Kitchen Update

It has been a few months since I first posted pictures of our kitchen remodel. We've made a few changes since then. We probably would be making even faster progress if it weren't wrestling season the past 3 months, consuming most every second of Brandon's free time. As of Saturday, that's finished for the year, so I'm so so excited to have him back!

The biggest update is the installation of the island countertop. Again, we went with an engineered quartz that resembles marble. Here's a play by play of the installation. Thanks to Brandon's cousins, once again!

And here it is today:

The other big change is the installation of our open shelves. I love the way they turned out. We just bought some wood at Home Depot, cut it to size, stained and lacquered it, and set them on top of IKEA brackets. It's great to see the color all the items bring to the room, and the convenience of grabbing a glass or bowl is perfect. It's just what I envisioned.

I bought a new lampshade at Target and organized my desk items on a tray. I'm still waiting to have a built-in desk wall-to-wall in the space.

The kitchen is most definitely the hub of our home. As our children grow older, I really want our home to be a place where their friends want to gather. I loved that word "gather" as a symbol of the warmth and welcomeness I want others to feel. 

I added some chalkboard labels to my glass jars. I bought them at Staples - Martha Stewart Avery Line. And I also bought a chalk pen, it makes writing with chalk soooo much easier. 

This "salt pig" is my new fav. I have been searching for a bowl/canister/container for salt for years, but never found one I liked. I didn't know of the term salt pig until I stumbled upon it. I got this one on Amazon.

We still have some painting to finish (the corbels on the island, some touch ups on the cabinetry). And the decor of the kitchen has a way to go (window treatments). But it's a pretty wonderful kitchen already!