heart of the home

i have always dreamed of having a kitchen that could be considered the heart of the home. we have a lovely kitchen in our old home, but it is a tad on the small side & really kind of isolated by itself in the back of the house. our old home was built in the early 1950's & floor plans just were not the same back then.  m & i both love to cook & have always dreamed of having awesome gourmet appliances, a hearth room & a kitchen that flows seamlessly for entertaining. luckily, our new home offered the potential for all of these things. notice i said potential, as i thought i might remind you of it's condition when we purchased the home:

yikes...just a tad outdated, right?!? our home was built in 1994 & we're fairly certain that not one update has been made in the past 17+ years.  but....look at all that potential...tons of space! double ovens! back staircase (obsessed)! hearth room! windows galore!  really, everything we could possibly ask for.  it is now just a matter of bringing everything up-to-date & adding our personal taste to make the room uniquely "us."  we both decided that we absolutely loved the shape of the cabinets & the layout of the kitchen....which would be a huge money saver down the road.  i have always had a thing for white kitchens, so just had to bring m on board.  that wasn't too hard after sharing a few inspiration pictures with him: 

                                                       

                                                      

                                                  

                                                   

                                                              {all images via my pinterest}

once m got a good look at some of these images (thank you pinterest!), he was 100% on board.  the specific elements that we knew we wanted to incorporate include: white cabinets (some with glass fronts to break up & lighten the space), gorgeous lighting (glass, unique shapes, etc..), dark hardwoods, updated appliances & subway tile.  our goal is to create a space that is comfortable, relaxed, homey and most importantly, lasting.  we didn't want to choose anything too trendy as this quite possibly could be our forever home.  sticking with classics with a twist is our goal in creating a kitchen that will serve us (and our friends & family) well for decades to come.  we're happy to report that we're off to a good start.  here are a few sneak-peek photos with plenty more to come soon....

{our back staircase...have i mentioned i'm obsessed!?}

we've removed all the carpet & added wood end-caps....will soon be staining floors & fresh carpet.

{counters are off!}

{soffits above cabinets}

i have always had a strong aversion to cabinets that don't go all the way to the ceiling.  to create a custom look without the cost, we chose to add soffits & then will cap off with crown molding to complete the look.

the process has been very fun so far with lots of decisions that have had to be made (and more importantly, agreed upon)...can't wait to share more soon!