Sunday, February 21, 2016

Design Plan: Black and White Bathroom



Last Spring I designed this new master bathroom for one of my favorite clients.







My client loves her new bathroom, but she doesn't love that her little boys now use it all the time. And, since moms deserve at least one kid-free space in the house, we are going to update the boys' bathroom so they'll want to use it instead of the master bathroom.

The boys' bathroom is off the upstairs hallway, and is used by guests as well.






It needs an update, wouldn't you agree?  Here's the design plan...








We are basically tearing out everything and starting new. The new custom vanity will be finished in a dark gray stain, and the floor will be these gingham cement tiles that I am sooooo ridiculously excited to use.





We will add shiplap to the wall behind the vanity, two large round mirrors and sconces.

I'm hoping that the Delta Trinsic faucet will be available in the matte black finish by installation time, but if not, we will use the champagne bronze finish.

The tub will be replaced, and new subway tiles will be installed on the shower walls.

As soon as the vanity is ready, the demo will begin. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks! I will share the progress with you.

I think the bathroom is going to be gorgeous! Who knows, maybe mom will be using the boys' bathroom now :)

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Kitchen Makeover: The Layout


When I started planning our kitchen remodel, I had a few goals in mind. Naturally, I wanted to update the space to have it reflect our style. And, I had to replace some of the ancient appliances so that actual cooking could take place.

But, I also really wanted to improve the flow of the kitchen, increase the work space, and maximize storage.

The kitchen truly is the heart and hub of our home. There is a constant flow of kids coming and going through the side entry on the right and the stairs on the left. It's quite the circus, especially now that one of my kids has taken up juggling. He'd better not hit my chandelier!! ;)

Since we were keeping the original footprint of the kitchen, I had to give a lot of thought to how the space could function best for our family.






I took this next picture the day before demolition began. You can see there was wasted space above the cabinets. The only thing that was stored on those ledges was dust :)






The cabinetry between the kitchen entry and the door to the backyard always bothered me. It closed in the kitchen and blocked the light. And, it really didn't offer any efficient storage.





I decided I would rather replace the sliding glass door that we never used with a window, and put in more storage below.





I had to sacrifice my farmhouse table to accommodate the new cabinetry, but I LOVE our new round table. It's actually much more intimate, and makes for better traffic flow through the kitchen.


The new window opens out to the deck, and we had a small wooden bar built outside, so I could toss food out to the kids and they wouldn't have to come in and mess up my new kitchen. See... I put a lot of thought into this plan.






Inside, the new cabinetry gives me plenty of space to store the endless piles of paper that turn up out of nowhere and junk up the house.

And, it's a great spot for serving food and drinks when we host parties.







On the other side of the kitchen is our back stairway that used to house a small closet and desk underneath it...






This area was really a waste of space. The desk was ridiculously small to actually be able to sit and work, and the closet was too far from the cooking area to function as a pantry.






The space now functions as a beverage center with a refrigerator, sink and hidden coffee bar.






Our previous kitchen island housed an enormous cooktop and a prep sink, leaving very little space to do any prep work or serving.




We never used the sink. I stored papers in there. Don't judge.


I was so happy to get everything out of the island, and just have a clean expanse to serve food or have folks gather around. However, I will admit that it has been hard for me to break in the new marble. I'm getting better ... slowly...







The island is large and has loads of storage on one end. Having counterstools that slide underneath the other end helps keep obstacles out of the way so the savages can easily raid the fridge.





We kept our big ole' subzero refrigerator, because some things just aren't made like they used to be. We had some small repairs made to it in the past, and were told this beast still had a long life ahead of him. I hope so!!






Next to the refrigerator, we installed in a microwave drawer. This is the kid's favorite thing ever. Everyone who comes to our house for the first time has to agree to a 45 second microwave demonstration.






Cooking has become much easier now that we have a properly working range and oven. I'm even enjoying cooking more now. A little bit. I'm trying to anyway.






So, hopefully that gives you a better idea of the kitchen layout, and why I made certain decisions.






Hey... did you notice the crockpot on the countertop? I'm writing a blog post and cooking dinner. Seems like I really have my act together today. Good thing you can't see the rest of my house :)

Have a great day!!