My Sonoma County Kitchen Reveal

Summer has been full of fun, travel and relaxation and also about getting some long overdue projects done, like new photos of my wine country kitchen! Jay and I bought our fixer upper in 2019, a few months before covid lockdown. The house needed a lot of work, but we had vision, hope and what turned out a lot of free time during covid to do most of the work ourselves. The whole house was transformed but no where quite like the kitchen. Step this way if you would like to see it before and after!

We bought it looking dated and dark. The layout was so impractical and strange. All of the cabinets were dark and cavernous. The stove was disjointed from the sink counter (it’s waaaay over on the right), there was so much underutilized floor space. I could have taught a yoga class in the middle of the kitchen! All of the appliances needed to be replaced. And there were mice (!)

And the kitchen now:

When we moved in, the very first thing we did was pull out all of the cabinetry and widened the windows by a lot. Fun fact: we may have been the very last construction project in Sonoma County allowed before covid lockdown! We expanded the sliding doors and side windows in the kitchen too. We figured that we did’t spend time in the country to have tiny little windows! The light and expansiveness that it brought was worth every penny. We replaced the upper cabinetry with open shelving, because would it be Melissa’s kitchen without open shelving? (shaking my head, no it would not)

Being able to display some of my beloved cast iron pans and vintage dishes is totally worth the extra time dusting. Our talented woodworker Mike cut all of the shelving and wood pieces. He also did the very substantial woodwork in our restaurant The Salzburg, and our store Little Vine. We are so lucky to have him as a contact.

In that odd little corner where the stove used to be we put in a "Northern Cali” style bar with tons of glassware, some good cocktail fixings and a fully stocked wine fridge underneath.

We love deep drawers and this one below the bar was perfect for stocking drinks. I find in so many of my clients’ homes that there is never enough space for back up beverages like sparking water. Deep drawers work so well for this since things can’t get pushed to the back of a cabinet. Cabinet caverns no more!

One thing that we have found that works for us is to put the budget into the appliances, countertops and woodwork and to skimp on cabinetry. Our cabinets here (and in our apartment) are from Ikea and work just great for our style and functional needs.

Drawers are also great for homey details like for a coffee station. I love to make my clients’ morning routine have a very special place because mornings, can be tough sometimes, right? You might not have your day under control but at least you can have a pretty, orderly place to make coffee.

Wall mounted magnetic knife racks are the best thing ever and are a staple of mine. I thought it was because they are great for small spaces, and they are, but also - so pretty, right? Even in our more spacious country kitchen, I still love them. First of all, they are good for the knives. Storing knives in a drawer or in a block will dull them quickly. Secondly, I love my knives, like seriously love them. I was once asked what my five favorite material possessions were and they were right up there. They are so beautiful and some of them were very special gifts with lovely memories attached to them. I appreciate that they are part of my kitchen scenery.

Jay and I love to cook and entertain and couldn’t be happier with how things turned out. Big shout out to Holly B. Rose for shooting these long awaited pics and thanks for checking it out! xo