BLANCO IKON 30" apron front sink in metallic grey | One Room Challenge Kitchen Renovation | House by the Bay Design

One Room Challenge Week Five – New Apron Sink, Island Progress & Minor Panic

There is only one week left in the One Room Challenge – I *might* be panicking (just a little). Even though there is still a lot to do we made some huge advances this week like installing our new apron sink, repurposed granite countertops and part of the island!

First, the granite countertop that Chris cut a few weeks ago has finally been polished and installed. Remember this corner?

Cutting granite countertops | One Room Challenge Kitchen Renovation | House by the Bay Design

Well, now we have this!

Cutting granite countertops | One Room Challenge Kitchen Renovation | House by the Bay Design

We’re so happy we were able to reuse our granite, while it was very stressful, Chris claimed cutting and polishing the granite was actually “not that bad”. Because he is now a granite refinishing pro (clearly) Chris also cut and polished the granite so we could install our new sink from BLANCO!

BLANCO IKON 30" apron front sink in metallic grey | One Room Challenge Kitchen Renovation | House by the Bay Design

Oooh.

Ahhh.

Because we were not replacing our countertops we had to find a sink that would work with the cutout already in place. Chris and I both love the look of apron front sinks and it turns out the BLANCO IKON® 30” silgranit sink was the best fit for our counters – it was meant to be!

The Silgranit material is non-porous, easy to clean and incredibly durable. Plus it’s seriously gorgeous, the metallic grey colour coordinates so nicely with our counters and dark grey cabinets. I think the dark colour also gives the traditional farmhouse sink a more modern feel.

BLANCO IKON 30" apron front sink in metallic grey | One Room Challenge Kitchen Renovation | House by the Bay Design

I’m not going to go into all the details of the sink installation right now, as we still have more to finish in the cabinet below, but I promise I will do a full post on it soon. In the meantime let’s just look at how lovely it is and how perfect it coordinates with the BLANCO URBENA™ faucet.

In other news, we also have finished the bones of our new island!

We had to adapt our design slightly to make sure that our countertop is going to be fully supported – instead of buying a huge (and expensive) custom top for our extra long island, we decided to buy two pieces of regular countertop and glue them together to create one big piece.

DIY Custom island with IKEA cabinets | One Room Challenge Kitchen Renovation | House by the Bay Design

Our cabinets are now installed on a base made from 2x4s secured to the floor and Chris has built a little stud wall which will support the middle seam of the counter.

To make sure the overhang is fully supported we’ve also decided to add some legs, inspired by this island by Amber Interiors:

Kitchen Island Inspiration from Amber Interior Design | One Room Challenge Kitchen Renovation | House by the Bay Design

photo: Amber Interiors

Now that I’ve finished building the end bookcase our plan is to glue up the countertop tonight and then, after it’s secured, get the outside of the island all cladded and trimmed ready for painting.

Last (but not least) this week we also got started on the new pantry, which we’ve kind of been ignoring (oops!). The antique doors have been sanded down (my adventures with paint stripper were a pathetic) and they are now off getting some mirror installed – fingers crossed they’re ready in time!

Antique Doors | One Room Challenge Kitchen Renovation | House by the Bay Design

Refinishing in progress!

With next week’s reveal deadline fast approaching we have to hustle to get everything finished in time to take photos on Monday. Here’s what’s left on the to-do list:

  • Finish the island
  • Get the pantry shelves and antique doors installed
  • Install the drawer fronts (which have been painted) with all new cabinet hardware
  • More painting (will it ever end??)
  • Finishing off the upper cabinets with moulding
  • Caulk everything
  • Unpack and organize!

I know we can get it done if we push ourselves, but just reading that list makes me feel like I need a nap. Wish me luck!

Thanks so much for stopping by – don’t forget to follow along with our progress on my Instagram Stories and to visit the One Room Challenge website to see all the other amazing transformations taking place!

One Room Challenge Guest Participant

The sink and faucet featured in this post were provided to us by our sponsor BLANCO. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

13 thoughts on “One Room Challenge Week Five – New Apron Sink, Island Progress & Minor Panic”

  1. Laurie Collins

    Your energy and your multiple visions astound me! It exhausts me to plan and execute the replacement of a light bulb. I’ll be cheering from the distant sidelines and looking forward to seeing the end results. Good luck, you crazy kids!!!

  2. I have really enjoyed watching your progress on this challenge, especially since so much of it is parallel to what we are doing here! I love how you repurposed and reused. Brilliantly, gorgeously done! Can’t wait to see the reveal!

  3. The new sink and faucet really fit in well with your reno. Amazing job on the counter cutting and finishing. Great job you two. A very busy week ahead! Looking forward to the reveal.

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