White Kitchens

I'm continuing my discussion on kitchens as I feel this is the perfect spot in your home to make some dramatic changes.  The best part about your kitchen is that you will see a return on your investment plus. 
Here are some classic kitchen designs courtesy of houzz.com.  Cabinets and your counters are going to be your investment pieces.  When selecting these, keep in mind a timeless design to carry you through for years to come.  Add color, design and texture in your less costly items such as paint, lighting, accessories, drapery and cabinet pulls.  By changing those items in 20 years will be far less expensive rather than updating your kitchen cabinets. 
When selecting your cabinets, I would recommend staying clear of ornate detailing, raised panel doors, machine finished distressing and fancy windows in the cabinets.  The simpler the better.  More to come...

Kitchen Trends 2012

After years of anticipation praying and waiting patiently for my very own kitchen, last year it happened finally.  It's important when purchasing a home to have good bones to the house.  Cosmetics such as paint, flooring, lighting etc. can all be upgraded over time.  The house we bought is just that.  A perfect gem.  The feature that caught my eye the most about this house was the open concept family kitchen.  I pictured family dinners, typing away at my laptop, cooking up tasty treats and just creating the best memories possible.  A few weeks of living in our house, I genuinely knew what people meant when they said the Kitchen was the heart of the home.  It is the core hub of the family.  Being able to create masterpieces with food, share breakfast in the sunshine with my husband, chase the dogs around the island and turn the lights off at night after another day of memories. 

I was researching some kitchen concepts this week and came across the trends for 2012 in kitchens.  I fully believe in investing in your kitchen.  When choosing quality pieces, you are extending the lifeline of your kitchen.  Quality cabinets, counters, organization and flooring focusing on timeless details will allow in the future for fine tuning to change things up.  A gallon of paint in the color that is in style or changing the handles of your cabinets are all things that are relatively inexpensive in the big picture rather than having to change out cabinets and fixtures.  My encouragement to you is take your time, do your research, save up so that you are prepared to invest in your future.  Enjoy every moment making memories in your kitchen

Here are some fresh kitchen ideas for various styles.

Fresh Summer House Kitchen

Vintage Kitchen with Patchwork LoveSeat

Minimalist Kitchen

Rustic Modern White Kitchen

Stunning Art-Design It Yourself

I was absolutely speechless when I saw this wall design. I really didn't have words to describe how beautiful was because there is really not much to describe. That is the beauty of it. If I had been asked to design this in someone's house, I would not have been able to imagine the impact the minimalism would have. The best part about this is it's something anyone can do with a collection of various shaped and sized empty frames.  Simply stunning.
 

Minimalist Art- Sherlon Kahkai

Rules in Design?

Are there really rules that need to be applied when designing a space?  For some people, they believe there are set rules to be applied...however I would believe the contrary.  Who set out the rules anyways?  Isn't design a personal taste?  Is there a rule book that says red and pink shouldn't go together?

Living etc. has some fabulous concepts for style rules that need to be broken.

Next time you are working on a concept or a design for a space, don't let the boundaries that someone else put up stop you from being bold, showing your personal style or elevating design to a whole new level. 

How inviting...

elev8 dezign   What is your front door saying about you?  Have you ever driven by your house and come back by and sat out front of your house and looked at your front door?  What color is it?  Is that a door you would want to go through?  What do you think is on the other side?  Finger painting, cookie baking, nap times and giggles? Cheerful conversations, morning newspaper readings in the sun, laptops clicking away and evenings by the fireplace?  Or perhaps it's scampering of dogs racing by, laughter on the couch and family recipes brewing on the stove.  Whatever your story on the inside, what is your story saying on the outside?  Next time you are driving through your neighborhood or walking into your condominium building, stop and revisit the stories that are being spoken from your front door.

What do you think these front doors are saying about the memories on the inside?

Traditional style transformed to contemporary with a touch of colour 

(via pinterest)

Clean and contemporary front door with a splash of pizazz!  Sarah Malone House

Bold Black Door in contrast to rustic shaker style house.  Spool 72 Home