Simply Elegant Kitchen

I LOVED this kitchen from Southern Living's website (see article here).

It might be a tad more traditional and fancy than I'd normally go with my kitchen, but I still think it's beautiful and classy. It has abundant windows, ample storage, and thoughtful decorative details that make this South Carolina kitchen dreamy. If you like vintage elegance, you can borrow ideas for your own kitchen.

The kitchen shown below has TWO pantries with full-extension rollouts for dry goods or dishes, plus a serving area and glass-front upper cabinets. Simple yet elegant features include Shaker-style cabinets and hidden appliances. Beadboard, which appears on the island and behind the serving area, is a unifying element.



The kitchen connects to the sunroom, where the ceiling is painted a soft blue to look like the sky and the windows are left bare to enhance the view.



On the walls, vertical stripes painted in two subtle shades of blue create a soothing atmosphere. They alternated one paint color with stripes of the same color tinted half formula. (Tip: Any paint retailer can mix this for you.)

Many of the kitchen's features have the feel of a comfortable living room: a mantel-style range hood, which displays pewter candlesticks; decorative columns throughout; and cozy upholstered barstools with nailhead trim. The wood top on the island complements the hardwood floor and is a stunning contrast to the white cabinets.



Romantic lanterns add a touch of dining room style to the kitchen island. Star Glass Smokebell Lantern, $299, from Shades of Light.



Upholstered barstools are a comfy alternative to the basic backless versions. This one can be customized from among 70-plus fabrics. Marcello Barstool, $359, from Ballard Designs.



Store everyday items, such as coffee beans and oatmeal, in lidded glass jars to up the pretty factor. The ones pictured below are from Pottery Barn.



Pile fruit in a ceramic-and-pewter bowl for an easy island centerpiece or simple countertop accessory.



Add a decorative shelf to an empty wall for architectural interest. Elegant Wall Shelf, $99, from Home Decorators Collection.


What do you think? Is it beautimous? Or does the fanciness cramp your style?

Country Farmhouse in Canada

Check out this gorgeous country house located in Ontario Canada that was showcased on House & Home's website.

Built in 1840, the house was surrounded by gardens and pathways that led to a nearby stream. The modest three-bedroom house was soon enlarged to accommodate additional guests. The design of the newer parts of the country house were based on the original stone farmhouse.



Spectacular Country Dining Room: Upholstered chairs soften the look of the dining room and help to quiet sound in the large space. Doors flanking the kitchen lead to a pantry and bar on one side and an entryway with a mini-library on the other. The light-wood floors and gingham fabric on the chair backs enhance the room's country style.



Elegant Living Room: The living room's extra-tall fireplace is a showstopper. The living room has slender matching coffee tables — which can be pushed together as one — to ease movement through the space; they're also easier to reach from the sofas.



Rustic Sitting Room: Large screened windows bring the outdoors in. With a nod to the home's heritage, a large fieldstone fireplace and limestone flooring define a room that's screened for relaxed summer use and glassed in when the weather turns cold.



Romantic Farmhouse Bedroom: Plush bedding and carpet in watery hues create a soothing atmosphere. A palette of pale blues and creamy whites plays into this principal bedroom's atmosphere of calm. The homeowners had the cypress ceiling pickled to accentuate the height, and to tone down the orange. French doors flood the room with light and lead to private gardens.



Bright Master Bathroom: A cream-coloured ensuite opens off the bedroom. Wide floorboards in a pale wood are a lovely contrast to the bathroom's glossy white floor tiles. A glass-fronted, floor-to-ceiling armoire offers storage and complements the fresh and airy feel of the space.



Canine-Friendly Mudroom: Large built-ins create cosy nooks for the owners' pets. The 12' x 15' mudroom doubles as the dog room and houses a spot for each dog to sleep. Cubbies and open shelves help corral all the entrance's clutter.



Small Stone Entryway: An iron lantern and wicker umbrella basket add to the raw look of the exposed stone wall. The view from the kitchen extends through a smaller linking hallway into the new study, which is situated in the old house. Everything melds with the home's cohesive colour scheme, defined in this space by the white pine panelling and pretty striped rug.



Lovely Floral Garden: A myriad of colourful flowers makes for an enchanting garden setting. The new landscaping's lush plantings and understated stone elements help make the new part of the home look like it's been here for centuries.



Doesn't this just make you want to go on a relaxing retreat to the countryside? Kick your feet back and rest your cares away. *Sigh*

What's your favorite part about this house?

Fireplace Re-do Inspiration

As of today, we're making plans to begin the next phase of our fireplace makeover. We did phase one back in January (see here, here, and here for those details). Next up comes some painting of the brick, which makes me equally excited and nervous at the same time. Hopefully, we can get crackin' soon. Maybe over this coming weekend?!

Here are 2 makeovers that I'm looking to as inspiration for our makeover:

1. The Lettered Cottage: Layla shows a before and after of her fireplace and explains the process involved in the transformation. I love the mantle and white wood paneling that were added on top of the brick. Plus the combination of the brown, white, and black colors is great.



2. Young House Love: Sherry just began the makeover of the fireplace in the new house. She also showed some before and after pictures of fireplace makeovers in the previous house.

Current Fireplace

Previous Fireplace 1

Previous Fireplace 2

What do you think of painting brick fireplaces? Have you painted one before? Do you think the paint will brighten and modernize the space a bit? Or does it ruin that real-brick feeling for you?

Beautiful Friday

So many beautiful things to inspire me on this wonderful Friday!















Happy Weekend!!!

Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3, Picture 4, Picture 5, Picture 6, Picture 7

A Blog Shout-Out and Dream House Tour

For a couple weeks now, I've been wanting to share with you all a new blog I recently started following called House of Turquoise. Have you heard of it?


The author, Erin, blogs about home-related design that centers around the color turquoise (of course) plus other shades of blue, and she even includes rooms that use blue as an accent. So, if you don't like the color blue (or bright, bold colors), her blog may not be your cup of tea. But for me, I love it. I think it's so fun and inspiring. Here are two examples:



Anyway...what I really wanted to share with you were some of the images that Erin posted on her blog last week when she did a 5 day tour of the dream home that one of her readers, Christi, and Christi's husband, Jeff, built.

Their dream home took them a year and a half to complete from the design and concept stage to the certificate of occupancy. They selected Hatfield Homes to bring their vision to life. Cristi may not be a designer, but it should come as no surprise that she does indeed have an artistic background. She's not only musical, but is also a photographer by profession (see her blog here) and she has her own Etsy Shop.

While the colors (including Turquoise!) and decor may not be exactly what I would choose for my own home, what I LOVED about this house was the way Jeff and Christi made their design concept flow into every square inch of the house. Attention to detail is very apparent as everything selected for the house fits together so coherently.

So, here are just a few of the pictures represented on the 5 day tour. Click on each day below to be redirected to Erin's blog and see additional pics she posted each day as well as references to where all the items were purchased. Enjoy!

Day 1: Exterior and Foyer



Day 2: Mudroom, Hallway, Living Room



Day 3: Kitchen and Eat-in Dining Room



Day 4: Playroom, Nursery, Nursery Bathroom, Craft/Office Space, AND Retro-Basement



Day 5: Master Bedroom, Master Bathroom, Laundry Room, Family Room



Anyone else feeling inspired by the creativity of this house besides me? Did you notice the variety of floor materials and patterns? What was favorite room?

Hop on over to House of Turquoise to see more pictures like these!