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66 Comments

  1. Jennie Ritter
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:03 am

    Love love love the subway tile idea, but please use light colored grout. Dark grout is SUBWAY.
    Love reading your blog!

    Reply

    • becky up a hill
      June 7, 2018 @ 12:53 pm

      I agree with Jennie Ritter. Dark grout is the bane of my existence. Who wants lines running all over their kitchen or any other room?

      Reply

  2. Kathryn Gallanis
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:07 am

    OMG! Thank you for this fabulous post. We had the same decision issues with our kitchen remodel and mine was much simpler than the amazingness that will be your finished kitchen. I love subway tile – it is classic, versatile and provides a great backdrop to whatever you want to do. We have it in several sizes and styles in our house and no one has said anything other than to express their admiration for the rooms. So continue on and keep us posted!

    Reply

  3. Allie
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:07 am

    I love subway tile – clean subway tile looks nothing like subway tile on a subway. For instance, it is not covered in 100 years of grime and graffiti. Maybe they should call them different things?
    Regardless, subway tile and navy is gorgeous and would complement the mirror beautifully!
    xAllie
    http://www.theallthatglittersblog.com

    Reply

    • Meryl
      June 7, 2018 @ 1:04 pm

      Itā€™s actually ā€œrunning bond!ā€

      Reply

  4. Mary W.
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:10 am

    I would put fancy brass brackets on each side of the mirror, then glass shelves across the front of the mirror, but that’s just me.

    Reply

    • Margo B
      June 11, 2018 @ 7:56 pm

      I love this idea!!

      Reply

  5. Flip Breskin
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:15 am

    OMG! YES!!!! The second photo with the subway tile has perfect brackets! Absolutely: subway tile in a Victorian house. That kitchen with the vertical row of subway tile where there would be crown molding at the ceiling!!!! And we’re getting closer to tile in our remodeled bathroom. I think it was worth waiting the four years of remodel-melt-down just for that idea! I adored the bathroom with all the brass too. Thank you SO much!!! A perfect morning for me, from you. THANK YOU!

    Reply

  6. Lauren
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:21 am

    We have similar kitchen visions, but mine will probably never come to fruition. Highly enjoying living vicariously through your kitchen adventures! The end will be bittersweet – how will I fill my time?

    Reply

  7. Michelle
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:33 am

    Love your laugh-out-loud blog.

    My two cents: Your fabulous piano island defines the kitchen. All must flow from that extravaganza. So, Carrara or Calcutta subway tiles. Open shelving leaves room on the counter to exploit much fanciness. Suggest doing it with something really contrast-y and statement-y that still has a vintage vibe, like copper pipes, or with massive corbels. Route the shelves with undulating lines so they can be happy friends with your curvy piano. I offer our own DIY WIP kitchen as supporting evidence … https://www.facebook.com/thebeigeblues/photos/a.597904883744158.1073741830.593267420874571/742202822647696/?type=3&theater

    Have fun!

    Reply

  8. Susal
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:40 am

    Oh my gosh, subway tile, navy and brass is my very favorite! (Just put subway tile in our kitchen). Not to worry how your brain works, as mine works the very same way!

    Reply

  9. Glyniss E McDaniel
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:45 am

    I love subway tiles because they are timeless and clean looking unless you live with slobs. I think marble subway would be wonderful. Are your slabs all the same size? If they are, and you have enough, why not use them in a wainscoting style on bottom of walls? in addition to using them as countertops? I hate open shelving for me because we are clutterbugs but the little open cupboard looking shelf is adorable and I would have Paul build you some to hang where you need them, maybe twice or three times as wide? I love the retail cabinets but the prices are usually over the moon! I see them around here for six to eight thousand dollars, yikes and then you would have to ship them up there, wow! Love your blog.

    Reply

  10. Robin Callicott
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:45 am

    Darling, darling Victoria. I, too, love this look but I beg you to reconsider. Those lovely fancy kitchens with open shelving came with scullery maids. Without them, open shelves are an invitation to relentless drudgery trying to keep things clean.

    Reply

    • Kay
      June 7, 2018 @ 12:12 pm

      Itā€™s actually not that bad if what you store on the shelves is what you actually use fairly frequently. Occasionally you have to take everything down to wipe the shelves, but unless youā€™re manic about any speck of dust, once every month or two is enough. Of course, I do not have a vast expanse of open shelving, which would make the cleaning far more tedious.

      Reply

      • Katerina
        June 7, 2018 @ 2:44 pm

        One problem. Cats.

        My son lives in the house where he grew up. He dislikes my pantry cupboards and wanted to replace with open shelving. I told him I thought it a bad idea and he replied that it was his house now! I mentioned the cat hair issue and he hasn’t mentioned it again.

        My house is a large open plan with ceramic tile floors everywhere. (Not my idea!) I can clean all day and 24 hours later there is enough fur in one corner or another to make a whole new animal. Still, cats are heaven.

        Reply

  11. JeanFB
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:50 am

    Love the subway tile – indeed very Victorian – and I agree with the earlier post that the grout should blend in. As for the floating shelves… you seem to have a knack for acquiring cast-off or remnants of marble …. what about doing the shelving in marble, and then hunting around for vintage fancy wrought iron brackets? They could be mismatched to a certain degree. I also love your photos with the brass piping. Actually, I love all of your photos. So many ideas. You are so creative – and yes, the creative mind is always a little cursed to wander the world of possibilities to the point of angst. Good luck – thanks so much for letting us follow along. You make me more creative!

    Reply

  12. KimberlyCooks
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:54 am

    Start with this question, “Do you actually cook?” I’d the answer is yes, then picture yourself cleaning greasy kitchen grime (what is it actually? Nothing I make is that gross!) from whatever you put in the room. I have a country kitchen with open shelves and found these wonderful wrought iron brackets with a different pattern for each shelf. I live the way they look. If I’d known what a pain it is to clean gunk out of all the little crevices, I’d have gone with the original plan for floating shelves. I can’t even imagine how you clean wallpaper in a kitchen.

    Reply

  13. Corey Dankocsik
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:55 am

    You do you, baby! Just keep writing about it so that I know I’m not alone. xo

    Reply

  14. Naomi
    June 7, 2018 @ 11:59 am

    This is way too inspirational. Thank you!

    Reply

  15. Dianne
    June 7, 2018 @ 12:00 pm

    I think having both mirrors is doing each one a disservice. They will take away from each other and neither will look as special. Go for a wall of floating shelves and subway tile. You will not regret it and the eye will enjoy the piano and Giant Fancy Mirror.

    Reply

  16. Carmen
    June 7, 2018 @ 12:11 pm

    While I in no way come close to the Patron Saint of all Fanciness which is you, I do have a bit of scroll work in my modest dwelling. But the crevices. The crevices are killing me with their grip on dust. How are you, or the staff, managing to keep GFTs clean. Is there a secret trick I am not privy to???

    Reply

  17. fixitchick
    June 7, 2018 @ 12:28 pm

    I must have the green bed [except in indigo blue]. MUST. Why do you constantly make me aware of how limited both my imagination and wallet are? Gaaaah.

    And the huge basin sink. Except deeper, because in my house this would just be like putting a faucet over the floor.

    And that kitchen that is all windows. In fact, this is my ideal kitchen: https://www.google.com/search?q=kitchen+in+greenhouse&rlz=1C1CAFA_enUS612&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=pOM7gkAV5xQ5YM%253A%252CfvhGYqKyPxOkOM%252C_&usg=__cA4ZHMJJGXjGAiqNM9_cC4iHHOA%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPmMGO88HbAhUN2lMKHb2qDyMQ9QEIKzAA#imgrc=ZLBqAOUQXme0xM:

    We are doing an epoxy backsplash, at least that is the plan. I cook every day. and my husband is very messy. I am thinking a single piece to match the counters. because grout = eeew. I just scrubbed floors on my hands and knees because the steamer thingy didnt get it clean enough. not that i’m a total germaphobe, but once a month I see all the fur and hair and dirt and must get it CLEAN. not necessarily pretty, like my MIL is coming, but CLEAN so that pet hair isn’t a condiment as well as a fashion accessory.

    Back to the sane[er] part of my ramblings … kitchen counter and backsplash – likely concrete, with pixie dust sealed with epoxy. I can pour floor leveler over a sheet of durock and treat the same way as the counters. these folks have great instructional videos: https://www.stonecoatcountertops.com and while i would adore repurposed slate or stone or something really pretty, I am neither married to a Paul, nor wealthy. So the plumber gets almost all of our money, because we are moving the kitchen clear across the house. The electrician gets most of what is left, because, new panel and getting wired into this century. and we have a miniscule budget left for things like cabinets. like Re-store and CL miniscule.

    Reply

  18. Tammy
    June 7, 2018 @ 12:28 pm

    As I read, and scrolled through, your post and photos, I kept thinking that perhaps there could be a way to use some of your fancy bookshelves for your upper shelving. Then I saw the post with the bookshelves with glass doors and that was exactly what I had in mind. If you don’t have the full wall space for ones in the photo, could Paul rework something you already have, or something you need to purchase, or just build something new to look like it is antique, to make them the height you want? The glass doors would resolve the issue with dust collecting on your glassware, and would reflect light to make your space even more sparkly. It would also add the touches of wood that provide some needed contrast. Another consideration might be to have 2 dishwashers (hidden behind panels that match your cabinets, of course). I know people who have done this and they just alternate between the two, clean in one, dirty in the other, back and forth. So the dishwashers are your main storage for the items that are most frequently used. Just a thought.

    Reply

  19. LaFawne
    June 7, 2018 @ 12:30 pm

    Love the look and idea of open shelves. Hate the actual reality of having them. Unless you are one of those people who take everything down and wash in hot soapy water every other day. I n that case, carry on.
    I live in a 1925 Craftsman- and dust is everywhere. I am not willing to give up my original windows with the wavy glass, so dust is just a part of life- LOL
    I have an open shelf in my kitchen but it is purely for decoration. I would not want to have to wash every plate and glass before I use them so I will stick with my original wooden cabinets.
    I would suggest perhaps putting up a temporary shelf and just seeing how difficult it is to keep clean? Might make your decision easier-

    Reply

  20. NevadaNy
    June 7, 2018 @ 12:54 pm

    Love the 3rd photo down. The one with the Blackboard with the cool saying and the cupboard full of interesting mismatched dishes.
    I think I need a blackboard and cupboard like that in MY kitchen………

    Reply

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