{hello gorgeous farmhouse kitchen!}
Dave and I are already starting to make plans for a massive kitchen/dining room renovation we hope to start and finish this summer {with the help of my dad and many others I’m sure}!
I’ll be sharing lots more photos, ideas, and details in the months leading up to our renovation… but right now, we’re still in the “dreaming” stage — trying to decide what we want to incorporate into our new kitchen.
And since this is the house we’re planning to live in for a long time, I’m really trying hard to think not only about what we want right now, but what we’ll want/need in a few years once we have more children, older children, etc.
Of course, I can’t predict all our needs, but at least I’m trying!
Now, before I show you pictures of my dream kitchen, I want to show you a couple pictures of our current kitchen and dining room.
Besides moving in our table and chairs, we haven’t done anything to these rooms. And while it definitely isn’t the worst kitchen/dining room in the world, we’ve been itching to renovate it since the moment we bought the house. OK, so maybe I’m a little more excited about this than Dave is… but it will be a relief when it’s finished 🙂
Our kitchen has tons of potential… so I can’t wait to see what we finally come up with. In the mean time, here are just a few of the photos I’ve been drooling over these past few months. Due to space, time, and financial restrictions, we probably won’t be able to incorporate all of these ideas into our kitchen… but I just love thinking and dreaming about what my kitchen will look like.
Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to tweak some of the ideas below and make them work in our new kitchen.
More WHITE:
I absolutely LOVE white. And I know you might think I’m crazy… but I don’t care 🙂 My kitchen will be white — white cabinets, white backsplash, white farmhouse sink, white, white, white.
Our white kitchen will go with with our white couch, our white shower, my white dishes, our white linens, and all the other white in our home!
{hello gorgeous white kitchen! Unfortunately, our kitchen isn’t quite as big as this one!}
{I love the white subway tile backsplash of this kitchen}
More LIGHT:
I want lots of natural light coming through the windows. Currently, we have 4 big windows in our kitchen/dining room and I’m definitely not planning to get rid of any of them.
I also want lots of lighting in the room — like under cabinet lighting, recessed lighting, task lighting, decorative lighting, etc. I hate a dark kitchen!
{look at all the light streaming through these windows!}
More SPACE:
“More space” might sound like a no-brainer — but one of my goals is to drastically increase the amount of space we have in our kitchen/dining room.
We are planning to knock out a wall to incorporate lots more cabinets and shelving. And we will also make room for larger appliances {since our current fridge is quite small and our oven doesn’t even fit normal cookie sheets!}
{I love the look of these open shelves… and checkout that farmhouse sink!}
{look at all that cabinet space!}
Obviously, I have TONS more ideas and details I could share with you… but I think I’ll hold off until we have more of a definite plan. It’s going to be A LOT of work and we’ll be living in a mess for several months… but I know it will be worth it in the end!
Oh, and make sure you check out the rest of my kitchen inspiration on Pinterest!
Celeste says
Andrea,
We did a whole house reno in 2010 and I have white subway tile as my backsplash and LOVE it! To save a few dollars my daughter, however, used old fashioned bead board painted a nice thick white enamel for her backsplash and back side of her peninsula and it really adds to the country feel. She has three kids, 5, 3, and 1 and it cleans up VERY nicely.
(Yes, I’m Stacey’s Celeste from Trinity! :-))
Kate says
I LOVE farmhouse sinks! I’ve wanted one since I saw it at my grandfather’s house when I was 8. Add a big big front porch and I’m a happy camper!
Andrea says
Haha… I already have the porch, now I just need the sink 🙂
Tabitha says
I love all the inspirational kitchens you picked out. A few weeks ago on Flickr I found a kitchen I loved. And shared it on my blog. I’m a big fan of white too. Have fun with your upcoming kitchen makeover!
http://simplymykitchen.com/kitchen-of-the-week/
Robin says
Andrea – love your inspiration! I too have an apron farm sink. Mine’s actually a Kohler and I love it! When we remodeled our home six years ago I was given the best advice. Make a list of what you’ll need down to the number of light switch plates to plugs. By doing so, I was able to save over $25,000 on our project. Picture this, we had a typical ranch house, two bedrooms, a single car attached garage and a one bath with pepto bismol pink tile and tub! Oh yes, and the washer and dryer in the kitchen. We now have a lovely three bedroom, two bath home with a nice detached two car garage (and no PINK tile anywhere!). Here are some ideas on where I saved. Habitat for Humanity has a ReStore in our local area. I would shop there often and one day was able to pick up “cases” of matching tile! This wouldn’t occur often, but someone made a mistake in delivering an order to Home Depot where the customer wanted 40 boxes and received 40 cases (a pallet full!). I asked the ReStore volunteer if they had more of this particular tile and she took me to a locked area where the pallet stood! Phone my dh and we “over estimated” how much tile we’d need. By doing so, this was a huge cost saver for us. When it came to bathroom fixtures – Home Depot was disassembling their “upscale display” and I purchased a $900 Kohler shower shower head and knob, matching sink faucet and knobs, toilet and matching farm pedestal with an approximate cost over $2500 for $500! Another day I was at Lowes and their insulation was on sale (of course ending that day!) and I found that PG&E had a rebate for the insulation too! For every $250 we spent we received $75 back in one rebate alone. We didn’t need the insulation right then, but couldn’t pass up the cost savings and again estimated what we needed. Lastly, our local Lowes would have a clearance table on isle 13 and often it’s not on display. I was told unless the store sales were over a certain dollar amount, they won’t put the table out. We’ll lucky me, one day I found beautiful bronze bathroom fixtures. Again, a huge savings.
Good luck on your upcoming project!
Deb says
I have three teens and a dog and I avoid white at all costs……..;) We are building and I am thinking dirt colored carpet! JOKE! Good luck and have fun……
Christelle says
Oh nice, you are going to enjoy it so much!
We are just coming out of a yearlong process of doing Just That. We built a huge new kitchen/living room and live there the whole day.
My tips:
*as you said, your fridge is to small. We have the same and I’m pulling my hair out. It’s just too narrow.
* Pot drawers. Pot drawers. Pot drawers. I could only fit in two and I would love more, they make much use of space than shelves.
WIth my kitchen almost ordered, I droved past my favourite vintage shop, and there was a huge shop counter with shelves…3.8 m long! I rushed home to measure the longest wall…4 m. And outnof the windo flew my careful plans 🙂 So I have much less storage space than I envisaged, but do I love my counter!
Looking forward to seeing your plans, enyou the process!
Angie says
I love your inspiration photo!! I too love white kitchens and farmhouse sinks! Can’t wait to see the process of your renovation!
Denise says
We redid our kitchen a few years ago…and I’d highly recommend you get the pull-out shelves for lower cabinets. They make heavy duty ones that can hold a crock pot, food processor, etc.
It makes life so easy, to be able to pull out shelves, instead of searching in the back for something.
Kara says
I love your dining room table. Where did you buy your table from? I am in search of a simple solid table just like that.
Good Luck with your remodel!
Andrea says
Thanks Kara,
I actually made the table myself… so I’m not sure where to direct you to buy a similar one 🙂
Ann says
Next blog post: Step by step instructions on how to make a simple and beautiful wood table! WOW! Nice!
Kara says
I keep telling my husband we could figure it out. I can’t find any tables I like that don’t cost a small fortune. I have 3 boys and want something sturdy and practical. Did this project take a lot of tools? and time?
Linda says
LOVE the white. I have lots of white – don’t really care if it is in or out of style….I just like it.
Skip the open cabinets with no doors. It may be fine right now but more kids consume more of your time and less time to keep things clean (just a thought from someone who’s been there).
Wouldn’t get a dark counter….it shows every little drip. It is beautiful when it is spotless though. Can’t wait to see your ideas.
Christina says
My husband and I renovated our kitchen/dining room a few years ago. We went from a one wall kitchen (4’x8’… not even room for our refrigerator, which was in the dining room!) to a 14’x9′ kitchen with tons of cabinets and counter space! It took us 10 months because we did everything thing ourselves (except install the granite countertop). During that time, we hooked our stove up in the basement and washed dishes in the laundry sink! It was totally worth it.
The only thing I would change: We got a microwave/oven wall unit, and I really wish we would have gotten a double oven and moved the microwave somewhere else. But since we got our appliances on clearance/floor models, we couldn’t be too picky.
Kelly says
*inspiration sinks=inspiration pics
Kelly says
I noticed there are a lot of white apron front sinks in your inspiration sinks! I am in the middle of building right now and have been researching sinks the last year. MAKE SURE that if you do go with a porclein apron front, splurge on a good one. There are ALL kinds out there and don’t fall for the cheaper imitations. My best friend did a remodel two years ago in her kitchen and purchased a dirt cheap one from IKEA and her’s is in horrible shape already (discolored, scratches, etc). I had a hard time spending good money on a sink but I know it will last my lifetime! It’s just one of those sticker shock items you don’t think about. I went with the brand Barclay for the linen colored (I am the opposite of you when it comes to white!) apron front in my laundry room and bathroom after extensive research. In my kitchen I did a copper apron front for something different. Have you done a lot of research on countertops yet? I am still in that process. I need to make a decision within the next few weeks! Have lots of fun and I can’t wait to see what you come up with! 🙂
Andrea says
Thanks Kelly,
Yes, I’ve always wanted a Farmhouse sink — but I haven’t done tons of research on them yet. thanks for the tip — especially since you probably know how frugal I am 🙂
Tammy Skipper (@Tammy_Skipper) says
Right after reading this, I found this post in my email reader: http://www.frugal-mama.com/2012/02/how-to-choose-an-elegant-paint-color-plus-a-trick-for-avoiding-elegant-prices/ I know you said white, and I love it too, but the paint palette she mentions here reminds me of your house. Have a great remodel!
Andrea says
Thanks Tammy — I’ll have to check that one out too! I need as many ideas as I can get!
monica says
Research the farm sinks……mine is soooooo hard to keep clean. big, big regret.
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles says
Ooooo…can’t wait to see what you come up with, as always! Love the all white!