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One year after Jojotastic blogger and Pinterest pioneer Joanna Hawley-McBride’s beloved grandfather passed away, she found out he had left her something special. He had set aside money for the down payment on a house. With the gift, he left specific instructions for Joanna to settle down—so she did.
Rather than live on the fringes of the city in a multibedroom home on her own, Joanna prioritized location. In the charming Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, she opted for a 640-square-foot bungalow that dates back to the early 20th century. This meant cedar shiplap walls galore. Over the past four years, Joanna and her now husband have gradually renovated the space.
To tackle the kitchen, Joanna called in reinforcements. While she has a design background that includes creative roles at Nordstrom and Anthropologie, Joanna wanted to collaborate with a professional interior designer. She teamed up with fellow blogger Sarah Gibson to help her make big, expensive decisions and validate the functionality of her choices. Though this partnership was smooth, Joanna did face problems with her first contractor, forcing her to find another one midrenovation. Despite this stressful complication, Joanna ended up with a deeply personal and luxuriously practical kitchen. Here’s how she did it.
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Kitchen location: In the historic waterfront neighborhood of Ballard, Joanna’s kitchen is the focal point of her one-bedroom bungalow, built in 1908.
The before: “The kitchen was super-dark,” Joanna explains. “There used to be a wall, so you had to go through a doorway to get in. It was like a cave. The refrigerator just hung out in the corner, and the oven was far away from everything. There was no counter space near the stove, so I couldn’t put anything down. It was super-inconvenient when I was cooking. It was dated and ugly. The counters were tile, and there was no dishwasher.”
The inspiration: Joanna loved a project Sarah had previously completed called the tuxedo kitchen, so she had to have one of her own. The classic combination of black and white informed the room’s design.
Square footage: 120 square feet
Budget: “With what I do for work, I get a lot of stuff gifted to me. Most of the materials in the kitchen were given to me,” Joanna explains. In return, she provides product placement on her blog, photography, and social media mentions. Joanna paid for labor and structural materials herself and budgeted $30,000 for that.
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Main ingredients:
Floors: Fireclay Tile Slate Blue Chaine Homme. “Blue is my favorite color,” Joanna says. “We pulled that in with the floor tile, which is actually super-special. The tiles are H-shaped. I did it as a subtle homage to my grandfather, whose name was Harvey. Every single tile is handmade in California.”
Counters and Backsplash: Polycor White Cherokee Georgia Marble. “It’s a honed finish because I didn’t want it to be super-shiny,” Joanna explains. “I wanted the countertops to age and feel almost Parisian where they show signs of use.”
Cabinets: Masterbrand Diamond Cabinets Sumner Shaker-Style Doors. “They’re known for having the best organizational fixtures within the cabinets. They have amazing inserts that help maximize space,” Joanna says of the solid maple lacquered cabinets.
Hardware: Rejuvenation Upton Aged Brass Drawer Pulls. “I really like big hardware. It’s kind of like jewelry; I like big jewelry,” Joanna admits.
Paint: Sherwin-Williams Pure White
Sink: Sinkology Bradstreet II Fireclay Farmhouse Sink. “It’s a kitchen bathtub. It’s huge. We have two dachshunds, so it’s great for bathing them, which is basically why we chose the size that we did,” says Joanna.
Faucet and Pot Filler: Delta Trinsic Single Handle Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet and Delta Contemporary Wall Mount Pot Filler. “I love matte black, so it was really easy for us to make that decision. Sarah suggested mixing metallic and matte finishes, so we used both aged brass and matte black throughout.”
Appliances: KitchenAid Black Stainless Steel Refrigerator, Smart Oven, Burner Gas Cooktop with Griddle, Canopy Hood, and Dishwasher “The griddle is kind of life-changing. I love making pancakes on it so much. And having gas is so huge. I don’t think I’ve ever cooked as much as I do now,” Joanna says.
Lighting: Rejuvenation Haleigh Oil-Rubbed Bronze Dome Pendant and Lamps Plus Hudson Valley Rye 11" Wide Aged Brass Ceiling Light
Floating Shelves: Custom Walnut Floating Shelves
Chickens: “A couple years ago, I broke my leg and needed something to do, so we got chickens. They’re fancy chickens, which means that they’re heritage birds, so they have a lineage. I named them after figure skaters because they’re fancy. We have Nancy Kerrigan, Dorothy Hamill, Kristi Yamaguchi, Katarina Witt, and Michelle Kwan. Most of them are actually rescues.”
Most insane splurge: The floor was a big-ticket item. “The tile installation was a really big splurge because we went with the guy who had the best referrals and recommendations because the tile was so special,” Joanna says.
Sneakiest save: When Joanna realized she needed to put in a new window, she chose the cheapest one possible and trimmed it to fit the space.
The best part: “The floor is my favorite. It’s so sentimental, and I’ve never seen this tile used in a space like mine. I love having something so unique in my home,” Joanna says.
What I'd never do again: Joanna’s only regret is hiring her first contractor.
Final bill: Joanna ended up spending only about $20,000 on labor and structural materials because of her issues with her initial contractor. The total value of the gifts she received was approximately $44,000.
