Being the wife of a carpenter has its plusses — you live with someone who is handy! But it can also have its downside, as yours is the last house to be worked on. So when I had the opportunity to take this past November off from work, I “hired” my husband to remodel our kitchen. Of course, I was the assistant.

We started planning in July and started initial demo in October on our days off. We finished the flooring in the living room by the end of October and spent the month of November on our kitchen. Our house was built in 1734, so we wanted to keep the materials in step with the style. We covered our ceiling with painted shiplap boards. We found an awesome cabinet maker who made our cabinets a rustic maple, and picked soapstone countertops. We went to an architectural salvage and found our white pantry and went back one more time and found our island, a gorgeous antique ice box. What we love about these pieces are the brass hardware. And I am obsessed about with the tile backsplash behind our stove. I chose cement tile because of the variety of lovely patterns to choose from, but also because it is not new tile. Scott’s passion was the ceiling fan. After lots of research, he chose the Minka fan. Of course I was hoping to have it done by the end of November, but, as in all renovations things take longer than you think they will. In the end, counter tops and lighting were installed the first week of December. We spent Christmas Day tiling the backsplash. By the time painting and trim details were complete and everything was put back into the kitchen, it was the beginning of January. It was a great experience and we are very proud of our new kitchen.