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!

Kitchen - Round 2

Our kitchen cabinets are painted and marble slab is picked out! Still waiting on the cabinet doors for the extension but all and all, a very productive week.

I went to Stone Interiors in Loxley, AL and picked out our marble slab for the countertops. It's called "white carrara venetian" and I liked it more than the regular carrara. It's not as gray as the other carrara (with some subtle warmer tones) and it's a little different from what you see all the time. Pictures never do it justice, but I'm telling you, I'm in love...

 

 The President of Stone Interiors, "G.K.," was so helpful and wonderful to work with.

 

We're moving along and hope to have it installed the following week. I CANNOT wait. Now I'm trying to figure out the kitchen stools. Who knew there were so many options!

My dad was in town last week and helped with Calder before he had to go back to work. Seriously, I don't know what I would have done without his help since at times, our house felt like a demolition.

and we had lunch with Lelia and Sarah yesterday. Our babies are growing up so fast. Isn't Lelia such a little beauty??

Headed to JuJu and Mack-Daddy's pool today. Calder gets to meet her second cousins (Henry and Kakhi) from Houston!

Carrara Marble

Today is all about Carrara marble. I am in search for the perfect slab—which is easier said than done. I decided I want to use white carrara marble in our kitchen, and since we're currently living in a construction zone, I need to make a decision soon. We traveled to Triton, Alabama last Saturday to see the slabs at the Triton Stone Group. I've heard you know when you find the one, but I'm still not sure if I know. One of the slabs was a little too gray for me, and the other had a large darker gray area.

possibly too gray?

 

I know these are natural stones, but I'm still not crazy about the contrast on the left.

When we got there the cute sales rep/designer said, "Hi, I'm Hadley." I said, "I'm Hadley!" We had so much in common it was beginning to get weird. She was so helpful and said we possibly could avoid the dark gray area and make a large "run" on the island from the section I like. The fabricator is coming out today to do an official template of the kitchen, so we shall see...

 

Carrara marble has rich history.  It has been used in construction and sculptures for centuries.  The Pantheon and Trajan's Column in Rome are constructed out of it.  Michelangelo's David, was carved from Carrara marble. For Michelangelo, Carrara marble was valued above all other stone. 

Above is a picture of the Carrara quarry in Italy.

And since marble is softer than granite, it will scratch and stain easier.  I know I want my marble honed and it is essential to SEAL your marble.

Thankfully while we were there I picked out my white subway tile and grout. One more thing checked off the list. I also picked out our sink and faucet, so now I need to figure out this marble slab. Wish me luck! 

Oh, and in case you want to learn more about marble, I found this blog post and this blog post very helpful.