Well, hello there! If you are new to my blog let me say a big hello and thank you for stopping in to see what is happening in the world of The Whitley Co. and well, my little slice of the One Room Challenge pie! We are updating our kitchen and I can't wait!
My name is Marissa, a wife to the most supportive husband + mom of 3 incredible kids who have made us NEED this kitchen remodel! I am the founder + principal interior designer of The Whitley Co. and yet as a newly relocated DIY-lover who doesn't do all of the DIY but sure wish I had the time to learn every skill in the remodeling game, we are tackling our kitchen for our 2nd time around on the ORC train. After moving from Missouri to West Virginia a year ago, I decided to begin updating our Victorian home by joining the One Room Challenge world and get rooms completed while documenting the process in a safe, loving and oh-so-crazy inspiring community sponsored by ApartmentTherapy.
So here's the deal...for our 2nd time around, we have decided to take on the BEAST of a design --in any account. Yes, we are taking on our historic kitchen that is not only hugely dysfunctional but also in dire need of some personality. The space also has some oddities of its own that will make the update a bit precarious but I decided to embrace all of the weirdness and make it a super cozy, quaint and cool space that will feel like US when we are done. This is not your typical kitchen, if you will, this has niches, radiator pipes, low silled windows, high ceilings and a strange layout with doorway placement. Oh, and before we got ahold of it, NO AC and a wall heater that we are taking out and tiling over!
Let's take a look at our KITCHEN MUST-HAVE LIST:
All new cabinetry (The 100+ old drawers were tough)
Countertops (We are more than TRIPLING our countertop space!)
Dishwasher (The countdown to this addition started a year ago!)
Garbage Disposal (No more fishing food out of the drain, yes!)
Pantry (Adding this is essential!)
Flooring (The wood is old and we were going to sand and stain but got tile sponsored from The Tile Shop so we are getting new 8x8 ceramic tile!)
Lighting (Layered in the forms of plug-in, sconce and pendants)
Removing the door between the bonus space that we ALSO tackling for added storage and appeal!
Ceiling detail to frame in our updated lighting situation
Fresh paint on all walls and trim, of course!
Wallpaper in the alcove where the oven currently resides to add a touch of visual interest. This little nook will house a FB Marketplace hand-painted hutch!
Make all of these parts feel like they have been here since 1907 yet fresher and with modern conveniences!
So that's it! Our One Room Challenge Historic Kitchen that needs to happen in 8 weeks, smoothly with little to no hiccups or delays. Easy, right?!
My biggest desire: Adding storage anywhere we can while adding a dishwasher, layered lighting and touches of special and unique decor to make this historic space feel cohesive.
My biggest fear: The age of the house giving us a run for the money with unforseen issues in some form or fashion. Electrical, plaster, wood flooring, etc. will all be dealt with.
Demo will be where all is revealed, as our kitchen plan is to strip everything down to the floor, then gut the floor and build everything back up from the new tile flooring! The only thing that we are keeping in our existing kitchen are the year-old appliances we bought when we moved in last May.
Our Kitchen | Before
Design Concept
New Cabinet Layout
Elevations of Our New Cabinetry
Our Current Kitchen
Some of our details we are workin' with!
Spring 2022 ORC Sponsors
A HUGE THANK YOU To each of our gracious sponsors who are generously granting us the gift of a fresh and functional kitchen with their incredible products!
ALL of our amazing tile for both the backsplash + flooring is from The Tile Shop!
ALL of our handmade one-of-a-kind lighting is made by Michael Schley of LightWork Design Co. which you can find on ETSY here!
ALL of our natural Walnut countertops AND Live Edge floating shelves are from Hardwood Lumber Company.
Our amazing wallpaper and fabric has been sent from Australia AGAIN, with Milton & King sponsoring those beautiful pieces for our kitchen!
Our fluted matte dark gray farmhouse sink from Vintage Tub & Bath is so sleek and sexy and I can't wait to get this puppy in place, on the exterior wall looking out the window instead of staring at a wall!
We are SO excited about the fully integrated kitchen faucet and foot pedal technology AND water saving faucet that is about to happen from Principle Faucets!
Ok, so here goes the neighborhood! Keep checking back to see what's happenin' here and I can't wait to share our journey!
