Kitchen Stools: VHH Renovation

I've taken you on the planning steps of the kitchen renovation so you should understand my thought process that lead to my design selections.

To recap:
Let's Redo!   |   Renovation Goals  |  Renovation Selections  | 

The demolition started this week and I hope to have progress photos to show you soon (for sneak peeks, continue to follow my instagram stories for up to the minute photos).

I've tried to design a kitchen that will be classy and yet also push some boundaries.  I decided long ago that I am not going "tame down" my style so that my house will resell In the future.  I've got wallpaper on ceilings and In the mudroom and bright colors on the sunroom walls.

With that said, the elements that will be permanent fixtures In the kitchen are pretty toned-down.  For example, urban gray cabinets, white counters, navy island and white back splash.  I think there is room for me to introduce a nice dose of color In a way that won't make a permanent impression.  And that, my friends, is through the bar stools that will reside at my navy island.  Let's use this photo as inspiration as my island base will be navy, hardware will be brushed gold and the counter tops will be walnut.

Photo Courtesy of @michelemorganinteriors

Here are some of the bar stool styles and colors that I've been considering for my island.  I have decided that I am going to wait until more of the kitchen has been constructed before making my final selection.  There are elements to each of these that I can appreciate but there are also cons.

I absolutely love this World's Away orange crushed velvet chair with gold accents.  Imagine this orange against the dark navy island.  The hardware In the kitchen will be brushed gold and these chairs would offer a strong pop of color.  I like the high backs so that guests will have support when sitting In the chairs for a visit.  However, they're not actually very practical at all.  I envision my daughter, Smidge, having a bowl of oatmeal In this chair and crushing wet oats into the upholstery.  Also, the sides of the chair may feel constricting.  And will the gold retain fingerprints?  

The below is an alternate version of the chair with a round back, less upholstery and dark gray tones that would accent well with the cabinets.  

This Pangea Dexter Bar Stool is dark gray and I would still have the concern for the upholstery.  But the design is more simple.  Still, a high backed chair but with no constricting sides and the stools would push into the island nicely.  Hmmm...I still keep going back to the pop of orange though.  

My logical side says avoid velvet of any sort on a kitchen breakfast island when I still have smallish children (ages 11 and 12) that will belly up to the counter and get In all sorts of trouble.  I like this grass cloth linen colored stool for it's classic design, terrific color, caned backing and subtle gold accents.  The cushion seems forgiving and there are no sides to clunk down the design.  This may be a real contender (Now if I can only recall the vendor).  

And lastly, there is this fabulous rattan gray chair from Serena In Lily.  Great bistro design.  Durable with kids.  It's by far the most practical bar stool.  And that's where my hesitation resides.  This may be too "safe" for me.  It doesn't push the design limit enough, and that's what I do.  Particularly In my own home when I am my own client and I can be as risque design-wise as I'd like  

I'm still on the hunt and I won't make my final decision until further along In the kitchen construction so that I can better envision how each chair will line up along the island.  

Do you have a favorite out of these selection?  Do you have another stool that I should absolutely consider?  Please share with me!  I am open for suggestions.  

Up next, the week In review.  

xo

Heather 

  

SELECTIONS: VHH Kitchen for Renovation

Welcome to my personal kitchen renovation journey.  If you've been following along to this point, then you'll be ready to see my selections for cabinetry colors and counter tops.  If you're not up to speed yet, no worries, you can catch up by first reading here:

Let's Redo!   |   Renovation Goals  |

Vivid Hue CURRENT Kitchen (before Remodel)

Referencing my goals for this renovation, I started out wanting a slight refresh In the kitchen, but as I started the planning process I decided to make some major changes.  Here are some of the selections I decided upon during this process.

1. Cabinetry.
I currently have white cabinets and they've held up fairly well during the ten years of the kitchen's life.  However, they're starting to show signs of wear and tear and the corners have paint chipping.
Initially I explored the option of having the existing cabinets repainted a new color, but I found that it is *almost* as expensive to have them professionally repainted as it is to replace the cabinets.  I decided to replace the cabinets completely.

As y'all know, I love color so I wanted to incorporate color into the kitchen but also keep the design timeless and tasteful.  I wanted a gray cabinet and, initially, I felt confident that I'd go fairly dark gray.

Here are the initial samples I considered; believe it or not, they are both variations of gray but, side by side,  they present quite differently.  The right is clearly more gray while the left has more beige overtones.  I decided to take a poll on Instagram to see what y'all preferred.

Vivid Hue Home 

The results?  Most of the voters preferred the left color which is a lighter, more beige color.  While I ALWAYS appreciate your feedback, I don't *always* let that steer my final decision.  In the end, I selected the more gray color and here's why:  When I placed the cabinets up against my wall paint color, the beige cabinet became washed out and bland.  I wanted more of a pop for the end results.  The gray is still subtle.  And In the end, I selected the urban gray! (shown on the left below)  

Vivid Hue Home Color Selections 

2. Counter Top.
I have black granite in my current kitchen and I knew I absolutely wanted white In the new kitchen.   I had to decide between quartz and quartzite.  The biggest difference between quartz and quartzite is that quartz is a man-made material, while quartzite is a natural stone. ... A quartz counter top is engineered with the same quartz crystals found in quartzite, but a man-made process binds the crystal with resins, pigments, and other materials such as bits of glass.  Quartzite tends to be more expensive because it's a more complex process to transform the mined quartzite into slabs.  

In the end, I selected quartz simply because it comes In more colors and patterns.   Pigments added to quartz during the man-made process can be used to achieve a wide spectrum of colors.  Granted, I only wanted white, but even with white, I found that the quartz slabs can be veined In the factory to create a more consistent pattern (and of course this can't happen with quartzite because it's a natural product).   I personally do not like an incredible amount of veining In my counter top but I wanted just enough to pull out some of the color from the Gray cabinets.  

Urban Gray Cabinets with White Quartz

3. Open Floor Plan 
I wanted to create the illusion of a more open space without changing the physical square footage of the current kitchen.    There are a few ways I hope to achieve this.   

Remove closet: I have a food closet/ pantry that is about 3 feet deep along one wall.  My immediate thought was to remove the closet to gain more square footage.  Yes, cabinetry will be put along that wall, but it will be less space than the current closet.  

Vivid Hue Home Old Kitchen 

Relocate Refrigerator to gain more open counter top space.   Currently, the fridge sits on the far left of the kitchen right by the patio door.  It creates a large anchor In the kitchen and encloses the space.  We decided to move the fridge over to the opposite wall so that I will now have one long open counter on the wall where the fridge once sat.  

Vivid Hue Home Old Kitchen

Vivid Hue Home Old Kitchen

Vivid Hue Home (Full Countertop on Left)

Vivid Hue Home Kitchen before DEMO

4. Hardware
I'm ok with mixing metals In my home.  (That's what Vivid Hue Home is all about, mixing colors and patterns).  I decided to swap out all of my nickel In the kitchen with brushed brass hardware instead.  The faucet and lighting fixtures will be brushed gold brass as well.   

5.  Kitchen Island

My current island is white Cabrera marble with a walnut base.  I wanted to introduce a splash of color on the island, something classy but fun.   I love the inspiration photos that show navy cabinets with brushed brass hardware and wood.  I also had a fun teal color In mind.  

I considered a teal color for the island but the non-custom selections were too electric blue.  Ultimately, I selected a classic navy cabinet that will blend very well with the urban Gray cabinets and the white quartz. 

Urban Gray Cabinets with White Quartz.  Navy for Island Base

The island will be larger In the renovated kitchen and I wanted a substantial counter top that would command presence.  Keeping true to my inspiration photos that showed navy with walnut, I decided upon a walnut wood block for the island.  The standard width of the top is about 1.5" thick.  I wanted more drama so upgraded to an even thicker width (it will be about 2.75").  

6. Backsplash

I have always been less of a risk taker when it comes to back splash.  My motto is that less is more.  I personally don't like introducing additional colors or designs In the tiles.  It seems a bit hypocritical of my typical opinion that the more patterns and textures, the better.  My current kitchen has a basic white subway tile back splash.  All of the tiles go In the same direction.  So, when selecting back splash for my new kitchen, I went into the process with the same philosophy.  Initially, I thought I wanted a herringbone tile, but because there isn't a lot of distance between my counter tops and my cabinets, there would be little room to create a true pattern with the herringbone.  Still, I wanted something with an interesting geometric shape that provided pattern without introducing additional color.  

I decided on this solid white hexagon shaped tile.  It's somewhat modern while still being traditional. And it won't compete with the other elements In the kitchen.  

Vivid Hue Home Renovation Selections 

A view of the navy island cabinet with walnut top.  Urban Gray cabinets and white quartz with the white hexagonal shaped back splash.  And below, a view of the back splash next to the white quartz.  I am expecting quite a bit more light In the kitchen with the removal of the black granite counter tops.

It's difficult to envision how all of this will look together but I have great hope that it will be exactly what I want.  What are you thoughts about some of my selections?  What would you do differently?  Is there anything you absolutely love?  

Please tune In for additional details of the renovation.  Demolition started today and I will continually post behind the scenes progress on my instagram stories.  

Cheers, 

Heather 

  

Goals: VHH Kitchen Renovation

I had a few goals when I started to plan my kitchen renovation.  In the beginning I didn't really sit down and make a nice cohesive list like you'll find below.  There were some obvious changes I wanted to make but others evolved as I met with my contractor and perused photos on pinterest that inspired me.  In my experience, it's always best to find a handful of inspirational photos and be able to identify the elements you like from each design.  For example, one photo may show the cabinet color I love but not the hardware.  Together, the photos create the full picture.  I referred back to these photos during my selection process.  It can be overwhelming when you're In a designer showroom with all sorts of decisions In front of you.  If you go into the process with some idea of your likes and dislikes, you'll be able to drive more of your remodeling process.

If you haven't already, read "ReDo! Vivid Hue Kitchen Remodel "

My Kitchen Renovation Goals:    

1. Replace white cabinets with a light colored cabinet (like gray or beige).

2. Replace black granite counter tops with white counter top (material to be determined)

Vivid Hue Home Inspiration Photo

3. Create the illusion of a more open space without changing the physical square footage of the current kitchen.  (Considerations included relocating appliances and removing the pantry closet to create more width In the space).  

4. Replace nickel hardware with brushed brass. 

5. Integrate a fun splash of color on the island base, for example Blue Muscari.   

Courtesy of Michele Morgan Interiors

6. Find a neutral back splash with an interesting geometric shape.  Something that provides pattern without introducing additional color.  

As we move forward, I'll begin to share the color selections and decisions I made during the design phase of my kitchen renovation.  Please continue to check In for regular updates!

Do you have a specific design element you are obsessed with for a kitchen?  Please share!  

Read Next: 

Let's Redo!   |   Renovation Goals  |  Kitchen Selections

xoxo

Heather 

  

Let's Redo! VHH Kitchen Remodel

When I designed my kitchen ten years ago I thought for certain it would stand the test of time.

I do believe that it has held up design-wise but, functionally, it's showing signs of wear and tear: the white cabinet paint has started to chip;  the walnut floor in front of the fridge is warn; and hardware is broken. In a nut shell, time for some repair.

They say timing is everything.   Initially, I considered ways to slightly update the kitchen by repainting the cabinets and updating the counter top granite color.  Well, then a major wrench was thrown into my personal life (divorce) and I decided no better time than the present to remodel the whole damn thing.  Nothing like a complete remodel to create a fresh start and cleanse the soul.

Over the next several weeks, I'm going to take you on the journey of my kitchen remodel.  To start, this is the current kitchen: White cabinets, black granite counter tops, white marble on the island with walnut base and stainless steel appliances.  Upon the surface, it still appears to be in good condition, but with a closer look, aspects are starting to go.

Vivid Hue Home | Heather Grahling Kitchen 

Vivid Hue Home | Heather Grahling Kitchen 

I have a nice open floor plan and the kitchen overlooks our every day eating space and the family room.

Photo shoot by Gridley & Graves of Heather Grahling Kitchen 

Several years ago, photographers from Gridley & Graves came to photo shoot all of the rooms in my house for the potential inclusion in a shelter magazine.  The process of getting published is timely and not guaranteed and, after several years "on the verge" of being featured, the shelter magazine they were pitching became defunct.   I held out for quite some time with the idea that the photos would be used elsewhere.   That was maybe five years ago now.  I've given up hope.  But it was a fun process to watch and it's amazing to see how they can stage and transform a space. 

Vivid Hue Home Photo Shoot by Gridley & Graves

I have upgraded the chairs around my kitchen table now, too...The end chairs are high backed King's Grant Chairs by Taylor Burke Home with Zebra Hyde.  The side chairs are black knobbed wooden chairs with muslin covering.  

Vivid Hue Home Kitchen 

But, back to the renovation plans.  In the next few weeks I'll take you along my process for selecting new appliances, cabinetry, lighting, bar stools, back splash and more!  The actual demolition has not started (it begins In the next week) so I will be showing you photos as the work is happening!  

Next, I'll show you the new floor plan I decided upon to give me a bit more open space and remove some elements that I've never been crazy about (yes, we are moving appliances and demo'ing closets, etc).  Stay tuned!  And In the meantime, follow Vivid Hue Home on instagram for daily updates and behind the scenes sneak peeks!  

Read Next:    Renovation Goals  |  Kitchen Selections

xoxo

Heather