A powder room make-over

Happy Monday bloggers!

I wanted to share with you all one of our easier projects around the new house. 

Our basement powder room needed an update in a major way. The wall color wasn't my favorite, I wasn't diggin' the chair rail, and those mirrors - yuck. 

The space is a nice size. Not too small, and definitely didn't need those mirrors to make it feel "bigger."

BEFORE

A while ago, I had the idea of adding horizontal boards to mimic this building technique. I have always loved any sort of wood paneling...vertical, horizontal, walls, ceiling whatever. And this Pin below really hit the nail on the head.

INSPIRATION

And here is the idea come to life! Our amazing carpenter did a great job! He took simple ply-wood sheets and cut them into 6" strips. Once nailed to the wall, I loved the look of keeping them unfinished. But, with the darker hardwood flooring, I decided to go ahead and paint them.

DURING

DURING

My hubs and I both LOVE how this turned out. What a simple, inexpensive upgrade! 

I used Coastal Fog by Benjamin Moore.

It feels much warmer now, and adding the wood didn't make it feel cramped at all. I love the rustic chic look too since we do live on the lake after all.

AFTER

We finally got around to hanging our mirror!

And I added these beauts too!

 On another home-improvement note, my little hutch in the kitchen got a touch-up. Over the course of the move and the flooring issues, it had some nicks and scrapes. And I was feeling like the color was a little too similar to the wall color. At our other house, I mixed my own paint color in our basement. It was fun when I had it in our entryway against cappuccino walls. But at this house, the color didn't quite fit.

Before the paint job.

And after. Now, it has a little more contrast, and feels new again!

The color is Zinc by Martha Stewart.

Have you all painted any furniture lately?

A powder room make-over

Happy Monday bloggers!

I wanted to share with you all one of our easier projects around the new house. 

Our basement powder room needed an update in a major way. The wall color wasn't my favorite, I wasn't diggin' the chair rail, and those mirrors - yuck. 

The space is a nice size. Not too small, and definitely didn't need those mirrors to make it feel "bigger."

BEFORE

A while ago, I had the idea of adding horizontal boards to mimic this building technique. I have always loved any sort of wood paneling...vertical, horizontal, walls, ceiling whatever. And this Pin below really hit the nail on the head.

INSPIRATION

And here is the idea come to life! Our amazing carpenter did a great job! He took simple ply-wood sheets and cut them into 6" strips. Once nailed to the wall, I loved the look of keeping them unfinished. But, with the darker hardwood flooring, I decided to go ahead and paint them.

DURING

DURING

My hubs and I both LOVE how this turned out. What a simple, inexpensive upgrade! 

I used Coastal Fog by Benjamin Moore.

It feels much warmer now, and adding the wood didn't make it feel cramped at all. I love the rustic chic look too since we do live on the lake after all.

AFTER

We finally got around to hanging our mirror!

And I added these beauts too!

 On another home-improvement note, my little hutch in the kitchen got a touch-up. Over the course of the move and the flooring issues, it had some nicks and scrapes. And I was feeling like the color was a little too similar to the wall color. At our other house, I mixed my own paint color in our basement. It was fun when I had it in our entryway against cappuccino walls. But at this house, the color didn't quite fit.

Before the paint job.

And after. Now, it has a little more contrast, and feels new again!

The color is Zinc by Martha Stewart.

Have you all painted any furniture lately?

Kitchen Reveal Part Two

Here's the kitchen reveal , Part Two!

The kitchen really is the heart of our house. I love to cook, and we try to have our friends and family around our dinner table often. With the extra space of the keeping room, I was stoked to have a place to linger before or after dinner. 

Over the last little while, I've been Pinning some fun things that caught my eye for the kitchen. So, without further ado...here's my Pin-spiration pics and the final look.

I love the look of layered rugs. Orientals over jutes is fabo to me.
My darling hubs gave me a gorgeous rug for our anniversary this year, and I have been itching to layer it.
{See below for my take on this!}

I have ALWAYS loved white kitchens. Really, the whiter the better....white cabinetry, white backsplash, white countertops, white dishes. So, interestingly enough, all of my Pins were light and bright like this one.

These cabinets are a soft gray, and I heart them too. I die over those pendant lights.

This room utilized one of my favorite things - floor to ceiling subway tile with gray grout. How chic is this?

This needs no words. Those marble countertops are crazy cool.

I have a little hutch that belonged to my grandparents - I love it filled with my white Juliska.
This further reiterated my love.

I am nutty over this color palette of putty, blue, and cream.

Remember that little square table I posted about yesterday? The one in my old basement? Well, this was the inspiration for its facelift - a gray painted table with gold edging. 

This is pretty much what pushed me to go with gray walls. I just love it all...esp that range and the island lantern.

As a Southerner, I do love plates. And I knew there was a perfect wall for a few..

If you recall, in our old house, there was a little green settee in our kitchen. That settee belonged to my grandmother Baboo and has been passed from a few family members on to me. Lucky me! There was a matching ottoman that had been in storage too, and both pieces needed new upholstery. I happened upon this inspiration Pin and knew this was the look I wanted. 

Here's one more look at the "before." During a pit stop at Hancock's, I found a linen blend fabric on MAJA sale and  grabbed 16 yards of it before anyone else could! So, the green chenille was being replaced with a new neutral fabric. 

Now, our floors are completed and we are in love with them!!! Our breakfast area is surrounded by windows and under two sky lights - I love the sunroom feel. Oh yea, I also had the doors painted black. How fun is that?!?!

The culmination of four separate "Pins"...the plate collection, the settee's new upholstery, the painted table, and the layered rugs. We love sitting here.

An adorable friend gave me these fabulous wildflowers that are drying beautifully. 

We really love the way this room turned out! The floors are a dark walnut (love it!), the walls are Thunder, cabinets are Mascarpone, and island is Wrought Iron - all by Benjamin Moore.

The barstools were a Ballard Designs clearance find at the beginning of the year. 

The island granite, the tiled counters and tiled backsplash are all original. 

I chose a combination of 3 separate hardware styles for the cabinets. There's "cup" pulls on  most of the drawers, and a smaller knob on a few others. The vertical cabinets all have the brushed stainless sleek pulls.
The tile counters and backsplash are o-kay for now, but I am trying to hide the painted flowers...they're pretty, just a different look.

A Sleepy Poet pilgrimage in Charlotte produced these vintage canisters. I think they're so fun!

Here is a better shot of the vibrant colors in the rug from my Hottie Hubs...he's got fabulous taste!

I just love the plates' blues and creams against the gray walls and paired with my little French painting.
The larger oyster plates were found locally, while the small ones were grabbed from Smith's Antique Mall in Destin. The cappuccino rimmed plates came from my Mama Doris' house, and my super Mom brought the creamware for me from England. 

The white antlers I've had for a while are now over a pretty white platter I received for a wedding gift.

There's more to show - we've worked hard on the other parts of the house too! 

Can't wait for you to see what else we've done!