Parisian Kitchen Renovation: How I brought a touch of Paris to this Atlanta, Georgia Kitchen:We Saved over $100k on Our House, All Thanks To The Kitchen

Finding our House

Last July, my husband and I purchased out first home! We were driving through the cutest Atlanta neighborhood, and spotted a “for sale by owner” sign. From the looks of it, we could tell it was a fixer-upper, but that was right up our alley! The house was in a great location, and we were willing to put in the work we needed to get a deal on the house. That “work,” ended up being the kitchen.

We Saved over $100k on Our House - All Thanks To The Kitchen

We were able to save a little over $100 thousand on the house due to the poor condition of the kitchen. There were critter infestations, plumbing problems, and electrical issues, but the moment I stepped in to the kitchen, I could see its potential and knew exactly how I wanted to design the space.

A Galley Style Kitchen

Because the kitchen was galley-style, it immediately reminded me of the smaller cafes I’d visited in Paris during our vacations there. So it was absolutely important for me to incorporate that bistro-European aesthetic while keeping the layout of the kitchen and utilizing the space appropriately.

I started with knocking out the walls, and creating a 14 foot island with a quartz countertop. This makes the kitchen feel like the perfect spot to hangout, drink lattes and eat crepes! I added velvet and brass barstools, and hexagon floor tile to play up this vibe!

The Contrast

If you know me, you know just how much I love contrast! I wanted the kitchen to feel open and airy, but I also wanted it to feel extra moody and sophisticated (like Paris), so I painted our cabinets black, chose a black gas stove and range hood to pop against the subway tile. I decided to go with floating shelves up top, to open up the space. I added counter-to-ceiling subway tile to elongate the walls, and chose butcher-block to contrast the quartz countertop.

Texture, Texture, Texture

I love playing with textures! I decided on wood shelves against the tiled backsplash, and weaved accessories like dish coasters to go along with our bowls and plates. There are textured vintage wine and cocktail glasses incorporated into the design as well, this gives it a boutique and eclectic feel.

Lounging

My ultimate goal was to create a cozy space that would inspire conversation. Having the bar set-up makes it so enticing to lounge and chat with friends over a cup of joe or tea.  It’s one of our favorite places to sit in the house. When guests are over our sink and faucet help us to rinse cups, bowls, and plates quick and easy; pop them into our dishwasher, and never miss a beat during our fun conversations. I also love the warm mid-century-style lighting we chose, this style drop pedant sets the Parisian mood just right.

The Journey

We spent $25k to update this kitchen, put in some sweat equity, and budgeted on greenery and foliage. We tiled the backsplash, painted the cabinets, and stained the butcher-block ourselves, and added a faux fiddle leaf fig and some pampas grass to save a bit on greenery. It was worth every moment, and we have absolutely enjoyed the journey. We are selling our house the week, and are looking forward to our next kitchen design adventure!