One Year Later

Around this time last year I shared the results of a very long remodel. If you are interested in seeing that original post, you can click here.

Today, I am going to share how it has been now that we have lived in it a year. You know you can really think some things are great ideas…..until you live with it. We have been very happy, I must say, so I am grateful for that. But there were decisions we agonized over so let’s circle back and let me tell you how we feel about it now…..one year in

Countertops and Floors

We must have researched countertops the longest. Everyone and every store had an opinion. Most of which did not match up. We wanted something really white which pushed us to marble. But I was afraid of it. I was so afraid about etching and staining and not being able to clorox it. I do love to clorox a kitchen surface. We finally decided on the marble, but were advised to get it honed. When marble is honed it is ground to a matte finish and the shine like you typically see with marble is gone. Then my husband saw laminated counters on HGTV which meant putting two slabs together to make it very thick. We did that on the island top only. I love this marble. I am so glad we went with it. When we first started living with it, I was like those guys at the basketball games who mop up sweat. You know how a player falls to the court and before they are barely standing up there’s a guy mopping up the sweat. Well that was me. A person picked up a water glass and I was swooping in quickly wiping up any condensation. I was actually pretty good and fast. Well after a year, I have concluded we don’t have to baby the marble. It is fine. Very durable and can handle a water glass and everything else we throw at it.

Secondly was the floors. We had tile and I absolutely did not want to replace it with wood. My main reason was because I had to empty the whole first floor and let all the wood be sanded and restained to match the new wood that was going in. Turns out that was one of the easiest processes of the remodel and I do love the way it looks now. Totally worth it.

Next Appliances

We also agonized over this decision. We went with the Wolf appliances and I can sum it up in one word – LOVE! They cook great. They have fun but usable features. We are very pleased.

Lastly Shades and Furniture

We did not even have window shades in mind when we started the remodel. But if I had to pick one thing as my favorite…..I think it is the window shades. Mainly because they are so easy to let up and down. I love the look and I don’t have to dust blinds anymore. I am thrilled with these!

Also, the Pottery Barn sofas were not inexpensive and I wanted a slip cover piece. I am very happy we invested in these. They are comfortable and so far I have just spot cleaned. We got them with a performance fabric and well – they are performing very well.

I have never been a big coffee table person so I really went back and forth on what to do. These little individual ottomans we slide together have been perfect. They were a great Target find so not expensive at all. But we have pulled them apart and used as extra seating. They are sturdy but lightweight enough to reconfigure when we need to. I am so very pleased.

Well that’s where we are a year later. After going back and looking at these photos, I realize I need to go clean my kitchen…..oh well, it just looks lived in and loved on.

Have a great day, friends!