It’s week 2 of the One Room Challenge and we’re participating again for our fourth time. Last week we revealed our plans to tackle our kitchen. Before we get into the progress we’ve made over the last week, I wanted to give you a little insight into the colour inspiration for our kitchen design.

A color inspiration story

To do that we need to go back to 2013 when the Dreamhouse was still under construction and I entered a random Twitter contest for a chance to win a beautiful Le Creuset kettle. As luck would have it, I won and from the day we set our eyes on the stunning Flame finish, Kes & I were in love.

Although if we think back, it really should have come as no surprise that the colour spoke to us…

I guess you could say the kettle re-affirmed our special love for that burnt orange/red. Or at the very least it was the jump off point for us working it into our home design. We knew from the day the kettle arrived that it was going to be the main accent colour that we’d design the kitchen around, but if you’ve been paying attention, you might have seen that we’ve been slowly working it in to the design of our entire main floor.

The colour is the common thread that creates that bit of consistency across the various spaces to tie them all together. And it all started with a kettle. Crazy right?!

But back to the kitchen makeover …

Week 1 progress

If you’ve been following along on Instagram or saw any of our stories, you know that we spent this first week sourcing a few of the various elements we’ll be including in the space.

Lighting:

Currently the pot lights we have installed overhead in the kitchen provide the only light in the space. We’re adding sconces on either side of the window, & pendants over the island to provide additional task lighting. We figured that lighting would be a great place to add in a bit of an industrial feel to our otherwise very modern design. Along with natural lighting and having things like plantation window shutters London produced or from other areas, to allow as many varying light levels as possible, we’ve narrowed it down to 2 potential options for each artificial light option.

We’ll also be installing LED strip lighting underneath our cabinets for additional task lighting.

Tile:

For the backsplash we want a tile that is modern & adds a bit of visual interest without being too overpowering. We’re currently coveting these gorgeous geometric cube/diamond tiles. We’re still in negotiations with our wallet however as to whether or not it’ll make the final cut. LOL! I’m sure smart experts like Laurel & Wolf (https://www.laurelandwolf.com/) can give us some ideas to find what we like at a price our wallet likes. We might have to schedule a conversation with one of their designers.

Countertop & sink

Like we mentioned last week, we initially finished the kitchen with the intention of upgrading some things at a later date. Laminate countertops were never our first choice – nor was the butcher block we currently have on the island, but at the time they were the right choices for our budget. This is really important to consider when it comes to any sort of home renovation. It may have been an option to check out something like Granco Granite if we had the funds. But we are happy with what we have now. Plus, there’s always time to switch things up a little in the future.

The plan right now is to replace both with quartz. If you remember our Great Countertop Debate, you know that’s one upgrade we’re SUPER excited about! Along with that, we’ll be adding a beautiful new undermount sink – but we’ll get more into the details of those elements next week.

And that’s where we’re at for this week!

As you can see, we’re off to a bit of a slow start, but with so many moving parts in a kitchen reno, planning is key. We already have the few trades like the plumbing service rockaway nj we’ll be using lined up so once we have the make the final decisions on materials, we’ll be ready to start executing. Before we go, let’s take a look the full list of what we have on our plates.

The to-do list:

• Source backsplash tile options
• Research countertop options
• Research sink options
• Source electrical work
• Choose countertop
• Finalize lighting choices
• Choose & purchase backsplash tile
• Paint window wall frames
• Replace window/door trim
• Build & mount open shelving
• Install under cabinet lighting
• Update electrical for island pendants
• Wire island for outlets & bar fridge
• Purchase bar fridge
• Purchase bar stools
• Install sink
• Cut & Install countertops
• Install backsplash
• Install new faucet
• Install pendant lights
• Install wall sconces
• Style & accessorize

Ok…so it looks a lot more ambitious seeing it all laid out in black and white like that, but I’m not going to stress it just yet. We’ve still got lots of time. Right?!?

Check back next week when we’ll have (hopefully) made a lot more progress. Oh – and be sure to head over to Calling it Home to see what all the 20 featured and so many amazing guest bloggers are up to.