How We Selected Our Cottage-Style Appliances & Plumbing
Since buying our cottage I’ve been daydreaming about what our kitchen and bathrooms would look like from the layout to tile and countertops. We are saving a lot of money by doing most of the renovation work ourselves, so I knew appliances and plumbing was where we were going to invest more for not only quality but to pull off the perfect cottage vibe.
Kitchen Appliances
Inspiration from Studio McGee
For most of the kitchen appliances, we decided to go with the highly reputable German-engineered brand, Miele. I envision our cottage-style kitchen to be incredibly welcoming so the overall design will include natural materials and a warm color scheme. When it came to appliance finished, the stainless steel look was a bit too modern and slick so we will be paneling the refrigerator and dishwasher so they look like cabinetry. I’ll be DIYing the paneling myself so my main goal will be to really make it look built-in and custom! stay tuned…
REFRIGERATOR: We went with the Miele 36” CoolMaster Refrigerator with a french door top and a pull-out bottom freezer. I like the pull-out freezer style over a side-by-side unit as they can be so narrow for storage.
DISHWASHER: We selected the Miele 24” Smart Dishwasher. My parents have this dishwasher in their home and they love it! It’s so quiet you don’t even know when it’s running.
RANGE HOOD: Our hood insert will also be Miele but the blower, the fan you turn on while cooking, will be up on the roof so it will be SUPER quiet inside the house. The hood around the insert will be a custom DIY we do for the space and here’s an inspo pic I’ve saved…
Oven / Range
I really wanted a cottage-style oven/range with some unique details so we went with the 36” Hallman gas oven/range with a stainless steel base and brass hardware. The Hallman range/ovens are available in sooooo many colors and widths to create a truly unique kitchen. Since our microwave was going to go in the pantry we didn’t get anything fancy just one that worked.
Inspiration by @hallmanusa
Kitchen Plumbing
SINK: I was originally searching for a vintage cast iron farmhouse-style sink to restore for the kitchen but it was going to be pretty expensive to have it redone and wouldn’t last quite as long as I would like it to. We decided to go with this white 36” farmhouse sink from Profina. It also has a ledge that fits and cutting board and basket for washing vegetables.
source www.pagingsupermom.com
FAUCET & WATER DISPENSER
I love a dramatic arch or gooseneck look and fell in love with the Chesterfield Bridge Faucet with Side Spray. It has “hot” and “cold” written on each of the handles which I thought looked like a cottage-style kitchen. I also wanted to have filtered water readily available in the kitchen so we got the matching water dispenser.
Finish: Antique Brass
Guest Bathroom Plumbing
The overall design for the guest bathroom is so unique that it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite spaces to see come to life. I had such a fun time selecting the plumbing for this room, especially the toilet! If you’ve been following me along this journey you know how I feel about this toilet, lol.
TOILET
Oak Hill Toilet from DXV - It’s the perfect cottage-style toilet - rounded edges, detailed backing, and the pull-up to flush is everything. Originally I was going to invest in two of these for each of the bathrooms, but I opted to only get it the guest bathroom because it’ll make a stronger statement in that space versus the primary bathroom where it would be hidden behind a wall. This toilet deserves to be on full display.
WALL MOUNT FAUCETS
I wanted all the faucets in the guest bathrooms to be wall mounted instead of resting on the sink or tub. We selected the Fairfield collection as it closely resembles the kitchen faucet and also has the “hot” and “cold” buttons on the handles.
Finish: Antique Brass
VINTAGE CLAWFOOT TUB
I found a vendor at the Flea Market that finds and restores vintage clawfoot tubs so will be putting an all-white one in the guest bathroom underneath the windows. These are priced at around $1100 restored and are 60” wide.
We did decide not to put a shower in the guest bathroom but will have one in the primary bath.
SINK & VANITY
The sink for the guest bathroom is one of my most prized thrifting finds, ever! It’s almost identical to the sink I would have bought NEW, round with detail, except I only paid $18 for it at the flea market.
For months I’ve been looking for something I could transform into a vanity for this space and saw a few options that just weren’t quite right … until I found this vintage 1904 phonograph cabinet. I can’t wait to restore and flip this piece into a vanity with a beautiful stone on top!
Primary Bathroom Plumbing
The primary bathroom is part of the new addition being built onto our 1910 cottage, but I still want it to feel like your in the original house…so think of reclaimed materials and cottage-style details.
BATHTUB
Just like in the guest bathroom I wanted to have a clawfoot tub in the primary bath as well. Although the vintage clawfoot tubs all have one flat side and one rounded side which wasn’t going to work for the space. We ordered this 66” double rounded edge clawfoot tub from Signature Hardware in all white - so white tub & feet.
TOILET & SINKS
We will have a double vanity in the primary bathroom with 2 sinks. I loved this square drop-in sink from Kohler as it’s slightly raised from the countertop and has similar detailing to the round sink we found for the guest bathroom. For cohesion, and to save on budget, we when with the matching Kholer toilet that has a squared-off look as well.
FAUCETS
The sink faucets, shower and tub will all be from the same collection - Aylesbury Widespread in an Antique Brass finish.
I’m still on the hunt for a 7’ dresser that I can repurpose into a vanity. Something with character and storage for towels and bathroom items. I can see many more flea market trips in our future.
Selecting Finishes
KITCHEN: it was really important to me that the faucets and all of the plumbing finishes match the brass finish on the Hallman range. Since all brands differ in their finishes slightly, we went with the closest color Newport Brass had which was French Gold. I actually love this finish it’s a bit softer on the eye than polished brass.
BATHROOMS: I wanted to make sure the entire home flowed really well together so we needed to stay in the “brass” finish family for the bathrooms as well. The primary & guest bathroom we chose - Antique Brass.
If you’re planning renovations or building a new home and need some help figuring out where to start, here are some quick checklists that helped me get on the right track. XO, MaCenna
