We are finally seeing the end in sight. Oh we have still have a ways to go, but we have come so far and are closing in. After four walls knocked down, old flooring sealed, then flooring leveled, framing, engineer visit, support beams hoisted, new wiring, new plumbing and wainscoting, it was time for beautiful trim work. This truly kept us busy. I believe Paul said there were over 140 cuts in the wood we placed but it’s up, seamed and painted as well as crown molding installed. It was now time for a lean in on aesthetics. And fyi, the corner column is hiding the sewer pipe which was exposed before! (yes! ughh). This is much better! 🙂

We’ve decided on a unique wallpaper to go up in a couple of key areas and I ended up doing a special finish on some of the trim. Because of the finish of the cabinets we selected, I needed to help the trim work along and make it appear part of the cabinets, or at least like it belonged. Check out the cabinet door sample below. This has a glazing affect, or “antiquing.” With the age of the home, it fit perfectly!

To make the trim work match, we made sure to selected the paint that matched the cabinets. We think it matched pretty well.

You’ll notice the dark blue near the top of the square column. This is not paint, but rather a blue stain. If you look closely, you’ll see wood veins. This blue is part of a splash of blue cabinetry we chose for the butler’s pantry. The rest of the kitchen will be this antique white but we felt the butler’s pantry area needed a different feel and having the two colors joined within the column married the two. Paul built the column and I stained them the blue. This column by the way (there are two of them) are hiding the support posts for the new support beams we installed. A beautiful way to hide them, don’t you think? All Paul’s idea!

After we painted the trim work the antique white, I made a trip to the local Sherwin Williams. They were luckily able to secure a special glaze for me. My plan was to do the “antique” treatment on our trim, so that not only would the color match, but the finish. It was a bit daunting to try and make it look right, but I had to give it a go. And if I messed it up, after all I could simply paint over it, right? I knew that, but still after all the cuts and our painting, let’s suffice it to say I was a bit nervous!

I ended up doing a pretty good job, IMO (and Paul’s). I intentionally did not antique every line as we thought it would be too much so I was selective in how I applied it. Here are a few pics, before and after.

I also couldn’t help myself and decided to do a few appliques in the small squares at the top of the square columns. I special ordered these and had fun painting and antiquing them, as well. This stage was becoming so fun (what I called the arts and crafts stage!), it was hard to know when to stop decorating! Lol. But finally, I am done (I’m pretty sure…for now, probably, lol ;-). It truly was just what was needed to finish off the trim work.

And now, it was time for Paul’s amazing idea, the piece de resistance to the kitchen entry. He special ordered these and after a fretful, stressful how the heck do we do this, we did it! And the two of us installed them. For those of you who know the house, in the space between the parlor and the ball room, there are two columns sitting on pedestals. Paul built replicas of the pedestals and yes, he ordered two smaller columns. These flank the entry way to the butler’s pantry as you enter the from the hallway. And to think this area used to be a bathroom. How grand and elegant!

We still have flooring to do and a few other elements, but to us both, after all the time we’ve spent, after what we walked into when we first bought the house, it is finally beginning to look like what we pictured oh so long ago.

We often joke that after this kitchen restore/reno will make the rest of the house seem like a cake walk! (I probably shouldn’t say that, lest I jinx us. Let’s say it will be a complicated multi step cake walk. There, I feel safer. ;-). During this kitchen redo we have encountered, and since we are the ones doing all of the work, been educated on nearly every possible scenario all in one room. We feel as if we’ve just completed a crash course in plumbing, electrical, plaster repair, framing, dry-walling, concrete work, carpentry and painting. Did I leave anything out? We are guessing that as we work other spaces in the house, they will be done faster than we realize and we’ll be saying things like “so…we’re done in this room already? Okay, on to the next!” Famous last words…

We’ve also now officially placed our order for cabinets after over 25 (at least) modifications! A BIG THANK YOU and shout out to Loretta Mallonee from Neathawk! She worked tirelessly with us every step of the way, patient as always! We brought our own ideas to the table, but she put it together beautifully. We can’t wait for the install!