The Kitchen & Breakfast Nook
Hello, my friends! Welcome to The House of Blues renovation reveals (Part 1). Ooooh, am I pumped to bring you this project reveal today! This beauty has been a long time coming. We dove into the design process for this full main level renovation over a year and a half ago, and with the epic shipping times and labor shortages we’ve experienced over the last couple of years, well… it’s been quite a ride. My wonderful clients are SO deserving of this beautiful home, and I’m so happy that they get to enjoy it for years & years to come!
I thought I’d present this project a little differently this time since there are so many lovely spaces and pretty details within this home to share. SO, I’m going to break it up into a 4 part blog “series”. In this first post, we’ll get into the kitchen and breakfast nook design, then next week we’ll reveal the living room, the following will be the dining and entry area, and then we’ll wrap things up with the laundry room & powder bath for a grand finale! I hope you stay tuned for these weekly reveals because trust me, they are ALL pretty divine if I do say so. 😉 Here we goooo!
First, I think you need to see what we started with. Here’s the kitchen and breakfast nook “before”:
And here is the AFTER:
I still love it so much (!), and there are just so many amazing design elements to pull apart here. First and foremost, I think we NEED to acknowledge this stunning
Marble…
(Don’t mind me drooling over here.)
These show-stopping slabs of Iceberg Marble, complete with a waterfall feature on the island and a matching slab behind the range, elevate this entire space to a whole other level. When you walk into the kitchen, the first thing your eye gravitates towards is the stunning blue-gray veining running throughout these stones, which were very intentionally chosen & featured. I mean… if you’re a fan of the color blue in the least, this stone is for YOU, right?! It’s so, so beautiful.
The rest of the backsplash is a simple over-grouted white brick veneer to lend texture and interest without competing with the beautiful stone next to it. I love how soft & subtle it feels next to the other finishes, yet it still adds the perfect amount of architectural interest and much-needed texture.
Why “The House of Blues”?
We chose to hone in on the color blue for two big reasons:
1) It’s this particular client’s favorite color, and
2) Just out that kitchen window is a beyond gorgeous view of a blue-hued, snow-capped Pikes Peak, gorgeous golden meadows leading up to it (that you can see perfectly on non-cloudy days like the one we photographed this kitchen on ;), and the big open Colorado sky.
This home is in a suburban residential area, and it became a priority to take the magic from that view outside and infuse it into the interiors through inspired color palettes and textures. Hopefully, what you’ll find as a result is a fresh take on a Transitional/Modern Colorado home. It’s now set apart and completely unique from its neighboring homes, and I LOVE that.
Cabinetry & Millwork
We went with a two-tone cabinet design to pull that beautiful deep navy tone into the design, while the light upper cabinets prevent it from feeling too heavy. The ceilings here are not terribly tall here, so we wanted to give a feeling of airiness and height as much as possible. The white cabinetry and matching custom range hood cover really help to accomplish that. (& speaking of the range… how gorgeous is this beauty from Zline?? I’m no chef, but even I would be tempted to cook up a feast on that beauty!)
The Breakfast Nook
I loooove how this sweet and simple breakfast nook turned out! Some noteworthy details here are the Black Walnut faux beam and gorgeous kitchen table. We had these custom made and installed by a local artisan to bring consistency with the wood tones and finishes throughout the home (there are several shelving installations and a large feature furniture piece in the dining area that was custom made as well that I can’t wait to show you that in the next couple of weeks!).
Before, this breakfast nook area was non-existent (take a look above at that before shot!). I’ve found this scenario in so many newer-construction homes where the breakfast nook was an optional feature when the home was built. The original homeowner opted to have it omitted for cost purposes, and we were left with a bump-out bay window area with no real purpose. The obvious move here was to build out the banquette and scoot everything over to make more room for the kitchen island to extend. What a difference it makes to use space well!
So, tell me, friends, what do you think?! I’d love to hear what your favorite design moments are in the comments below. Thank you for reading along, and be SURE to tune back in next week for the Living Room reveal! You will NOT want to miss that one. Promise. In fact, here’s a sneak peek that my furry friend, Beau, wanted me to show you (it’s his favorite room in the house ;)…
See you next week!
Xoxo,
Alyssa
(Photos are by Karen Mitchel at Elan PhotographÍe Studio)