I wasn’t planning on a full renovation to the first floor of our home. Did I want to do a full renovation?? Absolutely! Was it in the cards? Not really, not until we had a flood in the kitchen which set the wheels in motion for the year ahead. 😳 I have learned so much about insurance and contractors and renovations, folks.✔️Waaaaaaay more than I’ve ever wanted to know! Here’s the story- Because there was damage to the flooring and cabinetry, which led to countertop damage and backsplash damage, our flood renovation turned into a much bigger project than we had anticipated. Insurance paid for basically everything. Nuts, right?! They replaced ALL of the flooring even though only 10 square ft. were damaged so it would match correctly, and because the island cabinet was damaged they replaced ALL the cabinets as well (so it all matched). Then because one piece of granite broke while removing the countertops they then replaced all of the countertops AND backsplash! And so on…I was very surprised! So, I am happy to report that our insurance company took very good care of us. This small project that started with me wanting to paint our dark cabinets white, turned into a whole bottom floor renovation. I was so happy the flood drama ended up turning into something positive. Somwthing I had been wanting to do for quite some time. Interesting how that happens sometimes…🤔
Since we were basically having to start from scratch, I began to browse Instagram for kitchen inspiration. Because, that’s where you go when you want to do research, amiright?! So it’s 1am, I’m scrolling from page to page looking at a zillion beautiful kitchens when I randomly came across Cynthia Soda’s page- if you have you ever fallen into the rabbit hole of instagram, you know exactly what I’m talking about…🤣 Connecting with our interior designer, Cynthia of Soda Pop Design was somewhat of a fluke…or was it??? I’ll save those thoughts for another time!!😍 Her page was stunning and caught my eye instantly. As I scoured her Insta I fell more and more in love with her aesthetic. I kept thinking, “Yep, this is sooooo beautiful and definitely something I would love see in our home.” I made a comment, Cyn sent me a DM and the rest is history…
Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that working with contractors can be challenging, to say the least. 🤪 It was not smooth sailing like it was with Cynthia. That was until our original contractor quit (ya, great guy) and we found John Politano from Surface Design. John worked alongside Cynthia seamlessly and I now know that we have found our contractor and interior designer for any homes we may have in our future. John and his team went above and beyond in every possible way and together with Cynthia, this was a complete dream team.
Now updating the first floor powder room was a bonus. It just happened to work seamlessly into the plan once the kitchen reno was complete. Cynthia’s design created so much cabinet space where before we literally had none! We had a pedestal sink, mirror and a toilet- that’s it, so this updated bathroom was a game changer. Now I can hide extra toilet paper, soap, hand towels etc. under the sink- the sink I’m obsessed with and got from Wayfair for under $300! No more corner shelf unit that held all the necessities but looked so cluttered. Here’s the deets for the finishing touches! The round gold mirror is from World Market (my fave) and the fabulous wall sconce we got from Amazon for under $100! And light bulbs were included and are led.👍🏻 Cyn and I picked out the minted artwork which to me, is feminine and masculine at the same time. Perfect for a guest powder room. 💗 Now, my favorite part of the powder room is the shiplap wall from Metrie who also did our baseboards. Their lines are very clean and contemporary. I love how Cynthia designed the shiplap to basically encase the cabinetry and counter top. It’s something I haven’t seen before. John, our contractor completed the puzzle with his custom made quartz counter top from Surface Design and by installing ALL the finishing touches. I don’t think there’s much John can’t do! 🤔😁
I owe so many thank you’s to all the lovely people who made our remodel pretty damn seamless. Cynthia, John, Gerry…y’all have my heart. Thank you!🙏🏻
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