Kitchen Fabric

It’s a long weekend here this weekend and HandyMan and I have some exciting stuff planned… shopping for door casing, transition strips, touching up the paint. Woohoo, I can’t contain my excitement :o\ One other fun thing we are doing is making a trip to Designer Fabrics and pick up some samples. There is a sliding door at the end of our galley kitchen and I really don’t like the racoons and other googly-eyed creatures hanging out in our backyard peeking in. So, I’ll be putting up a curtain at that end and also have a roman blind over the sink.

The fabric needs to pull in colours from the adjoining dining room, which has bold yellowy-green & brown wallpaper and white wainscoting, and the hallway which has white trim and charcoal grey walls. (Hmm, that colour scheme sounds a litle frenetic, now that I mention it). Since the kitchen cabinets and layouts are all very angular and linear, I thought we could soften that by using a floral pattern. I need to also consider the scale and complexity of the pattern...it should be smaller than the dining wallpaper and should either have more/tighter pattern or looser/less pattern than the wallpaper. Anything too similar would make the rooms 'compete' rather than 'complement'. Here’s a few contenders I’ve picked from the website:



Finding the right pattern is going to be a bit like buying a wedding gown... you never know what's going to work until you try it on.

Diving In

Day 1. I’ve gone and done it. Finally, after months (years?) of talking about it, I’m going to start my own business. The idea has been stewing in my brain for a long time. Sometimes, its quiet, like a stone covered in moss, rolling around, bumping into things but never really leaving a mark or making a sound. Other times, its loud, crashing and thrashing and thumping about. In stereo. Its times like that that I can’t concentrate on my “day” job… you know, the one that pays the bills. The one that I was schooled for and have succeeded at and which has allowed me to live a comfortable life in a nice house. The one (if I was silent and listened to my heart) that I really don’t have a passion for.

I’ve always had this conflict (and I’m sure many of you have, too). Do I keep doing what I’m doing just because I’m good at it? Or do I disrupt my life (and that of HandyMan’s) to try something I’m not even sure will survive, let alone thrive? I’ve been looking around for answers. Some bloggers have tackled this question; decor8, design for mankind, and please sir and their readers have given me much food for thought. But it was this old post that really resonated with me. I am already “in the zone” she writes about… opportunities are presenting themselves, key people have confirmed my business idea is a sound one, and there are little “signs” appearing, like markers showing me the path.

Part of the obstacle was my own thinking. I’ve never been able to reconcile my right-brain and left-brain thinking. I’m equal parts creative and practical. I love Excel just as much as I love our mitre saw. I have an MBA in Strategic Management and I’ve written a book about architecture. Adobe InDesign and Microsoft Project both get me excited. I can design a room and I can design a strategic plan. See what I mean? What do you do with that? The problem was I’ve always thought I needed to choose one or the other, and my educational background made that choice very simple. It’s been the corporate life for me for the last 15 years. But then, I had that “A Ha!” moment. Why do I have to choose?

In a world where people are both interior designers and bloggers, writers and artists… a world where people have 2 or 3 jobs to sustain themselves… why can’t I do both? I can. So I am.

Its still in the early stages but my plan will allow me to flex my business mind and surround myself with creative types. But why am I blogging about this when it obviously has nothing to do with renovating or design? Well, they say if you want to make something happen, you need to articulate it – and you folks are the largest audience that will hear me :) As well, if you’re anything like me, you may be reading this blog as a way to feed the need for creativity in your own life. It could be a distraction. It could be something that prompts you to say “oh, I wish I could do that… if I only had the time”. If I have learned anything from my friend Willow, it is that there is no time like the present. So I’m jumping in, taking a dive into the murky waters. Hopefully, I can float.

Pining for Paper

In 29 days, it will be my first wedding anniversary. The Paper Anniversary. HandyMan and I will be running away to NYC to celebrate but we've decided to exchange gifts before we go... something small, something inexpensive, but still meaningful.

Uh, yeah... I have no clue what to get him. I thought about getting him a journal and filling it with memories and notes of our days together -- but I have enough trouble keeping this blog up-to-date, and would totally fail at writing a daily journal. I thought about writing a poem or making a card, but HM is not a sentimental, sticky-sweet nothings kind of guy. Then I thought about art -- but it was hard enough to agree on our last art purchase that I'm not sure my gift would be well received.

What to do, what to do. I guess I'll just keep browsing my favourite paper sites until I come up with something.

Paper goodness from kissandtellcards; Good On Paper; Bella Figura; Oh Joy; Orange Beautiful; simplesong;

I Want This

Animals and vintage wallpaper... how adorable. Animal prints by Catherine Ledner.

Coastal Dreams

This is pretty much my dream beach house.

I love the grey cedar shingles against the white trim. The cozy front and back porches complete with lounge chairs and a swing. The polished nickel pendants in the white shaker kitchen. The bedroom which has just the right mixture of texture and pattern. And the gorgeous living room with the arched doorway, tall wall panels, awash in beachy tones.

Don’t want to just grab a book, throw on your swimsuit and a comfy robe, and plop yourself down by the pool?

Renovation by Barnes Vanse Architects.

Reno Resurce

In the course of writing this blog, I occasionally get some emails from readers. Some are junk, encouraging me to write a post about their product. Others have written to ask me to write for their blog (which is flattering but would, well, totally take all the fun out of blogging for me). And then some are helpful and really do provide something I’d like to share with my readers.

Rebecca at www.homerenovationguide.com wrote to tell me that they’ve revamped their site and made it more of a resource for homeowners. I’ve never visited the site before but liked what they had to offer. They have some interesting articles written by experts, links to products and local resources, and offer a Q&A. Of course, I headed straight to the Inspiration gallery to check out their Renovation of the Month… who doesn’t love a good Before & After? Their blog is worth a visit too. There’s tons of good links (heck, the writer seems to spend more time surfing than even me!).

Caught My Eye

I've added a handy little new widget to my menu bar on the left-hand side of my blog. "Caught My Eye" is a collection of posts from other blogs that, well, have caught my eye. Pretty nifty little tool -- assuming that anyone else really cares what interests me ;o\

Impatient!

I know I should wait to post pics until the kitchen is finished. I know posting now, with the kitchen in its half-done state, missing the countertop, backsplash, and accoutrements, may ruin the surprise and give an anti-climatic end to the wait of the last three months. But I. just. can't. do. it. I'm just not that kind 'o gal.

So drumroll please... here is the new kitchen :)





As you can see, there's still a lot left to do. Mike the electrical guy will finish off his work next week, HandyMan will do the plumbing for the fridge line, appliances will come in, granite will be templated, manufactured, and installed, and finally HandyMan and I will install the backsplash. We're talking another three weeks until we can actually cook a meal here. Oh - and the handles - the fabulous handles which I ordered online and had shipped to my sister in New York who was going to bring them home on her next visit that was supposed to be next weekend - yeah, sister isn't coming home so I'll have to find another mole to smuggle the hardware :o\

But the cabinets are here so that's all that counts. My white kitchen. Yay!

Before...


and After!

Happy Weekend

Hope you find a lazy, comfy, sleepy spot like this to rest this weekend.

Photo by J. Savage Gibson via Desire To Inspire.

Kidding Around

This weekend, I get a break from thinking about my house... and get to help my sister with hers! It'll be fun. Since they moved in two years ago, sis and family have left things pretty much as is but now its time to change it up. One of the things I'm looking forward to is helping her decorate my nephew's room. M is a creative, friendly, intelligent 4-year old (but I'm not biased ;) ). He wants a blue room so a blue room is what he's going to get. I've put together a mood board with some of my favourite things for kids' rooms.


Ikea EKORRE hanging seat; jschatz egg bank; Pottery Barn Kids schoolhouse bookcase; Angela Adams Spike Pool rug; Johnathan Adler giraffe lamp; animal alphabet poster and wall cuckoo clock by decoylab; Pottery Barn Madison armchair

Shopping Spree

With hot & hazy temperatures all weekend, HandyMan and I made a point to be out and about. We ordered our granite from Tempo, a lovely Kashmir White slab with hints of bluey-green. We’re still waiting on some quotes from installers… is anyone else as mystified by the whole stone buying process as we are? You pick out a slab from a supplier, but you actually get your price (including the cost of the slab, finishing, and installation) from an installer.

After buying the granite and visiting our appliance dealer to move the delivery date, we headed down to the outdoor art show. My brother is an artist so I didn’t have too much sticker shock and knew what to expect. The show was fantastic and I could easily have spent $thousands. HandyMan and I fell in love with a piece by Chris Langstroth but our limited budget and limited wall space dictated we buy something smaller. We ended up buying two abstract paintings by Kathleen Weich. They are colourful and textured and will look great at the top of the stairs against the grey wall.



On Sunday, we took a trip out to Moveline Liquidations who I’ve blogged about before. Let me tell you, this hotel liquidator did not disappoint! We picked up the headboard above and two very large prints for $50. What a steal. The headboard will go in the guest bedroom though I’m not sure what colour to paint it yet (canary yellow? Lobster orange?). As for the frames, I actually like the prints and will paint the frames a glossy white and change the mats out to white as well. They’ll look great over the sideboard in the living room for now.


And proving what a great resource this place is, its actually where The Sarah bought the desks for her office makeover. Hmmm, we seem to shop at the same places. Hopefully, some of her design sense will rub off on me too!

Its A Date!

We finally have an installation date for the kitchen cabinets. Next Thursday is the day and I can't wait for these fine folks to make my white kitchen dreams come true. But, it'll still be a few weeks before I can cook a meal. After the cabinets are in, the granite folks come in to measure a template and then the counter will take about 2 weeks to fabricate. In the meantime, Mike the electrical guy will come back to finish off his work. After counters, comes appliances, then we do the backsplash, finish off the window and door trims and install transition strips. Oh, and we have to put in those handles I just had to have. So in reality... another month until we can call this done :o\ We're close though. Until then, feast your eyes on these lovely white kitchens.

Sources: House Beautiful, unknown, Southern Accents, William Hefner, William Hefner, Point Click Home

We're All The Same, Aren't We?

I've come across this video a few times now. It was too good not to share. Enjoy.

Picture This

The last few fixes in the office space are taking forever to finish. We still have to paint out the rad but at least we put in the quarter round and hung up the picture wall. I'm loving the picture wall. It adds another layer of texture to the room. There is a lot going on in the room...but against the white wall, I don't think its too much. I have a few more prints waiting to be framed. It will be fun to see the wall evolve and change over time.