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35 Comments

    1. Thanks, Nancy! Just wait… I think the cabinets are what will really make it look like a completely different room… 😉

  1. Love the new back splash! Everyone has her own taste but I often wonder what they were thinking or what the influence was that triggered the decision.

    1. Thanks! And I actually often think about that. The entire home was very dark with rich dark painted walls and heavy window coverings, so it’s just a completely different taste choice. The people were lovely and their quality selections in so many things were very high end, so yes, it’s just simply a taste difference. I sometimes wonder if they’d be horrified to see what we’ve done… 😉

  2. It’s beautiful Lory
    I love following to see the results of your new kitchen.
    You must be so excited ~

    Have a dust free day
    Rose

    1. Thanks so much, Rose! I think the really big changes are coming int the next two weeks, so that should be really fun… 🙂 Thanks for following along!

  3. Love, love, LOVE the back splash. Your weekly updates have been fantastic, each showing a vast improvement. I can hardly wait for the final reveal.

    1. Thank you, Jeannie! It’s really fun sharing this with a group of like minded people. It makes it more enjoyable for me… 🙂

  4. Can’t wait for the final reveal…..you probably can’t wait either! Ha! It is beautiful!!! I think I love transformation of existing things, even more than all brand new…..it takes more creativity I think. You do a beautiful job.

    1. Thank you so much, Toni! I agree that changing the existing is more of a challenge that all brand new, but it;s also a lot less expensive! I think in the end, the final reveal will be so different, that it will look like new. Our layout was fine, but the only thing that would have been nice would have been to customize the cabinets for our specific uses. But they’re really fine and we saved *so much* money!

    1. Thanks, Shelley! Oh gosh… next week I think is the biggie. Maybe it won’t be as obvious until the final reveal with all the styling details, but living through it, as different as each step was, I kept finding myself thinking… ‘yeah but I still see those darn dark cabinets’! Thanks for coming along for the ride… 🙂

  5. bobbi duncan says:

    Perfect choice–love it! Bet you stand in the kitchen with your hands blocking the cabinetry to envision the final look–I do that in rooms we’re refurbishing LOL! Since we have the same exact cabinetry, it’s really of interest to me to see how they look painted white. What is the painter doing in order to seal the natural distress marks before painting? That is a concern I have as we have thought of going to a creamy white paint when these cabinets get older.

  6. Rebecca Neustel says:

    I’m about to weep at how beautiful that backsplash is! It’s amazing the difference it makes.

  7. What a lovely change and a perfect choice for your new backsplash. I have been enjoying the transformation!

  8. D. NORDSTROM says:

    Like everyone else, I am TOTALLY in love with your kitchen make-over! Such a perfect blend of classic and modern, I just want to move in! One question about the backsplash tile: the link got me to 2×4″ but in your narrative you call it 2×8″? which is it? Thanks, obviously a bigger/longer tile will be faster to install! Thanks for all of your generosity and gorgeous vision to inspire the rest of us! Regards, D. Nordstrom

    1. That’s actually a great question. I wanted the 2″x4″, but our supplier didn’t have it in stock, so I did go with the 2″x8″. I’m very happy with it, but couldn’t find a link to it to provide, so I enclosed the 2″x4″ instead, since I think it maintains the same spirit. Thanks for your kind words!!

  9. Hi,

    Did you run into any gaps between the granite countertops and your wall, or issues when they removed the granite backsplash from the wall? I want to do redo our backsplash and take off the granite as well. I’ve had two tile installers tell us not to remove the granite from the wall because of potential gaps in the countertops that regular depth backsplash will not cover up.

    1. Hey Crystal, I’m so glad you asked that because it was something I was really worried about. Our tiler was also concerned to remove it but because we were replacing the granite on the island, I had the fabricator look at it and he was the one who removed it. There was absolutely no problem. The were 2 spots in the wall that needed a bit of sheetrock repair but that was no big deal at all. You may be able to tell how far back your granite goes if there’s a section at the end where you can see it from the side view. If so, you can look right at it and see if it goes all the way to the wall.

  10. Marianna Impastato says:

    What is the maintenance on the Calcutta backsplash? Do you seal? If so, how often? It’s just stunning. We are doing new kitchen with bisque perimeter cabinets and mocha island. Island is 9′ so it’s large. We are going with a neutral colored quartz for countertops and we feel that the Calcutta would make a wonderful statement without being too busy. I am however concerned with what maintenance looks like. Thank you!!

    1. Hi Marianna! I’m in love with Calacatta Gold!! I have it in my butler’s pantry, too, as well as my bathroom floor. My kitchen is now about 2 1/2 years old and I’ve never once sealed it since it was installed. I think it may have been sealed at installation, but I haven’t done a thing to it since then and it’s in perfect condition. Since it has a nice variety of subtle colors and veining, I think it would be forgiving with mild stains anyway, but I don’t see any on ours. I have it behind both the sink and the stove, so those are definitely the most used parts of the kitchen.

  11. What color would you paint your cabinets? I just installed a calacatta backsplash and have black granite. Struggling to figure out what white to paint the cabinets. I don’t have very much natural light in the kitchen. Thanks!

    1. Ah, sounds exactly like our situation. Lots of light by the breakfast area but not so much in the kitchen. I did White Dove (Benjamin Moore) for the cabinets. I used it in my butler’s pantry as well… 🙂

  12. KIMBERLEY ANITA MAULDIN says:

    Hi Lory, How long did the renovation process take? Did they spray your cabinets and paint with a brush?

    1. Hi Kimberly! I think the whole process was about 2 months. Yes, they took the doors and drawer-fronts off and sprayed them in their studio. Then they painted the rest in my kitchen by hand. They’ve held up really well. The only spot we touch up from time to time is the pullout garbage because it gets used so frequently.

  13. Linda Kasten says:

    Love all your choices! You just touched on a topic that I’ve been dealing with. My kitchen backsplash had a pinkish tone in a repeating tile that went all the way around the kitchen. Because the granite is 20+ years old with the browns, tans, taupes, and blacks, I gave up finding something that would tie in with white cabinets, the granite, and the floor tile. I ended up taping off all the offending tiles (2 layers) and painting them black with special tile paint. Cost me $50 for the transformation and it all matches appliances and fixtures better. I wish I had the pretty granite you have. It would have been easier to find something!

    1. That’s a great solution! It never works to try to decorate around something that you find offensive. Better to get rid of it by any means you can… 😉

  14. I love the updates. Your previous kitchen looks like mine which is being updated this spring. I particularly like the door handles and pulls. The look gold colored. Can you tell me about them and where you got them?

  15. Love the blogs on this site, however reasonably offended this morning..”.cardinal sin” is 4″ counter extension? Love the kitchen makeover, found comment judgmental and harsh.

  16. Oh my we are remodeling our kitchen and I want pale wood with minimal grain cabinets and black leathered granite counters. I hope the next owners don’t hate me. We put real marble backsplashes in our bathrooms but I’m scared to put it in the kitchen. Wouldn’t any bacon grease splash show forever???

  17. Kay Shumate says:

    Love everything you have changed. But do you have a vent for your gas stove top? I don’t see a Hood of any kind. Is there a vent underneath your microwave that vents to the outside?