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Kitchen Inspiration

In the early stages of designing/scheming/planning our kitchen renovation, I spent an OUTRAGEOUS amount of time drooling over photos in magazines and gathering inspiration from those of you in blogland.

My initial plan was to go with black/dark grey cabinets and carrera marble countertops.  I used Layla Palmer's kitchen update from The Lettered Cottage as inspiration for that plan.  It is a nice blend of traditional and cottage-y, lending a nod to our home's colonial style..  But after letting that idea marinate for a while, I realized that although it would be a beautiful kitchen, it wouldn't be the light, bright and airy space that I was going for (or that this house DESPERATELY NEEDED).  Thus, my focus shifted to white, creamy cabinets and light-colored countertops (possibly carrera marble still).

Here are a few of my inspiration photos:

thekitchendesigner.org

I L.O.V.E the steely grey of the marble backsplash.  Subway tile is so simple, yet so beautiful....and it is the perfect accent to white cabinetry!  And then there is the butcher block countertop that warm up the space and break up the cool tones on the walls.  It is gorgeous! 

Better Homes and Gardens

Again, love the subway tile backsplash and the farm sink is PERFECT!  I also really love the pattern in the floor.  It seems to ground the space a little and break up the monotony of the white.  This kitchen just screams FRESH!

freshome.com

First of all, this is an enormous kitchen, which is not even close to the footprint I am working with, but a girl can dream!  I love the huge island and the vintage schoolhouse pendants.  It is a large space, but it still feels warm and inviting despite the cool tones used.

These kitchens all seem to give off a bright, fresh, and airy feeling.  And when I looked at our current situation, I knew that was EXACTLY what we needed:

Yikes, huh??  She was SCREAMING for a makeover.  In fact, we hadn't planned on renovating the kitchen for a while (we thought we could wait it out for 6 months to a year, ha!), but as soon as we closed on the house we knew that we HAD to do something.  So, this is where the story begins.  Instead of the ultimate kitchen makeover, we chose to do some of the work ourselves and try to make a big impact on a reasonable budget.  Stay tuned over the next few weeks for the complete step-by-step kitchen renovation process.

And here are a few more shots of the kitchen when we first bought it in February to give you a FULL understanding of what we were working with when we started all of this.

Lovely, isn't she?  And I know what you're thinking, "why don't I have a sofa in my kitchen"....but hey, that is only reserved for the coooolest kids!   

French Doors

What is it about French Doors? They seem to scream at you .............'open me up!'

We have a five sets of French doors accross the front of the house, two sets side by side at the back and four sets internally.

As I walked Ollie down the driveway to the school bus this morning it was freezing but as soon as it warm enough I opened up the back doors!

They dont have fly screens as I think this completely ruins the look but somehow we manage. I am looking forward to many a spring day and summer evening sitting outside at the back table with the doors open! x

Eames Envy

I'm suffering from a serious case of Eames Envy.  I love this chair, most especially in white.  

Grabbed this image from the talented Caitlin Wilson.  Check her out, she's a designer living in Dubai I blog watch for all her amazing interiors and traveling adventures.

The Good The Bad And The Puppy

After a big gust of wind and an intense storm on Sunday we lost our power. From 3:30 to midnight the pup and I wandered around in a new world: a world without air conditioning. Luckily the temperature dropped about 20 degrees and we were able to stroll around the hood with 2 buddies visiting neighbor after neighbor. A milk bone here, a chunk of ripe cantaloupe and a home grown edamame there made the hours fly by. By the light of an almost full moon we all returned to our hot dark houses for sleeping. I made one last attempt to get on line then went to bed.

The sad part of the story is that the Lab had a hot spot starting on her throat and after hours of heat and humidity and intense scratching ( while i was sleeping)by Monday morning it had blossomed into a large sunflower size spot on her chest.

As I cleaned and fluffed and filled the house with garden flowers for German girls return, the pup got sicker and sicker. Our vet had no appointments open so after a welcome back to the USA, we threw the dog in the truck and headed off for a 24 hour animal hospital in DC. By midnight we were out the door. The pup's chest was shaven and she was sporting the cone of shame, 2 different medications to take and many flushes and sprays. To add insult to injury she also has a cold complete with explosive sneezes.

By the time we returned home, fed the dog, fed the cat, accepted German girl's lost suitcase delivery it was 1:00am, she had been up for 24 hours and had a cold herself.

Welcome home.

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