Our Kitchen: One Year Later

It's been a whole year since we finished our kitchen renovation (how!?) so we thought it would be fun to share how it looks today (not all that different) and how it has been wearing, as well as, some additions we've made and things we're thinking about changing or would do differently.

1. What's new?

There have only been a few additions since completing the kitchen a year ago, and maybe that's a good sign. We added hanging herb planters a few weeks ago that instantly added life to the kitchen.

We also ended up buying a second over-the-counter cutting board from Ikea. Initially we bought it to replace our current one for when it was worn, but we ended up putting it on the other side of the ranges and it just stayed there. It's so convenient to have a couple chopping stations "built in" and they are only around $10 each.

Lastly, we added a plug to the island, which if you listened to this week's podcast, you know all about that.

2. How's _______ holding up?

The Ikea cabinets, which we probably get asked about the most, still look and feel brand new. We are still crazy about the warm black Laxarby finish and would choose them again in a heartbeat. On the other hand, the island legs and baseboard (that we partially customized and painted ourselves) are riddled with chipped paint. It does take a lot of abuse from counter stools and kicking feet, and all it would take to fix it is some extra paint, but I'm still trying to figure out if there's a better solution than the primer and paint we used initially. Probably not? And I'm curious if this is just going to be a yearly tradition of touching up our island.

The Frigidaire Professional appliances we absolutely love and have had no issues with. There was a times shortly after we had them installed that I was having trouble opening the freezer--the suction was so tight! But I learned that is actually not a problem, but a good thing. Some industrial and high grade refrigerators or freezers have a small vacuum pump to draw out the warm air from the chamber after the door is opened, to improve efficiency. So, we have a very efficient freezer.

Do we use the double ovens all the time? Not as much as all those cooktops, which we seem to fill up almost completely at least once a week. I've loved hearing and seeing all of you that have put two ranges side by side this year. Keep 'em coming.

The white concrete countertops are doing relatively well, but they do need resealed. There are a few spots (by the sink mostly) where the sealer has cracked or chipped in small places where it is susceptible to stains if we don't get it resealed soon.

The unlaquered brass hardware is still really shiny and new-looking and we're enjoying it, but also looking forward to the beginning signs of patina.

3. Would we change anything? 

We've started talking about possibly adding in glass-front upper cabinets in place of, or in addition to, some of the open shelving. We're both currently very happy with the open shelving and while Chris is pretty firm on the idea of keeping it forever and always, I'm more torn because while we love the ease of the open shelves and have enjoyed them so much. We just have so many glasses and dishware that makes more sense in cabinets than drawers in my mind. The upper cabinet above the microwave is filled with dishes and stemware and the drawer to the left of the dishwasher is, too. The kitchen was designed for open shelving or upper cabinets to work, so time will tell if anything changes there.

One other thing that we're 95% sure we're ready to change is the sliding barn door in the dining room (which I forgot to take an updated picture of so I hope you can accept the one below taken a month ago). We added that before renovating or even finalizing our kitchen plans, and since installing the pocket pantry door, it seems to make the most sense to put an identical mirrored pocket door leading into the laundry room. That would also give us the opportunity to put something fun on the dining room wall that only 2/3 used by the barn door right now.

And in case you're just now catching up on our kitchen renovation, it used to look like this:

So that basically sums up how we're still over-the-moon in our new kitchen one year later. I was fully expecting the honeymoon stage to be over by now, but we're still going strong over here. If I missed something you're curious about, I'm happy to answer it in the comment below.

You can find all the sources here. See into the walk-in pantry (where our freezer is) here, the original kitchen reveal here, and a recent video tour of the whole house here.