
I have built up visions of my remodel in my head for 8 years. When we bought our house back in 2013 it was advertised as having a brand new kitchen. When we entered the house I was disappointed from the minute my eyes saw the creamy yellow cabinets and dark reddish orange granite. The house had cement floors, and dark wood all over on the entertainment center. It honestly felt like a modern dungeon.
Fast forward and 8 years later and a bunch of saved pins on my Pinterest, magazine cut outs, and Instagram stalking on various design accounts, I had a vision for my house. I wanted it to be light and bright with beachy boho vibes and a slice of cozy.
We decided to dive into a remodel right smack in the middle of a pandemic. My thoughts were “why not” I had nothing better to do than to stay home and make all my design dreams a reality.
I had envisioned a kitchen I could cook and entertain in, and another big item on my must-have list was optimized function. I quickly realized that while I knew the design vision, I didn’t know where to start or who could help me with cabinets and guide me in the right direction. It’s so hard to find your “team” of experts.
I remembered talking in the school parking lot months earlier to a mom who mentioned her and her husband were a team duo that did the whole package. They designed, did cabinets, and brought in the plumber, etc. I wanted it to be a seamless process without having too many hands in the pot.
Between a few meetings, back and forth text messages, and shared Pinterest boards we had a vision board, colors picked out, cabinets chosen, and appliances ordered.


The fine details were honestly the hardest part for me. I had some colors and styles that I liked, but bringing it all together was a bit daunting. I wanted all the rooms to flow and not be separate other than one space that went from room to room. I love character and if you ask my husband I’m always searching for unique pieces, or little corners of the room that bring something different to the table. It can be an old wooden bowel from a flea market, a cookbook found at a garage sale, or a handmade vase from a local pottery maker.
Lyndsey with VC Home Design, came up with the idea to bring in my favorite color on the island. I immediately fell in love with that idea. It then trickled into gold hardware, woven basket lights, and wood accents.
I later took a trip to our local tile store Buena Tile located here in Ventura, CA and I discussed my vision for the kitchen and how I didn’t want the backsplash to be the focal point of the kitchen. My goal was for the “aha” pieces to be the custom range hood that was built by my amazing contractor Craig Oswald, along with custom wood floating shelves that could be dressed up with cookbooks and pretty accents.


Ultimately, we decided to go with 4×4 ceramic tile Berber that looks like handmade zeolite tile. It’s a light creamy white color but the tiles are not all the same color. It reminded me of a European kitchen—and with my Italian heritage I knew that had to be in my kitchen.
The day it was installed it just brought all the pieces together, my vision in my head was now an art piece, and it helped bring out all the other features of the kitchen.
My kitchen remodel was a passion piece for me in so many ways. I enjoy cooking in the kitchen and I wanted it to be place I could feel comfortable, happy, and functional while I was cooking up a creation for my family.
One year later and I’m still in love. I get giddy showing it off, entertaining, and draping yummy food across my huge island that was a must-have piece in my eyes!
Kitchen Details
Cabinet + Design- VC Home Design + Me
Tile – Buena Tile
Countertops- Ventura Stone -Frosty Carrina Quartz
Appliances- Wolf and Subzero
Contractor- Craig Oswald
Gold Hardware- Rejuventation
Lights- Serena Lily & Lamps Plus
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