Designing a Home | Finding a Style

Just 16 more days until we are into the new house. Excited doesn't even begin to capture how we're feeling. But, as the move in date creeps up, as does my self-imposed timeline to figure out how to decorate this blank canvas.

This layout below is very similar to ours (just cut the island in half, take out the coffered ceilings and the beefy trim.. oh and almost everything else! But you get the idea).

What I love about this photo is that it's not pigeon holed into a style. The cabinets and mouldings and door style are all very traditional, yet the furniture is modern and simple. It's the definition of transitional design, and it's what I'm hoping to achieve with our home.

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Although the style below is pretty far from my own, I'm including it as a reminder for me to inject some colour in my space. I usually gravitate towards neutrals but look how happy this space is! I just love it.

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The opposite of colourful, the style below blends so many textures that it conveys warmth in a different way (let's be honest, I probably won't inject much colour and will end up with more neutrals no matter how hard I try).

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 I've always loved a little art deco or hollywood regency glam. It doesn't need to be done throughout nor overwhelming to make an impact.

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But, I also love the modern, clean line of this condo design. Do you see what I'm going here?

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And this space is just to.die.for.

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Okay, if you're still with me you've probably acknowledged that I have design ADD and I love about a million different things and styles. Hence why we are 16 days out and I'm still agonizing how to tackle the house. SO much pressure on myself to make it perfect. Right now, I'm just hoping to get our stuff in there and take it one day at a time. It's hard to know what to do with a space unless you'd lived in it, right?

If you have, how did you figure out your "style"? HELP!

The Perfect Home to Renovate

Every once in a while, on a lazy Saturday morning over a soy latte, I start thinking about where we would be had we not moved to Winnipeg and weren't building a new home. We had already started thinking about moving before we got transferred here, so it's likely we would have been on our way to a new-to-us home anyways. And so, I look around on MLS. I look and see what's out there. What might we have bought? Would we have stayed in our preferred area (where we lived before) in a new, smaller home, or would we have moved out further and to an older, larger home?

While going through our imaginary house-searching, I came across this gem. It needs A LOT of work, but it doesn't take much imagination to see what potential it has. I can't even venture to say how much a total renovation would cost, but I feel like $200K would improve this home significantly. I would paint the exterior grey and white, practically gut the interior, paint out all the wood white, replace the kitchen, bathrooms, railings, and flooring - and I think it could be a pretty spectacular place.

This property checks off so many boxes for me:

• Interesting and unique exterior
• Large, private, treed in lot
• Open floor plan
• Vaulted ceilings
• Walk-out finished basement
• 4 bedrooms
• Priced low enough to allow for substantial renos (under $550K)

Of course, there's no knowing what condition the house is in, what other things might need attention. Who knows if that fireplace is up to code or if the roof needs to be replaced. But, from a purely superficial standpoint for the purpose of dreaming, this baby is a winner. 

I really love the way this house/garage is laid out. Although it's not huge, it definitely seems a tad more impressive laid out in such a way.

Just imagine white painted walls, a new fireplace and reclaimed wood floors. 

There isn't a ton of kitchen space to work with, but starting from scratch I would extend the kitchen all the way to the door frame, omit the half wall, and add an island facing the living room.

The open concept and vaulted ceilings are what really do it for me. This is actually a very similar layout to the house we are building. My husband has already remarked that he doesn't know how easy it will be to go from a living space with vaulted ceilings to one without when we ever leave, so this type of layout would solve the problem.

It's really hard to tell how this master loft suite could be used based on the current situation, but there seems to be enough space to work with to do something amazing. I am not sure, but it looks like it could be missing an ensuite, which would be a very expensive addition. There are apparently two bedrooms on the main level, which I would consider joining to create a master suite, and then separating the loft into two bedrooms. One thing is for sure, those dark beams would really pop if the panelled walls were painted white.

The backyard is full of potential with a great expansive space enclosed by shrubs and trees. Pool, anyone?

Even the entry is inviting, bordered by trees.

And now for some inspiration:

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I really like this modern/industrial take on painted wood panels.

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Probably the easiest and most effective way of transforming the house in question - paint everything white.

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And more dreamy white lofted spaces.

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Love this weathered grey look for the ceiling as an alternative to all white.

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This is a great kitchen layout that could work for the house (scaled down in size).

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Although different in style, I feel like grey paint with white trim and wood accents would really complement this house.

So what do you think? Would you ever tackle a big reno like the above, or would you rather move into a completely finished home? Unfortunately for me, my husband have completely different ideas of what we want in a home (he wants new new new, I want old and in need of some love!).

Designing a Home | Kitchen Selections

When it comes to finishes, it's probably no surprise that we've gone for a very white and neutral scheme. Here's a breakdown of our kitchen choices and some of our inspiration.

After many sleepless nights and countless naysayers, we pulled the trigger on a Venatino marble surface for our 9 ft island. Not only am I over the moon about this decision, but hubby is more than on board! Once he saw the samples and the depth and life that marble has over other surfaces, he was sold. It is such a beautiful stone and I know it will be my favourite part of this house. Hubby keeps seeing marble surfaces on TV and in restos/cafes and is almost as excited as I am. The perimeter counters that flank the cooktop are a snow white quartz that will be durable and also a nice break between the marble island and the marble backsplash. 

We chose maple wood cabinet doors painted in Alabaster (similar to the style above but a tad different and little bit creamier than this white) and charcoal vinyl plank floors. We chose a luxury vinyl plank (looks like laminate or wood planks but is made out of very durable man made material) because we have lived with both laminate and hardwood and wanted a more durable option. Our laminate floors were horrible, all three sets that we've had. Any amount of water made the seams swell, which means cleaning without water is a tedious task. Hardwood isn't great for our dogs (unless it's really rustic and grooved) because it's slippery for them and with the back issues we just didn't want to risk it. This vinyl plank is perfect - it's durable, waterproof, and if there ever were damage the individual planks can be replaced fairly easily. But best of all, there's a grippy texture that will help loads when our pups want to run around and play. It's about the same cost as laminate and some entry hardwoods at an upgrade cost to us of about $6500 from the standard lino sheet flooring that is included in the base price.

Our lighting is still in the works, but I'm hoping to go for this style of pendants over the island (This kitchen layout is VERY similar to ours) with 6 pot lights overhead and under cabinet lighting.

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We also plan on having a built-in hood fan constructed after we move in (DIY project via father-in-law) but until then we have a sleek stainless steel hood fan that isn't bulky or obtrusive.

Hardware will be classic with small shiny chrome knobs on the doors and a classic chrome pulls on the drawers.

Backsplash will be done immediately after we move in because I am far too indecisive to make that decision now (because obviously I will change my mind). We are going to go for a marble tile (likely a 3 by 8), I just haven't decided whether I want subway or herringbone ala this dreamy kitchen.

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We are very excited about the fridge, going with an all fridge, all freezer option. I'm sure it seems excessive as we are just two people, but if you saw our fridge/freezer you would understand. We spend well over $200 a week on produce alone, so you can only imagine how full our crispers must be. I also freeze loads of meals and ingredients since my vegan dishes are often far too large for one person. Freezer storage is my saviour and allows me to make healthy meal and snack choices when I don't have a lot of time. If there is one appliance we need to be above and beyond the everyday, it's the fridge.

We thought long and hard about our stove top. In our rental house here we got to experience gas for the first time (a really nice GE profile gas range). I love the look of a gas range, I love the feeling of the flame...but, after a year with it I just didn't love the maintenance (funny, considering I'm willing to take on the maintenance of marble countertops!). I just found that under the grills got dirty every single day, and it wasn't an easy clean up. The little black disks where the burners are also got splattered/stained easily.  It looks pretty from afar, but far from pretty up close. I also didn't see any difference in cooking time from any of the other stove tops I've used in the past. So we are going with a modern looking Samsung glass cooktop and I'm happy about the choice.

Our facet looks similar to this style, with an oversized, undermount rectangular sink.

Micro will be built in under the counter in the island along with the dishwasher. 

And what about a pantry you ask? Being the pantry freak that I am, I have THREE pantries. We selected two wall pantries to flank either side of the fridge, and then we have a walk-through pantry connecting the kitchen to the mudroom (think butlers pantry style, although smaller and without cabinetry and a sink). I can't wait to replace the wire shelving in the walk-through with solid wood shelving, and to organize and label all of my jars. It might take me a week, but it will probably be one of my favourite things!

I will try and get a floor plan up so you can see everything in context - and will post about the other finishes sometime soon too! If you're building or re-decorating, how's it going?