Breezeway days

So one of the "rooms" I'm most excited about, isn't actually a room. We have a screened in breezeway between the house and garages, with skylights and a terracotta floor. Currently it's painted the same colour as the house. I'd like to paint it a warm creamy white to brighten the space. Then you have to have a haint blue ceiling! The old Southern tale says haints, or evil spirits, won't pass over water, so people would paint the ceilings of their porches a light blue green. It's also supposed to encourage any wayward mosquitos or wasps to head upward instead of biting you! I love the story, and I love the colour even more!

 

I want to swap the existing fan for a galvanized looking one, and goose-neck lights on the walls. I love that they bring a farmhouse feel without being too gaudy.

 

I'm a little obsessed with a hanging day bed, but not sure how I could work it in without it overwhelming the space. Might have to save that idea for when we extend the front porch at a later date. The owners are leaving us some very dated furniture. My plan is to chalk paint it all and recover the cushions with some outdoor fabric. Then there will be cafe lights strung in a zig zag on the ceiling and voila! This is the entry most people will use, so I plan on this being the first room I tackle. I can't wait to see it transform.

Living room - cozy and clean

With our current home I went more the Scandi route of a lot of white, and light grey. While pleasing on the eye, it wasn't exactly cozy. This time I am sticking with a palette of warmer creams, taupe, mushroom grey and touches of duck egg blue. I want it to feel warm.

Lamps will be key, lots of them. I'm considering white washing the brick fireplace as the ceiling is a cathedral one, with skylights and wood paneling. The windows are colossal, so I don't think I will "dress' them. The only thing that bothers me about that is having vast black bare windows at night. I have decided to get past that by adding twinkly string lights to the bushes outside, giving a nice warm glow.

Currently there is a gas fireplace, and a wood burning one that was sealed. We will be using that to store wood, and have a wood burning stove installed in the space where the gas one currently is. The floors are a pale pine narrow board right now. I will be having those refinished in a dark warm hickory brown, if budget allows I will put in new wide board hardwoods to match the rest of the houses new flooring.

As we are moving in May, the focus will be on getting the outside right, fencing off the pond, play area for the kiddos, chicken and rabbit coops and hutches etc so I'm not stressing too much about the inside of the house, but it will be good to see it all come together in the Autumn ready for all those chilly Winter nights!

boys will be boys -

My boys love super heroes, Minecraft and Lego! Show me a boy that doesn't?! It can be hard to decorate a boys room without logos and brands taking over. I think by working in one color scheme you can get by and end up with a put together look that has a nod to their loves, without it looking like a toy store! Initially my 2 boys were asking for a black painted room, but I think I've convinced them a very dark charcoal or navy is better. I'll be getting them a silver bunk-bed, and probably getting a space themed quilt each. I'm thinking large scale prints of colorful superheros will liven up walls, and some industrial style shelving to display their colorful Lego creations.

The key to keeping a boys room from turning into a cluttered nightmare - is storage! I am loving the black Trofast Ikea has brought out this past year, and an underbed train table with storage is a must. 

Another great idea I've seen a lot lately, is crate wall storage. You can just screw them straight onto your walls, or build a storage display, a whole wall would be amazing too!

The hardest challenge I face is making the room feel appropriate for both a 5 year old and an 11 yr old. I want it to feel fun enough for the youngest but not embarrassing for the eldest when his friends are over. I think by keeping quite a dark color scheme with pops of color and fun, this will be easy to achieve. Don't forget to sprinkle some love in there too, a quote sign is the easiest way to express the way you feel about your darling boys!

the heart of the home - kitchen

Having a large family, 5 children - all hungry all the time - means the kitchen is where I spend most of my time. It definitely has to function, and be easily kept clean and tidy. But other than that my big requirements are an open layout to the eating area, and both natural light and task lighting. The house we just bought has what many would consider a dream kitchen, granite, super high end appliances etc, but to me, the lover of all things farmhouse, it sets a particularly large challenge - how to bring rustic to the modern, without it feeling forced. My dream of owning an Aga will have to wait - this kitchen has a 9 burner Viking stainless steel hulk.

There are granite floor tiles, matching wall tiles, granite tops, grey walls, greyish cabinets.. very clinical, and very dull. I plan on replacing the flooring with wide board dark hardwood, but who wouldn't love a crate floor!?

Sadly unless I print it myself, which I may do, this is only available in the UK. I think I'll paint the island a contrasting colour. I'm particularly fond of duck egg blue, although this lighter shade works too.

My intention with the new house is to tackle one room at a time, finishing it before I move on to the next. I think the children's rooms will be taking top priority, so they can feel settled - and of course so toys have a home that isn't my living room floor! The kitchen is certainly functional right now, I'll just have to keep looking at my boards, and see it as it will be, to get past that feeling of "not my style-not my home".  When the time comes I will replace the granite backsplash with a cream or taupe arabesque lantern tile, paint the walls a warm cream and add some industrial farmhouse touches, and as much chippy paint stuff as it'll hold!

My studio is actually off the kitchen, right now it's open but I'm going to do a barn door on a runner, probably in plain dark wood. I think that's what the house is missing most - wood. It's tile city over there right now! The style of the home is a contemporary chalet - so I'm thinking aspen modern rustic chalet is my end game. It's going to be an exciting time ahead.

the girl's room...

I think my favorite room to design, is one for a little girl, or girls as is my case!  I've always loved the look of little beds, neatly dressed, all in a row.  So I consider myself lucky I get to design this room for my three, who will be sharing a room for as long as I can make them!  I love the colour combination of pink, blue, gold, white. Of course the shades of pink and blue are important, and I prefer the softer palette. But if you want to add some punch, a bright turquoise and hot pink work equally well.  I have three white iron beds, but the wooden versions are equally as sweet.