While renovating the kitchen and doing other projects around the house, we leaned on the garage — A LOT — and in doing so, we realized that the garage had a lot of deficiencies. As a result, hubs and I unanimously agreed that we wouldn't take on any more projects — big or small -- before tackling the garage first. So I've been day dreaming...
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You guys have heard so much about my countertops, and yet I've never gotten a chance to actually tell you all about my countertops! All you know is that it took a while before I got them; and can I just say... totally worth the wait!
I've always been familiar with Formica, however, only for their laminate surfaces. While I was doing my research, Kim & Scott of @yellowbrickhome were revealing the kitchens of their 2 unit flat. Unit 2 featured supermatte black shakers cabinets from Semihandmade — yep... the same ones in our media room! — with a white countertop... a design that paralleled exactly what I had in mind for the hygge ranch.
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A couple of months ago, over on the Emily Henderson Design Blog, I shared with you all the research and thought process on custom vs semi custom vs pre fab cabinets for the kitchen.
Having the opportunity to start from scratch, I took note of every deficiency we'd ever experienced in every kitchen, every feature we really liked, and all the big dreamy items we'd always wished we had... hence the wishlist.
Through a seamless design process with BOXI, I was able to create an intentionally designed kitchen, with symmetrical placement, tons of organization, and an aesthetic that speaks to both my design ethos & the home's preexisting charm.
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Deciding if to save or splurge is going to be a very personal decision because "save" and "splurge" are subjective. Looking back on our kitchen reno, we weighed different choices up against one another based on how they'd improve our quality of life, how they'd make us feel, and how (in the long run) they'd enhance our home.
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Now that I have finally been able to catch my breath after starting the kitchen renovation back in January, I finally have time to process everything... all the highs & lows, all the pivots, and all of the lessons.
As first time homeowners, this was our first major renovation. The laundry renovation was, what I now call, a starter renovation by comparison. We went into the kitchen renovation with our eyes wide open and still found ourselves blindsided by so many aspects of the kitchen renovation. For what it's worth, though, I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason & there's always a lesson to be learned.
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28 weeks ago, the media room was a theoretical design. Heck... 28 weeks ago I wasn't even a homeowner... so definitely not even thinking about a media room! I was invited to be part of the One Room Challenge's first ever partnership with High Point Market, and I created a virtual design that would be the catalyzing inspiration for our family's new media room.
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It's no secret that organization is my jam, so when thinking about the kitchen renovation, how it would be organized has always been top of mind — from the design layout to the cabinetry options. But that's only one piece of the puzzle — the perimeter edges of the puzzle — but while the kitchen has been in a holding pattern, awaiting the countertops, I've been working on the middle pieces of my storage puzzle.
What's a dream kitchen without dream storage solutions?
It's no secret — and should come as no surprise — that The Container Store is my go to destination when it comes to storage, even if it's just to window shop. Switching out all the cabinetry, adding brand new cabinetry, and upgrading the existing pantry system meant a chance to optimizing our existing storage while also getting to bring in new products and solutions.
We going shopping y'all!
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Did you know that my plan for the laundry room was heavily inspired by what we'd originally planned to be the media room? It leads to the laundry room & was originally designed to be a lot of black on black, so I wanted to lighten it up a bit in the laundry room, while still carrying the darker hues into the space. But my do things change!
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Years ago I determined that lighting is the unsung hero of every design -- residential, commercial, doesn't even matter. Lighting is the jewelry of the room, from pendants to floor lamps to sconces and everything in between. Needless to say, when we bought our house, I knew we'd be upgrading all of he lighting to designs that were more "us".
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We have come a long way from peel and stick backsplash and removable wallpaper in the kitchen... like renovation long way! After years of creating kitchen color guides on the blog AND secretly wanting a lot of the finds for myself, here I am designing my own kitchen renovation.
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If you've been hanging out with me for some time then you already know that before we bought a house I was working on a refresh for the living room, which then triggered our decision to covert the dining room to a study.
The design plan was to keep as much of what we already owned and give them a proper upcycle to recreate the space. Two things we knew we wanted to keep were my old desk and our IKEA Besta sideboard.
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Up until this point, admittedly, I never really did any "reveals" anywhere I've lived. In our condo, I shared quite a few rooms and that was my first taste at opening up the virtual doors to our home. But this is different... it feels different.
This design was almost 5 months in the making but it was also in partnership with many of my favorite brands. I didn't just move in and start designing.
Now rather than having you see my design and dismiss it as impossible and/or get inspired only to get sticker shock, I wanted to bring you behind the design — numbers & all — so you can see what & how much is feasible for YOU.
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It's been a little over a month since we've fully moved into our new house & jumped right into some projects, including the media room.
Having already spent time ideating made getting started right out the gate super easy, but I was still — mostly — working off of a High Point Market specified design.
Did I love everything I chose for that design? DUH! But was all of it feasible? Nope.
Between cost, customizations, and availability, I quickly (mentally) processed all the substitutions I'd have to make to make this design come to life for us for real for real.
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From the very beginning, I'd said that my ORC was based on real spaces in a real home. That home is now my home — look at God! — and I am able to bring this design as close to real life as humanly (and financially) possible. That said, consider this my part 2 to the Fall ORC. As all the guests are wrapping up their reveals, I am going to take you on another 6 week journey (because why not) as we tackle our "must be nice" spaces.
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3 months ago, I started my living room refresh and I shared the plans with you guys. The refresh started out just fine — we patched up some holes, put furniture in storage to free up space, hung new lighting & drapery, and the project even spilled over into the dining room when I made the decision to convert it into a study. At that point all that was left was for me to receive my furniture — it was slated for around now actually. That delay ended up working out in our favor. While our home buying journey is another story for another time, I can tell you that in August — when I started the living room — it isn't something I thought would be a reality for at least another year.
L'homme propose. Dieu dispose.
Translation: man plans, God decides.
And He decided we were to be homeowners NOW!
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Has it been 6 weeks already? I guess if the calendar says it, then it must be so!