Welcome to My White Kitchen

It has taken a little longer than anticipated to get around to showing you the new kitchen. While it’s one of my favorite rooms in the house, it’s also the most difficult to photograph. It’s big. It doesn’t have great lighting. It’s usually a mess with baking supplies on one counter, recipe development on another, and somewhere in between there’s the pile of mail.

It’s definitely where everyone and everything congregates.

In a nutshell I’m basically saying I’ve been dragging my feet because my kitchen hasn’t been clean!

Have no fear, though- today we’re back on track with At Home with Aimee, Welcome to My White Kitchen.

For obvious reasons, the kitchen was my favorite part of the house build. I poured over Pinterest, memorized other homes in our new subdivision, and really put a lot of thought into how I wanted the space to function and look.

I learned a lot of things, but the most important?

I don’t like color.

I like clean, clean, clean.

I learned that I’m textbook New Orleans southern charm when it comes to lighting (I have 5 lanterns in my house).

The other thing I learned?

Soapstone is not available in Louisiana. And if it is, is green with tons of lines and not at all chalkboard looking like on Rehab Addict.

I’m a firm believer that the kitchen is the heart of the home, and while I naturally wanted something spacious with a clean design, I also wanted it open to the rest of the home. I adore that I can chop onions while chatting with someone watching tv in the living room. It also opens up to the dining room and you never ever feel closed off regardless of how many people you have over.

 If you missed my living room post, you can find it here: At Home with Aimee- Living Room Tour

The exposed beam defining the space was worth every single penny. Nearly fainted when I heard how expensive a bulky piece of wood costs, but it’s one of the best decisions we made.

I love that it keeps the kitchen from looking too modern, and it brings in some rustic quality to an otherwise new space.

For the same reasons, to blend the old with the new, we opted for a farm sink and subway tile. And while subway tile is as traditional as it comes, installing it with a dark mortar allows the tiles to really stand out. I love the definition it gives to the tile, almost like it’s saying “hey, look at me, I’m subway tile”.

And it gives a little bit of color to a, well, white on white kitchen.

The original plan was have the double ovens and pantry separated with a larger area of glass cabinetry and countertops than what we currently have.

However, I opted for a much larger range that what our design plans called for and we decided to move the refrigerator to other side of the kitchen rather than next to the range and taking up counter space.

It meant having less glass cabinets, but I love having ample space on either side of my range.

My hood vent is pretty plain, but I’m very much an in the box kind of girl when it comes to those things.  There were so many choices that had ornate carvings, and intricate designs to them and really, I just wanted it to blend in with the cabinets.

I like its simplicity and clean lines.

At first I was paranoid that my kitchen was “too white”, but then I saw my next door neighbor’s GORGEOUS all white kitchen and honestly, mine looks quite colorful.

I compensate with pops of yellow- fruit, flowers, teapots, etc.

This Lemon Doberge Cake makes people forget all about my lack of color.

And of course, no visit to my home is complete without one of my furry family members hanging out and saying hello…..or trying to take a nap and wishing I’d stop taking so many photos.

I’m working on a fun DIY for next week’s foyer post. Hint: Did you know that Martha Stewart Crafts has a new Vintage Decor Paint?! You’ll see it in action next week. 🙂