dreaming of blue kitchens...

I am a tortured soul... I know I said I was doing the kitchen with B&W, and pink and green accents ... then I saw the Martha Stewart robin's egg blue collection at Macy's. (Right after I bought her cast iron in the green apple color.) And then I start flipping through magazines and see these aqua kitchens. And it makes me think, paint is cheap... I could repaint the walls I just painted 6 months ago...

My cabinets are already white... but the pale blue cooker and hood are to die for.

The pale blue rounded island. The wicker on the bottom cabinets. Yummy! I love butcher block and black counters, too. Only thing I'd change is the white floor. I'd do a reclaimed hardwood.

I love the color of the cabinets. Looking at this picture, it talks me out of painting my cabinets blue since I have white walls... Maybe if just the lowers were blue...


The little splashes of pink in this one is similar to what I was going for... but I feel like it reads too white. I don't want to have a Holly Hobby kitchen, but I do need some color. I hope my floral fantasmo curtains don't read too froo-froo. I want retro, not flowery.

Robin's egg walls and white cabinets, hardwood floor. So pretty, and yet I am thinking I like the white walls better. Isn't that weird? I love color and yet I like the pictures of white walls best. I think I can live with white walls only if there is a lot of color going on everywhere else.

Isn't it pretty? Very 50s. But again... I am still drawn back to the white walls. It's torture!!!

The sloped ceiling makes me love this room!

I have a bunch of magazine clippings to go through. I have so many pink appliances, it would be too difficult for me to go entirely aqua. But maybe I can bring in aqua and keep the pink...

deep.. dark... black...

Mmmm.... I feel in love... I had found this picture awhile back, from Design Sponge, I think:

And then Desire to Inspire posted these today:

These are photos of designer Jessica Helgerson's latest client, an American Foursquare. For those not into architecture, American Four Square are the two-story boxy houses. Usually have a front porch, shutters on the 4 windows on the front... Anyway... being from the same era as my house (late 1800s / early 1900s), this home has woodwork JUST LIKE MINE!

I have been talking about how I am making this shift from liking white, to going black... And I keep looking at the woodwork in the house, which is stained a medium-to-darkish brown... and thinking, these need to be dark to POP (yes, I said POP, sue me) against my pale walls.

This woodwork is the kick-in-the-butt I needed to make myself want to strip down the woodwork and go dark. Not painted black. But stained ebony. Mmmm...

Now, the white walls? Not something I can go to. I have 4 boys, and I can tell you with light sage green, powder blue, etc... my walls show little bitty handprints like crazy. I know I couldn't deal with white everywhere. My bathroom has white since it is my private sanctuary, and it looks amazing against the aqua blue floor. But, notsomuch in my living room. I am just not quite there yet.

I also love the mix of furniture. I tend to pick up antique / vintage pieces and fix them up. I like things not looking like they all came from the same page of a Pottery Barn catalog. I love it. What would YOU call this style?

square peg, round hole...

OK, here's the deal. I don't live anywhere near anything coastal. Not an ocean. Not a lake. Not even a pond. I absolutely adore the pictures I find when I flip through Coastal Living at the newstand. (Never bought the mag, again... not near the coast). I am landlocked in Kansas here, people.

I love the bedroom above. It is breezy and beachy. I don't see a bunch of sea shells or starfish anywhere, so I would feel comfortable pulling off something similar.

My problem is this... I remember as a kid, some of our relatives would come visit us on our farm in Iowa. They would breeze in, with their weird clothes (We don't wear flip flops on the farm. They are hazardous there) and I'd wonder what their house must look like. And then the mom (now an ex as they are divorced) would start pushing their toddler son about Grandpa's Tractor. And she'd say how they were doing a tractor room (to get favor from Grandpa, I am sure). And it always struck me as phony and odd since these people lived in San Dimas, California and no where near a farm. It is sort of like when a yuppie pulls up to the Hells Angels on his brand shiny new Harley and wants to be one of the guys.

I can't bring myself to put oars or fishnets on my walls. Well, not that I'd want to put fishnet up anyway. But I see the little shells and such, all the nautical looks, in the Pottery Barn catalog and I just can't do it. Then I think about some rich lady in her McMansion over in Leawood, Kansas (again, landlocked, people), who probably ordered her entire living room from page 15 of the PB catalog.

So... I ask you... Would you feel weird trying to do an obviously beachy look (not just airy, but shells and all) when you are not near a beach? Or a farm look (complete with a milk can as an end table or something) when you are urban? Or an Asian influence when you are not Asian and live on a farm?

best. cabinets. ever.

I know, I know... I just finished painting my lower kitchen cabinets "bunny gray." But then I saw this picture in a magazine and fell in love...

mmm....

maybe the dream kitchen will get pink lower cabinets when we renovate the kitchen.

dare to dream...

go to your happy place

I have an unmanageable collection of magazines. I admit it. I have them packed into storage boxes under my bed. I used to be the sort that would never dream of tearing out a page in the magazine. I would put a little post-it in the corner, with a little note like "love this chair!" But soon the realization hit me that I would never ever take the time to go back through those magazines again.

I started tearing out pages and putting them in file folders. These were ideas that I was collecting for the house. I had folders for each room of the house, plus the garden and what not. That seemed to work out OK for me. And I didn't feel too guilty about tearing up my magazines.
Recently, I was flipping through a magazine and realized there were certain images that made me pause my flipping. Something would catch my eye and make me smile. Sometimes there are just little things in life that make you happy. If only for a second, it brightens your day. Or sometimes, you see a certain shade of blue in a vignette, and you think about how great it would be to paint the inside of a cabinet that color.

I began clipping out these little bitty pictures and taping them into a little journal. My journal is just one of those little blank books you can buy at Borders or B&N. I am not shooting for fancy scrapbook pages. Just little arrangements that make me happy, or capture inspiration. I carry my little journal in my purse. It is nice to glance through it as a little pick-me up. It's also a nice place to tuck away paint chips (more inspiration!).

I snapped a few pictures of some favorite pages to share with you. Who knows... maybe you all will be inspired to do something similar.

How do you organize your creativity and inspiration?

This is from an ad for dog food. I like the 70s filter they used on the picture. I chopped up the text, obviously. I am weird, I just like it.

I liked the repetition of the arch and the hardware on the door. The text I got from another magazine. To the right, just knitting stuff. Reminding me - you bought the knitting stuff, maybe you should use it!

I love the pig. I just do. I labeled it "friends" as a reminder that we don't eat our friends. (That is what I tell Steven, a non-vegetarian. To which he replies, So. I didn't know this cow/pig/fish, etc.") To the right, a b&w children's illustration. Just so simple.

I liked the color of this greeting card envelope. It's in the whole robins egg, duck egg vibe. So of course it needed some ducks peeking out, right?

dreamy dreamy bathrooms

I have begun a quick project in my master bath.. again, an interim step... Just some paint and fabrics to spruce the place up until I can do the full blown restoration with a clawfoot tub, hex tile, highboy toilet, etc etc etc.

Until then, I will daydream. Here are some nice bathrooms to sigh about. Bring on the bubble bath! Look at the ceiling in the one above... perfect! And the shaving mirror is something I definitely want to do.

The walls in this bathroom remind me of my bedroom... only I have painted my walls the palest pink (which is pictured in my master bedroom thread). I also think that little plant stand would be so cute if it had a few little apothecary jars on it. Wouldn't it pop with pink or aqua jars? But this all white bathroom is dreamy as it is... I dream of clawfoot tubs. And there is so much texture here even with a monochromatic look.

This one has a bit more color, although still a cool and light look. I love the pale gray walls, the beigey subway tile... and the little distressed cabinet is great. I wish my bathroom were big enough for a chair. (When I told Steven that, he jokingly said it DOES have a chair. I don't think the toilet counts!)

I love the black legs on the tub. And the littlest splashes of floral make it seem a bit more liveable. Don't get me wrong, I love that all-white look. It isn't at all sterile to me... but it seems like it would be a pain to keep spotless. And with white, it really does have to be spotless.

A paneled side tub... not claw foot, but pretty! And the floral wallpaper is beautiful. I have to wonder how it holds up with humidity since I love scathing hot showers that fog everything up.

Look at the feet on the tub! Gorgeous!! Although it is white, it has the palest pink look, doesn't it? I also love the fixture - I must have a shower for mine, but the handshower is darling.

Not everything is pink for me, OK? Here is one with blue toile. Again, a gorgeous chair! And can you imagine the luxury of a fireplace in your bathroom??? My bathroom right now is frigid. Really. Glassblock is not a good window in the Kansas winter. Brrrrrr!

I love the "relax" over the tub. I think if it had a huge fluffy flokati rug in front of the tub, I would melt into the room. It is so pretty. Maybe a bit sparse.

Wild wallpaper!! I wouldn't do it in my house -- but it is amazing!

I love the armoire... so charming! Again, I need a huge bathroom. Mine is tiny! My house is a Sunday house, so it certainly was not built extravagently with huge baths.

OK... washbasin? gorgeous. basin stand? gorgeous. beadboard? gorgeous.


Again, I love those handshowers... And the palest pink look to the tub. Just lovely.

Did you get any ideas for your space?

and kitchen inspiration for my future dream kitchen...

Some day we will have the time and money to do a full renovation on our kitchen... I already have an idea file going with potential kitchens. I thought I would share some of my favorites!

This one, I love the white cabinets with the blue island. The blue island really pops in the middle there. I also love love love the curved island. I am also a big fan of glass cabinets and french wire, so the cabinet in the lower left there is soooo dreamy. I like the black countertops as well. I plan on using dark soapstone.

I love the dishwashers that look like cabinets. It is nice to blend technology in so that your ktichen still feels period. I am also a fan of the drawer-type dishwashers. Very cool!

More cabinets hiding appliances. So slick!

Another great kitchen. A curved cabinet on the end (dreamy!!). And that backsplash is amazing. You can have color and pattern and have a period feel without having to use subway tile. I am also a fan of the industrial stainless appliances. Sort of a compromise between a vintage stove and a comtempo-modern look. I think butcher block on the island is a perfect choice. I will definitely have a butcher block island to go with my soapstone counters.

This is one of my favorites. Imagine how hard it is to keep that shiny blue floor clean... but I love it!! More stainless and I love the industrial pendant light. Gorgeous!

I love it when the cabinets have legs to make them look like furniture. I also like the open shelving on the end. Is that a fridge in the background? I love the way it looks like a giant old pie safe!

This beauty is a 4 oven AGA gas cooker... just gorgeous. They make a 2 oven model, but as much as I bake, I am dreaming of the big boy! The ultimate in keeping a period look but having the modern conveniences. They come in many colors, but cream or black are my favorites. AGA also makes fridges and dishwashers in drawers. So cool!

This is the greatest hood ever!!!

I definitely want bin pulls for drawers, but I am torn between ice box or turn-style or slide-style latches.

I have an old Hoosier cabinet that I will always cherish. But for those without one, these Kitchen Dressers are amazing. They can even come with backets and a sink! My kitchen will definitely have an apron-front sink with the curtain below it.

the pink kitchen and pink eye candy

In honor of the (SOON!) upcoming pink splashy kitchen... I will post up some lovely pink eye candy for you.

Note on the kitchen, I have decided on an updated retro look. Remember the pink and green kitchens on the 50s? Mine will be a bit more modern with bright rose and bright apple green punches, with white and gray keeping it a bit less circus-y.

Anyway... enjoy!

Anna French wallpaper... to die for!!!

While I totally HATE wallpaper since I have had to remove such hideous paper from the walls of my home... I found some that I am just absolutely enamored with.

Anna French Wallpaper is just dreamy... Can you imagine covering the inside of your kitchen cabinets? Or papering your bathroom or bedroom? Or making beautiful hat boxes?

I am sure this stuff would kill my budget, but I think it would be dreamy in my walk-in closet.