Okay, so we may not have come up with 639 concepts for the kitchen layout, but it sure does feel like it. Before we placed the order for the kitchen cabinets a few weeks ago, Greg and I sat down and went through every single detail with a fine-tooth comb. We wanted to make sure we were thinking through every aspect of our everyday. We even turned to my mom and Grandma for advice. They’re a lot more “kitchen savvy” than I am. After a few hours days of kitchen-planning, we finally came up with the final final final kitchen design.

If you’re just tuning in to the whole kitchen-planning process, a while back we came up with the original concept using the Ikea kitchen planning software (see that design here). After way too much thought, we decided to check out Lowe’s. When we met with the Lowe’s Kitchen Designer (a cool guy named Gaylord), we took him our original Ikea design. Once he got an idea of our wants/needs, he was able to polish our original design into something perfect for us (see that design here). Since then, we’ve gone back and forth with a bunch of details and last week, we finally settled on The One. We took those decisions back to Gaylord and he plugged them into the design and then placed the final order. Finally!

Without further ado, here’s the final layout – or as we’ve affectionately been calling it, “Concept #639″…

1. This cabinet previously consisted of drawers, but after a quick consultation from mom and grandma, we deciding we would have more need for base cabinets. So we switched it out. We also upgraded all of the base cabinets for the dual pull-out shelves. This will help us utilize every single square inch of storage. I know I’ve said it before, but I cannot wait to FINALLY unpack the kitchen stuff!! I’m going to feel like a kid on Christmas morning!

2. Another small yet noteworthy switcharoo is the chimney range hood. In the previous design, we had a cabinet-ish enclosure. We like the look of a chimney range hood much more – it’s something I’ve wanted in our kitchen since day one but now it’s finally final on paper. Holla!

3. Okay, so this is probably the one aspect of the final design that took us the longest to come to a decision. We wanted the tile to go from the backsplash, around the window to the ceiling. However, because of the cabinet sizes, the cabinets could only butt up right against the window frame. Knowing we weren’t striving for a cookie-cutter kitchen, we were open to doing something a little out-of-the-box. So we decided to shorten the cabinets on the right, so there would be 3″ from the cabinet to the window frame. The only thing was, because of the available cabinet sizes, that would leave 9″ on the left side of the window. Not good. So, why not install some floating shelves? Who doesn’t love open shelving? Then I found this photo here on Pinterest…

That’s exactly what we were thinking about doing! Each shelf will be 6″ wide – perfect to display small bowls, my favorite white ceramic cow creamer, and such. Kraft Maid actually doesn’t offer floating shelves this small, so we’re going to have to DIY it (or find a cabinet-maker-friend to help us out). We ordered a quart of the cabinet paint so we can paint the shelves to match the cabinets perfectly.

4. Some of you might remember in the last design, there were some top-hinge cabinets here. After thinking it over, we decided with the style we were going for (classic, Martha Stewart meets Sarah Richardson), it would be best to go with the classic side-hinge cabinets instead.

5. Aside from the floating shelves mentioned above, this is my favorite addition to the kitchen design. I’ve always wanted a place to store cookbooks out in the open. With our small cozy kitchen, I knew it would be difficult to find a place. Until I came across yet another Pinterest inspiration (found here)…

Perfect solution! Yes, it’s going to take up a smidgen of what would be cabinet storage, but I’m totally willing to part with a little bit in order to have a home for cookbooks and whatnot. The shelves are 15″ deep – deep enough to house other things like recipe boxes, bowls, tea boxes, and even the stand mixer if I wanted to. Again, cannot wait to unpack!

Gaylord also gave us a overhead view of the kitchen…

We’re so pleased with the overall layout. And check out the 85″ peninsula! I was shocked we had so much room for such a long work surface. And there’s still room to spare for the pantry door directly across from it – 41″ to be exact.

Lowe’s is coming on Wednesday to deliver the cabinets, but they won’t be installed until the first week of December. The suspense is killing us! After almost an entire year of skillet-cooking, using the grill outside and Outback takeout, we’re more than ready for a full-functioning kitchen. Just a little bit longer!

Have you entered in the $100 Bronner’s Giveaway? Click here to enter!!

****THIS GIVEAWAY IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING ENTRIES****
Scroll down to see who won!

One of our favorite go-to places for Christmas ornaments online has always been Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland. So needless to say, we’re really excited about this week’s giveaway! Decking the halls since 1945, Bronner’s is the world’s largest Christmas store and features over 6,000 styles of ornaments. They also have countless varaties of outdoor decor, lights, garlands, wreaths, gifts, stockings, gift wrap… basically, all things Christmas! This week, the ultra nice folks at Bronner’s is giving one lucky 7th House reader a $100 gift card!

Every year, their store in Frankenmuth, Michigan is visited by millions of people. Luckily, for us non-locals (like us!), their online store offers anything and everything you could possibly want when it comes to Christmas decorations. Whether your style is contemporary, rustic, traditional, or even ultra mod, they’ve got you covered.

To start decking your halls with Bronner’s, here’s how to enter:

• All you’ve got to do is leave a comment with the words, “DECK MY HALLS!“.
• One lucky reader will win a $100 gift card to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland!
• Bronner’s ships worldwide! Prize will be delivered via email – so make sure you leave your comment with an email address we can reach you at!
• The giveaway will wrap up Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011 @ Midnight EST.
• Only one entry per email address. To keep things fair and square, the winner will be selected using Random.org and will be announced right here on Wednesday, November 23rd. Good luck, everyone!

We just wanted to give you guys a heads-up that we are going to be “Out of the Office” for a bit. Ash is having an unexpected surgery done sometime in the next few days. But don’t worry! She’s doing well and currently asking for the iPad so she can check Twitter and Pinterest. Her wheels just never stop turning!

Despite our unexpected absence (though we’re still here, just not any new posts for a day or two), we are still hosting a great giveaway tomorrow that we know you’ll love. (Hint: The giveaway is approved by a particular white-bearded man in a red suit!) As soon as Ash is back on her feet, we’ll pick up right where we left off with the laundry room reno – not skipping a beat!

UPDATE // November 19th Hey guys! Ashley here. My surgery has been moved until after Thanksgiving. I’ve never had surgery before, and having to have it is very unexpected, so this process is a tad daunting at times. But I’m hanging in there! Thank you so much for the well wishes, tweets, comments, and emails. It has meant so much to me! In the mean time, I’m back home hanging out with my family and busy with “house stuff” – mainly getting things ready for the kitchen cabinet delivery in a few days (holla!). Even though things are going to be sporadic around here for the next few days, we’ll be sure to keep you guys updated on the house process – minus the surgery updates, because who wants to read about that, ha! For that, just check back on this post. There’s a lot going on around here with the laundry room, kitchen, and everything else in between but we might not be able to stick to the Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule like we were attempting to – BUT we will be posting. We promise to be back on schedule once things get back to “normal”. And oh how I can’t wait for that! Monday, we’re going to be talking about the updated (and final!) layout for our kitchen. So excited to finally post the final layout! ha!

UPDATE // November 30th Ashley here! So after a week of surgery dates going back and forth, the docs have finally decided that my surgery will be this week. They called yesterday saying they wanted to schedule it for next week. That phone call was followed by yet another call saying they were moving it up to the end of this week. I’m happy to get it over with yet totally freaking out because a) I’ve never had surgery and b) the kitchen instillation begins next week! When we made the decision about paying the extra $$ to have Lowe’s install the kitchen, we sort of felt like we were coping out and missing the fun of installing our own kitchen. Yeah, I’d called it “fun”! But now, with this whole totally unexpected surgery coming up, we are SO beyond thankful we made that decision!

Many of you have asked what kind of surgery I’m having. I guess I haven’t mentioned it before because even though Greg and I are totally down with sharing our lives and home online, it’s kind of weird when it comes to major health issues – I don’t know if that makes sense. Probably doesn’t. But I mean, who wants to read about nasty health issues?! Some people, including myself, get squeamish when they think about surgery or even simple things like loose teeth. Yeah, loose teeth. I don’t even like hearing the warnings on prescription commercials! I’m that kind of crazy. I guess I just assumed everyone else was the same way. With that being said, if you don’t want to hear what’s going on, skip down to the cute picture of Bentley in his new sweater I just snapped with the iPhone… All clear?… Okay, so I went into the ER a few weeks ago (when this post was originally posted) with stomach pain. I actually thought it was my appendix but thanks to the almighty CT scan, the docs found a “rather large” (that’s doctor talk for “OMG! That’s huge!”) ovarian cyst. It was causing upper stomach pain because it’s actually so large, it’s pressing against other organs. Yeah, not good. To make the long story short, tomorrow, the surgeon will be taking it out and I’m told I’m going to feel so much, much better – after an estimated six weeks of recovery of course! So that’s that.

Okay, the coast is clear! With all of this going on, rest assured, we won’t be skipping a beat in keeping you guys updated on the kitchen renovation – complete with real time photos of the instillation process! We’re really excited about things coming up here at 7th House and we’re so very appreciative to have such amazing and supportive readers. At the risk of sounding like I’m stuck in the 90′s… you guys rock.

UPDATE // DECEMBER 2 Ashley made it well through the surgery. Everything that needed to be taken out is gone and everything that needed to stay is in. She’s still “out of it” but I’m sure she’s glad it’s all over with – as are we. Thank you for all of your comments, emails, Tweets, prayers, etc. We truly appreciate them all.

UPDATE // DECEMBER 12 Ashley here! It’s been almost 2 weeks since the surgery and all I have to say is, boy am I glad that’s over with! I’m still in pain from time to time – mostly at night when I’m trying to sleep (sometimes a lot of pain!) but I’m just eternally grateful to have the surgery portion over and moving onto recovery – and Christmas!! I’m also so thankful and blessed to have Greg, my parents, little brother, and grandparents here with me every step of the way. I literally don’t know what I would do without them. Okay, now I’m getting sappy — I’m still on major pain meds and they make me emotional, ha! So thanks again for putting up with our sporadic posting schedule as of late and we hope to be “back to normal” soon… As does my body, haha : )