The wait is finally over my friends! I have been anxiously awaiting the day to reveal the amazing kitchen I worked on with Lowe’s. And today I am so thrilled to share it with you. For a little refresher of what this space used to look like, you can see my kitchen tour from two years ago right here. The before and after is kind of insane!
After my bathroom was renovated, the kitchen truly stuck out like a sore thumb in my home. The old beat up black cabinets (that had a really poor DIY paint job on them) and ooba tooba granite counters made me cringe daily. If you’re not familiar with ooba tooba, it’s a hideous black and hunter green combo that is truly terrible. I also had miss matched appliances, one was black, two were silver. It just wasn’t great and it could’ve been so much better. Sure it all functioned and was fine, but I had a gorgeous white marble bathroom that just begged to have a matching friend.
How I Made Over My Small Galley Kitchen
The Cabinets
So off to Lowe’s I went to work with Hal (the most amazing employee there by the way) to help me choose what we’d do with this space. I knew I wanted it to compliment my bathroom. Therefor, white, marble and brass were obviously what was going to happen. After a few consults at Lowe’s, someone came out to measure my kitchen. I ended up deciding on these Latitude shaker style cabinets with a soft close. You guys, you don’t realize how awesome soft close is until you have it. Don’t ever want to live a life without them now.
After browsing the giant section of pulls, I ended up on these Lew’s round bar brass kitchen pulls that were a nice clean line. I opted for 10.5 inch ones on the drawers and slightly smaller ones (7 inches) for the cabinets. It’s recommended to buy a few sizes to see what works best. I made the mistake of assuming I knew what I was doing and had to reorder all new ones as the original size I selected was way off.
The Appliances
Appliances were next. I was so excited to have matching ones and to finally get rid of my old black stovetop from the 90s. It was time to toss her. My microwave stayed as it’s fairly new and works just fine. First, I picked out the stove as there were several different options and features to choose from. I knew I wanted a slide in oven with front knobs. I went with this Samsung smooth surface slide in oven.
Once I realized my microwave and new stove were both Samsung, I decided to try to find matching appliances in the same line. Next was a dishwasher and a fridge. I think the fridge is my absolute favorite. The Samsung 4-door fridge is super cool. One side of the freezer can be used as a fridge, chiller, freezer, whatever. Plus, the shelves in the fridge adjust so I can put big bottles of champagne, or a big cake stand in there, without having any issues. I also chose an energy efficient Samsung dishwasher that has a Waterwall feature that cleans every little nook and cranny.
The Herringbone Backsplash
For the backsplash, I went with allen+ roth white marble herringbone that makes a really big and beautiful statement. I feel like it’s just enough texture for the small space. Plus, it doesn’t overwhelm the area with the pattern at all. I did the same grout here as my bathroom which is a nice soft grey.
Marble vs Quartz
The countertops, however, are from a local bone yard and is Crema Calcutta marble. Just a warning friends, I had to make peace with the fact that this will never look the same after it goes in. It stains, scratches and etches very easily. It has already developed some character thanks to my stupidity and messiness. I’m trying to embrace it and keep telling myself the same thing. That it’s going to look like an old beautiful Parisian or Italian bar in a few years that tells great stories. Until then, I see you Chinese food stain, I see you. It has taught me to be a lot cleaner and tidier which is great.
In hindsight, it also taught me that you should also always get quartz as it’s practically indestructible. Lowe’s has lots of great options here. If I did the kitchen over again, I would’ve 100% gone with the more expensive quartz option.
The Finishing Touches
For the finishing touches, I swapped out my old Delta Touch Faucet for a brass one. It perfectly matches the pulls and really makes a statement. This faucet is a small luxury and something I take for granted. I find myself going to other peoples homes and tapping their faucets thinking it will turn on. It’s really such a cool feature and I can’t imagine a sink without it now.
For a little decorative touch, my new pink rug adds some color to the space. It also serves as a place for Pork to sit and beg (she prefers carpet over hardwood). I also had local hand letterer, Jenn Gietzen, come over to write something fun on my chalkboard wall. It may be one of my favorite things in the kitchen. It keeps me from writing messy to do lists on the wall and has warded off friends writing silly messages on it too.
Photos by JNelly
Products Featured // Delta Triassic Touch20 / Samsung Smooth Surface Slide-In Range / Samsung 4 Door Fridge / Lew’s Hardware Pulls / Samsung Waterwall Dishwasher / allen + roth Genuine Stone White Marble Mosaic Backsplash / Latitude Cabinets in White (similar) / *All products courtesy of Lowe’s. //
Kitchen Accessories // Marble Kitchen Utensil Holder // West Elm Runner (similar here) // Williams Sonoma Spatulas // Target Wooden Fruit Bowl
This post was written in collaboration with Lowe’s. All opinions and views are my own.
