Peter Hentges

As much as anything is ever complete. The remodel was officially finished in January, meaning that our contractor was no longer doing any work on premises. (They keep in touch for any warranty items that might come up.) We have been using the kitchen ever since, working out where various things go and finding out what we actually want to use and store in the space. Some things remain in boxes from Mary's move and me packing up the old kitchen. We'll be slowly sorting and consolidating.

Apart from the remodeling and the actual kitchen tools, the things we needed to get for the kitchen were:

• A small table to use at our new banquette,
• Cushions for said new banquette, and
• Art to brighten up the space and make it truly ours.

Mary did a great job tracking down a place nearby that could make the custom cushions for us. Our contractor's designer and cabinet architect had things set up so that the L-shaped banquette can be fitted with two cushions of the same size, allowing us to flip and swap the cushions to extend their life. Mary found a great print that really adds a nice pop of color the room.

Mary also found a guy on eBay who does custom wooden counter-tops. We ordered a cherry table top from him (to match the cabinets and bead-board in the rest of the space) and then I found a nice cast-iron bistro table base that works well to create a just-right size space for regular meals with just the two of us.

Finally, we found a print by Adam Turman of the witch's hat tower of Prospect Park in bold purples and oranges that fits the space, works with the colors, and appeals to our aesthetic sensibilities. We had it framed at the Carter Avenue Frame Shop, who have done very nice work on some of our other art, including prints by our friend Ctein. Here are photos of the “completed” space: