Does My New Kitchen HAVE to be Gray & White?!?

I will be the first to say, I love trends. Change is the very thing that keeps me feeling inspired! However, I will also be the first to admit that there is nothing like a trend on the verge of being abused, in my opinion, to make me think maybe there is something a little different that I will love even more. I think they call that an occupational hazard?! On a side note, I think all of these kitchens are beautiful and I do love the feeling of a clean spacious kitchen! And for sure in terms of kitchen trends there is some definite comfort in knowing that the $$$ you put into a project this scope will be the very thing that everyone wants, you know, especially for that resale value (I am certain I wasn't meant to be a realtor:) 

We updated our kitchen two years ago and repainted our stained cabinets gray, went with the ol' white backsplash and ever popular white marble looking counter tops....and I do love it. Here she is, for old times sake. You can see some before pics here. 

We will have lived in our house 8 years and I love everything about it. It's my baby and though we did not build this house it feels like we have made our mark on it even if there is nothing unique about it in terms of the layout. And like I said we would NEVER do, we are building a house! I am the type that likes to say never so I don't disappoint myself. I think they call that a personality hazard:)! 

So as we get plans together I am starting to think what if, what if, what if.... For the first time it can be created not altered and materials can be chosen over repainted and so my mind will be spinning until the plans are closer to being real but I cannot wait to take you along on some planning and of course as we implement those plans. First phase though, the "what if" phase. Or as my husband calls it the phase where no one has told me yet that my ideas are way out of our budget:) So what if my kitchen was not gray and white?! 

What if I were Kelly Wearstler?! Probably not in the budget. That dress may be more than my entire kitchen budget! But oh the drama! I love the black, the open shelves with the pop of that gorgeous mint color! Hell, I even love that horse! I'll take two! LOVE! 

Speaking of GREEN.... ohh lala!!! This is one of my all time favs! I love these green cabinets against that blue backsplash! It's a great mix of coastal and glam styles and it just works all around! And this subtle green feels airy and open like the gray and white trend but it has a warmth about it that makes it way more appealing in my opinion! 

Speaking of light an airy. White takes on a pretty unique look with this black contrasting hardware and the old rough oak floors and beams. This is what unique is all about peeps! 

Another example of taking a classic cabinet color and creating some interest with hardware! This is what thinking outside the box is all about. You start with the basics and turn it into something all your own. Um, yes!!

Don't "poo poo" brown (I'm here all week!). Brown has been with us since the day we were born. I know what you are thinking, brown cabinets are like beige walls. Everyone is looking to paint their walls gray to replace beige and their cabinets gray to replace brown! But what happens when we have 50 shades of gray going on???? It ain't gonna be as exciting as the books people! Mix it up! Brown, beige, white, black and gray are gorgeous together! Then on top of it, go ahead and mix that trendy gold metal with the gray chrome. Do it, I dare you! 

And lastly when it seems like all is lost for a pop of color in a kitchen, please oh please don't do it in the walls! Instead save your color for accents! A red hot stunner. 

 Until next time....
{Cheers}
Laura~

Client Living Space Renovation - Phase 1

Now that the master bedroom is complete, my client wants to start tackling their overall living space. Currently, their living room is being used as their toy room and home office area. The sunroom off their kitchen is used as their main TV and living room and their formal dining room is just not used. They wanted a plan to better utilize the space they have and take back some of their living space while still in the midst of raising young children.  

My fist goal was to get the home office out of the living room. And since the dining room is underutilized for eating, I suggested they use this space as a multi-functional den/dining room.

My client already has great built-in cabinetry in their dining room.

The plan is to simply remove the middle, lower cabinets and dress the former bar as a desk area.

Similarly, use the built-in buffet as a bookcase.

A round table for easy traffic flow and a chandelier that is large enough for the table but with a slightly masculine, den feel.



I added a narrow console table in front of the window for serving when the room is used for dining. The dining table I chose for them also converts to a larger oval when the leaf is in.

 I am so excited about this first phase of my client's living space renovation! Giving this space a purpose opens up an entire new area for them to live and love.

Stay tuned for the living room and sun room plans! {Erin}

Crisp & Casual Client Bedroom REVEAL!

I posted in July about a client who had come to the all too familiar crossroads in home ownership: love it or list it? We have been working on plans for their main floor living spaces which I will share with you later this week, but in the meantime, we have given their master bedroom a crisp and casual mini makeover. Here is the design and post from July.

And here was an option for window panels I gave her. 

Here is the design translated! Her husband wasn't crazy about the starburst mirror, so we went with a colorful landscape picture framed by the wall sconces.

And as a tribute to their fury friend Louie, I found a ceramic "Louie" door stop. 

A quick look back at the before: 

Sweet Dreams! {Erin}

Lake Renovations Reveal!

For those of you who have been following my sporadic progress pics of our lake house renovation, it is finally finished! I think I said that it would take around 3 weeks in my initial post about the makeover. Well, what can I say? I was wrong! Weather, changes, etc. made it more like an eight week makeover, but who's counting?! 

The most important thing is that we are completely thrilled with the results. Take a look!

You'll have to pardon my photos - forgot my nice camera and so these are from my phone. But even bad photography can't hide what a great change has been made. Here's where we started again. 

And the end result.

I am starting a much smaller renovation this week for a client. This  chic bamboo edged dresser is getting a glam makeover with a jewel tone finish and new hardware. 

Stay tuned for the results! {Erin}

Glam Girl's Room Artwork, On the Cheap

I'm all about artwork that's affordable! I think it is like anything else, if the colors are right and you can think of a creative way to display it, then it's artwork, even if it was not intended for that! For this project, my daughter and I were in one of the local toy stores and happened upon this box of card stock "glitter boards" each one a different ethnicity of french women wearing these gorgeous dresses. The project was to peel tiny stickers away on the dress to reveal numbers corresponding to the color glitter you painted on each part of the dress! I literally thought, these are almost too pretty for a kid's art project... light bulb!! So we bought them with the intention of making them just that. I love when a kid's project and home decor can come together! It's like the ultimate kill 2 birds with 1 stone in the world of a decor obsessed mom. So here is what came in the kit...

You use the green tool to lift the tiny stickers that are numbered with the color of glitter you should apply to the sticky area underneath. Then you use the brush to even out the glitter. 

The amount of detail to these pictures is so amazing. And the glitter colors are mixed with several different tones of each color so that they shimmer and look almost dimensional when they are on! I could not wait to frame these!

Once they were finished I took them to Hobby Lobby on their 50% off framing sale... going on pretty much all the time! And I knew I wanted them matted in black with a simple gold metallic frame. They are only about 5x7 so the frames size could not be huge as I did not want the black mat to overpower the artwork. For the time being, I chose to hang them over her vanity in her room but I can't wait to put them in her bathroom when we move as I have a wide stripe black & white wallpaper picked out for a wall in there that I think they would be perfect for!! Did I mention we are building a house?!? Another post, another post...

I really wish I were a better photographer and especially when shooting glass as the importance of skills really come into play with the reflections and the glare but they look so cute and this was such an easy but creative way to make art for a kid's bedroom. Stella had a friend up to her room on Friday and she called me up so I would confirm that she really did make those pictures over her vanity:)! Her friend was pretty impressed even if it was just peeling stickers and applying glitter by numbers! On a side note, I got all the artwork over her bed (with the exception of the metal floral bouquet which I got when I found out I was having a girl at a thrift shop 7 years ago) at Hobby Lobby as well! They have some very cute quotation art for crazy inexpensive prices! I think I got the entire collage for less than $75.00! 

On a side note... if you follow me on Instagram I got my black and white vintage cain back chairs back yesterday from my upholstery guy. They turned out great! I sanded spray primed and painted these chairs a long time ago to add to our front room! I love the way they turned out! For the black and white striped one I bought a very very inexpensive piece of black and also white canvas fabric, less that $10 a yard, and had him stitch them together for a wide off center stripe! The other fabric was less than $20 a yard as well. All that is left to finish in this room is the rug to pull the area together and a coffee table! 

Sorry for the lack of posts in the last several months! We are geared up to get ourselves in motion again. It was a great break over the summer and the fall has been swamped with client projects which is wonderful but keeps me from posting sometimes in the rush to get it all done while the kids are at school! I mentioned in my first post after school started that ALL my kids now are in school full time and it is great for getting my work done but I will say, you send them off thinking that you have so much more time and then you blink and they are back....with loads and loads of homework!!
There are many milestones in parenting but being a mom never stops being a full time job and everything else just has to fall around it as I figure! Happy Fall btw, I have not a one fall decor out in my house which gives me anxiety.... :)  

{Cheers!!}
Laura~