One Room Challenge: Kitchen Refresh {Week 3}

#oneroomchallenge ... week 3 ... and hey there, welcome back!

Keeping this week's post short y'all (why yes I do live in the south).

You sweet reader have lots of ORC participants to check in with - thanks for stopping here by the way.

And I need to get my fanny off this chair and into the kitchen to work on this "refresh".   #fallingbehind


Here's where I left off last week:

And this week the backsplash feature wall is finished.  Grouted. Trimmed.  Done and done.

There was a happy dance when the wall was finished, but more significantly, I take a moment each time I pass by and feel my entire body smiling.  #mindfuldecorating


Here's an iPhone pic of the feature wall detail.

I know its tile but still, when I gaze lovingly at it, the essence of a shiplap wall is what I see.

large, almost plank-like tile scale (4" x 13")

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faux bois pattern

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clear recycled glass grout creates a v-groove shadow line effect
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a plate rail style edging (PVC Drip Cap trim, btw!)

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essence of a shiplap wall

Base cabinet painting hasn't started yet.  I'm real concerned about the timeline on that.  We're still working on adding trim to cabinet end sections that were previously overlooked.  And the longer it takes to get started on the painting the less confident I become about color selection.

If you wanted to transform your kitchen with the goal of not revisiting design elements in there for say the next 10 years {sort of a promise I had to make to the hubs to get this project going} would you be open to a section of base cabinets in a fun color or would you stay closer to a rich neutral?

Would you be on Team Green or Team Gray?  

Team Let's Have Fun or Team Let's Play It Safe?  

Team Flair or Team Classic?  

I could go on all day like this but I won't ... would appreciate hearing your opinion though, you know, one decor-lovin' person to another.

In the meantime while the trim is being finished I've switched my focus to the area we call the Butler's Panty / Rear Foyer.  A set of French Doors open from our rear deck into a 13' x 10' section of the kitchen that is pantry, bar, work surface, seating, and a major walkway.  Its also a great place for items to be dropped and forgotten, sigh.

To give that area a little flair and strengthen the visual connection to the strong brown / black granite element of the kitchen food prep area, here's some elements I've pulled together:

Sheepskin for window seat

Animal print wallpaper

Multi-toned black textured wallpaper

Fabric

Trim and paint

And that's all for this week folks!  Now its time to go visit Week 3 of Invited Designers here and Linking Participants here.

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Robin

 Return to Linking Participant page

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About Robin, the Author

In between obsessing about how brown my kitchen is I enjoy cooking healthy versions of comfort-food dishes and completing a personal challenge of 365 days of daily exercise.  A lover of dogs but currently without one in residence, we’ve begun looking for a sweet new furry friend.  I believe self-care is not selfish but still is not easy and that self-care is where being the best you you can be begins regardless of age.   Email me at:

homeandatelier [at] gmail [dot] com

One Room Challenge: Kitchen Progress {Week 2}

Welcome back to my kitchen refresh that's being shared with the One Room Challenge 2015 {Linking Participant}.  #oneroomchallenge

Linda {host and founder of the One Room Challenge} suggests we share our progress this week ...

After the years of dreaming and searching for a new backsplash, I'm so pleased with this tile that if nothing else changes in the kitchen, I'm OK.  That's pretty big for me to say folks.

I shopped for this tile for 3. long. years.  It was worth the wait.

As mentioned in my first ORC post {read here}, both the counters and backsplash are were Baltic Brown granite.  But, being from two different sources - the counter is a quarry slab and the backsplash was 12" wall tiles, the color ways differed.  The backsplash skewed warm with lots of terra cotta and fleshy pink undertones while the counters sported more neutral undertones.

Just Sayin' Tip                                                                      
Just like fabric, paint and wallpaper dye lots, even natural materials, such as wood and stone, can vary in color, texture, grain.  Whenever possible source materials once from the same source, or at the very least, compare the actual materials side-by-side and not a catalog image of one compared to the real item.

Still, finding a tile to work with the neutral undertone countertop wasn't easy.  To begin with, there's not a drop of white in our counters.  Trending kitchen styles incorporate lots of clean whites and that's what the big box stores stock; every white tile I sampled with our counters was too white, also clashed, and felt harsh.

If I had a chance of making white tiles work with my counters I needed a soft white; and while beige or deeper similar tones could have worked I was set on a light and airy feature wall.  Nordic classic-modern eclectic is what I yearned for ... is that even a style?

So anyway ... this past January I literally went down a wrong aisle at Lowe's while shopping for something else and stumbled across a tile randomly laying on a shelf.  Which sent me on a treasure hunt through the tile section only to be sent to another store across town.  Finally, after 3 long years, I had a subway shaped, soft white tile.  That didn't clash with the bossy granite countertop.

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So before the tile went up, the granite - and wall board, needed to come.  New wall board needed to go up.  Wall repair and painting was on the list  too.  Here's a couple glimpses into all that DIY fun.

"I'm happy if nothing else changes"

"I'm happy if nothing else changes"

"I'm happy if nothing else changes"

OK, we've come across a few unanticipated issues / potential problems for my other plans.  We're standing back and trying to be smart about it all, so please check back next week.  Right now there's a pile of lumber and trim that really wants to be installed but a beam appears to be blocking that effort.  Sledge hammer time.

 Return to Linking Participant page

'Til next time,

Robin 

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About Robin, the Author

In between obsessing about how brown my kitchen is I enjoy cooking healthy versions of comfort-food dishes and completing a personal challenge of 365 days of daily exercise.  A lover of dogs but currently without one in residence, we’ve begun looking for a sweet new furry friend.  I believe self-care is not selfish but still is not easy and that self-care is where being the best you you can be begins regardless of age.   Email me at:

homeandatelier [at] gmail [dot] com

One Room Challenge: The Kitchen {Week 1}

Complete one room in your house in 6 weeks {amazing concept!} while networking with others who are like minded, sharing information, tips, and providing support and encouragement ... sounds just like what I need.  

Hi, I'm Robin, and I've been mired in decorating self-doubt and angst about making changes to my kitchen for what feels like forever.  I guess That changes right now thanks to the ORC.  This challenge is about do'ing, getting done, and putting it all behind you, and I want that soooooooo badly.

I'm replacing my paralyzing need for perfection with a pragmatic approach and will be thrilled if I can take our kitchen from "meh" to "much better".  I'd love to share a mood board with you but that would suggest I have a complete plan, which I don't.  I do have a good starting point, so let's begin with that.

Baltic Brown granite countertops and an oversized backsplash.  Busy. Bossy. Dated.  Even though this type of granite isn't trending for kitchens (or anywhere else), the countertop is staying.  It's in perfect condition and so carefree to work on, keeping it seems the responsible thing to do.  The backsplash is a different situation though.

The backsplash is 12x12 {floor?} tiles while the countertop is a quarry slab.  Just like we all know to purchase wallpaper from the same dye lots, or that its better to have all cans of a paint color mixed at the same time, granite by the same name from different sources can vary in color and pattern; that's what happened here.

The backsplash reads much darker and heavier than the counters.  It also has a fleshy pink undertone to the taupes.  It casts those tones onto the counter and muddies the counter appearance; on its own the counter includes true taupes and tans and a more evenly distributed pattern.

Step 1: Replace the backsplash with a subway tile

Step 2: Paint walls, go light

Step 3: Paint {some} cabinets.  Would love to do a "tuxedo" kitchen going a darker tone on the base cabs

Step 4: Installed accessories: hardware, trim details, open shelving :)

Step 5: Integration / Flow with adjoining open-floorplan spaces

Hope to see you in Week 2,

Robin

Psst ... this post is part of a weekly series and there's a newer post available, click here to see it!


To see all the blogger participants in the ORC click here.
To see the core designer participants in the ORC click here.

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About Robin, the Author

In between obsessing about how brown my kitchen is I enjoy cooking healthy versions of comfort-food dishes and completing a personal challenge of 365 days of daily exercise.  A lover of dogs but currently without one in residence, we’ve begun looking for a sweet new furry friend.  I believe self-care is not selfish but still is not easy and that self-care is where being the best you you can be begins regardless of age.  Email me at:

homeandatelier [at] gmail [dot] com