As you may have noticed, updates about the ongoing remodel of our San Francisco Victorian have been rather few and far between these days. I’ve come to learn remodels are like molasses – they move at a pace you cannot control! And while progress is in fact being made, there’s not a lot of excitement related to rough-in plumbing, insulation or rewiring. I am getting super excited to share our plans as the designs are coming together! But in the meantime I thought it’d be fun to play what-if with some of my favorite designers. What if they had their hands on this house and could do whatever they wanted! I knew they’d have as much fun dreaming  of what could be done with the space as I have. So for the next few weeks you’re going to be treated so some major design inspiration from a bevy of design studs! I’m thrilled my dear friend and interior stylist extraordinaire Kirsten Grove is kicking things off with some serious kitchen inspiration!

To jog your memory, when it comes to the kitchen we’re basically starting from scratch because this is the house’s current “kitchen”:

 

This is the floor plan for our new kitchen:

While not a terribly big space, we hope to maximize storage with a separate pantry {woot!}. I’ve toyed with the idea of a kitchen island too. And I’m still debating what the cabinets should look like. And lighting?? Oh the lighting dilemmas. I am excited the kitchen will be directly connected to our living room via a breakfast bar. Obviously, it’s a very blank slate at the moment as we’re still in our demolition phase, so I’m excited to see what Kirsten thinks we might do with this design!

Kirsten’s Designer Take: Hi everyone! My name is Kirsten Grove and I am an interior Stylist/Blogger from Boise Idaho. I am a huge fan of Apartment 34 and I think the world of Erin and the team! She definitely has her work cut out for her with this renovation. But it’s something that I know she will successfully complete.

We all know that the kitchen is the heart of the home. Whether we cook or not, we all want the perfect kitchen. Of course they are the biggest money takers, but it’s well worth it at the end.

I have always been a fan of modern, minimal kitchens. Especially in older homes. The juxtaposition is always stunning! Right now cabinet slabs are on point. No molding, no panels. Just clean slabs. Paired with hardware or just kept plain, these doors are simple yet beautiful.

Here’s a kitchen with simple hardware that doesn’t take away from the doors. I also love the style of hood that mirrors the cabinets. It’s a nice, clean look. This same thing can be assigned with the refrigerator.

Another trend is two toned cabinets. Above we have a dark paint on the top and natural wood on the bottom. You could also do one color on top and another color on the bottom. It breaks the kitchen up and adds stylish personality!

Here’s another example of two-toned cabinets. This kitchen also has another favorite trend of mine. Square tiles! It’s a refreshing change from the classic subway tiles. White grout keeps it more traditional while dark grout keeps it modern.

Kitchens can be a lot of fun to design! Good luck, Erin! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

I love that Kirsten named a few of my favorite kitchen trends – and a couple that just might make their way into my final kitchen design. But you’ll have to wait a little longer before I can reveal all of that. For now, follow more of Kirsten’s design savviness on her blog, Simply Grove!

Image 1 via Simply Grove  // 2 via 30 Collins // 3 via The D Pages // 4 via Emma’s Design Blog