Our Dream Kitchen Reveal - The Dreamhouse Project

IT’S KITCHEN REVEAL DAY!!!! After 7 long weeks of having our kitchen torn apart, our main floor thrown into the chaos of packages, tools, & building materials – and definitely more takeout meals & sleepless nights than I care to admit, we’re so excited to finally be able to share this space with you all! Welcome to our Dream Kitchen.

The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal


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Call me naive, but when we started this project it didn’t seem like it would be all that challenging. We weren’t making any major changes to the layout of the kitchen, no walls being moved or torn down, no plumbing being re-routed, the cabinets were staying unchanged – no big deal right?? Suffice it to say that I VASTLY underestimated what we were in store for! Over the last 7 weeks, we’ve easily encountered the most setbacks in a single reno project BY FAR! We had a dishwasher leak, artwork that fell off the wall and came crashing to the floor shattering the glass in the frame, sconces that arrived defective, drapes that shrunk in the wash & we had our countertops replaced – twice. The fact that we were able to actually complete this space & share it with all of you today is nothing short of a miracle. I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to finally make it here!

Before we get into the all the pretty details let’s take a quick look back at where we started.

Before:

Dreamhouse kitchen: before
The Dreamhouse kitchen: before

And here it is now…

After:

The Dreamhouse Project - Our Dream Kitchen After
The Dreamhouse kitchen: after

There are so many elements that went into creating the kitchen of our dreams. The most immediately noticeable change has been the countertops. We chose HanStone Quartz countertops in Artisan Grey and I honestly can’t get over how gorgeous they are!

The Dreamhouse Project - Our Dream Kitchen featuring beautiful quartz countertops from HanStone Quartz Canada
The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal with HanStone Quartz countertops in Artisan Grey

We opted to waterfall the edge on the island which makes so much more of a statement than before. It also gives us a place to tuck away Tiger’s dishes – which is great because he tends to be a bit of a messy eater. 🙂

The Dreamhouse Project - Our Dream Kitchen Reveal

The Artisan Grey has a leather finish, which gives it the most stunningly beautiful matte appearance. It looks almost concrete-like, but it’s so silky smooth to the touch – it’s like running your fingers across butter. And the colour – it’s a very even light grey, but if you look closely it has just a hint of brown flecked throughout which warms it up and ties in perfectly with the wood elements we have in the space.

The Dreamhouse Project - Closeup of our Dream Kitchen Reveal - Deer Antler Wine Rack from Plank + Barn
The Dreamhouse Project - Revealing our Dream Kitchen

Speaking of wood elements, I’m so happy with how our DIY open shelving boxes turned out. They give our IKEA cabinets a custom feel which really elevates the overall look of the kitchen.

The Dreamhouse Project - modern Dream Kitchen Reveal featuring a white diamond cube backsplash tile and custom wood open shelving boxes
The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal custom DIY coffee station
The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal - DIY open shelving storage boxes
The Dreamhouse Project - Revealing our Dream Kitchen - DIY open shelving storage box display

The shelving boxes were a tag team effort. Kes did an amazing job building them and wiring them with all the LEDs for the interior and under cabinet lighting. I handled the finishing and stained the boxes in Minwax Classic Gray, then added a light layer of Special Walnut on top. The second layer of stain warms up the grey just enough and the final colour is a pretty good compliment to the IKEA walnut-effect grey panels that surround our cabinets.

The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal - DIY open shelving with finished plywood edge

We got this set of white dishes from my parents for Christmas last year and I’ve been patiently waiting for the chance to be able to display them. I just love how the backlight plays softly off of the dishes.

The backsplash is another one of my favourite elements in the kitchen. The modern geometric cube pattern gives me allll the heart eye emojis!

The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen details

Which brings me to the sink and faucet, both of which are from BLANCO. I am SO in love with our PRECIS sink! The Anthracite finish is beyond beautiful and I love how it coordinates perfectly with the URBENA faucet.

The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal featuring BLANCO Precis undermount sink & Urbena faucet
The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal featuring BLANCO Precis undermount sink & Urbena faucet in Anthracite
The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal featuring BLANCO Urbena faucet in Anthracite
The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal featuring BLANCO Solon compost system

The colour of the Anthracite finish really helps to tie in the other black elements in the kitchen – particularly our windows which give the sink & faucet a nice backdrop.

Our black window frames is one of the things we splurged on when we were building the house and they’re definitely one of my favourite elements – especially now that the trim has been upgraded with Metrie Option {M} Vintage Industrial moulding to give them a much more refined & elegant yet still modern look.

The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal featuring Metrie Option {M} Vintage industrial moulding

Of course no space in our home would be complete without it’s signature pop of colour. For the kitchen we decided to pick up on the Flame colour of our Le Creueset kettle and intersperse it throughout.

The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal with pops of orange
The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal - Orange bar stools

The wall that sits between the kitchen & dining area was begging for a large art print. Kes and I spent a lot of hours browsing through the amazing selection of prints from Minted to find the perfect piece. We went back and forth on a few choices but eventually settled on “Bright Splash” which is this gorgeous limited edition art print that ties together the colours from the kitchen & the family room perfectly.

The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal featuring Metrie Option {M} Vintage industrial moulding & Masonite Melrose panel door
The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal featuring fine art print

We replaced our powder room door with a Masonite Melrose moulded panel door from Metrie and are really happy with the sleek modern lines of this new one. We painted it with PARA Paints “Mama’s Boy” (P5205-62D) and it definitely elevates the overall view from this angle.

The Dreamhouse Project - Dream Kitchen Reveal featuring Metrie Option {M} Vintage Industrial moulding & Masonite Melrose moulded panel door

So there you have it! We hope you’ve enjoyed touring through our kitchen! It’s so great to finally have this space completed and see the dream come to life!

The Dreamhouse Project - Full Dream Kitchen Before + After

We want to send a very special thank you to all of our incredible sponsors on this project. We literally could not have pulled any of this off without their support.

The Dreamhouse Project Fall 2017 ORC Sponsors: Blanco, HanStone Quartz, Metrie, Minted, Minwax, PARA Paints, Plank + Barn, RYOBI Tools

BLANCO Canada | HanStone Quartz | Metrie | Minted | Minwax Canada | PARA Paints | Plank + Barn | RYOBI Canada

Kes & I also want to say thanks so much to all of you that followed along on our progress and left us so many supportive comments. We definitely appreciate it! If you missed any of the previous six weeks and want to catch up, you can see our kitchen evolution here:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6

Dream Kitchen Sources:

Comments
  • Alisa Tk
    November 16, 2017

    This looks amazing! Very well done – I love it.

  • November 16, 2017

    Oh I LOVE how everything came out, Tash! Congrats on putting together such a gorgeous, sleek, & modern kitchen. I love the sink, countertops, and the tiling!! Everything goes so well with the rest of your modern home.

  • Natasha Binns-Sealy
    November 16, 2017

    This is night and day compared to when I came over on Monday night. The counters are EVERYTHING.
    With that sink I would wash dishes just because.
    I can’t believe you overhauled this kitchen in 7 weeks. I hope you are celebrating and drinking to reward yourself on this project.

    It’s beyond stunning!

  • November 17, 2017

    This kitchen is magazine level! I’ve never had sink envy before… it’s just gorgeous! There are so many elements I adore but I think my fave has to be those stunning open shelved boxes, the texture, the colour and the lighting it’s just very high end and you guys DIYed them, impressive! Congratulations on such a fabulous job! PS – you 2 are fearless, LOVE it!

  • Dina
    November 17, 2017

    Beautiful! Love the double stoves and the wine fridge in the island. So gorgeous. My favourite thing on your blog is the pic of your beautiful family! ?

  • Vanessa
    November 17, 2017

    oooh nicely done. Where did you find your backsplash?! I’m dying for the same graphic style but Ottawa seems set in the land of boring tile, so I’m all for road tripping it to Toronto

  • November 17, 2017

    Oooh! Just beautiful and so practical as well!

  • Kamilah
    November 18, 2017

    Love love love your kitchen ?. I especially like the neutral base colour that allows you the flexibility to switch out colours whenever you want. Those wall sconces are awesome, I’ve been looking for a similar design for my powder room but have been lucking out. Well done!

  • November 19, 2017

    Oh my goodness!! Your kitchen looks so bright and clean and modern! I love those stools and the backsplash and those diy open shelves are amazing!! Great makeover!!

  • Vanessa
    November 20, 2017

    yes! I had been there, but their displays did not have the same modern stuff… I’ll have to go online and then see what they have and go back to order. Thanks!

  • Ron
    November 20, 2017

    Shelving boxes, especially the bar themed one, are awesome. Love the pops of colour.

  • November 21, 2017

    There’s nothing like having a stunning magazine worthy kitchen in your own home! Y’all did an amazing job! Enjoy!

  • November 24, 2017

    Absolutely gorgeous! Each element works with the others perfectly and the meshing of what was existing with what was added/changed is seamless. Excellent design!

  • Allison
    November 29, 2017

    I love how you elevated a good enough kitchen to a great, stylish space! The under-counter shelves and lights are my favorite.

  • Susan
    November 13, 2018

    Hello! Your kitchen is beautiful!! I’m hoping you can help me…we are doing a kitchen remodel and I’m considering these very same countertops. I think they are so pretty and I love the concrete-ish look they have. The salesman said that due to the leather/matte finish, oil and sticky residue from fingers and other spills/stains show more easily than with the ‘shinier’ finish. Have you found it difficult at all to keep the counters looking clean on a daily basis (ie are you always wiping up grease/oil marks etc)? With 4 little kids we have plenty of sticky fingers and if it’s going to be a hassle to keep clean I may want to consider something different. Thanks in advance for any insight you have to offer, I appreciate it!

    • Alex di guglielmo
      April 17, 2020

      Susan, I had the same question! I am wondering what you ended up choosing for your countertops and if you have any insight you can share? If you decided not to go with the Hanstone, did you get any feedback that helped you make your decision?

  • Alex di guglielmo
    April 17, 2020

    Such a beautiful kitchen! We are considering using Hanstone Artisan Grey in our new kitchen and I would love to hear how it has held up over the past few years. We’re a bit concerned about staining with the leather finish, so it would be super helpful to hear your experience!

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