Bright and Bold Kitchen Cabinets

These kitchens are bright bold and beautiful in my book!

Did you notice the lemons in the first photo?

photos and links: Gaita Interiors Lo Bjurulf, elledecor

Related: Stylish Kitchens, Color Inspiration ~ Citrus

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Beautiful Home Living: Using Lemons for Decoration

When using arrangements to add a pop of color to your room, think fruit in addition to flowers. A vase of bright yellow lemons or limes will add zest and energy to your space! See Color Inspiration: Citrus for more ideas if you missed it!

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photos: houzz

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Beautiful Home Living: Kitchen Renovation

Wow, what an amazing transformation! From the wonderful windows with natural light, to the beautiful chandeliers and recessed lighting, it is all a glow!

A fabulous home renovation by Bradley Davidson here in Richmond, Virginia.

Wall color: Putnam Ivory, Benjamin Moore / Coast Green Marble Tops

See the before photo here.

Last week's Beautiful Living post: Bulletin Boards and Pegboards

Want more? See here for Interior Design ideas

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Beautiful Living: Design Ideas for Painted Floors

If you like the look of painted floors, here are some really cool design ideas for any room. Everything from geometric shapes, stripes, diamonds and creative patterns... for your bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bath.

photos: house of turquoise, elle decor

More Beautiful Living and Interior Design ideas

Decorating ideas: Paint Colors

Bright ideas: Using Mirrors

My Art Studio/ Home Office

and

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Moen Arbor Kitchen Faucet Review

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .

I've always regretted my kitchen faucet choice for this house.  Not that it wasn't functional and nicer quality than any faucet that I had previously, because it was.  Not that I spent a lot of time stressing or thinking about it, but it just wasn't pretty. :-(  Our house is an open floor plan, and our kitchen faucet is very visible -- so, I've always wished it made a bit more of a design statement.

So when I was offered the chance to review this Moen Arbor Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet, to say that I was happy would be an understatement. 

It comes in three finishes and I chose stainless (isn't it pretty?!!!).

I wasn't paid for this review, so I don't have to say anything positive about it, but I have to be honest. I love it.  Besides it just generally being so much better looking than my previous faucet, I really like the way it functions. It has one handle that pulls out and in for on and off, and forward and back for cold and hot.

It's so much taller than my previous faucet and allows me to easily put a large pot underneath for filling. The black button that you see is for turning on the spray.

The sprayer hose is long enough that you can even pull it over onto the counter to fill something if you need to for some reason (the black button has a pause feature to stop water flow as you're pulling it over the counter).

My husband thought the installation was simple (disclaimer here: he is pretty handy, so if you're not, it could be more difficult -  or not - don't know).  His one complaint was that he felt the plastic wrench that was provided could have been a little more sturdy.

All in all, I'm very pleased with both the beauty and function of the faucet and, since my kitchen is a busy place over the Thanksgiving holiday, I'm excited to have it in time for that!

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Interior Design Ideas: Black and White Kitchen

Black and white kitchens are always so striking to me. Thank you to the Davidsons for sharing this remodeled kitchen. The bench seat and little nooks for special photos add charm to this lovely space! Perfect timing with the splash of

orange for Halloween!

More Home Renovations and

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A Cheerful Home

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .

When I ran across California designer Jamie Levitt's cottage style home on the Family Circle website, I was immediately struck by how bright and cheerful it was. I saved the link, and this beautiful, sunny Sunday just seemed like the perfect day to share it. :-)

For the complete story on this home, and for Jamie's tips on how to get the look, click HERE.

Friday's post: Bedroom Inspiration
Saturday's post: Decorating With Ribbon

Photos by Edmund Barr

Window Backed Kitchen Cabinets

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .

When I saw Nicole and Andrew Sheehan's kitchen in this month's Traditional Home magazine (photographer: Werner Straube), I was immediately in LOVE with the window backed kitchen cabinets. (The photo in the actual magazine is more of a close up of the cabinets so you can see how amazing they really are.)

Unfortunately, if I did this in my kitchen it would only offer a view into the garage, the mudroom or the foyer, so it's not an option for me. What are your thoughts on the idea? Would it work for you?

You can see the rest of their home on the Traditional Home website.

Kitchen Ideas and Design Tips

 Designer Amanda Nisbet

This really isn't meant to be an "eye candy" kind of kitchen post (we'll have to save that for another day! :-) ) but hopefully you will be able to find some creative ideas, advice, tips and resources that will be of help to you.

Shelves mounted on the backsplash...

myhomeideas.com Photo: John Granen

Shelves on the window...

myhomeideas.com Photo: Jean Allsopp

After I started this post, I received my October issue of House Beautiful. In the issue, they highlight the Kitchen of the Year and have 50 ideas for your kitchen. There is also an interesting interview with Ina Garten and interior designer Robert Stilin. One of the tips that Robert had for renovators was: "Don't do all new stuff... It's nice to mix elements. Old furniture has a sense of warmth and realness. It takes off that hard edge..."

Canadian House and Home Photo Ted Yarwood

Love these pull-out willow basketsHouse Beautiful

Painting cabinet interiors. Using glass front cabinets. House Beautiful

Kitchen or mudroom pet station anyone?bhg.com

2 kitchens from The Woodshop of Avon.

To view photos larger and see more kitchen inspiration, click on site,

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KITCHEN DESIGN TIPS: Jamie Goldberg of Jamie Goldberg Kitchen and Bath Design, LLC has a great blog called Gold Notes where you can find some informative posts on kitchen design. Here are just a couple of the ones that I thought you may find helpful: Sensible Style: 10 Small Kitchen Tips and Sensible Style: 10 Most Common Kitchen Problems and How To Avoid Them.

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PAINTING KITCHEN CABINETS

here is a "how to" guide.

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HGTV has a ton of information on backsplashes.

Some inspiration/information, some DIY.

photo from HGTV.com Designer Candice Olson

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BHG's 30 Ways to Store More in Your Kitchen

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I've seen the options/resources below in kitchen design magazines. I haven't used them or researched them, but thought they looked interesting.

• Granite Transformations - installed over your existing countertop.
• Liquid Stainless Steel (GIANIgranite.com)
• Paint-on granite (GIANIgranite.com)
• Peel and stick backsplashes (acpideas.com)

(EDIT: About an hour after I originally posted this I was catching up on the blogs I follow and noticed that The DIY Showoff did a post today about a kitchen makeover using liquid stainless steel and paint-on granite! How awesome is that? Be sure and check it out...)

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DIY KITCHEN MAKEOVER BEFORE AND AFTERS

Click HERE and HERE to see some amazing DIY kitchen makeovers.

This one is just a little play kitchen, but how creative!

Accessorizing Above Kitchen Cabinets

I received an e-mail from someone who was going to be moving into a different house and wanted me to do a post with tips on how to accessorize above kitchen cabinets. I believe she's finally moved into her new house and may be ready to accessorize soon, so I thought I should probably get the post done.

As with anything in decorating, kitchen trends come and go. Many kitchens have taller cabinets and so much interesting detail elsewhere it's unneccessary and, in some cases, impossible to accessorize. If you do decide to accessorize above your cabinets there are a few options.

1. For a clean, simple look consider just accessorizing the wall above the cabinets. There are many options but some ideas are: framed art, plates (plate hangers are available in a variety of stores), flat trays or baskets, painted wood signs, or a vinyl or hand painted saying that would span the width of the cabinets.

OR

2. Place just a few simple groupings of items (the options here are endless depending on your decorating style and taste) on the cabinets with nothing on the walls. If you have collections of larger items that would still be visible when displayed above the cabinets, this is an opportunity to display them.

OR

3. Do a combination of accessories both on the wall and above the cabinets. Here are some tips to help you create a visually interesting display:

• Remember to allow some blank space in your display. A little blank space allows the eye to rest for a moment and will make the displayed items more important.


• Use a common color, theme, style, material or subject matter to link items together.


• Create interest by varying the placement of objects at different heights.


• Make sure the items are scaled appropriately. Smaller items can be grouped together for impact and raised on books or pedestals to give them added weight and interest.


• It's typically best to use odd numbers. Three items together are much more interesting than four.


• Color can give weight to items. Consider this when grouping items so that balance is achieved.


• Depending on the depth of the area being accessorized, stagger items from back to front.


• For more interest, vary the texture of the items.


• If you want to use greenery, it's best to intersperse smaller potted plants instead of strands of ivy. (Whether these are fake or real depends on your space and green thumb (or lack thereof in my case!)).

Here is an example of cabinet display from Pier 1. They've gone with a full display to sell their products, but have still kept it fairly simple. I thought it was a good visual to demonstrate some of the concepts that I've mentioned above.

Happy decorating! - pk

Sassy aprons

Dianna over at The Devine Home blogged about these aprons today and I loved them so much I have to do the same! I'm typically not one for wearing aprons, but these are so much fun I think I may start! They don't fall under the "shopping on a very small budget" category but they're not bad and aren't they adorable?

I know at least one person for sure that is going to fall into apron love (notice the fringe on the bottom of some these?) and if she doesn't comment on this post I seriously don't know what I will do! :-)

These are from Sassy Chef Aprons:

These are from Beebops Party Wear:

Too much fun! So if you're looking for that perfect accessory for your kitchen - maybe this is what you've been missing?

Speaking of kitchens... someone asked me to post on accessorizing above kitchen cabinets so I will be doing that in an upcoming post.

Let me know what you think of these aprons. Awesome? Not your thing? Do you know of any apron sources that carry something unique and different that appeals to your taste? Share it with us!