Basement Kitchen Inspirations and Final Picks

It has been years since I could start from scratch on designing my own kitchen.  For the past year I have been contemplating ideas and what I wanted for our basement kitchenette.  It will only have a sink, mini fridge, and a microwave; however, I really wanted lots of counter space and an island for entertaining purposes. 

Here are a few kitchens where I drew my inspirations from:

I Love the dark pendants and bar stools in contrast to all the white- 

Crazy about the granite countertops - 

  

I love this open shelving, the mix of dark stained wood with the white cabinets, wall sconce over the sink, and the horizontal paneling -

Again, love the mixture of dark wood with white -

  

 After narrowing down the details of things I loved about each of these above photos, I put together my kitchen plan.

Prepare for a lot of visualizing :)

Here is the wall that my kitchenette will be going on:

I chose Rob Terry Cabinets to complete the job, and below is the drawing they rendered for me -

The cabinets will be white, the floating shelves a dark stained wood, and a wall sconce will go in the space directly above the sink.  A 3x5 island will float adjacent.

Below is another project done by Rob Terry that has the same shaker cabinet door style and crown that I chose for my project.

Below are the final picks for the space-

Farmhouse sink:

Lighting:

(Wall Sconce above sink, I chose a weathered rust finish instead of the aged steel shown below)

 

(Island pendants - Just found and brought these back from Chartreuse on a recent trip to Maryland)

Cabinet Hardware:

 (cabinet knobs)

(cabinet pulls)

 

Sink Faucet:

  

Flooring:

 (A brown/gray hard wood tile)

(will be laid with an offset pattern)

Counter tops:

I never realized how different granite varies.  I thought if you picked a sample, that would be what your counter tops looked like.  I didn't realize how many color variations can occur within one specific name, or how different blocks of the stone have such varied slabs.

Five hours later, I found an available slab from the block I loved the color of. It is a soft white background, with gray and brown flecks and veins.  I LOVE it and can't stop staring at it. :)

(below is the granite River White slab that I chose, a piece of my floor is leaning up against it)

 (a close-up of the River White Granite)

If you are in the market for granite counter tops and live in the area, Creative Granite & Design is fantastic!

Only about another month and I can show you pictures with all of these put together!

Finishing the Basement

When we moved into our home last March, we quickly realized that while gaining square footage, we lost a number of rooms with the basement being unfinished compared to our previous home's finished basement.  Anxious to have a guest room and another family room for the kids to entertain friends in again, we have finally gotten our ducks in a row to make that happen.  

I played General Contractor on the previous home basement renovation, so I felt a lot more confident doing it a second time around.  

4 way and insulation - Check!  Drywall starts next week...

Family Room:

 (don't mind my elyptical hanging out in the middle of the room) :)

 Mini Kitchen/Dining area - 

Dining Area/Walkout to outdoor patio -

Bathroom:

Bedroom 1: Guest Room

Bedroom 2: Exercise Room

 Of course the pillow fabrics, drapes, light fixtures, couches, etc. were picked out wayyyy before necessary. ;)  Can't wait to show you what those are!