Wednesday, February 6, 2013

I Need Some Inspiration

We are still plugging along with the planning stages of our kitchen renovation (and still living with the ripped up floors.) We are making progress though. It all comes down to budget. This is (one of the) stressful times in the remodeling process when you have to decide what can stay and what has to go to make the project actually affordable. I really want a apron front sink but can I justify the extra cost in our budget. The banquette with drawers is too expensive. Can my contractor site build something to keep the cost in check? These decisions are not fun, but they are necessary.
So, having said all of that what I really need is to look at something pretty and think about how much I'm going to love our kitchen when we're finished. I made a mood board for the room to inspire us. The Husband laughed at me for calling it a mood board. Clearly he doesn't read design blogs!  This is what is currently inspiring me today.

kitchen mood board

  1.  Cafe curtains for the kitchen windows in a pretty fabric inspired by nature, maybe like this one
  2. A new burlap shade for the pendant light over the sink
  3. Reclaimed wood openshelves with hand forged shelf brackets, image source here
  4. A sleek single control with high arcing spout and a pull down spray possibly like this; in my fantasy kitchen it would be a beautiful bridge faucet with separate hot and cold water controls. But let's be honest, when your hands are full and/or covered in gunk you don't want to have to fiddle with the water using both hands to get the water that you need.
  5. White recessed panel cabinets 
  6. Pulls for the cabinet drawers...or maybe the doors in a brushed brass finish
  7. A soft neutral wall color to let everything else in the room shine, Benjamin Moore OC-47 Ashwood
  8. Lagos Blue Caesarstone countertops; what I really want is soapstone, but budget, grrrr, we'll see
  9. Stainless steel range similar to our existing one we will reuse
  10. New stained hardwood floors in a darker but not too dark finish
  11. Knobs for the cabinet doors...or maybe the doors in a brushed brass finish
  12. This is a Murano style glass chandelier that is serving as a lovely color inspiration for my own plans to breathe new life into a hand-me-down chandelier. More one that as the plans progress
  13. An antique farm table; I have to say goodbye to a table that I love because I've finally accepted that it is and will always be too big for the room. Here's a little inspiration for future table shopping.
  14. Cushion fabric for the banquette/bench seat in the kitchen, maybe like this
I'm feeling a bit more inspired. Hooray!  Now to get back to crunching the numbers! Question of the day: How do you determine what is worth it to you and what is not when trying to stay on budget?



4 comments:

  1. That's a tough question because of course, I always want everything on my wish list! But I guess, I just think of how permanent the item is:

    countertops - definitely worth the extra since you're only doing it once and it's the first thing your eye goes to and it covers a lot of surface
    apron sink - would make me giddy every time I looked at it
    flooring - important bones of the room

    everything else is just icing and I'm willing to settle for lesser things to meet budget (also things like lighting or cabinet pulls or faucets can really vary in price and can easily be switched out later on as money allows)

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  2. For cafe curtains in your kitchen. It will be much better to use fire resistant fabrics.

    Recently, there has been increased demand for quality fire resistant fabrics. Most fabric manufacturing companies are now taking the necessary measures to ensure they retain or increase their customer numbers. Ameripride has joined up with Bulwark and Westex to intensify their flame resistant growth efforts. Now we expect improved flame-retardant fabrics and specifications.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You shared very good information. Thanks

    ReplyDelete

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