The Blog — The Grit and Polish

Farmhouse Kitchen // How We’re Phasing Construction To Minimize the Disruption of a Live-in Remodel

Our live-in kitchen remodel is underway (!) and I can’t tell you how excited we are. But of course remodeling a kitchen while you live in the house is a wee bit disruptive no matter how excited you are. Especially with 3 young kids at home. We’re currently in the no-sink-or-dishwasher phase of this remodel, and I thought it would be a good time to show you our progress and explain how we’re phasing this project in order to minimize disruptions. And by ‘disruptions’ I mean minimize the length of time we can’t use the kitchen.

The Farmhouse, RemodelsCathyJune 20, 2019farmhouse kitchen reno Comments

Our Farmhouse Garden and Outdoor Living Space

pure country magic ✨

Farmhouse Kitchen // Picking our Unlacquered Brass Hardware

Brass was the metal of choice in most turn-of-the-century homes, at least the ones I’ve seen, and not surprisingly our Farmhouse is full of it. Doorknobs, sash locks, cabinet latches…it’s everywhere! And I’m so glad because it’s my favorite metal finish.

When it came time to pick the hardware for our Farmhouse kitchen renovation, there was no question it would be brass too. And to be sure the new brass ages well and patinas like the old brass, I picked out an unlacquered finish (also called living, unfinished, or raw).

The Farmhouse, RemodelsCathyJune 13, 2019farmhouse kitchen reno, roundup Comments

8 Great White Kitchens That Might Make Me Rethink Color

Ever since we started dreaming about our Farmhouse kitchen renovation, I’ve imagined a color on the cabinets. But lately I’ve wavered a bit. A few fabulous white kitchens have crossed my screen and made me rethink our plans.

I know, I know, white can seem so boring. Or maybe (hopefully) you were going to say classic? White kitchens have been around a long time and span all design styles. But lately there’s been a push towards moody hues in the kitchen. In fact the last kitchen we renovated was dark green. But I dare you to take a look at these 8 white kitchen and not fall back in love with white.

RemodelsCathyMay 28, 2019kitchen design, farmhouse kitchen reno Comments

Our Garden Patio is Ready for Summer

Our patio is done!

The Farmhouse, Remodels, Gardens & FlowersCathyMay 22, 2019Farmhouse garden Comments

A Garden Enthusiast Plans a Garden

A garden enthusiast…that’s me :)

The Farmhouse, Remodels, Gardens & FlowersCathyMay 13, 2019Farmhouse garden Comments

Porch House Kitchen + Sunroom // 5 Lessons from a 16-day kitchen renovation (+ The Before-and-After's)

At the end of every project, I like to look back and remember where we started. Seeing those ‘before’ photos when you’re standing in the ‘after’ is fun, rewarding, and confidence-boosting. But more than that, it’s insightful. Looking back gives me a chance to see where the project excelled and where it fell flat.

So today, I’m going to share some ‘before and afters’ with you and 5 lessons that we learned on the Porch House kitchen + sunroom renovation. And you can be sure that we’ll be applying these hard-learned lessons on our upcoming Farmhouse kitchen renovation.

The Porch House, RemodelsCathyApril 25, 2019kitchen design, Kitchen Comments

Porch House Kitchen + Sunroom // A Reveal 2-Years in the Making

2 years ago we renovated the Porch House kitchen for HGTV’s Master Plan pilot, and today we’re finally sharing the reveal and sources here on the blog

Staring the Laundry Room…Demo and Plumbing!

Before we could really dig into our kitchen remodel, the washing machine and dryer needed to be relocated. They sat in our future pantry, which of course, just wouldn’t do. These machines get a lot of use (with 3 young kids and country mud, I mean a lot!) and we didn’t want to go without them for long. So the new laundry room became phase 1 of our kitchen project, which we kicked off last week!

RemodelsCathyApril 15, 2019farmhouse laundry reno Comments

More About Butcher Blocks - Where we Like to Use Them (and where we don't!)

We’ve used butcher block countertops in 5 of our 8 kitchen renovations to date and we’ll be using them again in our Farmhouse kitchen this Spring. In all of those kitchen renovations, we’ve learned a lot about wood countertops, made some mistakes, and learned what works best for us. We shared some butcher block basics a couple years ago (here), and today we wanted to dive deeper into the types of wood we’ve used and where we’ve found they work best (and where they don’t!).

First, let’s look at 3 kitchens we’ve put butcher block countertops in…

RemodelsCathyApril 8, 2019butcher block Comments