Kitchen with Sarah Otts Painting!

I've been thinking that our kitchen needed a little punch of COLOR for a while. Don't get me wrong, an all-white kitchen was what I wanted and what I love, but it just needed some colorful artwork to tie it all together. I wasn't sure what to do with the wall space above the island extension, so I put a mirror there for the time being, and was reliant on flowers or bowl of fruit to add the "punch of color."



So, Sarah Otts to the rescue! Sarah custom designed this painting for this space, and it's just the amount of color I wanted. It's also the perfect use of color — these colors flow throughout our entire house and this painting could work well in any room in the house. She's one of my clients so we trade often. I do her website and blog design and she does some paintings for me. It's a wonderful business / best friendship / relationship we have going on. Love you Sarah!

She nailed it on this one, and every other painting she's done for me! Check out her amazing work on her website and on her blog.
 

And since my designer eye can't ever rest,  now on to the window treatment. I'm still marinating on this one and have been since we designed the kitchen in August 2012. My husband loves to say "Rome wasn't built in one day" (he heard my mom say that and can't stop reminding me. Thanks Mom!)...but,  I have taken that to heart. Sometimes you do have to live in a space for a while, to decide what it is that you want.
 

I'll blog about this soon and show you what I'm thinking for the window treatment. It always helps me to think out loud. And Calder loves to think out loud too, especially when she walks around the kitchen. Like Mother, Like daughter!

Our New Kitchen

Our kitchen is finally finished! I can't tell you how pleased I am with how it turned out. Our contractor, Robert Shotlander, was so patient and went above and beyond to make sure the smallest detail was perfect.

The extension Robert built is perfect and we've eaten every meal there since it was installed. I found the stools at Tuesday Morning. They look identical to the ones I almost ordered for Wisteria, and they were half the price.

I love our new undermount sink and faucet. We were in desperate need of a new sink and faucet, and it's the little things that make all the difference.

 

Stone Interiors installed the marble countertops and they were so professional and easy to work with. I highly recommend using them!

What a before and after! I keep pinching myself when I realize this is our kitchen. Of course, we did it all on a budget. We kept our old appliances and didn't have any major changes to the cabinets, other than painting them and adding the extension. It was worth every penny since this is where we spend most of our time.

Oh, and I have to add...to see what our kitchen really looks like, you can come by any day of the week and see tons of toys on the floor—and bright colored sippy cups and baby food everywhere! All quickly stored away in the pantry for my silly little photo shoot!

Kitchen Stools

Last week it was marble—this week it's the accessories. I've been looking for our kitchen stools and still trying to make a final decision. Our space is limited (40" total width to be exact), so I need something small and compact. Each stool can't be wider than 17" each.

Three design options keep coming back to me:

1) This Industrial Iron Swivel Stool from Wisteria

I do love the idea of adding a simple skirt to the stool. My good friend Shannon Cook has great taste and I always leave her house jealous inspired with ideas for mine. She has similar stools in her kitchen and I've always admired them. See her kitchen below.

2) I also love this slipcover look. The kitchen below, designed by Molly Frey, is one of favorites.

These stools below are from Ballard Designs and are a whopping $349 each, which I find pretty ridiculous for what it is.

These below are much more affordable from Pottery Barn—and I like them better too...

3) I've also thought about using these simple stools from Ballard...

And my mom has these stools and I love them too...

Hmmm...so many options to choose from. But no matter what, I keep coming back to the simple industrial stools from Wisteria. That's probably what I'll end up purchasing, but still not 100% so any suggestions are welcomed.

If I had a bigger space I'd think about something bolder with a comfortable back like these...

And like everything, they're a million ways to do it and they all could work and look great...hopefully!

White Kitchen Obsession!

There's something about a white kitchen that makes me happy. I'm always drawn to white kitchens, and I love the carrara marble look and the black granite look. Both are so good-looking, and I can't wait to redo ours someday. In the meantime, I'll keep dreaming...

photo credits: {southern living} {house beautiful} {suzanne kasler} {atlanta homes} {molly frey} {jim howard}