The Dream, Yet Very Possible Kitchen

All right, we may be completely redoing a kitchen sometime very soon. Here's what we have so far:

-A painted checkerboard pattern on wood floors. Or perhaps restoring the original floors, depending on what we find when we take of the laminate flooring.


-Soapstone countertops. It's a dark matte finish that needs to be oiled regularly at first, but less so later on. It seems very romantic and beautiful to us.

-Apron sink. Dave loves an undermount sink, but they annoy me for some reason so I think one like this would be a great compromise.

-White Shaker style cabinets.

-Wall mounted gooseneck above the apron sink.

-White subway tile backsplash.
-Perhaps a white hood above the oven? I kind of love this, but then where does the microwave go?

-Pulls: a cup pull. We are leaning towards thinner, longer ones rather than half circles.

All right, I think this pink fridge is rather atrocious, but the owner apparently found it at a garage sale for $30 and it was this horrid brown color.  She took it to an automotive painter and had it repainted.  Now it looks like one of those super old beautiful ones (albeit pink).

Loft Beds

Dave's idea for a loft bed for Lincoln and Child #2.

Curtians for L's Room

We're transitioning from ideas to actual projects which is fairly exciting.  And scary.  

Our boy has a circus room.  I realized that sounds super creepy, but it's going to be great- vintage circus posters, a steamer trunk, lots of blues and reds.  Good things.  And we are in need of curtains for his room.  Curtains that will look circus-y, but not "HEY LOOK!  A CIRCUS!" 

Our pick: 



The relaxed Roman shade.  Preferably in this fabric:



Now we just need to figure out how to make them...

Some tutorials:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4759430_make-relaxed-roman-shades.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_6518593_sew-relaxed-roman-shade.html

We've been thinking about finally making a cover for our giant puke green couch that I love and are brainstorming color options.  I like this lighter tan color- it's a nice neutral without looking like it belongs in a Pottery Barn ad 7 years ago.  Maybe because of the other items in the room.

Also, I really like the ottoman.  It's a perfect thing to kick your feet up on, but can also be used for additional seating if needed.

 We have a super boxy couch.  I think some cylindrical pillows like these would help soften the lines up quite nicely. 

Note to self for if I ever reupholster a couch like this- mix up some fabrics. 

I plan on copying this.  Dave has this great old tallboy dresser and this color of felt would look beautiful on top.  And I could put manly pretty things on it- like a little tray to hold those weird plastic things that go in his collared shirts or a bowl for change he always seems to have. 

Here's some more black and white stripes.  I think with design we tend to make a lot of work for ourselves when we don't actually need to.   Case in point- instead of redoing these chairs so they would be cushioned instead of caned, it's much easier to simply put a cushion on top of it.  And easier to clean.  And easier to change.  And they're pretty.

I'm really liking very bold details lately.  Granted, this is assuming I have good enough to taste to be able to pare them down with the rest of the details.  We have a family room with horrible plastic blinds that don't look or work nicely and I think they could make a nice focal point.  If, of course, there was something pretty to look at out of the window...

I found this image from a nursery and I love it- a little photo wall of the people they come from, the people who love them.  I love the idea of my child sleeping under a little montage of where they come from.

Living Room

Dave's Priorities:
-A place for friends to gather, comfortable seating
-Not ramshackled- complimentary pieces

April's Priority-
-Arranged for a pleasant flow
-Stylish, but homey
-Not expensive.

For the future notice- we used Behr's Sterling paint at a -50, in Flat Enamel. 

 The paint we chose- Behr's "Full Moon"

The runner's up:

"Twilight" and "Sterling"

And yes, I am somewhat mortified that two of the three paint names had to do with those vampire books.

I'm getting fairly obsessed with light grey walls with white molding/ceilings/accents.  My idea:

 

Dave has reminded me that I didn't like grey so much when we actually lived in a relatively grey state.  He might have a point.  And if not grey like this picture on the right, then maybe an icy blue like on the left...

I tend to go a bit overboard when it comes to my love of stripes, but in a mostly solids room these drapes could look great.  They're surprising.

I'm a sucker for roman shades.  I really like that these aren't really white, but more of an oatmeal color which adds a nice balance to a really white room.  I like that little flap in front and the black stripe.  It's traditional, but a little jaunty.

These curtains are interesting- bold and graphic without being obnoxious.  The ricarac bring a bit of 50s charm that I like.  This could be great in a certain 50s kitchen.

I'm too lazy to crop this- let's talk about the image on the left.  I'm really liking the bold print on the curtain, how they drape, and how the sheerness doesn't really block out any of the light.  This would be perfect for when the view outside the window isn't amazing but you still have a window- that way the curtains themselves could be the focal point.  

I like the idea of that giant contrast band of the bottom of the drapes.  I wonder if a chair-rail level band would make the room seem less tall...  It's a nice way to bring in color without having a giant swatch of it.

Nautical

Now that we are again moving to a sea town we are excited to brush off the idea of a more industrial nautical theme. Here's how I see it:

A very light gray on the walls, with white ceilings, doors, and accents.

Brass bed frame, lovingly weathered. At the foot is a wooden trunk, filled with blankets...

...and with the HelleDickson nautical flags to hang above the bed.

Something like this:

I am in love with this dresser- the brass pulls and kick at the bottom especially.  I think Dave can make this.

I think if we keep the rest of the room simple and homey it's going to balance out the room and make sure it doesn't look like we live in Disneyland.

 

I tend to not like back splashes in general, but I really like the brick back splash and the archway above going on in this kitchen.  It has kind of a pizzeria thing going.   It's stylish and practical and homey.  And I love a good indoor brick...

This is more of a place marker for an idea more suited for us- the giant, weathered cribbage board.  It would fit really well in a long space like this or over our crazy long couch.

Cheaper alternative to a giant butcher's block:  this cedar island with a slate top.  Technically it's cedar 2x4s reclaimed from a pickles and peppers factory, topped with an antique school chalkboard (which is pretty much nostalgic/green porn).  The little shelf on the bottom, though absolutely wonderful, may pose a problem with children.  I like the idea of a slate top.  It seems only second to white marble for me.  Third actually, because a butcher's block would come first.

This is a place holder for a good idea- instead of dominos I want to make a giant cribbage board to go above our couch.  Would it look good or weird to have a long skinny wall hanging above a long and skinny couch?  Or do we need something tall to balance it out?