|

Kitchen Reveal Part One: Banquette Eating Area & Beverage Centre

Today I’m sharing part one of the reveal of our grey and white kitchen renovation which includes the bar beverage center and small eating area with a bench banquette.  

Taking on a major kitchen renovation is not for the faint of heart.  It definitely leaves you living in a state of chaos and disorganization for a big chunk of time.  Now that all the dust has settled, we are loving the beautiful, functional, family-friendly and entertaining-ready kitchen we now have, and we can say it was all worth it. It’s like childbirth; you start to forget how painful it was after you fall in love with that sweet little baby…

This Friday is my parent’s 50th anniversary and we are excited to enjoy this space with a group of close family and friends.  After having the kitchen “out of service” for so long, I’m really excited to put it to use for such a special occasion.  Today I’m sharing part one of our kitchen reveal: the addition of a bar and beverage centre, eating nook, and office cabinet;  I plan to share the reveal of the main kitchen area very soon!

If you’ve been following along at all, you may remember that I shared all the “before” pictures, our construction details, and plans for this renovation in this post.  Basically, the layout changes are as you can see below in the floorpan:

The area that I’m sharing today is that part labeled above as “new eating nook and bar area”.  Originally, the previous owners had their dining room in this space.  The door you see to the left in the picture leads to the living room or down the stairs/hall.

We opened up the wall between the top of the stairs; I shared the complete before tour as well as all the construction progress and details in this post.

Opening up the wall left us with a space that we actually used as a temporary kitchen while we worked on the construction of the main kitchen area.

Here is how it looked as you walked up the stairs – looking directly through into the main part of the kitchen which is the back of the house…

I’m so glad that we opened this wall up, even though it was a bit of work to relocate some wiring etc.  Now, as you walk up the stairs you are no longer greeted by a 30″ wide french door leading into a closed off eating area and kitchen.

Instead, it’s a wide open space with a walk through bar/beverage centre and small eating nook that leads directly to the main part of the kitchen (which I’ll share the reveal of tomorrow!).

Bit of a difference, right?!

Opening up the wall has let so much more light flow through from front to back. We also brightened it up by attacking every surface with white paint, installing off-white floor tiles and using bright white subway backsplash tile.  We chose gray cabinetry (Ikea Grimslov Gray) with white solid surface marble style countertops (Dekton Olimpo by Cosentino), and brand new beautiful stainless steel appliances (from the Frigidaire Gallery Line).

The warm tones in the lighting, hardware, and faucets (all from build.com) are a perfect contrast to all the cooler finishes in the space.  Add in some natural warm wood and baskets, and I love the mix.  What do you think?

All sources are also linked at the bottom of this post.

Gold Pendant
Blue Runner Rug 

I had originally wanted to order this gorgeous gold pendant light to use on the island and over the sink, as well, but I realized that it would be too solid in that area because of the island vent hood fan that we needed to install over the cooktop.  But I love how it looks over our little eating nook table!

My husband’s favourite area is this little beverage bar/serving centre that we created on what was otherwise an odd wall without much purpose.  Since we were opening up the wall between the main kitchen and dining room (at the back of the house), we didn’t want to dedicate another room to just eating/dining.   Yet, it seemed strange to make this room part of the main kitchen layout, since there is a beam running across between the two parts of the space.

So… we decided to create a bar/beverage/serving centre along this wall.  It’s the perfect spot for serving drinks when we are entertaining, and my boy’s love the under counter beverage fridge.  I’m planning to turn it into a coffee bar as well in the near future.  The Brewery Sign is from Urban Barn –  I got in on clearance last winter and waited all year to hang it.

Amerock Cabinetry Hardware from Build.com

 Cosentino Dekton Stonika XGloss Collection in Olimpo

Delta Trinsic Bar Faucet from Build.com

Frigidaire Gallery Beverage Centre Refrigerator

Across from the bar/beverage centre, we created a cute little eating nook with a built in banquette that we made using upper fridge cabinetry from Ikea.  I’ve dreamed of having a little nook with a tulip table, and it’s a great spot for sitting while we are entertaining – because you know the party always ends up in the kitchen.

Gaudet Brushstrokes Wallpaper

I was also excited to create a little feature wall with wallpaper.  This is called Brushstrokes, and I ordered it from Wayfair.  I found the art at HomeSense for less than $70, and the pillows are from HomeSense as well.  I had the upholstered bench cushion sewn at a local furniture shop.

Tulip Table
Modern Dining Chairs

I made the vase using a dollar store find and some Rust-Oleum Gilded Brass Spraypaint.  See the DIY in this post.

Beside the eating nook, there was enough room for an extra/overflow pantry and a family command centre/office cabinet.  We use that bit of countertop for charging our devices, and having closed doors on the cabinetry means that all our paperwork and odds and ends can stay out of sight.

Cosentino Dekton Stonika XGloss Collection in Olimpo

I made that acrylic “pour” at an art class I took last fall; one day I’d love to share a DIY for it – such a fun project! The gold leaf plant pot is another DIY that I shared here.

Tomorrow I’ll be back to share the rest of our kitchen reveal; here is a little glimpse…

Blue Runner Rug 

Gold Pendants over island and sink

Bar Stools

Well, pretty big change, right?

I’m excited to show you the rest really soon! Here are the sources we used for this renovation…

Kitchen Renovation Sources:

Cabinetry: Ikea Grimslov Grey Sektion Series

Countertops: Cosentino Dekton Stonika XGloss Collection in Olimpo

Tile: Off-White Matte Porcelain Tile in 12×24 size (purchased from a local tile store)

Dishwasher: Frigidaire Gallery 24” Built-In Dishwasher

Refrigerator: Frigidaire Gallery 21.8 Cu. Ft. Counter-Depth 4-Door French Door Refrigerator

Double Wall Ovens: Frigidaire Gallery 30” Double Electric Wall Oven

Hood/Vent Fan: Frigidaire Gallery 42” Island Hood 

Cooktop: Frigidaire Gallery 36” Gas Cooktop

Microwave: Frigidaire Gallery 2.2 Cu. Ft. Built-In Microwave

Bar Fridge: Frigidaire Gallery 5.3 Cu. Ft. Built-In Beverage Center

Bar Sink Faucet: Delta Trinsic Single Handle Bar Faucet with Swivel Spout

Main Sink Faucet: Delta Trinsic Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet with On/Off Touch Activation and Magnetic Docking Spray Head 

Apron Front Farmhouse Sink: Single Basin Farmhouse Sink with Smooth Apron Front

Wall Tile: 3×6 Beveled Subway Rectangular Wall Tile

Wall Scones: Bellevue Single Light 18″ Tall Wall Sconce in Natural Brass

Island/Sink Pendants: Bellevue 8″ Single Pendant in Natural Brass 

Eating Nook Pendant: Bellevue Single Light 11″ Wide Pendant in Natural Brass

Cabinet Pulls: Amerock Blackrock 6 1/4 ” Cabinet Pull in Golden Champagne

Cabinet Knobs: Amerock Blackrock Square Cabinet Knob in Golden Champagne 

Bar Stools: Alexa 26″ Swivel Bar Stools 

Tulip Table: Julien Artificial Marble Dining Table 

Wallpaper: Gaudet Brushstrokes in Seafoam

Long Kitchen Runner: Mistanta Charleena Light Blue Runner Rug 

Want to remember this?  Just PIN it!

Similar Posts

12 Comments

    1. Hello,
      The tall cabinets on either side are 15″ width and depth, and the center cabinets are 18″ (sink), 24″ fridge, 18″ cabinet. Hope that helps!
      Krista

  1. LOVE LOVE LOVE!! Could you elaborate on what the IKEA uppers are sitting on in order to make the bench seating? I’ve wanted to do something similar and what you’ve done looks like a great option!

  2. WHAT A SUCCESSFUL TRANSFORMATION. Light, Bright and totally utilizing space for entertaining, homework, or just a coffee klatsch! Love all your windows and I know you will love your cabinets, we are in our third year with our IKEA cabinets and couldn’t be happier!

    1. Hi Sandi – that is good to hear! Our last kitchen were shaker style with wood boxes and we really did like them, but I must say the Ikea cabinets are so well designed with all the little hidden drawers and pullouts and things We love them so far!

  3. Congratulations! Oh so beautiful! I love your analogy of home renovations and child birth. It’s so worth it!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.