Our First House: Kitchen Inspiration

Welcome to a new series here on my blog! Now that things are rolling with the house and we’re in the process of getting things finalized (if you’re lost, catch up on my house hunting updates), I want to bring you guys along for the entire process: planning and designing, the before and after of each room + how to make home improvements on a budget. The posts in this series will be geared toward sharing my inspiration boards so you can get a peek inside our minds as we brainstorm the edits/improvements we want to make before reselling down the road. With that being said, keep reading for our kitchen inspiration for our first home!

WHERE WE’RE COMING FROM

Before I dive into this, I really want to stress that Justin and I, like many young first time home owners, will be taking the revamp process very slowly. Something we love so much about this house is that for the price we got it at, it really doesn’t need much. We’re both frugal and strategic with our spending, so we hope to display a realistic representation for you of what this process is like on a budget, outside of what you see in all those high-end home revamps on HGTV.

This house is almost move-in ready, so there likely won’t be many changes happening right away. We aren’t high maintenance when it comes to our home needing to look a particular way, so every financial decision we make is a careful one. We’re so blessed to have found a home that’s a clean slate and in great condition, which eliminates urgency (and stress) within this process. I know this may be hard to picture since you haven’t seen the house yet, but until then, this is our inspiration.

HERE’S WHAT WE’RE THINKING

Let’s back track for a sec. Since we began our house search six months ago, I was set on white kitchen cabinets. Whatever house we purchased didn’t need to have these currently, but I knew those would be adjustments I would want to make at some point after moving in. After seeing various houses this summer, I instantly fell in love the slate blue (kind of gray-ish) cabinets with butcher block countertops like one of them had. It was such a classic, yet trendy look that gave the space a ton of personality.

Since everything else is mostly going to be neutral, I think the subtle pop of color will really add something special to kitchen. I’m leaning toward something with a neutral blue or green-ish hue, almost to the point that you can’t quite tell what color it is because it’s so muted. We plan to pair it with light flooring and countertops to brighten up the space even more.

Elements to incorporate that are on our list:

• Butcher block counter tops
• Colored cabinets
• White subway tile (not 100% set on this at all, but let me know what else you’d think would look good!)
• Pendant lights (probably clear glass or wire frame)
• Plants (probably mostly fake since I kill everything)
• Minimal pastel accessories (we already have a pistachio colored KitchenAid mixer, pastel ceramic measuring cups, pastel pink tea kettle, etc.)
• Bohemian runner rug
• Wooden accent shelves
• Hardware (cabinet and drawer pulls, faucet — not sure what color)
• Light wood floors

I want the kitchen to be low-key and neutral enough that the next buyer won’t be scared off by it when we sell it in the future, but still be fun and a space that captures your eye. I like things to be on the simplistic side when it comes to decorating (less is more!), so I’d keep the decor minimal and clutter free with just a few plants + other decorative items on the counters and shelves.

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That’s where we’re at for kitchen inspiration! My mom and I grabbed some color swatches for the cabinets today that I excited to look through with Justin. If you have any recommendations or suggestions when it comes to any of the elements I mentioned, let me know! I’ve also been documenting our house journey on my Instagram story (saved under my Home highlight) if you’d like to keep up with me there as well — and I’ve actually been considering picking up my YouTube channel again when we move because these are memories I really want to capture. Thanks so much for stopping by the blog & see you in Friday’s post!

P.S. I turn 25 tomorrow! Can’t believe it!