Kitchen Inspiration & Updates

Before we dive into today's post about kitchens, let me just tell you about a fun giveaway coming on Monday. I'm partnering with an exciting online decor company that you'll be reading about then AND they want to give a little something to my readers! So, don't forget to stop back by on Monday to sign up for the giveaway. You're gonna love it!

Kitchens are such an important part of a home, the center of living, where all the food preparation and lots of hanging out is done, so isn’t it nice to have a pretty and functional kitchen? While I would be very happy to have any of the kitchens below, mine does not resemble any of them, however, I’ll be happy to do a little facelift in there and have it a bit more functional.

(Southern Accents)

I think this one above is my favorite. So classic and traditional.

(Southern Accents)

And of course, I just love all the open shelving on this one, even though it’s probably not all that practical. Anyone have open shelving and do you like it?

(Coastal Living)

This one is so pretty and inviting too, with the warm walls and the large island. Dreamy!

(South Africa Black) Not sure where this came from

I adore the above black kitchen, take a look at how much light comes in and how open it feels. Ahhh, that is so pretty! And so we come to my kitchen. The one getting a little bit of a makeover that I’m jumping up and down about.

Our kitchen is not all that big. It’s a galley style with cabinets on both sides.

This side has an L shape with a curved corner. We’re getting ready to do a little facelift in here and looks like I’ll finally be able to get granite countertops. The previous owner put down tumbled marble tile over the old laminate and after 3 years, the grout is looking pretty dirty. Tumbled marble is also not a great idea for a countertop, as it has so many pits in it. I never feel like it’s clean. It looks pretty, just impractical to live with. So, hubby says we can do this and I’m so excited to get a little update.

It’s a functional kitchen and it gets lots of use, since I'm in here cooking every single day. I’m really loving the new tracklight in here too. The bright white light is great shining on the counters.

The eat-in breakfast area. Not one of those large and spacious kitchens, but it works for us and I’m grateful for it. Someone will ask, so I'll tell you the paint color in here is Laura Ashley Olive 4 (from Lowes).

Do your counters look this cluttered? Real life here!

See my little shelf area? I've got a little something planned for that too, so can't wait to share that with you.

I also hate my white sink and faucet. Would never pick that for a kitchen, so I can’t wait to replace these too. I’m looking at the granite composite sinks (black undermount) and it will be so nice to have everything seamless and get away from a dirty white sinkbowl. This one shows every pot mark and is impossible to keep clean. Now, should I get an oil-rubbed bronze faucet or a brushed nickel one? I’m debating that one. I’m leaning towards oil-rubbed bronze, cause I like that look so much. Any of you with the ORB, have you had any problems with it turning colors on you? I want something that will stand up to years of use. I had brushed stainless in my last house and it was easy maintenance. This will never be a true dream kitchen, but it’s just fine with me and I will be tickled pink to get a new countertop. I don’t sit around dreaming of new houses or dream kitchens anymore. I’m just thankful to have the one I’ve got.

This is the granite we are looking at. It’s called Napoli and I like the colors in it. We are keeping the backsplash we have, so I need something that will work with it. I was thinking about going dark with my white cabinets, but from what I’ve heard, dark granite shows every fingerprint and spot and it’s a nightmare to keep it looking good. Anyone have experience with that? I’d love to hear it all. I even got feedback from the granite people that they had so many complaints about the shiny dark granite and he told me that honed was just about as bad. Honed is pretty too, but more expensive and my hubby really didn’t like the looks of honed, so this is what we settled on.

Close up of the granite. This was very similar to the granite tiles I had in my old kitchen and it never looked dirty, so I don’t think I can go wrong with this. It has enough black and white mixed that it brings out the white in the cabinets, yet the black and gold gives it interest and ties it into the backsplash. So, I think this is the one!

Here’s the granite sink I’m looking at, Blanco Silgranite undermount. Home Depot also has a version by Pegasus that is less expensive, so that might be an option too. Anyone have that one?

And this faucet was a favorite of mine from my old kitchen and I had it in brushed stainless. This time I think I’m going for the oil-rubbed bronze. This is the Marielle by Price Pfister.

Also, have any of you bought kitchen knobs on Ebay? I bought some matte black ones 2 years ago that are already changing colors. The black has worn off especially on the knobs we use a lot. So, I’m going to get oil-rubbed bronze ones to replace. Do any of you have any favorite sellers or sources for knobs that won’t turn for a good price?

Can’t wait to do it in the next few weeks! I’d love to hear from all of you who have granite countertops. What color do you have and do you love it?? Do tell, let me hear all about your kitchens, what you have now that you like and what you’d love to change if you could!

Edited to ADD: In case you're new to my blog, I posted last year about the kitchen renovation we did in my OLD kitchen in Georgia, so this little kitchen update is small compared to that one. You can see the pics here. I was really proud of how that one came out.

Birmingham Girls! I have just found out that the flea market is NOT opening this month, so we will have to reschedule that for another month. Apparently, they are doing construction at the fair grounds, so I'm hoping May will work out if they have it open again by then.