Color Schemes

Oh. Forgot. New Kitchen Planner Lady gave me new kitchen colors to consider.

Cabinet Color 1 is too blue in the light in our home and Cabinet Color 2 too blah. I don't like the backsplash tile at all (something much better coming soon), but I'm starting to like the countertop a lot. Which is unexpected. I've always loved white with grey/blue veining, was not expecting to like something with a bit of taupe veining as well.

Another Plan?!?!

I went to another local kitchen store the other day. Just to see what cabinets they carried, and if they could compete with prices at Kitchens Plus. And the kitchen designer decided to GIVE ME ANOTHER PLAN TO CONSIDER. NOOOOOOOO. Here I thought I had decided everything, and now she's telling me I need to change it all around?? WE WILL NEVER GET A KITCHENNNN!!!!!

Anyway, here's the plan she suggested:

Good things about this plan:

1) In every other plan, our stove has remained in the same place (which has my back to the kitchen/dining). Putting the stove in the island would let me see the children while cooking.

2) Kitchen triangle is smaller than when the fridge is on the far wall.

3) That island is huge.

4) Feels very open - the walkway to the hallway isn't obstructed at all by fridge/pantry as in other plans.

Ok, yes, it looks nice and open, BUT there are several issues. Big ones.

1) The space between fridge & stove is only 53ish inches. A bit tight if one person is cooking and someone else (say, a small child who wants water) has to get into the fridge.

2) We would have to get a very specialized (read: expensive) oven and/or a very expensive hood.

3) This is probably the most important: the giant size of the island would shrink the width of the dining room to only 8.5 feet. That is not good. Recommended minimum for dining area is at least 9 feet. We have a narrow table and the room already feels cramped; add some people sitting at the counter and no one would be able to get through the space at all!

I'm going to sleep on it a bit, but I'm pretty sure that this will not be our final kitchen layout.

Probably still something like this.... with or without the island overhangs...

Kitchen Inspiration

I have been looking at kitchens for a loooong time. I've saved most of my favorites on Pinterest and Instagram, and I thought I'd share a few here. I'm hoping to gather my thoughts and figure out what I like about each of them.

I know I want shaker-style cabinet fronts with either full overlay or full inset. Other than that, I think I'm torn between two (maybe three) counter/cabinet color combinations....

1) White kitchens - for the longest time, I definitely thought I'd want white cabinets. White cabinets and white/grey marble-look counters. They're so classic and timeless.

2) Colored cabinets - after bringing home tons of color samples and seeing what they looked like in the light in our home, I started to really love blues, greens, and grey cabinet colors as well. Not a surprise since most of the rest of our house is blue, green, or grey. Muted color palettes are the bomb. 

3) Wooden cabinets - wood cabinets have started cropping up more and more and I really like the warmth they add to a space.  

I think the answer to my dream kitchen is a combo of all of the above. One thing that bothered me about white cabinets is that they never seem to be quite the same white as the countertop. One always turned the other more yellow, something I'd like to avoid. I think cabinets with a subtle color would get rid of that problem. And, I do really love wood as a contrast. I love the look of open wood shelves (so pretty), but I do not want to have to dust and keep them styled all the time. Maybe a butcher-block counter on the island with white counters elsewhere? Something that feels like these....

My main goal is to make something I love, but also, I really want something that won't look dated in 5, 10, or 15 years. I hope I can make some good choices!!

Kitchen Layout

Our main concern in remodeling our kitchen has been to get a layout that would best use the space. Shortly after moving in we did two things: we moved the back door out of the kitchen (to a sliding door in the dining room), and we put a second doorway in the wall between kitchen and dining. The first gave us more storage space (and will allow more counter-space in our new kitchen), and the second helped with traffic flow. Before, people would stand in the middle of the kitchen with no clue how to get out; the new door-hole (sounds weird) gave another escape into the rest of the house. Here's what I'm talking about:

We decided pretty early on in planning that we'd like to get rid of the wall between kitchen & dining. Mostly so I can see what Sam and Lukas are destroying in the house while I try to cook. But also, because it'd be much better for entertaining. Right now, anyone that wants to talk to me while I'm doing food prep has to stand right in the middle of the kitchen, and then I have to work my way around them as I cook. We were hoping for a way to make space so visitors/friends/little kids can chat with me while I'm working, without being in the way.

Obviously there are issues with the basement stairs being in the middle of the kitchen, but we aren't willing to do a *major* remodel - removing the wall is major enough for this house. We also have to take into account that both our kitchen and dining room are high traffic areas, and they're not huge (both are roughly the same size at 10x16' each).

Anyway, following are the plans we've seen so far...

Most designers/cabinet centers gave us this layout:

...which is fine, but didn't feel quite right for some reason.

I finally asked someone to draw us a U-shaped kitchen, just to see if it would work, and we ended up really liking it. This is how we planned to do it for quite some time.

I still like this layout a lot. I could probably be talked into it again if someone tried hard enough. I love the vast expanse of countertop this layout provides and, visually, I really like how much less cluttered it looks (compared to an island). Concerns, however: leaving walking space between the bar and back door as well as space for more than one person inside the U. Eric is a really good cook and likes to help a lot, especially when we have company over; we needed more prep space for each of us to stand. Which led us to the following:

The fridge and pantry will likely be reversed from what's shown in this picture, and I'm still not sure we will have the island countertop hang into the dining room... we might make the cabinet bigger and get rid of the overhang? I think it's a little weird to have seating for two on one side and just one on the end? TBD. So many decisions yet to happen. Here's to hoping it all works out...

Bathroom Planning

Folks, our windows and siding are finished (I KNOW!! SO EXCITING!!!) but we have a few finishing touches and decisions to make so pictures and details on that later...

What we are currently working on is the master bathroom. Eric has been demolishing and reconstructing for a couple of weekends now, which means I've been able to have some fun planning what the finished product will look like.

We know for sure we would like white hex tile for the floor (the 1" hexes, not the bigger ones) and white square tiles for the shower (Eric felt very strongly on this point). We really like the vanity in the Main bath, and have decided to get the smaller version for the Master. It has such great storage and is at a price point that cannot be beat.

The only other decisions are regarding lighting, shower curtain, mirror, and accessories. We don't have a lot of home stores here, so we will probably source fixtures from Home Depot and/or Lowe's. Their free ship-to-store and no hassle returns make everything a lot less complicated.

So. Mood Boards. What do you think? The only difference in these is the shower curtain...

 ^^ Above is the shower curtain we already own; it's currently in the Main bath.

 ^^ Just realized, the colors on this curtain are pretty similar to the one we already have.
Probably why I like it.

 ^^ Threw this one in (from Urban Outfitters) for a dash of color. Was shocked to find that Eric really likes it. Like, really, really likes it. I like it too, but worry it's a little loud for such a small space. 

^^ And then let me add some brass just to confuse the issue even more...

Once the bathroom is complete and we move back into the Master bedroom, I'd like to add a few accessories to the Main bath. The Main bath will become the guest/kid bathroom, and I'd like to make it more convenient for both. First, I'd like to replace the towel bar. It currently holds two towels and it'd be nice to have extra hooks for guests. I'd also like to add some shelves above the toilet; that way we can put canisters of cotton balls, qtips, extra toilet paper, etc. out where guests can see and use them. I've been wanting to add a bit of wood for a long time - to warm this bathroom up a bit - and I think the shelf and towel-hanger would do just that.

Since there's a chance we'll steal the shower curtain in the Main bath for the Master bath, I tried the new shower curtains in there, too...

^^ Kind of love this one.

I know, both bathrooms are really similar. White on white on white, is what you're probably thinking. The main differences will be in the kind/size of tile and the tile grout. Whereas the Main bathroom is a lot of white and grey and stainless (softened more by the wood), the Master will be white tile and black grout - it should feel more crisp and I hope the (black) accessories will enhance that.

Feel free to weigh in. Or let me know if you find any killer lights or mirrors anywhere.

Oh, and for your daily dose of cuteness....

Eric always wears old, gross Carhartt overalls when he's working, so when I put Cora's overalls on her for the first time (found them in the back of her closet the other day), she immediately disappeared into the front room and started banging on the walls. "I'm working!" she informed me.

***UPDATE*** After showing the hubby all of the above options, he chose none of the above. His favorite is as follows:

Sofas. Again.

I had almost maybe sorta kinda decided that we were going to get the Petrie or Rochelle sofas from Crate and Barrel. Last time we were in Denver, we even went to the store and SAT in them, BUT.... we didn't really love them. Eric liked the Petrie (but I didn't like any of the color choices) and I really liked the Rochelle (but Eric thought it was less comfortable and I still didn't like any of the color choices). 

After that, we both kind of figured... WE WILL NEVER GET A SOFA.

Then, Eric suggested we should reupholster the sofa we have. You know, the plan we had one zillion months ago back when we originally bought the thing!

So I went to the two reupholstery places in town, borrowed every single sample book I could get my hands on, and now, with all the color choices and texture possibilities.... I still cannot decide on a sofa. I think the operative part being, I CANNOT DECIDE. 

I'd like a sofa in this kind of fabric:

But we already have grey chairs and, even though they will need replacing soon, we are so indecisive they will probably never be changed and we would end up living with all grey furniture FOREVER. I do not want all grey furniture. I'd always imagined a nice grey sofa with leather or patterned chairs, you know? 

Then I went to my Pinterest "Live Here" board and discovered I'd Pinned a lot of pictures with sofas like this....

Apparently I like blue sofas. Who knew? Eric was not on board with the blue plan. He wanted a dark grey, or, he said, he might be ok with a very dark navy blue. I tried to convince him with mood boards (basically taking photos of everything in our living room and putting it all together in one photo), but it ended up backfiring.

Because I ended up liking the navy. Quite a lot. 

And it didn't help my case one bit that the navy looks pretty darn good with his Lebowski rug that he loves so much. Danggit. 

All this work and back and forth and, let's be honest, we will still probably NEVER GET A SOFA. 

Landscaping

I am clueless when it comes to landscaping. I'm also kind of against it. I mean, I obviously love trees and flowers and gardens, but guess what? When you have those things, YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THEM and I would much rather be playing with Cora or napping or EATING or drawing or weaving or hanging out with friends or my husband (if he's home). Plus, weeding is impossible when you're pregnant. Normally weeding is a big, fat jerk, but it's even worse when you can't see your toes because of a burgeoning belly.

We've waited to do any landscaping close to the house because we knew we'd be getting new siding and windows, and we didn't want whatever beds we put in to be trampled by workers. But now that siding and windows are checked off our list (should be done before the end of June! huzzah!), we can start planning what plants we'd like to put in this fall and next spring.

There are two main places that need our attention: one is in the front yard next to the walkway leading to our front door, and the other is in the back yard next to the patio/under the den window (see photos).

Eric is most excited about the bed in the front yard; for some reason, he really, really hates the bushes growing there and I just know that one day I will come outside to find him hacking them out with glee.

I am more excited for the bed in the back yard. Probably because I have to look at its ugliness much more frequently, and while the front bed at least looks purposeful, the back one is just kind of.... trashy looking.... We've contemplated putting our raised garden beds here - there's an underground sprinkler just under the window and they'd be watered frequently without us having to think about it. AND it'd be a much shorter walk to grab a tomato for dinner :). The other idea I've had is to extend the bed outward along the side of the patio... does that make sense? It would be more of an L-shape full of bushes and ornamental grasses (Eric looooves those tall grasses for some reason) so we'd have a little more privacy from our neighbor's driveway/backyard.

I drew some very rough sketches of these spaces, complete with measurements.....

this bed is a 6x20' rectangle. Pretty easy. 

this bed is 3' wide at the end of the house, and expands to be 6' wide by the patio (obv can be changed). it's 19' long and there are two sprinkler boxes buried in the ground just outside the 6' end which would have to be worked around

......but I now I have no idea how to begin. I have no idea what kinds of plants grow well here and since I'll be needing two very different sets of plants - one for a northern exposure that gets absolutely no light (hydrangeas? hostas?) and one for a southern exposure - I'm a bit out of my depth. I guess I just wander into Gainan's looking pitiful and ask for help....?

Any suggestions are welcome! My only requirement: whatever we plant must be able to survive while being completely ignored for most of the year.

And Our House Color Shall Be....

... (drumroll please).....

Prairie Grass!

Thank you so much to everyone who called, texted, or emailed their opinion to us. Prairie Grass seemed to be the crowd favorite with Pinecone and Smokestone tied for second and a few outlying (albiet loud) cries for "Spiceberry!" I'm so glad I'm not the only one who cares about the color of our future siding :) You guys are the best!!!

Photoshopped House Colors

Remember these colors from yesterday?

Last night, I photoshopped our house in the sample colors so we could get an idea of what each would look like. I skipped the Khaki and Spiceberry (our neighbor's house is straight up khaki, and I do not want a red house) but the rest are as follows:

Fieldstone:

 Pinecone:

Smokestone:

Prairie Grass:

Now, when we first looked at the samples, Eric's favorites were Fieldstone and Smokestone (I had no idea and just went along with him), but after seeing them on the house, we were surprised to find that we liked the greens the best. It's a bit difficult to tell what color they'll actually be since transferring sample colors from a crappy phone photo to photoshop is not an exact science, but hopefully this can give you some idea of what we're working with. Any thoughts, suggestions? We're picking one tomorrow! Ready or not!