{renovate} kitchen backsplash and counters

Well, if you follow me on Instagram (jennmccormick), you know that over the long weekend we tiled! Specifically, the kitchen backsplash! But along with tiling, we also got a few other major things done. On a very related note, we seriously have the most amazing friends. You know the friends that way-back-when helped us renovate our back entry and refinish our hardwoods? Those are the same friends that helped demo the kitchen and built our cabinets? Well they came over this weekend specifically to tile and do whatever else we still needed help with. I cannot even begin to tell you guys how grateful we are that they're in our lives -- and how much we'll owe them when they buy a house :).

Backsplash

We have a backsplash! And oh does it change the look of the space!

The tile is Ann Sacks Swiss Cross. I am so in love. Because it's such a small space, we wanted something that had personality, but was still neutral and classic. I think this fit the bill so well.
 

I didn't take a lot of photos of the process, because I was actually tiling! The girls tiled while the boys did other stuff. It was my first time tiling - and it was actually pretty easy. The hardest part was figuring out the pattern so we could begin.

Up next will be grout - hopefully this weekend.  But FIRST we need to decide on what color grout - white or gray. I am so torn! Any opinions, friends?

ps. You can also see that we installed window trim after the last post about trim :). Much better!

Counter

First, the counter top extension! We've been planning this since the beginning. We couldn't plan the island to be as long as we wanted - for clearance reasons - but, we really wanted it longer than the space logically allowed. Enter, the extension. It can go up when we need it, down when we have a lot of people over and need the space. We still need to install the piece that moves it up and down, so that's next.

While the girls were tiling, the boys were adding the extension and gluing down the copper.

Making sure it's a tight, solid fit :). Yep, there was a rolling pin involved.

The boys also did some ducting work, which I'll show you later. But really, it isn't all that exciting, but is really nice to be getting done!

And this guy? He was our supervisor for the day :).

All in all, a very productive weekend. It's going to take me quite awhile to finish up and paint all the trim, but I'm getting so excited to share final photos with you guys!

{Italy} Venice

Friends! My last post about my wonderful trip to Italy last fall will be about ...  the lovely Venice. If you're new around here and would like to catch up with my fabulous vacation, you can read all the posts here.

I have to preface this post with a couple things. First, I was pretty anti-Venice. I have no idea. I'd heard some negative things in the past and I just didn't really care if I ever went. The friend I was staying with practically shoved me on the train. Second, it rained the entire day I was there. And it was that heavy mist type of rain that is impossible NOT to be soaking wet when you're walking around in and never ceases to make me super cranky if I have to be out in (and also made my pictures sorta gloomy! ;). So, as you can imagine, I went into my day in Venice with an awesome attitude!

And you know what's crazy?? I LOVED, loved, loved Venice. Like, kicking myself that Chris and I didn't spend a few days there. I'm sitting here trying to find the right word to describe how I felt about Venice and all I can come up with is .... enchanted. Venice is enchanting. It felt like another world entirely - the architecture, the water, the boats, the history. I completely fell in love. And I didn't care that I was wandering around in the rain because I just wanted to explore every nook and cranny.

I started my day on a water taxi that took me on an amazing tour of the city. At the end of the route, before the ocean, is the palace and it was a great place to start. From there, I wandered back toward the train station - which took hours and I got lost more than once :).

Loved all the stripes! These guys were all over the place -- I'm sure they have a purpose, I just don't know what it is :).

I know, they're incredibly tourist-y, and I didn't go on one, but the gondolas were so cool! Much more fun to look at than the water-skiing type boats :).

Friends, thanks so much for following along on my Italian adventures. It's been so much fun for me to both capture and relive my vacation, and I appreciate you all coming along for the ride :)

Have you ever been to Venice? What was your experience? And, have you ever been pleasantly surprised by a vacation spot?

{renovate} kitchen cabinets, hardware and appliances

Um, it looks like I owe you a HUGE kitchen update! We looked at the pantry and the nook during December, but I completely forgot that the last time you saw the actual kitchen we still didn't have cabinet doors or a stove top. I was all set to tell you about our trim and all the work I've been doing caulking, but let's take a look at more than that, mmmkay?

Let me assure you, the kitchen has been functional since the beginning of December. Yah! All appliances are hooked up and all the boxes are unpacked and moved in. It's absolutely wonderful. So let's take a look at progress and then I'll tell you what's left. Hint: not a lot!

Stove top.

The game changer. This was the last appliance we installed and also happens to be one on I use the most. So, it was an exciting day :). We do need to hook up the fan, which pops up from the middle there, and that's why there's no doors on that cabinet. But fan or no fan - I can cook again!

Cabinets.

All the cabinets are installed! With the exception of those two doors, above. You can see we even have a door to conceal the dishwasher (to the left of the sink), which is just fabulous.

I've mentioned before, but the cabinets are IKEA's Adele. We just love them and are super happy with our choice.

Hardware.

We agonized over this decision, but am so in love with what we chose. I REALLY wanted a bin pull, but wanted to mix it up a little. I really like that the shape of these bins is just a bit more modern. All the hardware on the bottom cabinets are Restoration Hardware's Duluth pulls.

The upper doors - all four of them - are sporting RH's Ephram knob.

Trim.

We're so close to finishing up the trim. As you saw in the first photo of the post, we need to trim out the window. Other than that? A tiny bit of quarter round in the nook!

It makes SUCH a huge difference to have trim - even when it isn't painted. The whole space just looks so much more polished. I'm working on caulking and then we'll paint it up!

Chairs

Last update. A lot of you know that I've also been agonizing about our stools. We bought the ones we loved, only to learn that the were actually bar height - and we needed counter height. We thought about returning them, but then my incredible talented husband cut/welded about four inches off the bottom and now they're perfect! Seriously, you can't even tell they used to be taller and I'm so happy I didn't have to find something else!

What's left.

- TILE. Yep, that's a biggie.

- Stove fan installation.

- Trim: window, caulking and painting.

- Install last two cabinets.

See? See how close? It's nice to have the end in sight. And luckily, we're both really sick of working on this so we'll be busting out these last tasks over the next few weeks.