A Little Cottage Inspiration

With fall swiftly approaching, we’re back in nesting mode around here. We’ve been living among piles of clothes, boxes, tools and drywall dust for six months officially as of today and while we’ve made a lot of progress, the summer largely halted any major renovation projects. We have a lot of rooms that are painted, but a lot of doors still waiting to be rehung, a room still wanting for flooring, a kitchen still desperately in need of gutting….you get the picture. At any rate, we’re now itching to get back at it and can’t wait to knock out a ton of projects this fall. To that end, I figured it was time to start rounding up some inspiration again.

I spied this cute cottage on Apartment Therapy last night and I just love the look and feel of these spaces. Warm, neutral and inviting with pops of interesting color and accessories and a great mix of old and new. While I think our final look will be slightly different, I want our home to feel like this one does when we’re all finished.

I am loving the layered neutrals, natural materials and bright little spot of aqua on the chair cushions. This is a room I could curl up and read a book in any day of the week.

Is that a teal lacquer desk that I spy? And I love the look of crisp black frames against the bright, neutral walls. A striped area rug that avoids being matchy-matchy? Love and love.

Crisp aqua and white paired with blonde wood floors and funky galvanized chairs make this little dining space as cute as it is simple. I love how a little color and a few well placed accesories can go a long way.

I’m rounding up my favorite places to search for inspiration, too. Any suggestions? I’d love to know what sites you turn to for decor ideas!

{Photos from Apartment Therapy.}

Kitchen Daydreams

As promised, I’m going to keep my posts more up to date as we push through this house-buying process so in light of that, I’ll let you know right up front that the house inspection did not go as well as we had hoped yesterday. There were a few minor issues that surfaced, none of which are deal breakers and one fairly significant issue we’re in the thick of handling right now. Long story short, the attic crawlspace isn’t properly vented so there is a mold problem on the underside of the roof deck. It’s a fairly easily fixed problem, but it’s a significant enough problem that it has landed us back in negotiations, the end of which we might not see for a few days. So while all of that is going on, I’m distracting myself by digging up inspiration for renovating that kitchen we’re inheriting with more late 70s/early 80s charm than I can stomach.

To remind you, here is the kitchen we will be working with:

And here are a few that I’m loving…

{Photo from Apartment Therapy.}

While I can’t forsee myself ever going with something this bright, I love the idea of introducing color on cabinetry. Why is it that we always feel so compelled to stick with neutrals anyway? And I love the combination of the bold modern color with the classic white farmhouse sink. That is just the sort of juxtaposition of which I can’t get enough. (Breathe, Mike, breathe. I am not proposing a kelly green kitchen.)

{Photo via Becoming Home.}

Ok, somewhat on the complete end of the spectrum, this all-white kitchen with it’s pretty sky blue subway tile backsplash feels delightfully “me.”  It has to be noted that I am a sucker for subway tile and lately I’ve been falling in love with colored subway tile in addition to traditional white. This kitchen has just officially made me a believer.

{Photo from pointclickhome.}

While this kitchen is definitely a bit of a departure from my personal style, I love the warm mix of materials. I love black cabinetry and find it really cozy here when paired with the granite countertops, hardwood floors and wood beam ceilings.

{Photo via At Home in KC.}

Ok, so clearly a bubble gum pink kitchen might be a bit much for most people, but I can’t help but love the playfulness of this room. The glass-fronted ceiling height cabinets on the back wall offer an envious amount of storage and the chandelier adds a touch of glamor that I find rather charming. I’m decidedly an advocate of bringing some fun and personality to the kitchen.

{Photo from Sunset via Apartment Therapy.}

This might be more along the lines of what I’m after. Classic and timeless white cabinetry, countertops, and backsplash (again, loving the subway tile) paired with sleek stainless steel appliances and little touches of color and vintage charm. While I love the schoolhouse pendant over the table, I think I’d prefer one with an all-white globe like this favorite of mine from Schoolhouse Electric. And for the dinging area, maybe something a bit more streamlined like a Scandinavian-inspired blonde wood table and chairs.

So while we’re on the topic of kitchens – does anyone have a favorite resource for kitchen inspiration? I have a feeling my daydreams are long from over at this point.

The House Hunting Adventures Begin

Mike and I are currently in the process of looking to buy a house. A few weeks ago we fell in love with a house that we really hoped would be ours only to have it get snatched up by another buyer rather quickly and unexpectedly. After licking our wounds over that disappoint, we went out house hunting again yesterday and found a place we really like. It’s cute, it has the perfect floor plan for our lifestyle and the location is great. We’re seriously considering putting in an offer and, naturally, my head has gone right into decorating mode. All I can think about are the new kitchen cabinets I want to buy, the great paint colors I can try and all of the little ways we can make it our own. The life of a potential home owner is much like that of a wedding planning bride – I’m once again officially on the hunt for inspiration all the time. I’ll keep you posted on how the house hunt plays out, but in the meantime here are a few of the things that are inspiring me right now…

Dramatic gray walls and the fun play between traditional lines and bold modern color and pattern. (From Desire to Inspire.)

Love the floating shelves behind the dining table and the soft and soothing color scheme.
(From Young House Love.)

White cabinets, aqua subway tiles and bead board ceilings = perfection.
(From Country Home via Dream in Domestic.)

Perhaps the greatest little home office I’ve ever seen – love the framed peg board for craft supply storage.
(From Brooklyn Limestone.)

Who knew twin beds could be so cool?
(From Domino from The Domino Magazine Files.)