Spousal Unit and I have lived in at least 10 houses since we married, and I can safely say that the heart of every home of ours has been the kitchen! I love to "entertain-cook", as opposed to "everyday-cooking" which is just mediocre fun for me! I suppose I can admit that some of my friends (you know who you are) would consider my attention to detail in my entertaining, planning and execution a little, well all right, extreme. I do like themes, but that is my fun!
The "Hearth Room/Kitchen" in the new house I have designated as the "Heart of the House" because it simply is. We had a vision of how this room would eventually be functionally, and that was the main selling point to our buying this house. And now, our dream is becoming reality! With the basement staircase relocated, we envisioned a large gathering island in its place that would be the foundation from where the entertaining fun would begin, irregardless of the number of people involved! (My philosophy is that a party can be a party even for one or two people. We will discuss this further another time!) Let me remind you of the before:
The "Hearth Room/Kitchen" in the new house I have designated as the "Heart of the House" because it simply is. We had a vision of how this room would eventually be functionally, and that was the main selling point to our buying this house. And now, our dream is becoming reality! With the basement staircase relocated, we envisioned a large gathering island in its place that would be the foundation from where the entertaining fun would begin, irregardless of the number of people involved! (My philosophy is that a party can be a party even for one or two people. We will discuss this further another time!) Let me remind you of the before:
After the wall and the basement staircase have been removed.
New view from entry area looking into the kitchen.
View from kitchen sink toward the island. The island is an expresso black stain with brown/black granite.
I am so very happy to have a gas stove top again! It is a dual fuel appliance with electric oven/convection, and the lower oven unit is not just for warming, but heats to 450 degrees as well.
Spousal Unit installed all of the cabinet pieces (with some muscle from RG, KB and Ray) and also cut, pieced, layed and grouted the additional tile pieces around the island. This was a very challenging undertaking! The pieces were extremely heavy and large to manuever. They had to be PERFECTLY level from every angle as well. Even selecting the grout color took numerous tries, and eventually required the mixing of two different colors to match the existing...worn-in color. I need to commend Spousal Unit again, as his work was really exceptional. Don't tell him I said that AGAIN! Might spoil the man!
We are so very pleased with the final product of the island. We were able to use our bar stools from the previous house. Yeah! One less anticipated expense! Our other concern was whether or not there would be ample and functional walk space between the back of the couch in the Hearth Room and the bar stools. But our concerns were eliminated with our first extended family gathering. The men were overly worried about the view of the TV from the kitchen side of the island, but this too proved no problem. I think Spousal Unit's choice of TV size is large enough for our neighbors to watch from down the block through the kitchen window! We are thoroughly enjoying the island every day!
The kitchen is nearly finished. I have these items on my "To Do" list yet to finish:
-a functional desk, wine rack, pantry-closet, and decorate the powder room. One project ALWAYS leads to four more!!
Next time....Martini talk!
Keep Smiling!
Deb
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