FIXIN' MY KITCHEN : THE MATERIALS

To say I have had fun with this kitchen is quite the understatement.  It was such a joy to design our most lived in living space in every aspect...from the wall placement {interior} to the type of cabinet knob.

When I design for other people, I fully respect their aesthetic {unless they don't have one and just need me to tell them what to do...I get those too!}, just guide them in the direction and whole picture aspect where their taste can be displayed but in a "taste"-ful way. ;)  So when it comes to designing for myself, I really feel like I could go in a million directions.  I love so many different styles...rustic glam, mid century modern mixed with high traditional, the commonly loved "white and blue and light gray" coastal look, classic preppy patterns and styles, the simplicity of the "new" traditionalists....all these things.  I have found my style doesn't really fit exactly in one of those molds, grabbing a little inspiration from each of these categories, so my challenge is making sure it all blends together, stays within budget, and doesn't look too busy or hap-hazard.

So, while I tried my best not to make this room a huge pot of over-designed stew, I did make sure a few of my favorite "things" were included :) things like this:

marble + mixed metals + warmth + open shelving + crisp white + soothing grays

{not shown: plenty of natural light and living things...plants, fresh flowers, KIDS!}

And after a nerve racking visit to my marble source last week, I found our slabs

The problem came in picking out a slab that would work for my island...as it requires almost an entire slab.  There were many decent looking slabs but each had some sort of massive dark marking on one corner or irregularities that would have completely unbalanced the island.  There were ten available slabs on the list and we could only find nine.  Several of them would have worked for the perimeter counter tops, but by the time we ruled out the ninth and final slab, the pit in my stomach was visioning plywood counter tops in my kitchen for months and months on end, until another shipment of marble was placed and arrived.  Thankfully the "missing" tenth available slab was found right as we were leaving {and right before I broke down} and it was PERFECT.  The marble I love and have used on every job where marble was desired is Alabama White.  

On the counters in this kitchen and Master Bathroom I did back in 2010

On the backsplashes of this kitchen, my first "official" job on my own in 2007

And on the bathroom and kitchen counters in this fun cabana job I worked on this past fall:

Alabama White reminds me the most of Calacatta Gold marble...with a slightly off white background and longer, more gradual veining.  'Cept not with the same price tag ;)  I love it.  

I will do a more detailed post describing the different items we are using in our kitchen soon.  Time to take Bennett to school and pick up the ceramic tile for my laundry room floor - budget budget budget!!

Have a great Monday!