client project: kitchen remodel progress

I'm really excited to share some of the progress we've been making on a kitchen remodel I've been working on.  The house was remodeled before my client purchased it, so a lot of the finishes were in great condition.  However, she wasn't in love with the kitchen, so we decided to make a few changes, primarily by focusing on the counters and floors.  She really liked the cabinets, and they were in fantastic condition, so we decided to leave those alone.

Below are two images of what the overall kitchen looked like before:

And here is a close-up of the laminate countertops.  Aesthetically, they didn't actually look too bad (although in real life they were much more blue).  However, she wanted a countertop that was a lot more durable and that felt more natural, so we started searching for the perfect fit.

She really loved dark gray/charcoal countertops with a matte finish, so we looked a lot at soapstone and Paperstone.  For those of you that don't know, Paperstone is this amazing product that is made from recycled paper.  It looks gorgeous and is surprisingly durable.  However, we couldn't find it in quite the right shade we were looking for, so we continued our hunt.

We ended up at a remnant store, where we found the perfect material.  It was a Ceasarstone product (which is quartz) that was originally priced at $100 per SF.  However, because it was a remnant, we got it for a steal of a deal.  Seriously.  They practically gave it to us.  It had such a beautiful texture, and there were subtle hints of brown throughout it that picked up the color of the cabinets.  We both drooled when we saw it and instantly fell in love.

On Monday, the new countertops were installed, and we both couldn't be more thrilled with the results.

Say adios to the old counters!

I went over there yesterday to see the new beauties and to figure out how we were going to tackle the floor, so when I was there I snapped a few quick pictures (I apologize for the terrible quality - they were just quick iphone pics).

Against the wall is the backsplash that is going to be installed (it's still in the packaging so it's a little hard to see the accurate colors), but trust me, it looks ah-mazing.  The backsplash was another item we all fell in love with when we saw it.  Originally, she wanted something a little more rustic and traditional, while the mister was all on board with going contemporary.  This tile, however, combined both of their wishes by using slate (a rustic material), in a contemporary style (through it's long, linear shape).  It also has small stainless steel accent tiles in it, which are contemporary, and also help to tie in all of their appliances and hardware.  

I know the counters are hard to see because of the lighting/the terrible pictures, but they really are so gorgeous.  In addition to new counters, a new stainless steel under-mount sink was installed, as well as a new shiny faucet.  

So far, this has been such a fun project to work on, and I can't wait to see it all come together.  Stay tuned to see the final result!