fade to gray

my work and my home have an inverse relationship:
when work is going well, my home is suffering. 
when work is sparse, my home is thriving. 
nature of being a full-time-stay-at-home-mom/part-time-interior-designer i guess.
probably the primary cause of this relationship is that my job is also a greatly loved hobby of mine, so "work" to me is sometimes more like "play." {note the "sometimes."  i must stress the "sometimes."}

and, since i cant see ever giving up this work/play part of my life completely, i must continue to learn how to manage both work and home .  im learning.  slowly.  but thankfully surely.

and thankfully 2010 has brought new unexpected opportunities and some awesome clients.

one job im working on now includes a complete gutting-of-a kitchen renovation {among other things}.  im nailing down the plans right now and gathering inspiration.  the client is very feminine and loves pastels {check! i can work with that!}. 
probably one of the most thrilling things about this job is that she is incredibly open to whatever i suggest. {insert huge sigh of contentment}
this is one of those "sometimes" when my work becomes more like play. 
bring.it.on.

i am leaning towards light colors, feminine touches, grays, whites, and working with textures. 
i thought i would share with your some of my inspiration files for this project {you probably have seen many of these before}:

victoria hagan via thingsthatinspire

coastal living

southern living

willow decor

southern accents

one of my favorite kitchens ever.  so clean and airy and WINDOWS.  I LOVE WINDOWS.

southern accents via cote de texas

oh and this one is another all-time favorite

yes those are windows behind the cabinets.

also via cotedetexas

coastal living

southern accents via thingsthatinspire

now i know this kitchen below has seriously made the rounds in the blogosphere, but it is {simply put} gorgeous.  its timeless, but a nice departure from the ever-so-popular all white kitchens. 

i am really leaning towards this type of color combination for my client.  her house practically asks for it.  

{and fyi...i found out recently that the paint color on these cabinets is actually only a shade or two darker than the color of my office walls!  i guess when you like something, you really like something :)}

cote de texas

southern accents

however when it comes to "feminine kitchens," as with anything i do believe you can go too far.
case in point:

coastal living

no thankyouverymuch

what are your thoughts?
of course, ill keep you posted on the progress!