Kitchen Design Inspiration

I definitely have a vision for the interior design of our new place. Nothing is going to happen overnight, but we know what direction we are heading in. This is a far cry from our old house, where I had no idea about decorating and just sort of picked paint colors I liked and randomly went from there. Thus, our family room ended up dark red, and the adjoining kitchen was bright orange. The rest of the first floor was a dark tan. Oh, and the powder room was dark gray. VERY cohesive, yes? OR NOT. Accessorizing was hellish, because nothing really worked together.

Finally I got my wits about me and we repainted a good deal of the first floor in a beautiful neutral that was equal parts beige and green and gray… Benjamin Moore Nantucket Gray. {I hope to use that color somewhere in the new house. The orange? Notsomuch.} We realized that we loved nice neutral tans, greens, and blues that are “muddied” or muted in shade.

{This is our old house after we repainted with BM Nantucket Gray. Very soothing, a touch of color, and yet still dark enough to hide kidprints on the walls!}

So, we pretty much consider our design choices in our first house to be a big experiment in figuring out what our design aesthetic really is {although I don’t really have an aesthetic, per se, and that phrase makes me feel much more fancy than I actually am!} We like traditional décor, with a bit of a cottage feel, with nice pops of color here and there. We like, overall, a clean, organized look {not minimalist} with lots of natural textures mixed in. Our house doesn’t need to look like it came out of a design magazine, but we want it to feel cohesive, welcoming, and comfortable.

Most of our home will be playing with complementary neutrals, which doesn’t mean just shades of white and tan. There are plenty of green, blue, and gray neutrals that can play nicely together, too! Since most of the first floor has tons of natural light and an open floor plan, we plan on painting most of it in just one color. There will probably be an accent wall in the family room that is painted a different color (maybe Nantucket Gray?) and the office and laundry room may be another color as well. But the foyer, hall, kitchen, sunroom, eat-in dining area, and most of the family room will get the same shade.

I made up a moodboard, or inspiration board, of what we plan to do in the kitchen and dining area. Mostly to show my husband what is running through my mind. But of course, he just looks and says, “That seems nice, but I’ll have to see it all together to really love it.” SIGH.

Maybe you, friends, could see the potential?

The tan color in the background is a frontrunner for the wall color right now. A nice neutral, which is actually the color in the model we toured. It is beautiful, just dark enough to warm up the space, but not so light that you’d see every mark on the wall.

In the top middle: that’s our granite color.

Top right: We will eventually install a backsplash, and I like the look of crisp white subway tile. Just below is a picture of our cabinetry.

In the middle is the dining set I love. Reasonably priced, beautiful wood, and rustic enough that the kids can do many a craft or school project without me worrying about the finish. I can’t wait to have a bench for the kids to use! Plus it will be awesome for family gatherings that we love to host!

Bottom right corner: I love the texture of seagrass rugs, and I’d like to put one under the dining table. They’re actually pretty easy to clean and I don’t care for high maintenance furnishings.

Bottom left: The wood floor is similar to our oak flooring with gunstock stain. Two of those white chairs would be a great addition to the table and make the dining set look a bit less matchy-matchy.

Finally, the two green fabrics are options for curtains. I will probably be making my own to save some moolah, and am leaning toward a nice bold color like this pretty apple green with a bold geometric print. I also really like the look of damask prints, so if we choose to go more neutral I might go in that direction.

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So that’s our inspiration for now! We like that these options will give us a beautiful canvas to work with, utilizing some furniture and accessories we already own, with the flexibility to add new things in.

Whaddya think? Suggestions? {I’m still trying to figure all this out!} Anyone have the perfect curtain fabric for me? That’s the one area I am most undecided about!

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