The 32 Beds That I Almost Bought for My Bedroom

In my quest to make the bedroom more portfolio worthy I enacted the great bed debate of 2015. While I was on maternity leave I looked at basically every online bed in America. The pressure was on to make it beautiful, comfortable, interesting, timeless and most definitely photogenic because there are a lot of Saturday morning instagrams that happen in that bed. So, while I was super drawn to some subtler pieces (below) I ultimately decided to go for broke and customize something fabulous. But . . . this isn't that post.

This is where I show you the 32 beds that I almost bought. I viewed and pinned HUNDREDS of beds, so please don't consider these beds the “rejects.” NAY. If these beds were nominated for an Oscar and lost, they would happily say, and mean, “it was an honor just to be nominated and be included in this roundup.”

First up – The Statement Bed.

1. Campaign Canopy Bed It's an Anthro classic and one that I hope is around forever. I still love that it's a statement and does something visually interesting, but it's slender and feminine lines keep it feeling light. It's strong, reserved, and full of style. It's the Michelle Obama of beds. I've had a glass of wine.

2. Stella Brass Bed Windsor style + brass = GD wonderful. Two major trends making love with eachother.

3. Supra Bed My love for a good cane goes beyond my love for a good Tonya Harding joke.

4. Curved Rattan Bed This bed is in the top 3. I LOVE it, and much like my daybed in Elliot's bedroom I think that it is 100% my style and will make the room with it's vintage happiness. The only reason I didn't choose this was because my head likes padding behind it whilst reading “Dragons Love Tacos” to a toddler. That's for all you toddler moms out there. Unite.

5. Balustrade Bed I thought that this bed would be super fun to showcase, what with it's strange combination of materials.

6. Ariadne Bed It's the moroccan version of #1 and it will secretly judge you for using sateen bedding. It's too fancy and feminine for our master, but in the perfect old world style home it would be stunning.

7. Cecilia Bed Again with the caning. Again with me needing an upholstered back.

8. Alchemy Brass Bed So affordable and simple, with enough glam to make me go to bed in that gown I've been hoarding.

9. Georgina Headboard I wasn't actually too tempted to buy it for me, in this home, but I will someday use this in a client's home. It's crazy and wonderful.

10. Balboa Bed – A new classic and unmistakably timeless. My friend Scott who has the most timeless and refined taste of anyone is debating using this bed in a makeover we are doing on the blog for his guest room, and for that I whole-heartedly endorse it.

I love a statement, but I love a upholstered headboard more. There were a lot of contenders. All of these are super simple with nary a tuft in sight. I had the ultimate tufted headboard with ruching and ruffles, so I was hoping to do something different this time.

1. Façade Snow Bed During the great bed debate this one kept coming up as such a good deal. It's simple, affordable, quick to ship, and with great proportions. This is a top notch contender and one that I will probably use in many budget friendly design projects.

2. Yarn Dyed Linen Bed Simple, squared off, and timeless.

3. Mod Upholstered Bed So good! Midcentury in style but totally timeless.

4. Bradford White Linen Bed This one was my #1 for a while. I loved how thick, low, and chunky it is. I ultimately decided for something with less of a chunky footboard, but I really do want to be in this bed.

5. Jane Bed Probably too low and modern for me, but so good and for a while all I wanted was a low platform bed. This is a very good one.

6. Welles Upholstered Platform Bed Now I don't remember if it was this one or #1 that I almost clicked “purchase” on so many times. Ultimately it was too simple for my master, but will I use it in a project or in my guest bedroom? Yes. That is a high possibility.

7. Broderick Shelter Bed This bed was the design inspiration of the bed I ended up making. I love the simple squared off wings. I wanted a higher headboard so I decided to customize my own, but this bed is VERY, VERY GOOD.

8. Sullivan Platform Bed YES. I want to be in this bed. If you can handle the whole “bed on the ground and you can't see underneath it” thing, then this bed is for you.

9. Belgian Slipcovered Shelter Bed Like #7 this bed has that simple wing to the headboard. But the proportions still weren't quite right. I wanted the bed part to be lower, but the headboard to be higher. I also didn't want to spend $5k for the specific one I wanted.

10. Gia Upholstered Bed While this lady had tufting in it it was still tempting for how pretty that headboard line is and how pulled back and refined the tufts are.

For a brief stint I wanted to do a canopy bed because every girls dream is to have gauzy fabric flowing off a canopy bed whilst watching “Dangerous Beauty” on VHS, no?? These are beautiful, simple, and some even strangely affordable.

1. Reclaimed Russian Oak Canopy Bed Speaks for itself. It's beautiful. Ultimately too chunky for our master or guest room, but I love it.

2. Manhattan Canopy Bed Lighter and a bit less visually arresting, but still a conversation piece.

3. Frame Canopy Bed I thought about this hard for the guest suite.

4. Bryan Canopy Bed Low like #1 but with a soft headboard to soften those harsh lines.

5. Martens Four Poster Bed A new take on the canopy with those softer corners and that matte black finish.

6. Black Metal Canopy Bed This guy is strangely affordable and simple. It's one of those things you want to keep a secret because it looks like it could be $1500, but it ain't.

For a while I thought “It's time for a wood frame bed. For something simple, and beautiful; masculine and refined.” I will do a wood headboard soon, but not for this head. Here were the finalist that I still love, but didn't choose.

1. Teak Wood Bed With built-in nighstands this is a piece and a half. Made of beautiful rosewood, this is a stunner for the right space.

2. Simple Ash Wood Bed Kalon Design doesn't dissapoint. That is a beautiful bed that will elevate any bedroom.

3. Black Platform Bed So simple and affordable. It has a slight traditional bent, but in a really modern way.

4. Companions Bed I almost bought this bed. I would have for the guest suite had it not been so expensive. It's absolutely gorgeous, with it's windsor style lines and slight hugging curve. This bed is an investment piece and worth it if you can swing that way.

5. Solid White Oak Windsor Bed When I was obsessed with #4 this became my backup. I love it but it didn't quite have enough impact to pull me from my upholstered headboard fantasies.

6. Cottage Bed A classic that could work in any room.

While I didn't choose any of those beds, I love them all for different reasons. So here, for your pinnable pleasure, is the entire collection.

Well, friends. If a demented robber held a squirt gun to your favorite unprotected suede shoes, and you had to decide on the spot, WHICH BED WOULD YOU CHOOSE????

Curious to see more of my master bedroom? Check out: Where We Are Now, Master Bedroom Wallpaper, Master Bedroom Progress

***Master Bedroom photo by Mike Garten for Good Housekeeping Magazine

The post The 32 Beds That I Almost Bought for My Bedroom appeared first on Emily Henderson.

The 32 Beds That I Almost Bought for My Bedroom

In my quest to make the bedroom more portfolio worthy I enacted the great bed debate of 2015. While I was on maternity leave I looked at basically every online bed in America. The pressure was on to make it beautiful, comfortable, interesting, timeless and most definitely photogenic because there are a lot of Saturday morning instagrams that happen in that bed. So, while I was super drawn to some subtler pieces (below) I ultimately decided to go for broke and customize something fabulous. But . . . this isn't that post.

This is where I show you the 32 beds that I almost bought. I viewed and pinned HUNDREDS of beds, so please don't consider these beds the “rejects.” NAY. If these beds were nominated for an Oscar and lost, they would happily say, and mean, “it was an honor just to be nominated and be included in this roundup.”

First up – The Statement Bed.

1. Campaign Canopy Bed It's an Anthro classic and one that I hope is around forever. I still love that it's a statement and does something visually interesting, but it's slender and feminine lines keep it feeling light. It's strong, reserved, and full of style. It's the Michelle Obama of beds. I've had a glass of wine.

2. Stella Brass Bed Windsor style + brass = GD wonderful. Two major trends making love with eachother.

3. Supra Bed My love for a good cane goes beyond my love for a good Tonya Harding joke.

4. Curved Rattan Bed This bed is in the top 3. I LOVE it, and much like my daybed in Elliot's bedroom I think that it is 100% my style and will make the room with it's vintage happiness. The only reason I didn't choose this was because my head likes padding behind it whilst reading “Dragons Love Tacos” to a toddler. That's for all you toddler moms out there. Unite.

5. Balustrade Bed I thought that this bed would be super fun to showcase, what with it's strange combination of materials.

6. Ariadne Bed It's the moroccan version of #1 and it will secretly judge you for using sateen bedding. It's too fancy and feminine for our master, but in the perfect old world style home it would be stunning.

7. Cecilia Bed Again with the caning. Again with me needing an upholstered back.

8. Alchemy Brass Bed So affordable and simple, with enough glam to make me go to bed in that gown I've been hoarding.

9. Georgina Headboard I wasn't actually too tempted to buy it for me, in this home, but I will someday use this in a client's home. It's crazy and wonderful.

10. Balboa Bed – A new classic and unmistakably timeless. My friend Scott who has the most timeless and refined taste of anyone is debating using this bed in a makeover we are doing on the blog for his guest room, and for that I whole-heartedly endorse it.

I love a statement, but I love a upholstered headboard more. There were a lot of contenders. All of these are super simple with nary a tuft in sight. I had the ultimate tufted headboard with ruching and ruffles, so I was hoping to do something different this time.

1. Façade Snow Bed During the great bed debate this one kept coming up as such a good deal. It's simple, affordable, quick to ship, and with great proportions. This is a top notch contender and one that I will probably use in many budget friendly design projects.

2. Yarn Dyed Linen Bed Simple, squared off, and timeless.

3. Mod Upholstered Bed So good! Midcentury in style but totally timeless.

4. Bradford White Linen Bed This one was my #1 for a while. I loved how thick, low, and chunky it is. I ultimately decided for something with less of a chunky footboard, but I really do want to be in this bed.

5. Jane Bed Probably too low and modern for me, but so good and for a while all I wanted was a low platform bed. This is a very good one.

6. Welles Upholstered Platform Bed Now I don't remember if it was this one or #1 that I almost clicked “purchase” on so many times. Ultimately it was too simple for my master, but will I use it in a project or in my guest bedroom? Yes. That is a high possibility.

7. Broderick Shelter Bed This bed was the design inspiration of the bed I ended up making. I love the simple squared off wings. I wanted a higher headboard so I decided to customize my own, but this bed is VERY, VERY GOOD.

8. Sullivan Platform Bed YES. I want to be in this bed. If you can handle the whole “bed on the ground and you can't see underneath it” thing, then this bed is for you.

9. Belgian Slipcovered Shelter Bed Like #7 this bed has that simple wing to the headboard. But the proportions still weren't quite right. I wanted the bed part to be lower, but the headboard to be higher. I also didn't want to spend $5k for the specific one I wanted.

10. Gia Upholstered Bed While this lady had tufting in it it was still tempting for how pretty that headboard line is and how pulled back and refined the tufts are.

For a brief stint I wanted to do a canopy bed because every girls dream is to have gauzy fabric flowing off a canopy bed whilst watching “Dangerous Beauty” on VHS, no?? These are beautiful, simple, and some even strangely affordable.

1. Reclaimed Russian Oak Canopy Bed Speaks for itself. It's beautiful. Ultimately too chunky for our master or guest room, but I love it.

2. Manhattan Canopy Bed Lighter and a bit less visually arresting, but still a conversation piece.

3. Frame Canopy Bed I thought about this hard for the guest suite.

4. Bryan Canopy Bed Low like #1 but with a soft headboard to soften those harsh lines.

5. Martens Four Poster Bed A new take on the canopy with those softer corners and that matte black finish.

6. Black Metal Canopy Bed This guy is strangely affordable and simple. It's one of those things you want to keep a secret because it looks like it could be $1500, but it ain't.

For a while I thought “It's time for a wood frame bed. For something simple, and beautiful; masculine and refined.” I will do a wood headboard soon, but not for this head. Here were the finalist that I still love, but didn't choose.

1. Teak Wood Bed With built-in nighstands this is a piece and a half. Made of beautiful rosewood, this is a stunner for the right space.

2. Simple Ash Wood Bed Kalon Design doesn't dissapoint. That is a beautiful bed that will elevate any bedroom.

3. Black Platform Bed So simple and affordable. It has a slight traditional bent, but in a really modern way.

4. Companions Bed I almost bought this bed. I would have for the guest suite had it not been so expensive. It's absolutely gorgeous, with it's windsor style lines and slight hugging curve. This bed is an investment piece and worth it if you can swing that way.

5. Solid White Oak Windsor Bed When I was obsessed with #4 this became my backup. I love it but it didn't quite have enough impact to pull me from my upholstered headboard fantasies.

6. Cottage Bed A classic that could work in any room.

While I didn't choose any of those beds, I love them all for different reasons. So here, for your pinnable pleasure, is the entire collection.

Well, friends. If a demented robber held a squirt gun to your favorite unprotected suede shoes, and you had to decide on the spot, WHICH BED WOULD YOU CHOOSE????

Curious to see more of my master bedroom? Check out: Where We Are Now, Master Bedroom Wallpaper, Master Bedroom Progress

***Master Bedroom photo by Mike Garten for Good Housekeeping Magazine

The post The 32 Beds That I Almost Bought for My Bedroom appeared first on Emily Henderson.

Digitizing Our Memories with Legacybox

I have a serious memory hoarding problem and I am all but convinced that unless a photo or video is taken I may not remember an occasion. This has led to me having 22,000 photos ON MY PHONE. This is a manageable problem now because everything is digital and I have backups, dropboxes, clouds and even straight to photo book systems in place. But my high school days, my 20's, and my college years were all pre cell phone cameras, and so I enlisted Legacybox to help me with these memories. Back then we actually used film cameras to capture our lives and would frame photos as gifts. THANK GOD I was an active memory hoarder even then and I do have a lot of photos of those very important 15 years.

The problem with having them in a box is that a.) only I can see them (my friends/family that don't live in LA can't), and b.) if something happened to that box I'd be devastated. Kim Kardashian ugly cry version. I even started taking photos of some of my favorite pictures with my iPhone so that they are digitized somewhere. But, the quality is bad, they are usually distorted and blurry, and it would take days to get through a stack and get them online somewhere for safekeeping.

Well, now there is a company that will do this digitizing for you, and do a much better job than you would do yourself. Legacybox, the sponsor of the post, is an awesome company that takes your negatives, VHS family videos, photos, slides – ANY form of old memorabilia, and digitizes them so you have them all on CD's and a flashdrive.

Here is how it works – they send you a pretty box in the mail and you fill that box with photos/videos of your loved ones that you want digitized and send it back. Four to five weeks later you get all your original photos/tapes back PLUS the CD's and flashdrive that they now are safely copied onto. It's simply amazing.

The service takes a lot of man hours by some lovely people, so you can't do EVERY SINGLE photo that you've ever taken or it will be really expensive. I had to sort through all my photos and just send through the top 250 that really meant something to me. It was a really good exercise on editing and figuring out why a good photo is a good photo.

My own wedding wasn't digitized because I got married in 2007, where literally a year later Facebook was launched (or maybe that year?), and then digitizing of the world quickly followed. That is why I have never blogged about my wedding (an experience you will soon get to witness, since our 10 year anniversary is approaching and it's time to talk about what we did, why we did it, and what we would do differently now).

Also Robyn, one of my best friends since we were 10 probably hasn't seen this picture in probably 15 years. It was when we went to New York in junior high together on a school field trip. It's a printed out photo and one that I love because we were all dressed up to go to a Broadway play, and I had even sewn that dress. It has princess sleeves and is hot pink. Shocking.

So you put in all your photos and send them off in confidence. I'm generally a very un-paranoid person, so I wasn't too worried about the process, but I've mentioned this to other people and they were a bit scared. Don't be. It's like being more scared to get on a plane than in a car. You have MUCH higher risk of your photos/memories being destroyed in your own house (fire, flood, toddler water gun fight) than in the mail with their insurance and tracking. Just because it's out of your hands doesn't mean that it's not being taken care of. Often it's actually the exact opposite and they understand the fear of your precious memories being lost or damaged. That's why they've built safety into every step, with heavy duty crush-proof boxes, packing materials, FedEx round-trip shipping with tracking, barcoding, and much more to ensure your precious items get to them, and back to you in one piece. Plus, they have over a decade of experience digitizing treasures, and have done so for over 150,000 families across the country, creating over 1 million photo filled DVD's. Those are some hard facts I can stand behind.

There I was, right before sending them off. I did the family sized box which can accommodate up to 10 sets of 25 photos or 10 videos/tapes. That box would typically cost you $250 but they do have options for smaller boxes, or closet sized boxes for all of you photo hoarders out there. Turn around time for the boxes is between 4-5 weeks depending on the size of the box, and you can always track the progress of it online as soon as you ship it back to them.

Three weeks later this is just a small portion of what I got back:

That footage is from a family trip we took when I was 7. SIX WEEKS IN A MOTORHOME. So amazing. None of my family has seen the whole disk before and it's family footage GOLD. So cute.

Now that I've got everything digitized I can put it on FB, and if I wanted to, on the blog easily. I found three more albums from college that I'm dying to do now, so I'm going to send them to Legacybox once more so that it's all done. Everything pre-iPhone cameras will be in a safe spot for my more frequent trips down memory lanes.

I highly encourage doing this you guys. It feels really good to finally have it done, it was totally painless, and for anyone who doesn't have an extra 25 hours to spare, it's actually really affordable. So get out there and go digitize your favorite memories so that you can start to enjoy them again. Legacybox has been kind enough to give 40% off the first 25 people to order using the code EMILY at check out.

**Photos of me with Legacybox by Stephanie Todaro, and a big thanks to Legacybox for sponsoring this post. Thank you for support the brands that support us, which allow us to continue to bring original content to you every day. 

The post Digitizing Our Memories with Legacybox appeared first on Emily Henderson.

Digitizing Our Memories with Legacybox

I have a serious memory hoarding problem and I am all but convinced that unless a photo or video is taken I may not remember an occasion. This has led to me having 22,000 photos ON MY PHONE. This is a manageable problem now because everything is digital and I have backups, dropboxes, clouds and even straight to photo book systems in place. But my high school days, my 20's, and my college years were all pre cell phone cameras, and so I enlisted Legacybox to help me with these memories. Back then we actually used film cameras to capture our lives and would frame photos as gifts. THANK GOD I was an active memory hoarder even then and I do have a lot of photos of those very important 15 years.

The problem with having them in a box is that a.) only I can see them (my friends/family that don't live in LA can't), and b.) if something happened to that box I'd be devastated. Kim Kardashian ugly cry version. I even started taking photos of some of my favorite pictures with my iPhone so that they are digitized somewhere. But, the quality is bad, they are usually distorted and blurry, and it would take days to get through a stack and get them online somewhere for safekeeping.

Well, now there is a company that will do this digitizing for you, and do a much better job than you would do yourself. Legacybox, the sponsor of the post, is an awesome company that takes your negatives, VHS family videos, photos, slides – ANY form of old memorabilia, and digitizes them so you have them all on CD's and a flashdrive.

Here is how it works – they send you a pretty box in the mail and you fill that box with photos/videos of your loved ones that you want digitized and send it back. Four to five weeks later you get all your original photos/tapes back PLUS the CD's and flashdrive that they now are safely copied onto. It's simply amazing.

The service takes a lot of man hours by some lovely people, so you can't do EVERY SINGLE photo that you've ever taken or it will be really expensive. I had to sort through all my photos and just send through the top 250 that really meant something to me. It was a really good exercise on editing and figuring out why a good photo is a good photo.

My own wedding wasn't digitized because I got married in 2007, where literally a year later Facebook was launched (or maybe that year?), and then digitizing of the world quickly followed. That is why I have never blogged about my wedding (an experience you will soon get to witness, since our 10 year anniversary is approaching and it's time to talk about what we did, why we did it, and what we would do differently now).

Also Robyn, one of my best friends since we were 10 probably hasn't seen this picture in probably 15 years. It was when we went to New York in junior high together on a school field trip. It's a printed out photo and one that I love because we were all dressed up to go to a Broadway play, and I had even sewn that dress. It has princess sleeves and is hot pink. Shocking.

So you put in all your photos and send them off in confidence. I'm generally a very un-paranoid person, so I wasn't too worried about the process, but I've mentioned this to other people and they were a bit scared. Don't be. It's like being more scared to get on a plane than in a car. You have MUCH higher risk of your photos/memories being destroyed in your own house (fire, flood, toddler water gun fight) than in the mail with their insurance and tracking. Just because it's out of your hands doesn't mean that it's not being taken care of. Often it's actually the exact opposite and they understand the fear of your precious memories being lost or damaged. That's why they've built safety into every step, with heavy duty crush-proof boxes, packing materials, FedEx round-trip shipping with tracking, barcoding, and much more to ensure your precious items get to them, and back to you in one piece. Plus, they have over a decade of experience digitizing treasures, and have done so for over 150,000 families across the country, creating over 1 million photo filled DVD's. Those are some hard facts I can stand behind.

There I was, right before sending them off. I did the family sized box which can accommodate up to 10 sets of 25 photos or 10 videos/tapes. That box would typically cost you $250 but they do have options for smaller boxes, or closet sized boxes for all of you photo hoarders out there. Turn around time for the boxes is between 4-5 weeks depending on the size of the box, and you can always track the progress of it online as soon as you ship it back to them.

Three weeks later this is just a small portion of what I got back:

That footage is from a family trip we took when I was 7. SIX WEEKS IN A MOTORHOME. So amazing. None of my family has seen the whole disk before and it's family footage GOLD. So cute.

Now that I've got everything digitized I can put it on FB, and if I wanted to, on the blog easily. I found three more albums from college that I'm dying to do now, so I'm going to send them to Legacybox once more so that it's all done. Everything pre-iPhone cameras will be in a safe spot for my more frequent trips down memory lanes.

I highly encourage doing this you guys. It feels really good to finally have it done, it was totally painless, and for anyone who doesn't have an extra 25 hours to spare, it's actually really affordable. So get out there and go digitize your favorite memories so that you can start to enjoy them again. Legacybox has been kind enough to give 40% off the first 25 people to order using the code EMILY at check out.

**Photos of me with Legacybox by Stephanie Todaro, and a big thanks to Legacybox for sponsoring this post. Thank you for support the brands that support us, which allow us to continue to bring original content to you every day. 

The post Digitizing Our Memories with Legacybox appeared first on Emily Henderson.

New Kitchen Project and Design Plan

A new kitchen project (three of them, actually) is underway. A lot of you are fans of 'The Lorey's house', as are we. We've done their master bedroom, tween daughter's bedroom, son's room, dining room, family room and guest room/office. They always had intentions of finishing the house and renovating the kitchen so 6 months ago they called us up and said it was time. It's going to be absolutely beautiful if I do say so myself. Ginny is the lead designer on this project and she has done such a great job of designing and project managing this job.

Here is what this kitchen looked like before:

It's a decent sized kitchen with lots of dated finishes and fixtures. The house is a traditional 1920's Silverlake bungalow. It has classic if not slightly regency finishes and fixtures throughout, with some pattern, color and a general feeling of fun and casual. They/we've done a really great job of making this house feel super homey, happy and family-friendly while modernizing its classic/traditional style. We pulled some of these kitchens for inspiration and general direction goes for the space.

After the general look and feel was approved by the client we moved onto the finishes and detail ideas. Here is the product board that Ginny presented:

They liked it but it still got tweaked. This option had a more traditional tile and more grey-grey's for the cabinet color.

Sources: faucet, brass knob, brass pull handle, fireclay sink

Along with that board we presented a lot of options. Some clients can handle this many options, some can't. Howard and Nicole are two that have really good taste and are fairly decisive but they like to know options and pricing. So we do these boards for each one.

Next up was the hardware. We all knew that they wanted a gold tone because A) its beautiful and, B) that is the finish they have throughout their home. The questions became – lacquered, unlacquered, aged, shiny, matte or satin?? There are a ton of options out there and a lot of price points. So we broke it down for them.

Ultimately because their house is traditional and has a classic feel to it we went with unlacquered brass that is shiny now but will patina and will get more beautiful (and darker and more matte) with age. This was a hard decision because matte brass is technically more trendy now, but we went with the style of the house  which wanted classic, not hip. Also classic is always hip, so there's that.

Next up was sinks:

I love how Ginny includes the 'what to consider' at the bottom. It's not just a question of 'farm style' or inset. There are lifestyle questions that each client has to answer to make sure that they are getting the product that makes the most sense for them functionally – not just aesthetically (same with the faucet and knob/pull conversations above). Can you handle the double handle on a faucet or do you like to do a quick cold-to-hot motion with one hand? With each renovation approximately 9,457 decisions are made. We try to make as many recommendations or even answer a lot of them for our clients, but they still have to approve them. I don't know if they like to soak their pots in one side of the sink or if they are a straight-to-the-dishwasher people.

Meanwhile we worked on the layout. This was in conjunction with a contractor. You can't just draw up a fantasy layout – there are many things that have to be considered and calculated into the plan.

Here is the existing layout:

The questions we had were:

1. Do you want to open the kitchen up into the dining room (which is the left wall in the photo)? We all agreed that while we love the open concept idea, it wasn't right for this house. This is something that I'd like the world to really think about – do you want your kitchen seen from your more formal rooms? The dining room is a really beautiful focal point in the house – the room that you see very first when you come through the foyer. Having it shared with the kitchen would ruin that lovely classic formality that we had created. We are doing another full renovation right now where the homeowner has told us blatantly that she doesn't want her kitchen opened up and we absolutely agreed. She doesn't have young kids anymore, and she loves to make a HUGE mess while cooking dinner parties, so she wants her kitchen to be her kitchen and her dining room to be this formal beautiful space of its own. It's something to think about, for sure.

We did however want it to flow more into the breakfast nook (that was shared with the family room). So we were going to open up that wall a bit and create more counter space there.

2. Do you want to create more space by opening up the pantry and have it become part of the kitchen? We all decided YES.

3. Do you like where are the appliances are both aesthetically and functionally? Not all. The fridge and oven were to move, but the sink and stove stayed in place.

Our contractor worked with Ginny and our cabinet guy to come up with this plan:

We have created so much more storage, counter space AND eliminated some upper cabinets so it feels bigger and more open despite it being narrow.

Ginny refined the design plan with the actual finishes and fixtures that were chosen that were approved. It is going to be GORGEOUS, folks.

For the final plan we chose a more graphic cement tile with a slate blue/gray for the cabinet color.  We ended up going for a 33″ sink instead of a 30″ which works much better with the size of their kitchen and we went with a blue for the cabinets to bring the floor color up into the space.

Sources: faucet, bin pulls, cabinet knobs, farmhouse sink, pendant lights – Baldwin 6″ fitter in unlacquered brass with 12″ Deco stepped shade, wall tiles from Fireclay tile in Blue Spruce, floor tiles from Cle Tile in Big Al and cabinet color Wolf Grey by Benjamin Moore.

The kitchen renovation is underway, but we have a few more weeks. In the meantime, the custom cabinets are coming along very nicely:

At the same time we have demo'd the existing space all out in prep for everything new coming in. The whole project should take 6 weeks, CROSS YOUR FINGERS.

While cabinets are being produced the floor tile went in. YOU. GUYS. IT. IS. STUNNING.

Up next … the cabinet install. Quick note about the cabinets – although this could be its own 10 part series. You have a few options as far as cabinets go – readymade (Ikea, although i'm sure the Home Depot/Lowes have their own) or custom. Ikea is very, very inexpensive, less customizable and ultimately not as good quality. Custom is very expensive (I believe these were $25k) and they will be PERFECT in both style, size, finish and quality for the space. If you are updating your kitchen I would suggest going for Ikea cabinets or repainting or simply refacing your cabinets. But, if you are hiring a designer and contractor to completely renovate your kitchen, then get the cabinets of your dreams. This is a once in a lifetime job and something you will live with for a long time – INVEST or you may regret it later down the line.

A few things you may notice – we took the cabinets to the ceiling. There used to be a soffit above all the cabinets which was completely empty and useless so we removed it and greatly increased the height of the cabinets which meant more storage and a better use of space. To avoid a trend (even though we currently love it) and to keep it classic, we painted the uppers and lowers the same color, while the open shelving on the other side will be either white, marble or wood – it's TBD.

Stay tuned for the full kitchen reveal in a couple months (it has to get finished, shot, styled.) I'm sure you have some questions/comments so go for it and we'll try to answer or update the post if there are large chunks of info missing.

See the rest of the Lorey's home here: Living Room progress | Tween Girl Bedroom  | 5 Tips to Design a Timeless Boys Bedroom | Dining Room | Office Turned Guest Room  | Bright and Airy Family Room  | Master Bedroom 

*Design Boards by Ginny Macdonald for EHD. 

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