It has occurred to me that I not only have one house to completely redo but two. No, the coral colored walls and floral wall paper are not staying. This means I have lots of idea churning around in my head but honestly I am kind of getting tired of searching online for inspiration. So I am turning to you my creative and inspiring readers and friends. Do you have some links of ideas that you would be willing to share? *Note: most links I share are very magazine-like and I am not going for that look so if you know a blog or link that is less magazine please share.*
I will give you a bit of an idea of the direction that I am headed. We want a farm house kitchen; clean, warm, cheery and very welcoming. I think I have decided on the green of the first link for the bottom cupboards with white/cream open shelving on the top. With wooden butcher block type counter tops. Would that look good or am I crazy? We have white appliances and are still trying to find an old cast iron farm sink. We have all plank floors that likely need to be painted but I am stumped on a color.
http://www.styleathome.com/kitchen-and-bath/kitchen/5-colourful-kitchens/a/33665
http://houseandhome.com/design/photo-gallery-farmhouse-style?page=14
http://theinspiredroom.net/2010/04/19/a-white-cottage/
Aneliese would like a yellow room but I don’t want it to be pastel or too bright…any suggestions? I want their room to be peaceful but happy. I thought maybe this link of yellow with green floors?
https://becomingkindred.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/PaintedFloor4_CottageLiving.jpg
And how about a space conserving guest room idea? Murphy bed?
And lighting…right now we just have bare bulbs and I don’t like a lot of the modern stuff, it doesn’t seem to go.
Anyways, I would love to hear what you think and to see any links that you might have. We are on a pretty minimal budget but if I have ideas, I can usually make the funds stretch.
Edit: If you happen to use Pinterest, you can also just pin on my house ideas board…I think…I don’t know how to use it that well but it has been great for collecting ideas.
it seems we have a lot of the same likes when it comes to decore. I love the farmhouse, french country type look for home decor and the color that you are thinking for for your kitchen is actually the color that we have in our kitchen! Anyway… for the girls room.. you can go a really creamy yellow that tends towards more off whiteish/ tanish (if that makes sence) that is soothing. Some of our paint colors in our home are more to the yellow side but in a calming way.As for decor ideas.. i’m not sure how many thirft stores or second hand shops you have, but i’ve always found great home decor items at second hand shops… for instance, if you are looking for curtains look at sheets… it is possible to make bed sheets into cute curtains. I’ve also turned old clothing pieces into pillows (even cutting up fabric to stuff the pillows with).
You might not like this look but another good decor item that makes a home feel farm house is plates for wall decor… I also think trivets on the wall look really cool as well.
Garage sales are a GREAT place to get home deor items.
Keep it simple but personal.
Have you ever heard of Freecycle.org? I’m not sure if you have that up north or not…
My house probably isn’t that inspiring… but i’ll post some pictures on my blog for you to see in the next few days.
OH and i LOVE the wooden butcher block counter tops…..
how about mason jar light fixtures?
http://oh-lovely-day.blogspot.com/2010/08/mason-jar-love.html
http://hotchildinthecountry.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html
Cool Sades! I have thought of many uses for mason jars but not that.
okay and check these ones out!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/75984874/festive-4th-of-july-summer-nights-beach?ref=sr_gallery_21&ga_search_submit=&ga_ref=auto&ga_search_query=mason+jar+lighting&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade
http://www.etsy.com/listing/75878858/three-tier-wedding-cake-ball-mason-jar?ref=sr_gallery_4&ga_search_submit=&ga_ref=auto&ga_search_query=mason+jar+lighting&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade
that is such a great idea!!!! I LOVE mason jars… we use them for all sorts of things!
oh a couple of other things.. for the boys room we have thier name on the wall and under thier name we framed the psalm that we picked out for them before they were born….and i checked and there is freecycle networks in Novia Scotia (i’m not sure what part you live in but they have networks for all different areas)… people post things that they have to give away, and you can post things that you want… I’ve gotten all sorts of things from our first goat (yep that’s right.. people post animals) to kids clothes and books.
Thanks for the ideas Kristin! I have been meaning to check out free cycle here although it does tend to be more popular in urban areas.
Ohhhh missy! this is right up my alley!!! Not sure if you have many antique stores around there? but old barn lights always look really cool in the farmhouse style! and i have seen lots for really cheap here in the barrier antique store. (Love that mason jar idea too!) http://www.barnlightelectric.com/ Here’s some idea of what they look. LOVE the idea of the cast iron sink and butcher block! iv always wanted that look! personally i think a yellow for the bottom counters might look better than the green ( but its all preference) this pic is more farmhouse contemporary but you get the idea and i love the added grey! http://restyledhome.blogspot.com/2010/04/sarahs-house-part-two.html . Also for some open cabinets chicken wire looks really cool if you have extra! you can just cut out the panels of them and do i little DIY! heres a link for that http://www.ehow.com/how_6173399_put-chicken-wire-cabinet-door.html. just Google image it for a peak of what they look like. if you paint your plank floors make sure to do it in a flat paint. Cloud white by Benjamin Moore is really nice… Bright and clean without being to stark or blueish. Not sure what color your thinking of for the cabinets but cloud white or feather down by BMoore are REALLY nice and quite popular for kitchens like that. or PARA paints has some nice colors and you could have them matched. this combo looks great!walls – Cashmere SR13
ceiling – Bisque SR44
trim – Snowfall SR29
upper cabinets – Bisque SR44
lower cabinets and or island – Shoreline SR43
or LOVE this yellow!!! – Rattan SR21.
here are some ideas for yellows from BM that iv seen before ( for the girls room! ) just remember however yellow it looks on the chip it will look a lot more yellow on the walls!
butter, moonlight., lemon sorbet, soleil, lighthouse but whenever you paint rooms yellow, you need to always use a creamy white for moldings. so be careful! My favorite creamy white for this is is Benjamin Moore Acadia White (OC-38) Oh and Also creme brulee and pernod.! but those are through BM pottery barn kids i think? anyways hope that help!
Aimee Pastoor Interior Expressions Ltd.
Thanks so much Aimee for the ideas!! You would have a ball redoing my house…wanna come visit?!!? I have pretty much given up on BM paint because the closest place to get it is two hours away, but I like it better than any paint I have ever used so I am sad. But I will take a look at the colors at least. I am hoping to find some barn lights because I had seen them before and really liked it. Dan likes the mason jars but isn’t sold but I think that I am going to try it. Anyways…thanks and if you have other suggestions, I would love to hear them!!
oh for painting the floors… we have painted floors in our bedrooms and we’ve done a few different colors. It seems the best colors are woodtoned colors for floors… they hide dirt well until the floor needs sweeping again!
I love your idea for the kitchen! Sounds great. Part of our kitchen counter currently is wood/butcher block… only part because we did a little reno on our kitchen. But I love it. Ours is from IKEA. You can buy a slab and just do it yourself. I think the colours you picked are fab!
Have you spent any time at apartmenttherapy.com and/or its sister site re-nest? It’s not specific to your vision, but has a lot of variety. I just did a quick search for farm house kitchen and came up with a few hits. I find it useful for inspiration and ideas. Re-nest focuses on going ‘green’ and re-purposing which is something I’m sure you’d appreciate. Just a thought!