Pantry
When we were looking for houses about a year ago, we went through one that had a really cool butler's pantry. Our pantry isn't really big enough to have a true butler's pantry, but we wanted to do as much as we could to make up for some of the lack in counter space in the kitchen. We decided to carry the subway tile back splash into the pantry as well.
My wife tore out all the old shelves, replaced the ugly light that was there and patched up a lot of holes in the walls. Fresh coat of paint as well.
Kitchen
As for the kitchen itself, we finally got the counter tops installed - we ended up going with quartz. I was really wanting to do concrete, but was really running out of time. The quartz is great, we love it.
After using the kitchen for a while, we decided that we wanted an island. We were concerned it would take up too much room and the various cabinet people we had come in told us the kitchen wasn't big enough for it. Well, what do they know? We looked at a lot of islands on the web to purchase, but in the end I decided to build one myself.
We now have the subway tile back splash installed. That really made a difference toward finishing the kitchen. And, after all of the construction foot traffic had died down, I gave the floor a light sanding and put on several more coats of finish.
Half Bathroom Off the Kitchen
We have an extremely small half bathroom right off the kitchen. We struggled with how to arrange a toilet in the space so that you could actually sit down. Yes, before you couldn't sit down (straight anyways) on the toilet. My wife scoured the internet to find the smallest toilet and sink available. She also painted the one wall with chalkboard paint.
The toilet ended up being installed at a slight angle to allow for proper usage.
Next up will be an update for the living and dining room.