cozy breakfast nook

I love our little breakfast nook. 

I love all the natural light from the big bay window. I love the cozy jute rug. I love the brass light fixture.

Yep, it's little (I nearly fell out when I saw the size while building) but it has worked so well for us the past four months we've been here. 

We eat almost every meal here as a family of three, soon to be four, because it's plenty of room for just us. We have been using our trusty ol' {faux wood} black table and chairs from our old house that we purchased from Wal-Mart for a measly $100 when we got married. It had served us so well, but a couple months ago when my in-laws remodeled their kitchen, said they needed a bigger dining area and asked if we wanted their current solid oak table and chairs...we said um, yes. Of course! 

My mother in law, who is an absolute saint, painted the base of the table and the chairs {a gift to her from her brother, who passed away a few years ago so it also has such special meaning to us and we wanted to keep in the family} white chalk paint. Then she stained the top a super dark espresso color. Almost black, really. I love it. I told her the whole time I could do it, but with me being pregnant she insisted. Again, the woman is a SAINT. 

My father in law brought the table over this past weekend, since the chairs have cushions and still need to be recovered (I've yet to decide on a fabric). It still works great with our other chairs and we are so grateful for this gift from them. Major upgrade.

Now the only thing we are waiting on for this "breakfast nook"/kitchen to be complete is to fill the empty space you see to the left of that pic between where the kitchen cabinets end and the bay window begins. I am waiting on a buffet table to arrive (more on that below) and plan to transform the space into an even more cozy little setting.

Here's my inspiration from all along. Our kitchen is (to me...) a little French country inspired maybe? I just know a lot of what I get to decorate with is from Ballard Designs and let's face it - that's kinda their vibe. Mine too. I love it, as long as it's mixed with some modern updates and quirks.

I knew I wanted a cozy breakfast nook with a buffet table and rustic (or gold!) chalkboard above to put quotes, holiday accents, menus and more. I love to draw, so that would be not only easy but fun for me. Why not add more ways to have FUN in a kitchen, right?

So yeah we are just waiting on the buffet table that we ordered months ago from one of my friends who is an interior designer (it was a great price!) to go there. It isn't exactly like this one but very similar and that pretty distressed blue. I knew with all the gray cabinetry and gray walls, I needed to pack some punch and go bold with the color of the buffet table. Black or white just wasn't going to cut it, plus blues are kinda my thing. Turquoise is my favorite color and we have blues all throughout the house.

I can't wait to fill it with pretty serving pieces and more of our everyday china. Also it will be perfect as a "drink station" or "bar" area when we hosts parties. So fun. It was expected to be here mid-June, so we are all still patiently waiting!

Now the last thing is the chairs to go with the table are white and the seats just need to be recovered. I want to do a fun print maybe, that incorporates colors from the kitchen and maybe living area since it's so close?

or I could go with a geo print since I used florals in the dining room?

and while I love both of these, the floral on the left would pull in all colors. The white chairs, the gray cabinets, the blue buffet table, and the browns/blues in our living room too!

Who knows when I will decide, but definitely soon once the buffet table arrives and I can see the true color. Can't wait to see the end result.

Up next, I'm going to share a few more pics around the casa since I am major nesting and stuck up in the a/c waiting on this baby to arrive. Stay tuned!

What I'm NOT Loving Wednesday: Tough Decisions

As I mentioned in the last post, Saturday morning Chad and I hopped over to Elberton, GA (less than 30 min drive) to look at more granite options. Why did I even do this to myself? The goal should be LESS options, easier decisions. It was granite overload. This is just one room...

Such gorgeous things!

Our absolute FAVORITE was Bianco Romano granite.

  (Ok, well honestly my first favorite would be marble. Know not perfect for the kitchen but oh. em. gee. All the different marble they had was beyond amaze)

But back to Bianco Romano. It looked great with our paint sample, SW Intellectual Gray, which will be our kitchen cabinet color.

There were flecks of gray, black, metallic silver...again, so gorgeous.

A view of Bianco Romano in a kitchen.

So that's the one! Easy, right?

YAY!!!..... UNTIL we found out the price. BOOOOO!!! 

Ok, honestly it wasn't that bad if any of you out there are interested, it's definitely doable. It really is even more gorgeous in person. Totally check it out if you want a "marble look" on a granite budget. I definitely recommend it! 

Our thoughts were just that when building a house, there's so many times you "go over a budget" (each category has a budget. Ex: cabinets/granite is one itemized line to make up the big budget). We had already thrown in some things (some even necessities even that came up) that weren't in "the big budget", so sure, even though it may be just a couple hundred more for the granite we really wanted, when you keep adding up hundreds and hundreds...well they add up QUICK..turn into thousands..thus causing me to go into cardiac arrest. 

 To us, it just wasn't worth it when we found one that could do the job just as well. Heck, we're both just ecstatic to have GRANITE for once in our lives, so not really picky over here.  I think you just have to draw the line somewhere and make those tough decisions. Unless you have unlimited funds, of course. Then I'd just love to be your best friend :)

Insert Colonial White. An even lighter, white granite with not so much going on and a better price.

Still great flecks of grey, black, and taupe which will pull out our wood floors...grey cabinets...black accents. I think it will even let the grey cabinets stand out more than the granite per say, which I like.

Here's Colonial White on this kitchen island. You can see how great it looks with grey.

Transitional Kitchen by Minneapolis Interior Designers & Decorators Martha O'Hara Interiors

and again...this slab had a good bit of swirls and flecks.

Traditional Kitchen by Anaheim Kitchen & Bath Designers Marble Yard - Granite - Orange County, Anaheim

So yes, the Colonial White allowed us to stay more within our overall cabinet/granite budget. You CAN stay within budget when building a house, as much as you may think it's impossible. (and I'm talking about per itemized category, not the big overall budget because yes there will be unexpected necessities that come up [grading problems, septic tank problems, etc...] that you just can not help and will need contingency fund for) Just stick to your guns, remember you don't have to have it all right away, be creative with frugal ideas, and learn to sacrifice some things for those other things you really, truly want to splurge on at the moment. Heck, we even sacrificed a master tub for a tile shower for goodness sakes. It's all about what fits YOUR life. Don't ever let anyone talk you into anything or make you think you're crazy. It's your house, you have to live in it. Nobody else. It's also what makes your house, well...your house.

So that's my advice for the day, if anyone wants my two cents worth. We love our new home so much and this has been such an easy process, but maybe partly because we've tried not to make this THE most important thing in our lives right now. Because it's not. I keep telling myself "It's just a house"...and at the end of the day, that's all it is and that's all we need. A house. To make a home filled with our family, love, laughter and new memories. This is such a huge blessing for us. So excited we have made one of our last, final decisions this week with the granite. There is light at the end of the tunnel and GOD IS GOOD!

designing a kitchen.

We met with our cabinet guy on Monday to go over details and take final measurements for all cabinets [Totally surreal]. This was to ensure the plumber knew where all the sinks were going too. It was so great to draw out our kitchen peninsula on the plywood floor and truly see the layout of the kitchen. The stove, fridge, pantry, etc... it was neat because I am such a visual person and had to see.

In the plan we chose, it's more of an C-shaped kitchen design, so they call it. We chose that just because of personal preference. We could have opened the kitchen up to the living area, but we opted for our dining room/foyer to be open to our living area rather than the kitchen. Because of this, we don't have a big kitchen island, but rather a kitchen peninsula that will house our sink and act as the main "hub" for entertaining. It's a small space, very compact, but my goal was for every inch to be maximized to have what we need! To say that we are excited about a new kitchen is an understatement. You guys have no idea what we've been working with (or lack there of) for the past six years....

So let's get some ideas for the new kitchen, shall we. 

First up, we have decided to go gray. It's all the rage now, right? No seriously, we knew with our white cabinets now that we didn't want that again, and as much as I loved two toned (dark lower cabinets, light upper cabinets), Chad didn't "get it" so we compromised on a true medium = gray. We think it will be perfect for our messy chef (ahem, Chad) and it really is the new neutral these days. I do not see myself getting tired of it at all. Chad loves it too. The question is....a medium gray like this...

or a light gray like this....

 (This kitchen is the first one I showed our builder from the get-go. LOVE)

Suggestions/votes are welcomed. Please!

Next, I also knew from the beginning that I wanted to incorporate open shelving. It may not seem practical to most, but for me it's just as practical to have all of our "daily essentials" readily available right there on open shelves next to the sink, as well as it is beautiful.

Another must for both of us: a big ol' indestructible sink.

We already have our one-basin-rectangle stainless undermount sink on order.

Extremely excited about that! 

Since we have a small, compact, kitchen (aka we kept lowering our sq footage of our plan to afford nicer amenities) we were able to do upgrades like tile backsplash. I'm in love with subway tile. Thinking gray grout? Fun pattern? Too many options, but man, I do love this...

Also happening: a mantle in the kitchen. Who woulda thought? 

Our builder is the bomb.com and totally "gets" everything I've wanted to do.

(This photo makes me confident classic subway tile pattern is the way to go)

A pantry with pull out shelves was also a must-have since we need to utilize/maximize every inch possible. This was actually first on my list! I am so tired of not even knowing what the heck is in the back of my pantry. Honestly, I'm scared to know.

Like I've mentioned in previous posts, we already have our Tolix inspired bar stools that we have already enjoyed for a while now. They will be easy to tuck under our small peninsula bar and with no backs on them, it will be easier to move by them between bar and small breakfast nook. It's going to be tight, but this will make it work.

As for lighting, there will be recessed lights and I'm thinking these little pendants for over the kitchen peninsula. I've looked and looked and looked, yet keep coming back to these. I also have an RH gift card from my Amex points, so they'll practically be free. Done deal!

Next up, we have to decide on granite and finalize appliances (nothing super fancy, just the basics). Never have I ever picked out granite before. I have no idea what to expect but I am sure I'm going to be extremely overwhelmed. Wait, no, I'm already overwhelmed.

Seriously so excited and can't wait to see all of my planning come together...finally.

Can you tell we've been dreaming of this for a very long time?

obsessions: tolix inspired bar stools

The Tolix Marais bar stool, which originated in France in 1934 by Xavier Pauchard. 

(didn't know you were getting a history lesson today, did you?)

I originally fell in love with this style of bar stool over a year ago when I saw the "Tolix inspired stools" (aka knock offs from Overstock.com) spray painted a bold tangerine in Emily Clark's home.

After seeing those (and even then, having future kitchen plans in mind) I sold the two barstools in our current kitchen on FB and lucked up on an amazing deal on Overstock.com for two sets of two.

We've used two in our current kitchen, even though not exactly the right height, for over a year now and I absolutely love them. We went with the classic stainless steel. I knew if we ever tired of that, I could whip out a can of spray paint! You know I'm tempted to paint them my favorite shade of blue....

The simple, industrial style isn't for everyone but when Chad and I talked about our future kitchen we knew we wanted that "look". The look of clean lines, simple shaker cabinets...painted in a darker color so they could withstand the dirt and grime of our wild boy (and wild BBQ grillin daddy). A huge sturdy stainless steel sink big enough to clean the ginormous pot we use for low country boils (or clean a whole turkey. kidding. At least I hope I'm kidding...) 

Let's face it...I'd love a gorgeous porcelain farmhouse sink...stunning white cabinets...delicate marble...but that's just not realistic for a kitchen that's used 75% by my husband. He loooves to cook/grill and God love him, he does make a hot mess, but when you taste his food you never complain about the mess. When it comes to entertaining, it's all him. I'm a lucky girl so helloooo, I certainly let him have a big hand in planning this kitchen. I want everything in our new home to be beautiful, of course, but practical and useful for our lifestyle. Oh and just for the record, Cade has spilled juice, smashed gummy worms on, and knocked over our bar stools 283928234 times within the past year and they still. look. brand. new. Can't wait to see everything come together soon!