Et Voila! A New Kitchen, Madame

The kitchen remodel is almost...almost done.  I am waiting here this morning for the carpenter to arrive with the last panel.  Maybe, it will be installed today.  We will see.  The kitchen was started mid-July.  Eleven weeks.  Anyway.  Here are the cabinets, counters and tile we selected.  If/when the remodel is finally complete, will post pictures of the entire kitchen.  May not enjoy the length of time taken, but love the results.

Cabinets are by Medallion, shaker style and two finishes.  Some cabinets are a natural light stain on cherry (above) and other cabinets are maple with a sage green paint (left).


Counters are quartz and they are a joy to keep clean.  They are Caesarstone Bianco Drift. A cream, mottled with gray.  Kept this neutral to avoid chaos with the mosiac tile on the wall.

The mosiac brings it all together and adds that color and spark the kitchen was missing before.  It is a mixture of copper, glass, and slate.  In one spot, we tiled all the way up to the ceiling.  The wall has become an art focal point all on its own.  This is Bedrosians Elume Ruby Silk.

To break up the mosiac, there is linear tile a quarter of the way up (runs through the outlets) and about 6 - 8 inches wide.

Much more to describe, but it will be easier once I get the photos of the complete kitchen taken and uploaded.

We are calling it quits on new projects for the rest of the year.   After installing new tile in both bathrooms and the laundry, new vanities in both bathrooms, painting the entire interior of the house, new shades in the dining room, redoing the master closet, refinishing and staining the front porch (it is large), new carpet in the master bedroom, new lighting in the laundry room, adding a workshop/room in the garage, the old kitchen cabinets installed in the garage, ripped out overgrown shrubs and trees and put down new bark, and loads of repairs and finally the kitchen.  We need some downtime!

The bathrooms have been described previously, but the other changes are fun to see and describe.  I will post on the blog this winter.

Bloedel Reserve

We have lived on the Olympic Peninsula for a little over five years and still have so much to see and experience.  One place on our list was the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island.  The garden is known as one of the most beautiful and it certainly did not disappoint us.  Finally made the 40 mile drive (I know, so close) a few days ago.  One of those days that starts off with a cloudy marine layer and burns away to a cloudless blue sky.  (Note:  All photographs are from the Bloedel Reserve website.  Saw all of the views, but my photos just do not do it justice.)

Bloedel Reserve is 150 acres with a two-mile walk through meadows, woods, marshes, bridges and boardwalks.  You emerge from the woods to a lushly landscaped pond complete with an enormous weeping willow and beyond a building which was the Bloedels' home from 1951 to 1986 (Read the Bloedel's family story on their website.  www.bloedelreserve.org   Interesting read).  I loved the house just as much as the gardens.  Not only are there views from the house of the woods and gardens, but also a bluff overlook of Port Madison Bay.  Spectacular.

The Reserve also includes a serene Japanese sand and stone garden, Japanese pond garden, and Japanese tea house.  This looks like a perfect spot to sit on a bench and sketch.  If only as an excuse to sit and meditate your surroundings for a few more hours.

A fairy-like moss garden literally carpeting the ground with over 50 types. 

This place is a world to itself.  Highly recommend seeing, if you get the chance.  I would like to plan a couple more visits to experience a winter and spring landscape.  Yes, this is definitely worth a repeat trip.