This post is long overdue and I’ve been meaning to give a detailed room-by-room tour of (what was once our old 1870’s farmhouse) after our 2020 addition & remodel, so I’m starting right in the heart of our home; the kitchen.

The goal was to create a kitchen that is as beautiful as it is functional: it’s where we spend most of our time, so I knew it had to be one of the best rooms in the house. I wanted an old farmhouse feel, but this kitchen was a part of the new addition, so we we had to create that old character from scratch; new construction. Thanks to the work done by Elevate Builders, that extra character was added to our home, board-by-board (sooooo many boards), and my dream was brought to fruition! I truly love my kitchen and it makes a chore as mundane as the dishes spark a little extra love and appreciation for our home.

I started off the entire design process by creating vision boards for each of the rooms of the house. I kept them with me so I wouldn’t lose sight of my original vision and the bigger picture while making all of the smaller decisions. These boards really kept me on track during the process and I feel like they line right up with the final result.

First up: The sink area. I had a few requirements for this space in the kitchen; a window, peg rail, pretty lighting, a hidden dishwasher, and a farm sink. I wanted it to feel open & bright! Here are the details:

Bead board kitchen walls and a peg rail shelf with a low sconce on each side of the sink window was a big part of my farmhouse kitchen dream. The sconce placement is unique, but I really wanted that “candlelight” glow at the kitchen sink in the evenings: it has been one of my favorite lighting decisions. Our Select Surfaces countertops keep the kitchen looking classic, clean & bright. (I’ll share more countertop details when I get to the kitchen island in Part II.)

Wall sconces are my favorite source of light in a room & I have them all over the house. Sconces have been our primary light source since the first renovation of this house. Lighting and my passion for the way a room is lit will need its own blog post, so I’ll explain more another day. I really wanted to make sure my light fixtures felt unique, but also very traditional. After an extensive search, I found and immediately fell in love with Crystorama – they create it ALL; from stunning modern lighting to the most beautiful, ornate, traditional lighting.

This Crystorama pendant is above the sink and reminds me of an old lantern: I had to have it (and 3 more for my entryway).

This Moen Smart Faucet is one of my favorite features in the kitchen. It’s so beautiful and it doesn’t matter what kind of mess I have on my hands, it can STAY beautiful: a simple wave over the sensor is all it takes to turn it on and off and to control the water temperature. If you hook it up to the Moen app, it can also be voice activated! I can control our kitchen faucet AND our master bath Moen Smart Shower with my voice and phone. Read more about Moen’s Smart Faucets HERE.

The hardware is made by Emtek: cup and spindle cabinet pulls in the color “French Antique.” There was just enough space left between the sink and the cabinet doors below for a curtain rod & sink skirt. I have a french return curtain rod that matches my hardware, but I’ll probably wait until I decorate for Christmas this year to add that & a handmade sink skirt.

Next to the sink area is my open shelving. I usually keep my white dishes and bulk baking ingredients here. Along with the small peg rail shelves at the sink, this area is one of my favorites to decorate seasonally and for the holidays. This turned out to be the perfect amount of open shelving for this kitchen.

Working my way around the kitchen to Part II of III- (coming right up)!