THE COUNTERTOP

Of everything we had to choose, I was the most nervous about our countertop. I had my heart set on butcher block from Ikea – but when we brought it home, we discovered that we hadn’t calculated enough to do the whole kitchen. And then we found out that Ikea was out of stock until October so we couldn’t buy more.

I was so frustrated – I had picked the cupboards and the paint colours specifically with wood counter tops in mind. Despite that, it seemed like we were out of luck and laminate was the affordable alternative. I must have taken home 20 different “granite” laminate samples to match to the floor and cabinets. There were a lot of beautiful ones but they really didn’t suit us at all. I hemmed and hawed over a couple butcher block designs but most people that I asked for feedback seemed lukewarm on the idea of fake wood. And I’m not much of a decorator myself – I was terrified of ordering something that would look tacky.

My husband finally threatened to pick a ridiculous retro boomerang print if I didn’t decide already ,so I chose a gorgeous white laminate with a grey and brown marble pattern. It matched the floor and the cabinets and even the paint. And then at the very last second, as I was going over the details with my cousin, I ordered the Old Mill Oak butcher block design from WilsonArt instead – surprising my husband and even myself. The heart wants what it wants, and my heart wanted the look of wood.

I can’t even tell you how nervous I was. And to make it worse, rather than the 2-3 weeks that I was expecting, it took six weeks for the counters to be installed. Six weeks for me to obsess that I’d made a bad choice. But once they came I knew they were perfect. They’re beautiful – I couldn’t be happier with them.

Even though the whole renovation took far longer than anticipated (which, of course, I should have anticipated), I’m so happy with how it turned out. The kitchen has always been the heart of our home and I feel blessed that we should have such a lovely place to spend our time in.

Now to convince my husband that the bathroom needs a makeover…