Kitchen Styling

happy halloween friends! everyone ready for that crazy sugar high?! 😉 i’m going to have one Spider-Man and one Batman this year which doesn’t exactly excite me. woes of a boy mom. this is all subject to change of course because not too long ago we had one policeman and one hockey player! 

last week i helped a client style her kitchen for a photo shoot that a friend of hers, grey from @ashgreyproperties, was doing as part of a home tour series that she started. you may have seen some videos on my insta stories last friday. grey is a realtor and real estate marketing expert and looks for pretty homes to shoot to share on her website. my client brought me in to style the space for the photos. so while i was there i took some of my own because who doesn't like seeing a pretty kitchen! (scroll to the bottom to shop the post)

*just to be clear - i had nothing to do with the design of the kitchen. i came into the picture after the house was completed to work on other spaces.* the kitchen is gorgeous though and photographs beautifully. it does come off a little cold so my main goal with the styling was to warm it up! i brought a ton of accessories and probably should have brought even more. it’s always amazing how spaces gobble up accessories. the biggest change i made was the counter stools. again to bring in warmth, i ended up lugging my leather stools from home! 😂 it made a huge difference (the other stools were acrylic and chrome and added to the cold feeling). another change we made was the runner and actually this one is a permanent change. i wanted to bring in more texture and a jute rug always does a good job of that.

simple greenery and a farmhouse bowl do the trick every time.

there is also a great desk space/command center and i layered in some of erin clark's art with some wood and ceramics to keep it fresh.

i love how simple this space is yet interesting and with the bit of blue, everything works together so well. now let's get to the good stuff...sources!

counters: london sky by zodiaq
cabinetry color: these were colors from the cabinet maker and not specified to match a paint color
floors: dark walnut stain
art: erin clark

stools | runner | pendants | island vase (small, bottle) | island bowl (similar) | wood bowl next to range canisters | long cutting board | round cutting board | faux rosemary | wood and marble cutting board 

recipe box | green vase | wood vases | vase on desk

The Perfect Kitchen Accessory: Cutting Boards

accessorizing with cutting boards (or bread boards or pizza boards or whatever you want to call them!) is so hot right now. here are a few case in points:

(and keep reading to the end for some ideas on where to get one or two of your own)

nicole davis

owens + davis

amber interiors

studio mcgee

amber interiors

nicole davis

so where can you get some for yourself? i've rounded up some faves!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Client Project: Kitchen Refresh

monday and a long weekend so i hope this finds you still in your jammies.  let's get right to it - it's a good one today!

we completed this kitchen over a year ago but i just had it photographed - it really is a great before and after! i have major love for this client because she is really the one that gave me my start. i helped her with her living room in her first house three or four years ago and then they moved and she inherited a brown kitchen. brown counters, brown (slate) backsplash, and small dark lights. we knew it had potential but it needed some love.

before.

after.  all photos by kate renyi of ker photography.

we ripped out the backsplash and counters and replaced the lighting, hardware, and sink which was copper but turning green (and gross) and painted the walls.

we also flipped the island around because, as you can see in the before shot, the drawers and cabinets were facing out to the hall. by flipping it around we were able to add functionality with an overhang for counter stools. a major win for this family of 5!

the kitchen isn't huge so the glass pendants keep things light and airy. the stools are the perfect fit for this kitchen and were purchased by my client after we completed the hard finishes. they're serena & lily's riviera stools in fog.

the new backsplash is gray crackled subway tile and immediately gave the kitchen a fresh and classic feel.

the countertops are quartz which is crucial for a busy family with three boys. no upkeep whatsoever!

the new knobs are simple and timeless.

i think this goes to show that you don't need to gut a kitchen to get a big impact. the changes we made brought it from dated to timeless and from blah to fresh. very grateful to my client for letting me help her with this project!!

Kitchen Runners

hola! i wanted to thank a new reader for pointing out that my blog didn't have the "subscribe by email" function and now i'm happy to report that's fixed! so if you'd like to subscribe, just scroll down there until you see that little box. and let me know if you have any trouble!

jumping right in... as you may have seen a little while back on my instagram, i was testing out some dash & albert runners for our kitchen. the problem was none of them were looking just right to me. (but don't worry, many of them looked fab in our upstairs hall which needs a little runner refresh!) so i decided to go back to looking for a vintage persian runner for the kitchen. the tough part was the size - nothing bigger than about 2'8" and somewhere between 7-9'. so many of these old turkish runners are 3-4' wide and while beautiful, that's just too big. as a side note - that size could have worked for the other side of our island where there's more space BUT the counter stools are on that side and i decided that trying to pull stools out over the edge of a rug was going to be annoying.

so i gathered up a bunch of images that helped me make up my mind!

natalie myers via domino

elizabeth lawson design

studio mcgee

jamie keskin design

studio mcgee

studio mcgee

amber interiors

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Black Pendant Love

getting busy with some client projects lately which is fun but leaves no time for checking in here! also i've been trying to catch up on the bachelorette - love jojo! :) i've seen a couple of kitchens on my instagram feed lately using the same black pendants that we put in our kitchen last fall and i'm loving it!!

photo by kate renyi (p.s. special thanks to benjamin moore for regramming this shot!)

photo by kate renyi 

this kitchen by becki owens is so good. makes me fall in love with the pendants all over again!

then i saw it pop up again in studio mcgee's feed on their windsong project! i can not WAIT for the reveal of this house.

i first saw them used in a kitchen by house of jade interiors which i've raved about before!

and they also used the same pendants in an office project.

have i sold you yet? just in case not, i put one in a condo in boston in navy and it turned out super cute! :)

Project Update: Kitchen & Breakfast Nook

oh hi there again little blog. i have been the worst at blogging lately but lots of clients + getting ready and then leaving for vacation left me with no time. sorry!! an unorthodox saturday post but trying to fit this in between beach and dinner!

so finally i'm sharing our kitchen and breakfast nook (which ps is a weird thing to call it since we do a lot more than just eat breakfast there!). you may have seen that this photo got regrammed a couple of times last weekend which made me feel insta-famous for the day!! ;) thank you again to studio mcgee and one kings lane for the love!!

here was the before:

it was a sad state of affairs. we added a new pendant (and the not-so-old light was moved into the dining room), table, chairs (and said farewell to our high chairs for some boosters), and built in seat. the built in was a late decision as we were doing the work from the other projects last fall and i'm so glad we pulled the trigger. it changed the whole space. the roman shades are pretty much the only thing that didn't change but now they look like they belong! here's the wider view of the first photo:

the red frames around the silhouettes are left over from a time when i thought i'd add some red to our lives. it was a terrible, horrible idea and i blame it on lack of sleep and general mom brain! ;)

the bench cushion is indoor/outdoor fabric and has already been put to the test with tomato sauce and wiped up no problem!

in the kitchen we changed out the island counter and the pendants above the island and the sink. i did a 2" edge on the counter because i love that thick look. it's marble and we have to be careful but it's pretty and so so much better than the old tan granite. i had already added the backsplash a couple of years ago in preparation for these updates. we also swapped out our old metal counter stools for leather ones to add a little warmth and texture.

and a little peek into the family room which got a pretty good makeover! we added that big cased opening/wall leading into the family room to get some separation of space. there is definitely such a thing as too open. it was one giant bowling alley and this just makes it feel like two separate spaces. i also think it made the family room seem bigger in some strange way. i'd also like to add a runner to the other side of the island (right side in the pic below) but i'm having trouble committing to one.  anyway, more to come!

tootles! (too much mickey mouse club house ha)

sources: table | table pendant | table chairs | bench seat pillows | island pendants | globe light above sink | counter stools

Kitchen Ideas

now that you know i'm a long time sufferer of two traumatic and dramatic conditions (see yesterday's post if you have no idea what i'm talking about), it will come as no surprise that i'm lobbying to make a few changes in our kitchen. ;) but seriously, we are putting a lot of effort and funds into improving and personalizing our home through the projects that will be starting very soon. once those are complete, i really want to be able to step back and "wow. this rocks. i love it." so i'm not just changing things for the sake of change. i really do want to make long term decisions that will be timeless.

just to backtrack a little (longest post ever, i know)...when we moved in, we quickly changed out the pendant lights over the island and sink. they were bad in all respects - proportion, color, style. just bad.

i had my eye on oversize, industrial pendants that you see in lots of white kitchens. so i found these and they did the trick.

then we added window treatments and a backsplash (both of which are here to stay!) and finally got rid of that yucky yellow paint!

it's very pretty for sure but as i've lived with it, i've realized that it's a little boring and expected. i'm craving some more unique and interesting with more texture as opposed to color. so finally getting to the point...here's what i'm dreaming up.

what makes this design interesting to me is all of the different materials and finishes. the black gives a punch (and also ties into the existing perimeter counters), the leather and brass keep it warm, and otherwise it's neutral. not boring or matchy but still cohesive. one thing that wouldn't have occurred to me not even that long ago is mixing metals - three different ones in this case. i have polished nickel knobs and pulls that i wouldn't change, the light fixtures above have aged brass accents, and our fridge and range are stainless steel. another detail that i think is important is choosing a different fixture for above the sink (the clear glass one) rather than adding a third pendant.

a little context...currently we have the most heinous tiffany blue painted metal, vintage-style counter stools. they were a cheap fix when we moved in and needed a quick fix. besides the color, another awesome feature is that as they inevitably get banged into the counter by the kids, the blue finish comes off and the metal shows underneath. it looks so good. so yeah, new stools are a priority. what is definitely staying is the counter bench at the end of the island which we love.

also when i put in that backsplash i pretended that our island counter was not a beige/brown/cream granite. but unfortunately it is. so another item on the project list is changing out the granite to either marble, quartzite, or possibly quartz. hence the large slab in the design above. another small detail thing are the counter supports at the end of the island which are strangely ornate and carved and not in keeping with the rest of the space. they gotta go. the perimeter counters are honed black granite which is not the easiest to maintain but they're really pretty! because of the counter and stool situation, i've never taken or shared a full on picture of my kitchen! here is a pic from before we moved in so you can get a sense.

it makes me proud that we've turned our house into a home through everything we've done so far and i can't wait to make it even more "us" in the near future!