Space And Habit Our Santa Fe Kitchen
Feb. 7, 2018

Our Santa Fe: Kitchen Design Plans

Space And Habit Our Santa Fe Kitchen

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Last updated:
Sep. 7, 2022 @ 3:27 pm

Since we finally determined where to start our home renovations, we can get into the oh so juicy details of design planning (yesss). Few can argue that the kitchen is the bread and butter of any home (puns on puns or buns, should I say?). Doesn’t it seem like, no matter where you put the booze and the food, everyone always congregates in the kitchen? Because of this and, since it’s literally at the center of our home floor plan, we knew our character-filled kitchen would be the place to start. Though it has a seemingly strange and unconventional layout, the kitchen was a major sell for this house (for us, at least!). First, it gets a ton of light (score!). Second, it has a ton of counter space and a walk-in pantry (hoarders delight!). And, third, it really only needs a little facelift – no moving walls for us (praise!)!

We kicked off our kitchen design plans by brainstorming a personality for the room (what?! Yes.). Basically I asked myself how I wanted the kitchen to make me feel while cooking, while entertaining or simply while passing through the room for a snack. Here is what I mustered: Inspired by its surroundings, relaxed in its color scheme and flirty in its details. 

Okay, Madison. What a bunch of hullabaloo – now tell us what that means for how this space is going to come together. Well, by now you probably know that our home is a Santa Fe/Territorial style in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. We want a design scheme for our kitchen that reflects and embraces that. Here’s the part where I take that and run…

Planning Our Kitchen

A Desert Palette

If you’re washing up at our kitchen sink and gazing out the window, your eyes are quickly pulled up a Saguaro-filled hill that’s speckled with chips of black slate. It’s really a magical view and a baker’s delight. Our goal will be to minimize any disconnect between the indoors and outdoors by using colors and materials that are reflective of that landscape. We are most likely going with a saguaro green and slate charcoal grey on the cabinets (most likely because plans can change!). Dark woods and golds will warm up the space while mimicking the Mesquite trees and nodding to the days of the gold rush (there are a few abandoned mines around us!). Here’s a look at some of those colors and where we plan on using them.

Space And Habit Our Santa Fe Kitchen Planning Kitchen Color Palette

I’m So Star Struck

Stars….what? It’s true! On our back patio, there are three pre-existing tin star light fixtures which are super typical in Santa Fe style structures. We wanted to pull some of that detailing into the house. We picked an amazing Moravian star lantern for above the island as well as a star-patterned cement tile which will replace the current backsplash. My goal is for people to say “oh, what a cool star pendant” and then five minutes later go “omg, there are stars on the backsplash” and then ten minutes late say “wait, there are stars outside too!”. Details that are subtle but frequent enough to be a little playful.

Space And Habit Our Santa Fe Kitchen Planning Kitchen Hardware

A Natural Finish

The desert sun is super harsh on materials and you can definitely witness this in the eroding wood and rocks of the desert. It was this that inspired us to go with materials that are more naturally finished and worn. For our countertops, we chose a grey soapstone that has a natural, matte, finish. The matte finish was important for me in selecting our materials because of the amount of light the room gets with all of those windows. I imagined a shiny material blasting me in the face every time I walked into the room. Our countertops have already been installed and we love them! They are certainly a far cry from the single piece Corian original counters 😱. For our hardware and lighting, we have decided on brushed brasses and bronzes that are also less shiny and drastic.

Visualizing Our Kitchen

Pull it Together, Madison…

Okay, so here’s a, albeit messy, diagram of where we are looking to take this space including the products and materials we have already purchased and those that we are going to purchase! Umm…did I go a little overboard with the hardware?! Maybe…there’s a lot of variation but, if it turns out well, I will share a post on how we decided to put what where.

Space And Habit Our Santa Fe Kitchen Planning Kitchen Plans Diagram

Try to Stay in the Lines

Okay….a toddler could have probably done a better sketch than this. However, it was super helpful for me to draw things out to conceptualize the space before we spent our life savings on it! You’ll notice that a few things have changed since I drew this. One, those sconces were impossible to get, so we went with another one that I actually think I like better! Two, we originally planned on going with black soapstone – while it was beautiful, we saw the veining in the grey and fell in love. Three, we chose a gold faucet instead of the, originally planned, black one.

Space And Habit Our Santa Fe Kitchen Planning Kitchen Illustration

Our Kitchen Inspiration

The goddess that is Pinterest! Here are a few inspirational images that captivated and helped guide us in pulling our kitchen design concept together!

Progress is progress!

We have made some progress on the plans above! Check out a few of the updated shots below. Stay tuned for a complete reveal!

Space And Habit Our Santa Fe Kitchen Planning Kitchen Before Shot

This is where we started…

Space And Habit Our Santa Fe Kitchen Planning Kitchen Counters Soapstone Installed

White walls, new counters + electrical

Space And Habit Our Santa Fe Kitchen Planning Kitchen Sink Sconces

Kitchen sconces installed!

 

 

 

 

 

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