Your remodel is outstanding! The use of space and keeping the character of the building is commendable. Love that corner cabinet! I am all about making the space work for your family. The laundry/powder room is perfect. My son and DIL lived in a home identical to yours with laundry in the basement. It was a workout especially with a newborn. The kitchen is fabulous. The reclaimed lumber open shelves bring a modern vibe. Love it all!

I love your kitchen and style. That gives me some ideas of my kitchen remodel. I have some questions:

Question 1: What brand is your kitchen cabinet?
Question 2: I really like your cooking stove. What brand is it? What's size is it?
Love it all!

Wow! Gorgeous!

I think it's beautiful! Those floors look incredible with all the cool, white/grey colors and like that you put the wood shelves up... nice touch. I like your chalkboard. And that old sideboard is gorgeous. The right window treatments (yes, expensive. *ack*) will "tie the whole room together, man". Just lovely! Congrats on your impending arrival, too!

Ratrem,
I love it! It looks so very pretty and functional. I love the floors! Can I ask what is the color of your wall paint?

The great thing about such a neutral background is that you can change the accent color at any time and totally change the room. I love the little pops of orange you have in the living room and you could totally swap them for another color and change the whole mood when you get tired of it.

Your kitchen is very clean looking. Love the style. You could add color accents if you want to change it up, easy enough! I like how high up your brought the backsplash. Like your style in the living room also. Great remodel all around!

You said you went cheaper on the Backsplash, well it turned out wonderful! Great kitchen and living room.

Love it, you did an amazing job! And no it's not too long, if anything just the opposite, you can't have too much detail or too many pictures for a kitchen reveal thread IMO. :)

I really like the pantry cabs surrounding the fridge, especially with your integrated microwave cabinet and the drawers below it. That looks amazing. And I love your counters and the backsplash and height you took it to.

The colors looks great and your gorgeous floor keeps everything warm looking. Lovely kitchen. Best wishes for many years of joy in your new home for your whole family, 2-legged and 4-legged. :)

Beautiful ! I love the light airy space . The gorgeous open shelves..I am a sucker for salvage :) Your laundry bath area is wonderful too. I hope you will get wt's that you love that won't break the bank . Wonderful remodel.

Congratulations on the new baby !! c

I think it is fabulous. I am partial to white kitchens but it really is lovely. I love the counters. The creamy swirled color is beautiful. I also love the fixture you have over the dining table. Could you share where you got it and the manufacturer?
I also love that you kept the old built in hutch in the living area. I am sure as you add more of your personal touch it will look even better!

Thinking of color: I love the blue goblets in the built in hutch in the dining room. Where else could you repeat that blue? Although the red accents here and there are nice, they don't have the impact of the blue. Maybe a blue and yellow Provence tablecloth? Or blue, not Provence, like the second photo?

If a tablecloth is too iffy with little kids, try place mats. These particular tablecloths are way overpriced (the second one is $300!!), but they are good examples of the color I was thinking of. I have 3 Provence tablecloths that I bought at the Farmers' Market for around $35-$40 each, two in blue and yellow and one in red and olive. My Farmers' Market purchases are just like the ones for sale in Provence, which also didn't cost an arm and a leg. I bought a bunch of place mats in Provence and they didn't break the bank.

There's a lot of brown furniture in the family room, but maybe some more of that clear blue in throw pillows or the throw(s) on the couch/chair? I love your kitchen/family areas and just think they need some planned pops of color.

Adore this kitchen and living room. Gorgeous together. Congratulations!
A few questions:
1. Wall color in living room.
2. Source and color for the counter stools.
3. Size of pulls and the drawer sizes.
4. Where did you get the salvaged wood for the open shelves? How do I find those?
5. Where did you get the beautiful drawers under the tv.

Can you totally tell I love what you've done? ;)

Thanks!!!

Beautiful livable space! LOVE your quartzite! Can you please tell me what kind it is?
Floors, cabinet style, backsplash, rustic piece under your TV, corner cupboard, love it all.
Agree about the chalk board. I don't think your space is bland at all, but a piece of artwork instead of a chalkboard could add a little more individuality or color.

Wow thank you all so much for the kind words! The space really has been working great for us so far. We went from a larger single family to this smaller space and having this kitchen has been incredible for us to stay organized. Definitely the nicest kitchen I have ever had and this was by far the biggest renovation we have been a part of.
I really think that we will be here for a while as the neighborhood is great and my husbands family is so happy to keep it in the family. We really hope to make lots of memories here.
I will give all the details as this should answer a lot of the questions:

Cabinets: Shiloh Polar white beaded inset in Homestead
Wall Color- Ben Moore Revere Pewter threw out the first level
Range and Fridge: DCS, 36" range came with 2 free dishdrawers
Dishdrawers: 2 Tall dish drawers on either side of the sink, with regular cabinet drawer under. this has been awesome b/c I hated to lean all the way down to load/unload (we hand wash pots and pan mostly)
Range hood-Viking
Open Shelving-Reclaimed wood from Elmwood (awesome company to work with) mounted directly to studs
Faucet: Blanco Culina
Dining light Fixture- Robert Abbey Thalia
Table-antique farmhouse salvage
barstools-pottery barn
knobs/pulls-restoration hardware
Counters- Taj Mahal quartzite
Backsplash-daltile contempo marble subway
Floors-rift and quartered white oak site finished with bona traffic hd super matte. (kids bedroom still have original pine)

This is after we gutted:

I will admit when I walked up and the house was like this I had a mini panic attack about what we got ourselves into, but the end result has been fantastic. So any at this point feeling the same panic feeling know the end will be worth it.

The piece under my tv is from Restoration Hardware, there is a similar one at Anthropologie.
The drawers near the stove next to dishdrawers are 36" and the ones under the micro are 27" all with 6" pulls, the dishdrawers have 8" pulls and all the other drawers have 4" pulls. Next to the range is 24" drawers, next to the other dish drawer is 24" (can't really see them).

Suzanne- I do love the blue accents thanks!

That is one really cool kitchen! I love it. The whole living area is beautiful. You must be so excited.

Very nice blend of modern and antique features. I like the openness of no uppers, rather tile all around up to range hood height. Your window gives a lot of natural light. Could a simple color pop, mixed in with that which others mentioned work there too (perhaps with hidden privacy blind under)?

As an appliance buff, I must ask how do you like your 36" DCS range for cooking, durability, cleaning? How long does it's fan run and how loud. I've heard good reports to date, but now it's production has moved to China and of course, we await new news.

Lovely living space amongst your generations. Enjoy!

This post was edited by SparklingWater on Sun, Dec 30, 12 at 19:28

I love your kitchen!! It is one of my all time favorites! Even though I'm almost surely using stained cabinets, your whole space just glows! I'm from Boston and live just outside DC so i appreciate the space constraints....but your final result just seems perfect.

Ps what did you ever do with the wrong color cabs?
Congratulations on the outcome!

Hello!!! Good to see you back and thanks for sharing all you have done! It looks fantastic. We moved in to our house at the end of June too, and I should tell you that we are just hanging curtains in a 2nd room. But I was quite happy to realize that naked windows (especially ones with trim like yours) are acceptable. The only issue I have is the black holes at night!

Now, on to that kitchen! It is gorgeous! If you wouldn't have confessed that lack of uppers was for cost savings reasons, I would never ever have thought that. It looks so clean and contemporary without looking "modern". Sounds confusing, I know, but in my odd world it makes perfect sense! Love all your choices and really it all looks very high end, nothing looks like you skimped.

I have two tall dish drawers too, it was a change from the double one in the last kitchen. A WELCOME change! I also hated bending down to get dishes essentially off of the floor! I'm sure being 8 months pregnant you really appreciate that now.

Can you retrofit a foot pedal for the trash pull-out drawer? I know Beagles has one (not retrofitted, but it was one that the cabinetmaker installed during construction). You can always ask her for the details on where she got it, etc.

As far as window treatments, if you really want something to warm up the place and not be too expensive, you can get some woven roman shades. Have them match in all the windows. It would unify the space and you can get them relatively cheaply. Check JCPenney, Overstock, Lowe's... A nice honey color to go with the floors would be great. (My opinion, of course) ;-)

Couple of more days, and you will be saying you are "due this month"! Yikes. Time is going to go so quickly, so get ready to enjoy it.

Best Wishes,
Bee

It looks beautiful!!! Open, expansive, but not cold. Very inviting!

Love it! Looks so calm and inviting. I bet it feels extra nice to ave it finished before the baby comes. Congratulations!

I concur with what everyone else has said. That is one fabulous reno. Love all of your kitchen finishes and the furnishings in your other rooms too. Wishing you a happy new year in your new space and with your new baby.

I love the open feeling and the calm counters--far far from bland, it's all very clean, calm and beautiful. Do you miss the uppers? I am contemplating having no uppers too!

Fab job!!

beautiful kitchen!

And I love your shih tzus! Spotted the first guy in the chair, then cracked up when I saw the other one up front by the couch;)

Wow! This is stunning. Not at all bland -- love it just as you have it RIGHT NOW. And while I loved the kitchen, as I scrolled down and saw the adjoining rooms I loved the kitchen even more as it blends so beautifully with the paint colors, furniture, and decor. The whole space is just gorgeous and there is just so much harmony between the adjacent areas. You have a great sense of your own style and it just leaves your home feeling so cohesive with each space complimenting the others. Such a great job, hope you're calling/e-mailing editors -- this is one for the magazines, for sure!

Congratulations! Thanks so much for sharing all the pics, they're fabulous!

Lovely!! Everything is so light and clean and crisp and so much storage! Enjoy!

Bee yes time has been flying by, and I love the tall dish drawers too, no more bending and it suits our needs perfectly.

Fistmap- I love having "no" uppers, but I would absolutely miss the open shelving I have. It is a must for me for dishes I use on a daily basis mixed in with a few for decor. I think no uppers can be done easily if you have some pantry storage and/or willing to do some open shelves for mostly used items.
We fit our extra dishes/glasses in 2 27" drawer.
Here is a better shot of our open shelving, the brackets were put in the studs so can hold a lot. Most our plates are in the dish drawers, all of our dishes we use on a daily basis fit here. My 3 year old has her own drawer under one of the dish drawers that holds all her plastic plates, utensils, cups and bowls, so she can reach it and put he own dishes away. Works very well for us:

Beautiful!!!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

I love your counters! The whole space is so inviting and looks so functional. I like Bee's idea of woven roman shades. That would add some warmth. I also think a rug in your dining room would warm up the space. Maybe something from Dash & Albert with some blue in it to pick up the color of your glasses in the hutch?

Ratrem:
Had to come back again when I had time to comment. I LOVE it. Really really love it!

I have not seen Taj Mahal Quartzite installed before. I saw it at our local supplier, but have never seen anyone use it and it's fabulous. You will love the quartzite. It's so amazingly durable and no maintenance. I might have to go back and look at it again for our remodel :) Yours has a warm feel to it and I wonder now about the slabs I saw.

Love your faucet. It's a beautiful shape and I am really liking the professional series look of it, but with a modern bent. So pretty!

I agree with Bee about the woven shades. The wood would add a warmth. I could also see a pretty fabric in a modern pattern like this Mark Alexander Uzbek fabric:

What a beautiful home! Your layout is very similar to what ours will be in our new home. It's nice to see pics so I can get a feel for what ours will be like.

Absolutely lovely! A charming and cheerful kitchen! Congrats! You did a fantastic job! You should be PROUD! Your counters are sooooo pretty. I looked at that quartzite but DH didn't like, BUT I DID! ANd love love love your wooden shelves and the way that pulls in all the wood in your living area. ENJOY!!!

I think I told you, I lived in that house, except on the first floor, with the two hidden bedrooms upstairs. In Davis.

Well, maybe not your house, but you know what I mean. One of the gazillions of Boston two- and three-family houses with the exact same layouts.

First of all, you must realize that your kitchen is about twenty times nicer than anything you'd see in a similar house, even a recent flip. Most of the renos are completely bizarre to me. They are either Home Depot specials or really odd, bizarre pseudo modern things with crazy tile and weird angles. Yours is lovely and fits the house. Looks like Wellesley.

Second, I can't explain why I think this, but U-shaped sideways kitchens like yours seem to work really well and feel just right in these old Boston places. It makes way for all the front-to-back traffic, but you still get a cozy space out of it.

As far as color and personalization--look into top-down bottom-up shades to give you privacy from the street while still allowing light at the top.

The other thing I can suggest, having lived in a space almost exactly like that one, is some sort of divider between the living and dining spaces, but one that blocks no light. From personal experience I can say that these actually make the space appear bigger. I'm talking about something not this busy, and not this dark, but this amount of see-through:
{{!gwi}}
Or maybe:

Put it where the hubs is sitting in your photo. Or behind the couch.

This post was edited by marcolo on Wed, Jan 2, 13 at 20:36

Marcolo- I have seen some crazy renovations in these old places too. I think the worse is the ultra modern renovations, very rarely does it look good in these old buildings. We were very lucky that the original kitchen's footprint was so large. We just moved some things around and opened the wall between the DR/Kitchen but this was the original size kitchen.
Davis square seems like a great place to live we are enjoying so far, these philly style houses are all over.

I do think we plan on getting top down/bottom up shades...WE had then in our last place and liked them, but they add up so quickly when you need so many of them. Not sure if we will do a print or solid. Last time we had a solid color that let a lot of light threw and liked them the ones we had in the old house, wish I had taken them with us, maybe they would have fit!

Your house is so beautiful, I love your floor, where did you get it? did you buy it on line?

Your entire remodel is fabulous! Love the photos. Can I jump on the "where did you get it" bandwagon and ask about your ceiling fan? I saw that exact fan just yesterday in another photo and absolutely love it.

Thanks!

Lovely space. re:chalkboard, maybe a pretty colorful piece of framed kid's art would work.
Thanks for the fun share.

I love the whole space, OP. Really gorgeous in a spare, let the beautiful bones and features of the space show. I'm sure it'll be equally lovely with the window treatments.

swtceleb, that fan caught my eye too. Looks like it's the Minka Aire Acero in ORB/Mahogany.

Ratrem Is your new baby here?
Congrats if so... and hang in there if not ;)

Tracie.Erin - Thanks bunches! That certainly looks like the one.

PB thanks for asking about the baby! We just cancelled our repeat c-sec scheduled for tomorrow and are giving it some more time for her to come on her own accord with out surgery. KMFX that she comes soon!

Swtceleb- it is indeed the minka aire Acero. It is a decent air mover, though we had the MA Como before and that was more powerful, but of course this one looks nicer!

Jfay- I think kids artwork would look great there, thanks for the suggestion!

Cieler the floors are rift and quartered white oak, site finished in extra matte. We did order online. Hurst hardwood had great prices, Marc from countryplank price matched them, I have heard good things about both places.

Ratrem - dittos to everything already said. I was so excited looking at your photos today because this is so close to what we are hoping our kitchen remodel (demo starts in 2 weeks!) will look like.

Can you share the dims of the kitchen space, and comment on the lighting? We are struggling there, with how many, feet apart, etc. Like you, we will have no uppers, and a bank of wall cabinets opposite. Any insight to your lighting plan or design would be much appreciated.

Your place looks great, nice job! : )

Regarding bottom up shades. DH and I just made some really, super-inexpensive ones. He bought a six pack of Redi-shades for $20. Then we attached stick on velcro fasteners to the window edge half way up, near the locks, and the corresponding fasteners to the top edge of the paper shades. We keep them tightly folded and clipped down (they come with the clips, kind of like clothespins), sitting on the windowsill during the day, and then unclip, unfold and lift them up to the halfway point and velcro them in place when it starts to get dark out. They're pretty unobtrusive. It's a great fix, and would give you some privacy while you save up for the more expensive deal if you want. (No, this wasn't our idea. We found it somewhere in cyberspace.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Redi-Shades at Home Depot

Laughable- thanks so much for the link, perhaps we can do something like that this summer when we have more time. Looks like a great fix for now until we can save the 3K for window treatments.

Whit- our kitchen is just over 16' long and 12' wide. For the lighting plan we actually have a small pendant to still put in over the kitchen sink. We originally purchased 2 pendants over the peninsula, but with the kitchen light fixture, dining chandelier so close by we nixed it. We used the highly GW rec. home depot LED 4" lights. We had the electrician put them where we needed them most and have 8/9 in the kitchen and then more threw out the first floor. They are all on dimmers. With out the uppers to worry about shadows on the countertop we rarely turn them all the way up. During the day I rarely turn on any lights as the place gets lots of natural light.
Good luck with your remodel. I really working in this kitchen and find it plenty big for us. We hosted Christmas and had about 5-6 people cooking/prepping and it was great. Cleans up well and the peninsula has been perfect for my 3 year olds meals and craft time and keeps her at bay while I cook.

Just wanted to ad our much anticipated new addition finally made her debute fashionably late on 2/13/13, a successful VBAC:

We are enjoying her just as much as the kitchen ;)

She's gorgeous and -- by virtue of her arriving when she's good and ready -- clearly a person of principle and determination. I hope she retains both characteristics (even though it will be occasionally inconvenient for the rest of her family)..

She's also lucky in that she will grow up in such a lovely home.

Congratulations on all of the above.

Congratulations on your beautiful kitchen! We had a "three-season porch" that my DH and I liked to call the "no-season porch."

Oh, and your baby is nice too! :)

You have done such an amazing job - I love all of your "loves" in your first post! But my fave thing has to be the Taj Mahal quartzite. And that sweet baby girl!

She is beautiful. So sweet. Love your kitchen, too, especially that Taj Mahal.

Congrats on the gorgeous kitchen and adorable new addition! I love the pic of your dog with the baby. so precious!!

Congrats on your beautiful baby!

You said you did your backsplash cheap, but I absolutely adore it. Which brand of subways did you use?

Thanks!