Project Abby Road: Eat-in Kitchen Update
The Abby Road journey continues! Nothing like tackling room by room to discover layers of your home’s story. Let’s see how this new build’s eat-in kitchen is evolving into a warm space with personality.
Eat-In Kitchen: Where We Started
Yes, you’ve seen it before. The frosted glass pendants placed over islands and eat-in kitchen areas in new construction homes. What I will never understand is WHY? I could rant about the great many, far more aesthetically pleasing, budget-friendly alternatives, dear builders…but I digress.
BEFORE: Project Abby Road Eat-In Kitchen
In addition to updating the lighting, our clients also wanted to update the kitchen table and chairs, and have some kind of cabinet or shelving on the kitchen stair wall. Their previous table had quite the yellow-hued wood, but was certainly a work horse where meals were had and homework/school projects were created. Of course my heart was beaming knowing I would be able to source a custom table and chairs (we worked with their previously purchased dining room table and chairs), but it was important for me to ensure the materials chosen would work with their day-to-day lives.
Unified Design
Each space we’ve touched has a connection that weaves through them: tones of gray. From the Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray paint throughout the home to the metallic orchid paper in the powder room — the hue is an extension of this home’s story. So it was a no-brainer to incorporate gray and other warm neutrals in the eat-in kitchen spaces.
The custom round table selected has the perfect balance of traditional curves while adding a touch of casual edge. The base is a black iron (which ties in the foyer sconces and pendant) and its dune cerused finish blends both gray and brown, perfectly accentuating the grain of the wood.
The custom chairs have a winged style frame to compliment the flare of the iron table base and to add some personality, we played with pattern and texture. While leather is always a design winner in my book, it’s durability wasn’t ideal for our family of four. So we gave them the next best thing. The king of faux — can you believe it’s vinyl?
AFTER: Kitchen table chairs featuring a gray vinyl interior and chevron printed back
Kitchen-Table-Chairs-Chevron
The chevron pattern we selected for the backs was a nod to their dining head of table chairs. But I wanted this print to be larger in scale and have more of a wild run than the tight print in the dining room.
I went back and forth on the type of shelving to source for their kitchen stair wall. Something too open was at risk of being a dumping ground for mail, schoolwork, etc. but I also didn’t want something completely closed that felt overly formal and heavy. The balance was this gorgeous waxed black number from Restoration Hardware. The upper glass portion of the cabinet allows for an open feeling (and will showcase pretty dinnerware and other accessories once they arrive) and the lower enclosed cabinets can store kitchen extras.
Black kitchen cabinet with brass hardware (and peek-a-boo shot of the island pendants)
Black-Kitchen-Cabinet-Brass-Hardware
You can see a peek of the new kitchen island pendants and chandelier over the table in the above pictures (and a close up of the chandelier below). We incorporated more of the iron finish with brass accents, which also draw from the foyer and dining room fixtures. The vibe with these fixtures is also “casual edge” but the chandelier has some fun curves to compliment the table’s base shape.
Iron and brass chandelier over the new eat-in kitchen table
Finishing Touches to Come
We’ve got pretty shelfies to come of the styled cabinet dinnerware, pictures of table accessorizing and perhaps some custom drapery for the sliding doors will make an appearance in the future too! And what about some art or decorative wall hangings flanking the cabinet? Until then, we hope you enjoyed this update tour of the Abby Road eat-in kitchen journey and continue to follow along as we help this family tell their home’s story.