Happy Friday! Turns out, we didn’t move like I thought we were going to and wrote about last week. UGH! The moving truck was supposed to be loaded last week. Turns out it didn’t get loaded until Tuesday of this week and after calling my contact person for the move like 40 times, they still “cannot give a definite arrival date.” She told me that it just depends on how far he can drive after loading today. Um, how about you just pick a place on the map, drive there and spend the night. That way, you can know exactly how long you’re going to have to drive and WHAT DAY YOU’LL BE HERE!!!! Just give me a date! I don’t care if it’s next Friday {well, I do kind of care} but the hardest part is not knowing the date and trying to schedule all the finishing things based on that moving target. If FedEx or UPS can track a package, I’m pretty sure I should be able to track a giant moving truck. Hopefully this weekend, fingers crossed. But I’m definitely not holding my breath.
We do get our washer and dryer today, but again, I’m not holding my breath. Our delivery date with a different company was scheduled a couple weeks ago, after ordering at the beginning of June. Thankfully they arrived in the first 20 minutes of the 2 hour window. With the stainless steel hose for the washer. And that’s it. “We’re you thinking the washer and dryer were being delivered today, too?” the delivery guy said to me. “Um, yeah.” Silly me. I knew it wouldn’t go as expected. Something would be wrong. My expectations these days are incredibly low. We’ve got a new supplier, same washer and dryer to be delivered today.
But enough about the shenanigans of moving. I could really go on and on. The last 6 months have been stuff like this on repeat.
Today I want to finally share a kitchen remodel I was wrapping up as I left San Diego. I could hardly stand leaving town before it was all complete. My clients did a great job managing the last pieces to the puzzle. We have worked together on different projects and when my client emailed me to tell me they were ready to start planning their kitchen, I have to say, we were all excited! We had been talking about this project for quite some time. We did a lot of planning and were able to get many of the decisions made early. Picking out the rest of the details as they came wasn’t too much of a challenge because we knew the vision and direction.
Before
This kitchen was a pretty standard galley kitchen. These clients love to entertain and cook and they wanted a kitchen that was a bit more functional and more updated.
They wanted more space to display treasured stemware. More on that in the “Afters.”
After
A classic, more traditional overall style of the kitchen was what we were going for but with some elegant, more contemporary details. The counters are a gorgeous black Quartzite. Seriously, it is so pretty! It has a little bit of white veining throughout and it’s more of a honed finish. 
We rearranged the right side of the kitchen a bit and moved the fridge to make room for the custom china hutch on the left. The pantry tucked right in next to the fridge. 
This window got quite a bit larger and more counter space was added. 
We went with a classic white subway tile and a gray grout for the backsplash. We added this carrera and black marble basket weave with a marble trim all around to make this area more of a focal point. The hood stayed the same, but the cabinet maker did an amazing job hiding it behind this custom hood. That little rectangle at the bottom lifts up to access the controls for the hood. So genius on the cabinet maker’s part!
And that range! Those red knobs add such a fun punch of color! We added some glass-faced cabinets to break up the wood and to add some reflection to this kitchen.
You seriously can’t go wrong with a classic white subway tile, or some variation of it. I know it’s being used quite a bit lately, but it’s so timeless and clean that you can’t really tire of it. It’s easy to add color and style to a classic backdrop.
The hardware went more on the contemporary side with a heavy, rectangular chrome pull. The gray 12×24 tile for the floor complimented the counters without being too busy to take away from any of the other elements. 
The client kept the dishwasher, microwave and fridge and we just worked them into the new design. 
Love this faucet! 
This hutch was the focal point and design driving point of the whole project. It was a piece my client had envisioned for years. She wanted it to hold her treasured stemware that were pieces she inherited from her parents and also collected during their travels. She wanted the piece to look like an antique piece of furniture that we adapted and slid into place in the kitchen. We went with a black finish to compliment all the other touches of black throughout, and added the counter tops to run to the back of the cabinet when the doors slid open.
This picture was inspiration for the overall feel of the hutch. And below were some of the drawings and notes from our meeting with the contractor/cabinet maker when deciding on all the details. 
From my client: “Personally, what we love is that with your design services and Carlos’ abilities, we were able to get everything we wanted in a small kitchen. Tremendous amount of planning and detail. Thank you!”
I seriously LOVE that I can help my clients {who become wonderful friends, I might add! :) } create such functional, comfortable and beautiful spaces that feel like them. I so wish I had been there at the final “reveal” but we are already talking about a trip back in the fall for another little project and hopefully some window treatments to finish this space off, so hopefully I’ll get to see it in person sooner than later!
*photos by Kelsey Lauren Photography with the exception of the last two.
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