Over the past 15 years helping clients pick out stone countertops, I had seen it all and often daydreamed about what I would choose for my own home one day. Before Metropolitan, I came from the importing side of stone, and always felt that when it was time to do my kitchen, I would do a natural stone. I really wanted the countertops to be the show stopper of the space, so I decided on my countertops first.
However, when it came time to choosing my own countertops, one thing that I really had to compromise on was being practical over anything else. I initially was going with a beautiful Everest honed quartzite. Not to be confused with quartz, quartzite is a natural stone that can etch, scratch and stain like a marble. That got me thinking… if I spent most of my days educating our clients about the reality of marble and quartzite, and I have two young rambunctious little girls, how could I put it in my own home!?!?
So I brought home samples of the quartzite and let my girls go to town on them, which turned out to be the best move. And the story of how I chose my finishes begins…
Getting Inspiration
I am a huge Pinterest fan, and create tons of boards for both my professional and personal life. Looking at inspiration photos on Pinterest, Instagram and Houzz really helped me identity what style kitchen I wanted. I kept gravitating towards the same colors and styles, which allowed me to hone in on what my own kitchen should look like.
Cabinets
- From all the photos I marked favorites on Pinterest, I knew right away that I did not want to go with white cabinets. I really wanted a fun but natural cabinet color.
- Cadet Grey (Sherwin Williams) was the color I went with and was perfect for my vision. It’s a beautiful grey that has a lot of warmth to it and changes variation slightly depending on the time of the day and the lighting in the room.
Countertops
- After being home the samples of quartzite and seeing what our beautiful girls could do to just a sample, I knew quartz was the way to go for our family.
- With so many different quartz varieties, this was a tough decision. I wanted it look natural but also modern.
- Silestone Calacuta Gold from the Eternal series was the winner! It has subtle veining with realistic movement. It also has gold tones running through it to match the hardware. After holding it up to the Cadet Gray cabinet I knew I HAD to have this stone.
Hardware
- Gold!!! – I knew I wanted to incorporate the ever trending gold into our kitchen. I was worried about mixing metal finishes with the stainless steel appliances, but I noticed several kitchens on my Pinterest board mixed metals and it all worked together so well.
- We wanted a stand out size that’s decorative but also functional for the kids. The Emtek Mod Hex felt substantial in my hand, and the classic shape I knew would look current for years.
Sink
- I debated for a while about an apron vs undermount sink…
- An apron sink was on my initial want list. But after laying the space and confirming the cabinet layout, I felt that an apron sink might take up too much space
- The winner, Blanco Quatrus series, is a stainless under mount sink that’s super sleek and I love it!
