Building Our Home: The Inspiration
2.09.2017
Inspiration! It's everywhere. But let's be real, it's on Pinterest ;)
I'd say the overall look we're going for with this house is modern farmhouse with traditional touches here and there to keep it classic and timeless.
We have picked out several of the finishes for our new home as progress on construction continues. The kitchen and bath finishes have been decided, the floors (tile, hardwood and carpet) have been selected and the fireplace mantel and surround is spec'd. That's the real bulk of the choices to be made but there are a whole bunch of others that are in flux and we're still deciding on.
I was going to break the inspiration for the design of our home into several posts but I'm thinking that could be a bit redundant so here it is all at once!
KITCHEN
Our current home is not well lit so that was something we really paid attention to with this new house. The kitchen will have recessed lighting as well as under cabinet lighting, pendents over the island and a light over the sink. So, pretty much lit up like a Christmas tree haha! We were originally going to have a pendant over the sink but something didn't feel quite right about that and I couldn't put my finger on it until I saw THIS idea for a goose neck style flush mount light instead. Voila.
I'm also loving this wall color. It's the perfect balance between warm and cool grey to break up the starkness of the white cabinets. We'll have matte black cup pulls for the drawers as seen here as well which brings in the farmhouse vibe in a neutral way.
Although we will have upper cabinets so a shelf installation like the one seen here wouldn't be realistic, I do love the warmth that they bring to the space so perhaps we will install something similar elsewhere in the kitchen.
As for the cabinets, we chose a white shaker style. Simple, clean and timeless. The bathroom vanity cabinets will be the same for all three as well (two full, one half).
And though I'd go for a different color for the rug, I love the juxtaposition of a crisp white kitchen and warm wood floors with a traditional style runner to ground it all. I'll be on the hunt for a runner like this with grey/white/black/navy tones.
For pendent lights over the island, we plan to choose something like this — matte black and a bit vintage.
And last for the kitchen, but perhaps the most exciting to pick out is the countertops!! I dream of carrara marble. But, for a kitchen counter it's expensive as heck and a not very practical since it is so porous. I think I'd lose it if we had a bunch of water rings all over the place. So instead we chose a quartz countertop that looks insanely similar to marble. It's much more affordable and durable. This will also be the counter top throughout all three bathrooms!
DINING ROOM
This pretty much embodies the entire dining room I'm aiming for. A simple and slightly rustic chandelier, a traditional wood farm table (on. the. hunt. for this) and black shaker chairs. To die for. I'm also loving this wall color, it looks grey here but it's actually a bit of a sage green. I am determined to get sight bit of color on the walls somewhere in the house.
For years I've been dreaming of the day when I'd have a home to accommodate my piano! It has been at my Dad's house in the meantime and I think we might be able to finally fit it in this new home. Either in the dining room or the entry way. Either way, I'm hopeful and would love to have it to brush up on my piano skills (a hobby to replace so much social media time?) and to have as a fun piece for our future family down the road. I've always feel like a piano makes a home so, homey. Mine is a beautiful wood stand up and I think it'd be a great accent to the space.
If we are able to fit the piano, this is for sure going above it. I've had this saved to my Etsy favorite's list for years holding out for the day I can accommodate my piano again!
BATHROOMS
More grey for the walls in the bathrooms? Maybe. Definitely loving the bead board detail and pretty hooks which are also functional.
I'm not sure if we will be able to fit shelving in the kitchen or not but they'll be a must for at least one of the bathrooms. Styling them is so fun and they provide great textural interest.
This style is a bit too far on the farmhouse spectrum for me but I love the light fixture and wood framed mirror. Lowe's makes an almost identical light fixture as this one which we'll purchase most of the bathrooms.
On the other hand, the styling of this bathroom is a bit too traditional but this is essentially what our vanities will look like, shaker style cabinets with the quartz marble-like counter tops. So, if you can imagine the two looks together, it'll be a nice balance of clean lines in the vanity with textural details in the light fixture and mirror.
The floors will be a light gray tile with a bit of a weathered/concrete looking texture. Again, breaking up the crisp lines of everything else.
LIVING ROOM
The fireplace is really the only thing there was to spec for the living room since the lighting is all recessed. Our fireplace mantel and surround will look quite literally exactly like this. The fireplace itself will be gas though. We chose carrara marble here since it's a small area and not a surface so it'll work well for simply being aesthetic. A simple yet slightly traditional mantel balances the clean lines of everything else. This is one of my favorite features of the house -- I can't wait to decorate the mantel, have quiet cozy nights in by the fire and hang our stockings come Christmas time!
Whew! That's pretty much all the inspiration I have for now. From here on out I'll be able to share the progress of the actual house as all different elements begin being installed... I can't wait!
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Follow me on the Pinterest and check out my "Building Smoke St" board to see even more of our inspiration for our new home.
Note: All photos click through to their source.
