The lincrusta is up, and…

The lincrusta is up, and painted in Benjamin Moore's China White, and I rather love it. I was afraid that it would be overpowering, but in the end, I think it plays very nicely with the art glass, my open shelving, the blue-painted and oak cabinetry, and the stainless / zinc elements. Clearly, not for everyone, but perfect for us. Well, perfect for me, at least, and Kevin likes it fine. Whew!

I expect the lincrusta to pick up some grunge around the stove, since we do cook a lot, but the linoleum-based paper is both washable and repaintable, so it should stay reasonably pristine with manageable maintenance. It helps that our hood vent is very powerful! Mostly, I just love the way it extends from countertop to high ceiling (rather than cutting out at the bottom of the cabinets, like most backsplashes), and how it peeks out from behind the shelf items. Despite all the pattern, I think it works as a unifying element, in an otherwise somewhat busy kitchen.

I WISH I could say that this kitchen renovation is finally complete, but there's actually one last thing to do -- get a stainless sheath for the duct-taped vent thingie from the hood. There are probably technical terms for all that. But if you could just squint and pretend one is there, then you can finally see what our kitchen is supposed to look like. Only�three and a half years after we started the renovation?