Home Renovations Archives - A Side of Sweet

Backyard Kitchen Remodel with Hestan Outdoor Kitchen Review

Everything you need to know about remodeling your backyard and building an outdoor kitchen, including a full review of our Hestan Outdoor Kitchen appliances – with photos and video!

Now that we’ve recovered from our kitchen remodel, we decided our next project was to transform our unfinished backyard into a peaceful oasis. The goal was a beautiful and FUNCTIONAL space that we will actually use on a regular basis!

One of my goals for this remodel was to take the power and flexibility of our indoor kitchen outdoors. We have Hestan appliances that we’ve been cooking on for the last two years so it made sense to use Hestan appliances for outdoors as well.

Hestan is known for innovative and high-quality kitchen appliances. They offer a range of outdoor kitchen appliances that are taking our grilling and outdoor cooking endeavors to a whole new level.

Read on for a full review and photos of all of the Hestan outdoor products we have in our backyard!

Remodeling a Kitchen in San Francisco – What You Need to Know

What to know about remodeling a kitchen in San Francisco including sourcing appliances, navigating the planning department, and photos!

Doing a Kitchen Remodel in San Francisco

We survived (thrived!) a major kitchen remodel in San Francisco and I’m here to tell you what made this a mostly smooth process for us! I also have some suggestions on where to source materials and appliances in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are an open book so let me know what questions you have.

Read on for all my tips!

Review of the Hestan Campania Pizza Oven

A review of the Hestan Campania Pizza Oven, and whether it’s really worth it! Spoiler, it just might be the best pizza oven out there.

This summer we upgraded our backyard with our very own 33″ Hestan Campania Pizza Oven. It was a game-changer! It has been so much fun perfecting our pizza technique and experimenting with new topping combinations.

Read on for my full review of the Hestan Pizza Oven!

Where to Buy Marble Countertop Slabs in the Bay Area

Everything you need to know about choosing stone and marble slabs for your kitchen countertops in the San Francisco Bay Area. What places sell stone countertop slabs and what to consider when shopping for stone.

Where to Buy Marble Stone Countertop Slabs in San Francisco Bay Area

Our marble countertops were one of the biggest purchases in our kitchen remodel and also one of the most stressful. To say I worried about choosing the right stone for our countertops is an understatement! I like to joke that I have a Master’s degree in agonizing about what stone countertops to pick. I just didn’t have a clear vision for what I wanted when we started out and that made everything harder.

I’m going to spill the tea about everything I learned during this process to hopefully help you too! We went to four different places in the San Francisco Bay Area and ended up finding stone slabs for both our fireplace and kitchen at Integrated Resouces Group (IRG) in Brisbane, California (15 minutes south of San Francisco). The cliff notes version of this post is that IRG has the best and largest stone selection in the Bay Area and the best service.

Want more? Read on for everything you need to know about where to find stone countertops in the Bay Area.

Sparkling Water on Tap – Zip Water Hydrotap Review

Sparkling + boiling water on tap!? Here’s our review of the Zip Water Hydrotap we added during our kitchen remodel. Is it worth it? Read on to find out!

If you haven’t been following along on social media, we are currently putting the finishing touches on a major kitchen remodel. When I say major – I mean tearing down walls, taking things down to the studs, and completely starting from scratch. It’s been a long two years but now that we are finally using the kitchen it has made it all worth it.

One of the most fun things in our kitchen is our Zip Water HydroTap. The HydroTap dispenses filtered sparkling, boiling, and cold water with just the touch of a button. It sounds like a dream, right?

Here’s a look at how the Zip Water Hydrotap works:

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The Perfect Futon that Looks Like a Couch

I found the PERFECT couch for our home office makeover. Natural Home has organic and natural bedding, futons, and mattresses for any taste or budget

Finding the right couch for my home office/photography studio remodel wasn’t easy. I had a specific look in mind. I really wanted something that was bright, modern and chic.

Read on for more about my dream sofa!