Kitchen Refresh!

We are so excited to have purchased our first home just before our fifth anniversary! After deciding to put down longterm roots in Chicago, owning a home was important to both of us for comfort and financial benefits.  Our neighborhood has been growing rapidly in popularity and rents were reflective of this.

The condo is in great shape, in a building that was gut rehabbed ten years ago, so no major changes are needed in the kitchen at this time. We feel so incredibly fortunate that the finishes in the kitchen are of high quality and functioning - a beautiful granite counter, neutral cabinets, and stainless appliances that are great as long as they keep working!  Alex changed out the seals on the dishwasher after a leak showed up in our inspection, and I feel so spoiled with our full-size one after renting for three years without one.

Sadly, the previous owner is now deceased (not in our unit!) and I felt a strong need to make the kitchen our own because of the amount of time I spend in the room.  The galley layout is landlocked, with no windows of its own, and this can lend to a very dark, almost cavelike feel at times.  Our goal with the refresh is to update the look a bit from the time of the rehab and brighten it up.

We found a tile we loved in the beginning of August, while we waited to pick up sweet Charlotte at our vet nearby.  After making a decision, not finding our preferred pattern in stock, checking back and at other locations and finally learning that it was being discontinued, we agreed to go with a similar tile in a larger size.  Fortunately, my brother had also moved this summer (that’s not really fortunate, according to a number of tired backs!) and also needed home improvement supplies where I ran across four boxes of the tile we wanted in the first place and still preferred. 

The tile had a few different homes in our entry (an awesome reminder of our slow progress!) until I was able to sneak it into our coat closet.  Lots of research and preparation in between studying, cooking, and volunteering, got us ready and we reserved a tile saw from our local hardware store to start off the first phase of the update.