The Low Down on Slate Appliances
When we bought our house and decided to rip out and totally redo our kitchen, we knew we'd have to consider appliances, since we weren't loving the creepy, dirty, old ones that came with the place. Ha. The default for kitchen appliances seems to be stainless steel, but I'm just not a big fan.
When we bought our house and decided to rip out and totally redo our kitchen, we knew we'd have to consider appliances, since we weren't loving the creepy, dirty, old ones that came with the place. Ha. The default for kitchen appliances seems to be stainless steel, but I'm just not a big fan. As a hater of all things silver, I wasn't really feeling a bunch of huge, silver appliances in our kitchen.
Slate appliances had been on the outskirts of my radar, but when we actually went appliance shopping, both Ryan and I fell hard for them. We love the deep gray color and the matte finish. Pretty much everyone that comes into our house has commented on them or asked about them!
Our Slate Appliances in action when we first moved in!
So what's the deal with slate appliances? Their classic yet distinct look makes slate appliances a great option for anyone who's looking for stainless alternatives. The slate finish has actually been around since 2012, but hasn't quite reached mainstream popularity levels yet. GE is the only company that manufactures this particular finish, and their line includes all of the major appliances, such as refrigerators, gas and electric ranges, dishwashers, and a microwave.
The GE slate line is sold at most major retailers, such as Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Sears, but you can get the slate finish appliances for hundreds of dollars less by shopping at certain online retailers, such as Appliances Connection or Abt. We got our refrigerator and dishwasher from the Sears' Outlet, which saved us a lot of dough. Our range was ordered online from Appliances Connection, and we got a great deal on that as well! It's always worth shopping around online to see what kind of savings you can find - especially for big purchases!
What differentiates slate from other common appliance finishes? The color is unique; a deep gray that is matte rather than shiny. Unlike stainless steel, slate appliances are in fact magnetic. Another advantage the slate finish has over stainless is the fact that it’s “smudge-proof” and won’t get fingerprints all over it. Where a stainless steel fridge can quickly look messy and require cleaning, slate maintains its clean appearance.
(All of the sources for our finished kitchen can be found here!)
We love our slate appliances, and would buy them again in a heartbeat! (Edited to add: we now live in our new house, and bought slate appliances again - check them out on our instagram page!) I know I've discussed mostly aesthetics, but they actually do their jobs pretty well too. ;)
If you need help pulling together the design of your space, don't hesitate to reach out! We offer both full service design and e-design, and would love to help you!
White Gray and Copper Kitchen Mood Board
With our kitchen cabinets coming in sometime in the next week, our dream kitchen is getting closer to becoming a reality! I wanted to share the mood board that I put together for our white, gray, and copper kitchen. A few of the pieces we ordered have already come in, and I'm so in love! I'm sharing the sources below.
With our kitchen cabinets coming in sometime in the next week, our dream kitchen is getting closer to becoming a reality! I wanted to share the mood board that I put together for our white, gray, and copper kitchen. A few of the pieces we ordered have already come in, and I'm so in love! I'm sharing the sources below.
Pendant Light // Rose Gold Faucet // GE Slate Range // Farmhouse Sink // Runner // Flooring // Cabinet Pulls // Knobs // Herb Planters // Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Moonshine
What do you think? I can't wait to see our kitchen come together in real life, and share pictures with you guys!
Homespo Reno - Weeks 2&3 Progress
Holy cow - has it really been 3 weeks since our renovation started? Time is flying - but somehow not going fast enough at the same time - since we're anxious for our house to be finished!
In the meantime, we're trying to enjoy the process. The changes in weeks two and three were a lot less visually dramatic (no knocking down a million walls), but things are moving along all the same. Here's the rundown of where we're at!
Holy cow - has it really been 3 weeks since our renovation started? Time is flying - but somehow not going fast enough at the same time - since we're anxious for our house to be finished!
In the meantime, we're trying to enjoy the process. The changes in weeks two and three were a lot less visually dramatic (no knocking down a million walls), but things are moving along all the same. Here's the rundown of where we're at!
Our Garage Door Opens
We finally have a garage door that opens! It's the little things. If you'll recall from the before pictures, our garage used to be an in-law suite. We decided to convert it back to a garage, and in a stroke of luck, the garage door and all of the rails needed for it to function already existed! They had dry walled over them when they converted the space, but we ended up only having to pay for labor to have the rails put in place - so much cheaper than having to buy new parts or a new garage door. Whew! We are still sans garage door opener (we're not made of money - ha), and will be that way for the foreseeable future.
We Got Our Appliances & Farm Sink
Our bath tub... I mean sink.
One thing I knew I had to have for our new kitchen was an awesome farm sink. We were originally planning on a 30" farm sink, but then our contractor informed us we actually needed a 36" sink because of our cabinet configuration. Holy cow, that's a lot of sink! I feel like this picture doesn't even do it justice - it's truly massive in person. But we loooooveeee it! After a ton of research, we bought our farm sink from Vintage Tub & Bath. It's the Whitehaus Duet Series 36 Inch Farmhouse Fireclay Farmhouse Kitchen Sink in the white finish, and was the most affordable one we could find.
We also purchased our appliances, & two out of three of them have been delivered. We ended up getting them from the Sears Outlet, and went with GE Appliances in a slate finish. I love love love how the slate looks, but thought Ryan would still want to go with stainless, since that was what he originally requested. After seeing the slate in person, he was actually the one who was pushing for us to get those ones! Well, twist my arm... ;)
We ended up with this range, this fridge, and this dishwasher. (And didn't pay anything near what they're listed for on the site - wooop!) We got pretty awesome deals on everything - the fridge and dishwasher are from the Sears Outlet, and I ordered the matching range online from Appliances Connection. I can't wait to show you guys a picture of them once they're all installed!
Paneling/Built-Ins Next to Fireplace are Gone
On either side of our fireplace we used to have lovely dark paneling with built-in shelves. We decided to have those suckers removed, and thank goodness we did! When the crew took the paneling down, pretty much the entire wall was covered in mold. Cool. So we got some new drywall, and we're in business! That room already looks so much lighter without the dark wood paneling dragging it down.
Re-wiring the Electric is Underway
A couple weeks ago we got our first really bad news call (which Ryan referred to as our Chip & Joanna call... #fixerupperobsessed) - we needed all new electric in our house. UGH. It's something that our inspector (who also happened to be our original contractor who we were NOT a fan of) should have caught. Funny how it can feel like someone is still screwing you over even after they're out of your life!
But I digress... our wiring was all aluminum... aka our house could spontaneously combust at any moment. Perhaps I'm being a tad dramatic - but really, it needed replacing. Replacing to the tune of $6,000. Oooof. The joys of home ownership... and fixer uppers... and renovations...
So the re-wiring started at the end of last week, and should be done this week. Then our contractor will patch the millions of holes that are now in our walls, and we'll be back in the saddle!
We're hoping to start painting and then laying floor by Memorial Day - fingers crossed that little dream works out for us - ha.
