There is so much to love here!!! Congratulations on a really cool reveal. I absolutely love that blue backsplash- it's so fun and the black, white and blue combo works so well here.

Love your boxer/ what a cutie!!! Enjoy your new space!

Ok- looked again and I see more to love! I was so enamored by the backsplash and your boxer that I didn't take it all in at first!

That banquette is so cozy and a great use of space. And, I love the use of the glass pendants. I'm going to do the same... Such a smart move to keep the space open and airy.

Congrats!

Btw- it's 12:40 in DC and I'm up packing my kitchen because they are doing demo tomorrow! Was supposed to be next week but the bump out is moving faster than expected. Eeeek!

What major changes you made! You took a really dull space and added so much life and fun to it.
I like how you did the island - it's fab! And you eating area is so cute. It looks like you added skylights too?
Congrats, you must be thrilled!

Wow, you really decompressed the space and relaxed the feel! Another vote for the adorable, inviting banquette corner. It's the kind of place you fondly recall. Love the blues, too. I also like the way you wrapped the tile into the window and integrated the granite into a matching sill - very nice detail.

I absolutely love it! And your photobombing dog too.

I love it. Your back splash to the ceiling is the nicest example of that I've ever seen. It just looks so good there with the range hood.

So very nice! The long cookbookcase on the island is wonderful, as are the glass pendants above. Blue and white is so fresh and airy and classic, and the black grounds it and makes it contemporary, great combo.

On the L peninsula, is the cabinet in the corner accessible from the nook? It looks like maybe so, but hard to tell.

Love the coffee corner, and the cute owl utensil jug :)

Don't tell me, let me guess: the dog treats are kept behind the barn door, in the laundry room? Fido there thinks so!

I love it all! Opening up the wall was a great decision and maximized the space so well. I got a good laugh at your pup looking at that door and thinking....this closed door better not be permanent! Lol. Great job on all of it!

What a change- So cheery! Congrats!
I love your dog staring at the door... "How am I supposed to get in there and steal the laundry now?"

I love your blue island with white perimeter! Also the books on the island... I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate cookbook storage in my kitchen layout, I really like the look of yours.. Is there only the one row across the top or do the books go all the way down? If there's only the one row, what did you do underneath? Just curious! Again, beautiful space and well done!

Love the tuxedo kitchen! Looks awesome!!

I wonderful example of making much better use of essentially the same footprint (sink and cooktop staying put). You must have been nervous about blowing out that wall!

I think my favorite part is the pantry by the banquette, where before you had coat hooks and a door. Where did the coats end up?

The barn door is genius too - I'll bet the old door always felt like it was in the way.

I love the backsplash, the colors, and the boxer. Nicely done! I'll bet the joy hasn't even begun to wear off when you walk into this space.

Wow!! I love it so much!! The space feels so cheerful and happy now!! I love your backsplash too!! It's funny, in the pictures the countertop has a bluish tint which really ties everything together- maybe just the reflection of the backsplash?? Either way, soo pretty!! :-) Enjoy!!

That is just awesome...you must be in heaven! Now it is so bright and cheerful! Tearing down that wall really made a huge impact...and what a pretty view into the kitchen with that stunning backsplash. Well done, congrats!!

I am loving your kitchen.(and boxer too)
Love the set up with your new island.
Everything flows nicely!
It is also fun to see some color in the kitchen.
Congrats!

What a happy kitchen! I love the backsplash!

Great job! It just gleams!
Diane

The backsplash is stunning ...

"Don't tell me, let me guess: the dog treats are kept behind the barn door, in the laundry room? Fido there thinks so!"

just what I was thinking! My first thought (other pic of dog) was that he/she doesn't match! there's IS a bit of white on the chest area tho.

beautiful kitchen - so much brighter now with openness and drawers! must be a great place now to cook and even clean up.

I really like it. The light colors make it look so warm and inviting. I especially like the dog.

I too was wondering if the dog treats/food were kept in the laundry! LOL

Your new kitchen is so cheery. I love the blue backsplash.

Love it! Thanks for posting, enjoy!

I love the color scheme! It's not trendy, and it won't look old in a few years. I could definitely live with that color scheme for a long, long time.

Love the arabesque shaped tiles. Everyone seems to be doing subways, and they're so dull!

I have that same kitchen table, and I've been considering that very banquette arrangement. Seeing your picture solidified in my mind that it's "just right".

Love it! I can't even pick a favourite thing! I could, but it would be quite a list.

You all are too sweet! Thank you for your kind comments about the kitchen and the forlorn pup. His food dish IS in the laundry room, so perhaps that was the object of his affection?

We really have been loving the whole kitchen, but especially the nook--it's wonderful for family dinners. Also, I've always wanted a window seat, and it's been absolutely divine to curl up in that corner with a book and a cup of coffee.

As much as I love all of the new finishes and appliances, my very favorite part is being able to spend time with my family while I'm on one of my baking or cooking binges--I'm no longer cut off from everyone else!

@bpathome--yes, there's a set of two deep drawers on the backside of the peninsula that open into the eating area. No space was wasted! (There is also storage in the banquette.)

@annkh--we put the coats and school stuff in the entryway (on the other side of the pantry, basically). I do miss having our son's "homework station" in the kitchen, but just couldn't bear to clutter up the new space with it. Having that big pantry is so nice!

@nancyjwb--we do have three rows of cookbooks on the back of the island. It fits my cookbook collection, along with some cooking magazines. I love it!

@viennamommy19--good luck with your renovation! It's all worth it in the end, even the late-night drama. :)

@AineLane--yes, we added the two skylights. They make such a huge difference, and we're now considering going a little skylight-crazy in the rest of the house. The next phase in our house will likely be redoing the lighting in the den (including moving that really awkward ceiling fan), and we're hoping it will also include a new skylight or two.

@thpeppermntleaf--the counters are actually pretty black, but the glossy blacksplash tiles do reflect quite prettily off of them, especially when the undercabinet lights are on.

Thanks again for all of your kind words.

I love it. The tile work is gorgeous. The dog is to die for.

Blue is my favorite color & you used it so well in your kitchen. Seeing the 1st picture, then going to the new kitchen picture, everything just brightened up! I love the window treatment fabric. It's perfect. Congratulations!

Love the bold blue! Really makes a statement. Wondering what size is your table? I have similar set up and have struggled to find right size table without custom ordering!
Great kitchen!

Your kitchen is beautiful. But I am confused or I am missing something about the sliding barn door. When I looked up that term online, the pictures all showed a door that opened by sliding parallel to the wall along a rail on top. Your photo shows no rail and a cutout doorway whose size seems to fit the door, it does not seem big enough for the door to slide somewhere. Can you help me understand? Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: [Sliding Barn Door example on Houzz[(https://www.houzz.com/products/interior-sliding-barn-door-prvw-vr~380687)

Lovely - very cheerful and fresh. My favorite accessory is your boxer. We had a fawn boxer for 13 years and currently have a 2 year old white wiggle butt. They make the kitchen and life so much fun!

Thank you all for your kind words and comments. It's been really fun to share our results!

To answer a few questions--

Hyjenist--our table is 42" wide, and the banquette is 67" x 64". We were surprised and glad to find that the table works in that space really well.

Wannaknow1--you're right, that's what you usually see when you see a barn door! Ours does operate like that, but all of the hardware is actually on the other side--in the laundry room. The door is bigger than the cut-out space; when it's open, it rests along the wall in the laundry room. I'll see if I can post a picture to demonstrate, but if you picture yourself in the Houzz picture in the dining room and looking at the door from perspective, maybe that'll help clarify a bit.

ChristyMcK--glad to see another boxer lover! We also have a white wiggle butt, but she was camera-shy this time. They're such fun, aren't they? Unfortunately, the brown one's favorite spot is right in the middle of the kitchen--he just wants to be where all the action is, but we have to make sure not to trip over him!

Your kitchen is stunning! Love the backsplash. Well done!

So pretty and original. Huge improvement with your breakfast corner. I'm sure your are loving it.

Wow, what a difference! I love it!

I have a few questions for you - what is the width of the kitchen from the wall that your stove is on, to the outside edge of your island? And how wide is the aisle b/w the stove and the island, and what are the dimensions of your island? And the end to end length of your kitchen (from clean up sink to the opposite side where your table is).

Sorry for the questions, but we are considering taking out a wall in our kitchen. The layout I've drafted will be slightly different, but similar (our table will not be in the kitchen, but rather where your couch is) plus no door to mudroom.

Love that barn door!

Very pretty! And a new take on the white kitchen.

I like the red couch with the blue in the background. very pretty!

This may be the most cheerful kitchen I have ever seen! What a great job you did!

I think you should put pictures of your work on Houzz and Hometalk, too. You need to be up top when someone does a search on navy or blue kitchens.

This is spectacular. So clean and cozy at the same time!
GREAT job! :)

it looks great! love your choices.

Thank you all for your kind words--cozy, clean and cheerful is exactly what I hoped to create!

CEFreeman, thanks for your encouragement to post elsewhere, too--can you believe I'd never heard of Hometalk before now?!? Probably for the best, as I already spend quite a bit of time here and on Houzz. :)

Fourkids4us--The distance from the cooktop wall to the far end of the island is 11'. The aisle between the stove and the island is 63". The island is 42" x 84". The length of the kitchen from the window over the big sink to the back of the peninsula is 17'9". The length of the entire kitchen is 25'. I hope this helps--let me know if you'd like more specifics.

Very pretty. Love the book shelf on the back of the island, the intense blue backsplash, the dining nook and the puppy! Congrats, great job.

love your dog and your style! congrats on the new kitchen!

Congratulations on your kitchen. It must feel wonderful! Besides the wonder that is a brand spanking new & clean kitchen, I love the color, the books, & the textiles. The things that give it personality. Enjoy the holiday season!

Thank you for all the measurements. Coincidentally, they are almost exactly the same as mine. My current kitchen is 16' long, but if we cut out our mudroom, which we are contemplating, that would give us an extra 7' so very similar to yours. And my existing peninsula is 65" from my range and I like that wide aisle. Do you feel like your island is big enough, especially with the prep sink? I definitely want a prep sink, but just trying to figure out if I want it in the island or not. Having worked in your new kitchen now for several months, is there anything you would change or wish you had done differently? I'll be working with similar spacing as you, but won't have the same constraints (no door to mudroom, but I'll have other things to work around).

Do you at all miss having a little bit of privacy from your family room space? My family room is offset at the moment (picture an L shape with my kitchen/dining on the long side, with the family room on the short side open to the eating area). If we get rid of our mudroom, we will be removing a wall that would then open up our u-shaped kitchen completely to the family room. Right now, you can't see directly into the working kitchen from most of the family room even though it's very open, due to one short wall that would be removed in our re-do. While this would greatly improve walkways and allow us much more functional space, I just worry a bit about noise for anyone who is trying to watch tv. It's not a huge concern, but just one that I have in the back of my mind.

Thanks again for the measurements and sharing your unique kitchen.

Fourkids4us, our island is (or at least feels to us) HUGE. We love it. It is a wonderful big work space--as my user name suggests, I love to bake, and it's the perfect spot to roll out dough, let cakes or cookies cool, etc. It also works wonderfully as a buffet area when we have people over. The prep sink really takes up a very small amount of space on the island. I have all of our knives, silverware, tupperware and lunch boxes there, as well as the trash can, so it's a great spot for making lunches and prepping things for cooking. Plus, one person can be working there, with someone else doing dishes at the other sink, or tending to things on the stove, and no one is in anyone's way.

We had lived in this house for about 11 years before doing the remodel, so I knew what I liked and didn't like about our previous layout. As you may be able to see, we kept a lot of our previous layout intact, because parts of it worked well for us. I did try, though, to "zone" things when we reconfigured the layout--baking zone, fruit & veg prep/lunch packing zone, coffee/tea zone, clean-up zone, etc. I have cooked and baked a lot in the new space (including making a wedding cake for 300 people!), and I don't have any things I would change or do differently in the future. All of that planning and obsession about details before construction seems to have paid off--thank you, GW! :)

As to the openness to the den--it is a new experience to be all together in one room, and certainly there is noise carry-over between the two rooms. However, aside from using the blender or the coffee grinder or things like that, I can't really think of anything that I've done in the kitchen that would interfere with people watching TV in the den. Plus, we do have a separate living room/dining room, so we still have a spot to entertain or relax that is not open to the kitchen. For us, the benefits of the totally open space have definitely outweighed the drawbacks, but I think it is important to carefully consider the implications before just tearing into walls (as satisfying as it may be!).

Best of luck coming up with a plan that works for you and your family!

Thanks for the feedback! We've been in our house for almost 20 years and our original U-shaped kitchen is very efficient when it's just two of us, but we have four kids and constantly have people in my space when I'm prepping, cleaning up, etc. Morning is actually the worst b/c I'm trying to make lunches while they are getting themselves breakfast. That island looks amazing - i have a nice size peninsula but it's always got a bunch of paperwork, etc on it. With our redo, I'd be making a nice "command center" to handle that so the island would stay mostly clear hopefully.

I think for us the benefits of the open space flow would also definitely outweigh any additional noise or sight lines but was just curious how it impacted you.

Please don't delete your photos in the future - I'm bookmarking this thread for future reference!

What a lovely, cheerful home. I love your blue backsplash! What a great door into your laundry area. All those changes & your dog still matches your kitchen. Great kitchen, congrats!!!

Very nice . The kitchen is renovated very carefully and professionally. Loved!!

Not sure how I missed this; it's fantastic! I have to also mention this layout/kitchen is the only one I've seen where having 2 sinks is worthwhile. Very nice.

Love it! So fun, cheerful and inviting. I love the colors and patterned backsplash.