Timeless Kitchen before & after
A few weeks ago Schoolhouse Electric posted our kitchen on their instagram and called it a “Timeless Kitchen.” It occurred to me that I never did a post on our before and after kitchen. I thought the name they gave it suited our current kitchen and pretty much every kitchen we’ve had in the past 20+ years perfectly. Every kitchen renovation we’ve done has been pretty much the same. That may sound boring to some, but I have never regretted staying with a basic black and white kitchen.
We waited several months to start our kitchen renovation so that we could figure out what we wanted/needed in terms of layout. We exposed the original fireplace or cooking stove and painted the brick white. The cabinet maker made a custom hood to fit the space using a standard hood insert. The kitchen we were replacing had a much larger island with cabinets and two drawers. We chose the island from Williams-Sonoma for its overall size. we needed the space under it for pots and pans and the two drawers for cutlery and plastic wraps/foil etc. The smaller island is everything we needed in function and makes the space feel larger and less cramped as the original one which had about the same amount of storage.
We always go with open shelving. The first two shelves hold items we use on a daily basis and the top shelf is perfect for storage. The lighting is from Schoolhouse Electric. We visited their NYC showroom to order, but I love their catalog! All of the cabinet hardware is from Emtek. Emtek has great options for style and size. We used Emtek on our California house, so it was easy to just use the same in this kitchen.
One of the reasons I like to wait to renovate a kitchen is that it takes time to move around a space to really get an idea about things you need and want. The space to the left of the Wolf range is perfect for our Kitchen-Aid mixer, blender and for storing our wood cutting boards, pizza peels and cheese boards. I like the feel of some wood with all the black and white to warm it up a bit. We added an extra electrical outlet behind the mixer and blender.
I always hide our microwave. We want one, but there’s never a great place that doesn’t seem to throw off the symmetry of the kitchen. The cabinet maker built the cabinet for the specs of the microwave and added an electrical outlet to the shelf space. Below is a panini maker that I don’t necessarily want to leave out, but it needs to be in a convenient spot so that I can grab it easily….like every afternoon!
The previous owners had the french doors installed so we kept them and just had them painted black. There was a built-in desk in the space where we have our Saarinen table. My husband built the corner bench. I love a built-in bench….to me it means, there’s always room for one more.
We used a 30″ Subzero refrigerator and although it’s on the small side it is perfect for the size of kitchen. We have a refrigerator/freezer in the garage where we can store any overflow.
Kitchen before and during renovation. The entire renovation took 35 days from start to finish! We ordered everything and timed delivery according to demo day.
Annie you know I LOVE this kitchen!! Can’t wait to meet up and talk “open shelving”!! Or perhaps we can meet at Home Depot and you can show me what I need!! I’m lost when it comes to wood!! LOL. In any case, this kitchen is truly timeless….
It’s stunning, Annie! Can’t believe it took only 35 days…I’m in the process of renovating my master bath and it’s been about that long, and we’re still at the framing stage! Had to wait several weeks for inspections…anyway, I just love your kitchen!
As always, Annie, everything IS gorgeous and charming and classic and timeless and warm and inviting and overall perfection. I could go on and on about your awesome style! xo
I have always been intrigued with pops of black in decorating.
My grandmother’s home, in an old Seattle neighborhood, was white with black trim. The entry of your home rekindles sweet memories of times on her front porch.
I love your style, Annie!
~Lynne
w/L
What a treat! Your kitchen is a perfect combination of modern & old. I love it all!
Seriously the coolest kitchen I’ve ever seen. It’s one of a kind.
This is such an inspiration! I love everything about this room. Can you tell me more about the artwork? And the big number 4? Is that vintage?
Your kitchen is one of my favorites. Ever since I first saw it when I stumbled upon your site. I absolutely love that kitchen! Thanks for sharing more details with us.
Karen
It is beautiful! you did an amazing job. and they are right, no one will look at those photos 20 years from now and say – oh yes, that was 2015. I went all white, with dark floors, and I love it! but it took a lot more than 35 days!! Same sink too! <3!
AMAZING! This post just came into my in box again today. FYI. When will you tell us how you painted your fireplace so I can tell my client what to do???? THERE is a great blog post 🙂
Anyway, I just love your kitchen. I need to look at School House Electric more often…also love the roll of paper idea…you are just so cool.
LOVE your kitchen. Great use of space. Where is the cabinet holding the microwave and panini maker? Is it to the left of the refrigerator? Thanks!
Yes! It is to the left of the refrigerator. The microwave is very small, but it works and does not take up counter space!
As always, this kitchen is such an inspiration! I’m psychotically gathering information for our kitchen remodel next year. And this week, researching shelf brackets is on my list. Did you get your shelf brackets at Home Depot? Thank you for an help you can give!
Hi Erin,
I’m not sure where they are from—I think I found them on line. We have open shelving with cool simple brackets at Serena & Lily—I’m working tomorrow, I’ll send you a photo!
Good luck with your kitchen remodel!
annie
No.. no. You cannot count me in the group, who does not like the style- a basic black and white kitchen 🙂 Really it looks nice. We think of remodel our kitchen, when our requirements exceed its existing potential. For this, we can undertake repair and maintenance like jobs, paint works and addition of few modern appliances. However, we have to give our attention to the place of arrangements, which not only enhances the look, but also keeps a good sense to the users. Assigning the job to a good home improvement company is inevitable.