The transformation of the kitchen and surrounding spaces was completed months ago, and I finally found time in this super-busy spring season to review, cull and assemble the pictures (after realizing that I’ll never get them perfect), and now I’m ready to share the results. Thank you for your patience, Dear Readers! You’ve been on this journey with us for quite a while.
Quick reminder of the previous cramped pink-tiled, out-dated galley space……which has now become an open one in a more timeless style
Glover Gardens Kitchen 2.0: Let’s Take a Tour
A small coffee bar is perched beside the refrigeratorThe cooktop is on the side wall with open cabinets and granite countertopsThe island is larger and has turned 90 degrees; there’s seating now on two sidesThere’s no seating on the oven or stove sides of the island; we call that area Kim’s Corner (where the cook is)There’s a butterfly sink in Kim’s CornerThe island brings a pop of blue, tying in with the granite from Brazil which has a blue streak and is called ‘Azul Fantasy’; there is ample storage on the the non-seating sidesThe kitchen is much more open to the breakfast room with the removal of several walls; we’re glad we kept the back stairsThe bar is now visible and approachable from the kitchen, since the previous wall with the stove and the pantry were removed; that’s the powder room next to the bar, which stayed in the same place but got a revampThe bar is sized for only one bartenderThe pictures above the bar are pictures I snapped of tablescapes, restaurant meals and winery trips and they all have memories and stories attached to them; we plan to switch them out periodicallyWe kept the glass shelves and the hanger for the wine glasses that The Grill-Meister had builtThe bar opens on a hinge, which is something I’ve been wanting to replicate since my old days of working part-timeat the now-defunct Ale House in Houston as a waitperson and bartender in my 20sAny question who claims the bar?There’s seating at the bar on the living room side, as before, but with lower-profile stoolsYou can sit at the bar and listen to the piano when our Musical Millennial is homeNow into the breakfast room; we removed the wall on the left that separated it from the living room and put a built-in buffet there with the same granite and lighting as the kitchen; the buffet has storage on one side and houses some of my cookbook collection on the otherWe kept the antique table from the 30s or 40s, but I recovered the chairs using the same fabric as the new living room curtains; we decided not to refinish it because the wood matches some of the shades in the flooringThere’s a nice flow now from the breakfast room to the kitchenMore cookbooks are stored under the stairs – but these are just the the face of the cabinets; those are actually hidden, very deep drawers! The cabinets on the right are the new broom closet, which moved from the butler’s pantry (we call it the Harry Potter closet)We love the buffet between the breakfast room and living roomIt’s a great place to store extra serving piecesThe old broom closet on the left is now an appliance cabinet, where the mixer and just about all of my other electric gadgets live, on the right is the pantryOur new grandson calls me “Birdie”, or at least he will when he can talk, so he gave me this lovely decorative serving board for Christmas
Glover Gardens Kitchen 1.0 and 2.0 Side-by-Side
I’m doing an encore on some of the pics, because The Grill-Meister requested a side-by-side before and after comparison format.
Hardly any room to move and nowhere to sitGlorious spaciousnessSuch a big change!A tight squeeze between the island and the stoveNow the bar can be enjoyed from both sidesRemoving the wall with the stove and the dividing wall by the stairs really opened up and modernized the spaceThe stairs are now an attractive part of the architecture and there’s space around the islandPink-tiled island and backsplashBeveled marble subway tile backsplash and Azul Fantasy graniteThe new cabinets look so much better and more visually interesting than the long row of same-old, same-old pickled woodThe walls, overhangs and doorways added to the crowdingNow the pantry area is more integral to the kitchen It went from a kitchen that barely had room for the cook to one in which people could comfortably gatherThe kitchen and breakfast room are more connected and cohesiveBeneath the stairs was wasted, unusable spaceHidden drawers behind the cookbooks!From an ugly, misplaced staircase with clutter lining the wall to an attractive, multi-use staircase spaceThe living space flows so much better now that we’ve lost that wall in the breakfast roomNot the same angle, but you can see the difference in how the living room and breakfast room flow from the living room side, and that we moved the laundry room door, which made the kitchen traffic betterGoodbye, butler’s pantry!The spice situation is night-and-day different – I don’t have to use a stool!The bar went from a closed-off space with a pantry behind it to a connected space
That’s All for Now
The Glover Gardens Kitchen 2.0 series is winding down, with only a few more segments to go. I plan to feature our contractors once more as part of our ongoing thank you process, and there are a few more lessons learned from the whole experience to be shared.
I hope you like the pictures and that they were worth the wait. The kitchen remodel was certainly worth the 14-year wait for us. Everything is better!
You “get” me! I do stand in the space sometimes and just chill, or sit at the end of the island. It’s a very peaceful and calming. And it’s funny, I’ve had quite a bit of travel and running around since mid-March, and I find that I miss the kitchen when I’m gone. Is that weird?
Thank you! The bookshelf false-front drawers are my favorite part of the whole remodel. There’s something so satisfying about using space that used to be wasted – and using it in multiple ways. The old space under the stairs was so bad that we called it The Pit.
Awesome remodel. Congratulations!
There is a reason on most parties quite some people gather in the kitchen even if the food is served somewhere else. I believe that’s because it’s closest to the heart and soul of a place and it’s easier to bond in such an environment.
Enjoy this beautiful heart and soul of your home.
Spectacular transformation 🤩
Cook, cocktail and party on Glovers🔪🍾
CHEERS🎉🍾🥂
Thank you! Let me know if you are in Houston so you can come by and join the party!
Major kitchen envy! The space and flow are amazing. ❤
Tell the truth…how many times a day do you stand in the space and look in absolute wonder at everything? I know I would. 😍
You “get” me! I do stand in the space sometimes and just chill, or sit at the end of the island. It’s a very peaceful and calming. And it’s funny, I’ve had quite a bit of travel and running around since mid-March, and I find that I miss the kitchen when I’m gone. Is that weird?
Definitely everything is better! Overall, it looks light and spacious and I love your storage solutions (books / drawers / stairs – great idea).
Thank you! The bookshelf false-front drawers are my favorite part of the whole remodel. There’s something so satisfying about using space that used to be wasted – and using it in multiple ways. The old space under the stairs was so bad that we called it The Pit.
Awesome remodel. Congratulations!
There is a reason on most parties quite some people gather in the kitchen even if the food is served somewhere else. I believe that’s because it’s closest to the heart and soul of a place and it’s easier to bond in such an environment.
Enjoy this beautiful heart and soul of your home.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Jan. I wrote a whole post about that feeling a while ago. The very nature of a kitchen is conducive to bonding, sharing and memory-making. https://glovergardens.com/kitchen-remodel-message-in-a-bottle/ .
Oh, yes. I remember that one. I love that message in a bottle. Awesome!