This guest-house is waaaaay behind schedule–I don’t even have all the insulation in, but I needed a win, so I decided to install the kitchen. Call me crazy but I felt like I needed to see something look finished to give me some motivation to finish the rest. 

And the kitchen is the perfect place to start.

Remember my mood board from this inspiration post? I fell in love with the idea of orange cabinets with black finishes. I am creating this as a home for my dad, so I wanted to make it a bit more masculine. The black sink and the square neck-faucet really help establish that. The black sink seemed a bit risky and unconventional at first, but I AM SO GLAD I CHOSE IT. It is stunning. The most understated, statement piece. In such a small home, it’s important to make each piece count. This sink speaks volumes.

I love how the chrome finish of the (solid brass, super high quality) faucet pops with the sink and countertops. Because of how warm the orange cabinets and butcher block countertops are, this space needed a cooler finish to balance it. Chrome works well in that capacity. I chose the Centerset Concealed Deck Mount faucet from Elkay’s collection and love the modern feel of the square neck. I am SO impressed with how solid this faucet is. It is heavy and works like a dream. I’ve installed many faucets in the past two years and this one beats them all.

I chose this black Quartz Classic Single Bowl sink from Elkay. Do you know much about quartz sinks? I didn’t know about them when I installed my kitchen sink in our main house and I am so jealous that my dad gets this one. Quartz sinks are the coolest. The surface is soft and smooth to the touch and it’s non-porous!  This means it repels dirt, food and liquid which prevents the spread of bacteria!! Considering the kitchen sink is usually the most bacteria-laden place in the home, this is huge. It also deadens sound. This means that in this small studio apartment, my dad won’t have to be annoyed at the noise every time someone is washing dishes.

Because the sink is dark and somewhat grounds the space, I felt like I could add a pop of color with the cabinets. Also, there are so few cabinets, why not play? Paired with the green wallpaper I’m planning for the dining nook, I think it will work very well. To prevent color exhaustion, I think it’s really important to have a pop of black and white, hence the backsplash. I am a bit unsure about the design I want the backsplash to be, so I ordered removable wallpaper and installed it in the design that I’ve been imagining. I’ll sit with it for a while and see if I love it!