Designing Women and Jena's Kitchen

Khera had to design her own Teddy Bear for preschool, and she and Elle really got into it.  


Elle tried to sell Khera on yellow feathers.


Khera considered the suggestion.




Once we sewed up the teddy bear, we stole some stuffing from an old pillow to fill her up.


Tommy was bored because for ONCE the girls weren't hanging on him.


And here is Khera's teddy bear, yellow feathers and all.


Tommy was thrilled she was finished so he sit in her lap and play on the iPad.

His Daddy has the same "concentration face".

I love this little man--even when he fights me every.step.of.the.way.


My sister Jena is getting the itch to spruce up her kitchen, and much like Elle taking over Khera's project,  I couldn't help but stick my nose in and throw some ideas her way. Here is her kitchen now:

Her cabinets are all wood and have a classic design, I'd keep them all but just hire someone to paint the frames and get the doors professionally sprayed. I know she wants to keep her budget tight on this project so removing the soffits* is not an option.

I think two toned cabinets will really add a lot of interest to her kitchen. I LOVE this color combo:

I like the darker color on the bottom cabinets and island, this will not only make it more interesting to look at, but also hide a lot of dirt from sticky fingers and kitchen mishaps. 

Carrying the color of the upper cabinets up onto the soffits camoflages them as seen here:


I would wrap the island in a tongue and groove (1x6) paneling as well as the backsplash as seen in this kitchen.  It's inexpensive and adds a lot of charm.


I'd replace the blinds with cafe curtains, either hung at the top like this:


or middle, like this:


I'd add 2 pendant lights over the island in this variety:


And hardware on the doors and drawers like this:

They are upgrading their appliances to stainless steel, and I think it's OK to mix metals it gives the kitchen a timeless look.

I'd replace the linoleum with this tile, YES this IS ceramic tile!!! Dark grout too.


I'd use these barstools:


For the countertops I would probably go with either quartz or granite, something that ties the two tones of the cabinets together. I'd undermount a stainless sink and use this faucet:



*If the soffits were flush with the upper cabinets I would suggest adding crown molding at the ceiling and trimming out the soffits to make them appear as part of the cabinets. Here are some good examples:




OK, if you're still awake, a lot of the photos came from magazines, online stores, and my favorite interior designer EVER, Erika Powell (www.urbangraceinteriors.com). Someday I would love to hire her to help plan my dream home...someday.

Tommy's hanging on my leg, gotta run. Have a great weekend!