the space. We kept the original hardware, and I found the new, matching hardware for the island at Blackhawk Hardware in Charlotte.

Katie’s team built a wine rack to fill in an empty space above the refrigerator, and they put a new back on the bookshelf.

We wanted a new faucet for the sink, and my goal was to find something that looks nice, but is also more of a commercial feel.  I need my kitchen to be one that stands up to lots of use.  I read a million reviews on Amazon, and settled on this faucet.  We love it!  We also chose a matching soap dispenser. We are on well water, so we wanted to have a heavy-duty under sink filter.  This one has a really pretty faucet, is a great filter and is affordable.

faucet | undersink filter | soap dispenser

Katie and I decided together to stain the hood to match our mantle.  The original stain was lighter, and too warm.  The darker colored hood may be my favorite part of the kitchen.  I love the contrast and the rustic feel.

I think that covers all of the details. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at sevenlayercharlotte@gmail.com.  Thank you for stopping by!