One Room Challenge Week Five - Kitchen Progress

I can hardly believe I'm typing this but we're now in WEEK 5 (aka "Panic Week" ) of  Linda's One Room Challenge.  If this is your first visit here, welcome!  As part of this series ( which culminates in the BIG REVEAL next Wednesday)  I've been making over the kitchen at my house.  If you would like to see the progression thus far, click here.

So about this week. Not a huge leap forward, but a few little details have been addressed. I think "shopping" is the theme of this post.

Like I changed out my cabinet hardware. When we first moved in I used some pink glass knobs and pulls left over from another project. I replaced them with these lucite knobs and very simple drawer pulls I found at Home Depot.

And that early 90's tile floor that makes me cringe is a little less visible under my new seagrass rug from the O.  Please note that if you want a natural fiber rug in the kitchen, seagrass is the way to go.  Seagrass is grown in salt marshes and is naturally water/stain resistant. Why they take all that water resistance and then band it with plain cotton is beyond me.

A cute and easy storage solution was found at my local HomeGoods.  The big basket is large enough to hold a 20-lb bag of dog food and the smaller stripe basket holds 4 big soft drink bottles and an assortment of canned drinks too.

I have been styling and restyling my shelves ad nauseum.  "Effortless" looking styling is exhausting.

Finally, I tried out this little x- bench but I don't think it's staying.  All those legs going every which-way is just too much.  I think if by some miracle I can find a bench with cabriole legs similar to the table legs then I would be good with that.  Or I may just end up getting another Panton chair.  What do you think?

I'm still waiting for window coverings to be finished, art/framing to be completed and picked up, and over the table lighting installed.  And more shelf styling.  This could be a nail-biter of a week.

Wonder how these folks made out.

Calling it Home 

Chinoiserie Chic 

Classic Casual Home 

Cottage and Vine 

Design Addict Mom 

Design Crisis 

Design Indulgence 

Design Manifest 

The English Room 

Henhurst Interiors 

Little Black Door 

Maddie's Nest 

Mix And Chic 

My Notting Hill 

Pawleys Island Posh 

The Pink Pagoda 

Shelter 

Simple Details 

The Vault Files 

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services in to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to experience the joy of living in a well-designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com

One Room Challenge Week 4 - My Kitchen Wallpaper is Up!!

So here we are at Week 4 of the One Room Challenge, the one where I and 19 other bloggers/designers are making over a room from start to finish in 6 weeks sharing our progress along the way every Wednesday.  All of this fun is courtesy of my hero Linda from Calling It Home .  She's smart like that. Anyway, if you're just joining the series, you can get caught up on Weeks 1 - 3 here.

You may recall that I left you last week with a little tease that arrived in a cardboard box all wrapped in shiny plastic.

Curious about which pattern I chose? Take a look!

 Ha ha.  Just kidding.

Here's the pattern I chose.

Scalamandre's Tabore from here.

I put my own spin on it and had my wallpaper ladies install the paper horizontally. I don't know if it made much difference but it made me feel pretty clever. Here's how it looks on my walls. The color in real life is somewhere between the drabish olive seen above and the what you see below.  It's vibrant without being garish.  And I love it.  Truly.  It's transformed my kitchen!

But wait!  That's not all.  I also got my shelves up!  Those came from Lowe's. Right off the shelf.  They had the perfect size (17.7") to fit the tile where we removed the upper cabinet.  Happy!

Hey, outlet just hanging out there in the middle of the wall between the tile and the window. Why are you there?

So, let's all calm down for a moment and consider the other issues that need to be addressed to make this kitchen worthy of the Dollhouse.

Two issues in this photo.  1.  Lighting.  The overhead lighting does not adequately light the dining area at mealtime. That little lamp sitting on the table is a band-aid.  Obviously I need something better and cuter.  2.  That's a big blank wall that needs some interest.  I've got to figure out what to put there.  Feel free to jump in with your ideas on that.

So that's all I have for this week.  I'm feeling overwhelmed and under prepared because I need to have decisions made and in place to show you a finished kitchen 2 weeks from today.

Dang.

Don't forget to check in with the other participants and offer up your encouragement and kind words. It really does help!

Calling it Home 

Chinoiserie Chic 

Classic Casual Home 

Cottage and Vine 

Design Addict Mom 

Design Crisis 

Design Indulgence 

Design Manifest 

The English Room 

Henhurst Interiors 

Little Black Door 

Maddie's Nest 

Mix And Chic 

My Notting Hill 

Pawleys Island Posh 

The Pink Pagoda 

Shelter 

Simple Details 

The Vault Files 

Art in the Kitchen

As I make my way through my kitchen makeover as part of One Room Challenge,  I'm giving some thought to how I can bring some personality and interest into my small, featureless kitchen.  One thing I'd like to explore is bringing some art in my kitchen.  If you recall, I have a rather large, blank wall at one end of my kitchen where the dining table and chairs are placed.

My wall is crying out for help.

But what do you think is the best scenario in this situation?  

I love the idea of a large, single piece of art, maybe even a big portrait.

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I love everything in this kitchen.

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I think the portraits lend an air of sophistication to these kitchens.  

But how about something whimsical?  

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or dramatic, like below

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Botanical prints are also something I would consider

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Or even a colorful abstract..

So I 'd love to hear what you think .  Do you like to use art in the kitchen, and what do you think the best option is for my blank wall???

The Green Room Interiors provides Interior Decorating and Design Services to happy homeowners in Chattanooga, TN.  If you'd like to discover the joy of living in a well designed home, contact Kim Lemmon at 423.653.3186 or email thegreenroominteriors@gmail.com