Mr Banks Before&After: Kitchen and Bar

The two big issues with the house when we bought it were the kitchen, and the master bed situation which I will show you in another post. The kitchen wasn’t bad…really. Just really not our taste, and in my opinion, not the best use of space. Also, the previous owners must have been basketball players because the countertops came up to, like, my chin. Not functional for us. Again, if you are new here our previous home in Chicago was featured in Rue last spring, and if you want to see what we did in the kitchen there check out this post.

The Kitchen

Before

After

Before

After

Before- We just hated how it was closed off from the family room, removing those cabinets made such a difference and we really didn’t lose that much storage.

After

The Bar

Before- There was a butlers pantry connecting the dining room to the kitchen that we turned into a bar.

After

Before

After

After

I so love that wallpaper, at first it looks like a girly damask, but when you look closer it is cowboys shooting guns in the air around an oil well and football helmets. VERY manly 😉

Ok, shoot with the questions. I will do my best to answer them at the end of the day.

Tomorrow we have the family room and powder room. Friday playroom and Laundry and imma do the bedrooms next week!

52 thoughts on “Mr Banks Before&After: Kitchen and Bar

  1. I truly admire your vision – you see so much potential in a space. Beautiful! (I already got a sneak peak yesterday on D*S!) Do tell about the fridge. I am in love.

  2. love, love, love the kitchen. what brand of fridge is hiding under those panels?

  3. Color me breathless.
    Totally gorgeous but completely comfortable & liveable. Can’t wait to see the rest!

  4. Your house is blowing me away! Love all the fun touches and its perfect for a young couple like you two (well three now). That wallpaper is amazing.

  5. I woke up this morning excited for this post and it did not disappoint! In LOVE with your house. When can I move in?! Can’t wait for more – congratulations, you are one talented lady!!

  6. I love the whole house. So fun! I was wondering if you could share the source of the living room rug. The gray with hydrangea. Thanks so much!! Gorgeous home:)

  7. LOVE your house. I’m especially obsessed with your kitchen! Love it. Can’t wait for more before and afters!

  8. i love how tricksy that wallpaper is!!! i also love that in your whole house, instead of choosing one thing that has character and building around it, you choose many many things that are awesome and have so much character and make it work!! your kitchen is my dream. those blue bar stools against the white is amazing!! can’t wait to see more details of the whole house!!

  9. The kitchen and bar area did not disappoint (not that I even had a doubt they would)! Now you’re making me think we should use our butler’s pantry as a bar! Also, are your countertops marble? If so, would you mind sharing what kind of marble? If not marble, what are they? Thanks so much for all the inspiration!

  10. Bailey! Mr. Banks is crazy awesome! I love it! And I love all the little pops of personality throughout it, like the cowboy damask.

  11. Mr. Banks’ kitchen is so lovely – I bet everyone wants to hang out in there while you’re cooking!! Those are the best kinds of kitchens. You’ve made me into a total white kitchen fan and this one does not disappoint

  12. I”M SO EXCITED! I loved looking at your house yesterday! Freaking love the kitchen. I remember when you first posted about it and some super jealous loser commented something ugly about there being nothing wrong with it… well suck on that stupid commenter!

  13. I’m enjoying your house pictures tremendously! Your style is so fresh and fun. Would love to know the info on the kitchens yellow and white wallpaper if you wouldn’t mind sharing.

  14. SO super-cute!!! I love how light and airy everything is while still having lots of fun colors and depth!

  15. Love all the pics! keep them coming. it is so refreshing to see design that has color, personality and does not involve white slip-covered sofas 🙂

    Where are the animal head little things from? i LOVE them. My husband is obsessed with fancy bar wear stuff and animal heads. might have to get him some of these for our anniversary. Also, where is the bar tray from? love that too.

  16. You kitchen is gorge – so clean and bright! What are the countertops made of and how thick is the slab on the island? I love how it looks!

  17. How on earth is your island such a thick piece of marble?? Or is it an optical illusion??

  18. Gorgeous! Would love the source of the stools and definitely the wallpaper!!! So clever!!

  19. love your new home!! esp jealous of your entry way….all i want in life is an entry that i can have a cute little table and a dish for my keys. anyways…

    do you think your new kitchen provides the same cubbard/storage space as chicago kitchen? obviously you are not lacking for storage with the wet bar and hutches in dining room but was wondering what you thought about actual kitchen storage. <3

  20. I’m new to your blog and since then have been trying to think of an original way to tell you how inspiring you are but all I can come up with is…”you are so inspiring” 🙂 thanks!
    The paper is killer, the stools elevate the space, the counter tops are perfect, the peek into the pink media room (saw the peek on DS) is a jewel, the light fixtures are larger then life. Brilliant!

  21. I am so glad your lovely home was on design sponge and even more glad that you have a blog I can now follow!! Is there any way you could tell me where you got the rug for your living room?
    THANKS!!

  22. i LOVE the gun chairs, where did you get them and amazing cowboy wall paper? your home is seriously amazing!

  23. This is SO much fun. As I am a reader of MODG and MFAMB, it is just so fun to see everyone reference one another and all that happiness. Anyway. That’s a whole other thing.

    This is like candy. So good. So so good. I am REALLY enjoying this virtual tour of yours. ESPECIALLY that wallpaper. Are you kidding. We are watching Hatfield and McCoys (a la History Channnel) and I’m certain this is the gentleman’s way to give a nod to feuding. Nicely done. ANYWAY. Thanks for all the inspiration…I also really appreciate how you’ve made color compliment each other even from different rooms, so that when you’re peeking through the kitchen to the playroom, it all feels very fluid and pleasing to the eye. Love this guilty pleasure of oogling your home! Thank you for sharing!

  24. Ahh! The wallpaper is Paul Loebach “Yee-haw,” and I’ve been lusting after it for ages! It looks fab in your bar.

  25. Completely overwhelmed by the bad assness of the entire house! Bailey, you are a treat in my life. Thanks for sharing your home. I’m drooling over the kitchen light fixtures. Source? Is that carrera marble on the counters and backsplash? Do you worry about staining/chipping?

  26. Hi!

    I saw your house last night on DesignSponge and I am SO IMPRESSED. I absolutely love the bathrooms, the day bed and red towers in your daughter’s room and so many of the other details. The whole house is incredibly inspiring and makes me want to redecorate (though I have too many other projects going on right now, but it’s something to look forward to in the future). I stayed up way too late looking at your archives and realized that I recognized your wedding (I think from Cup of Joe?). It looked amazing and I love the two different tent themes/parties.

    Re: weight posts – It’s great that you’re walking and/or running 2-3 miles, as that seems very sustainable in the long term. Kudos to you for losing 16 pounds in a healthy manner! You look great! I do have to say though that guacamole in controlled portions is healthy and I believe you need healthy fats for your body to function properly (and to have vibrant skin, shiny hair, etc…). Also, you wrote that you were eating pb even though you don’t really like it. I am certainly not a nutritionist, or a diet expert (my weight has gone up and down and is on the higher end right now), but I don’t eat anything I don’t like. I’m not saying I love everything I eat equally, but I feel like it’s not good to eat something for the sole reason that you think it’s healthy if you don’t like it. I imagine that would leave you feeling unsatisfied. It looks like you’re doing really well on your own, but it might be good to see a nutritionist if things stall or you need more ideas (and make sure they are an RD b/c anyone can call themselves a nutritionist). Someone once told me to eat at least four, but no more than six times a day and I think that’s good advice as well.

  27. Oh my! First Pete’s amazing shower, now the coolest wallpaper ever in the butler’s pantry! You are too much!

  28. Thank you all again! In answer to your questions…
    Fridge is SubZero, wallpaper is The Vase David Hicks through Clarence House, living room rug is madeline weinrib, the countertops and backsplash are carrera slabs, yes they stain and chip, but I don’t mind the live in look. They don’t red wine stain, they show watermarks and pot stains. The slab on the island is an illusion, they are normal thickness with an edge applied to give the look of some super thick stuff. The stools are just basic diner stools from a restaurant supply store, recovered in a fun vinyl.
    Cowboy wallpaper is studio print works.
    Storage- It is slightly less than our house in Chicago, but we have a giant pantry, bar, and then the china cabinets. Also, the island has storage as well. We haven’t come close to filling everything up!
    Kitchen lights are hicks pendants from circa
    gun chairs from a store in Austin called Mercury a few years back.
    Ok I think that’s everything!

  29. SERIOUSLY! What does your husband do for a living?! Your home is GORGEOUS but this has got to cost a fortune to redo! Whatever it is – I want to switch careers 🙂

  30. Your home is gorgeous! Seriously, how do you two afford this!? That looks like a crazy expensive rehab, but everything looks fabulous! I’m sure this is way out of most people’s budgets but could you give some tips on how to rehab on the cheap? Love everything about this house – great job!

  31. BQMcC, this is amazing!I am blown away. Can’t wait until I have a book of your work in my house! Truly incredible. xo

  32. Something is hiding behind the left cabinet in the bar. Are there two fridges? One wine, one for mix and ice? I’m just luxuriating in the fabulousness of this house.

  33. Something is hiding behind the left bottom cabinet door of the bar. Are there two fridges? One wine, one for mix and ice? I’m just luxuriating in the fabulousness of this house.

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