Patterned Tile... I'm Sold.

Lately, I feel like I've been seeing the same design over and over... and over when it comes to bathrooms and kitchens.  You know, white subway tile, dark grout, white marble counters, brass hardware, etc...  I get it, I do.  This scheme is gorgeous, functional, and subway tile won't break the bank.  Honestly, if we were starting from scratch, it is exactly what I would do in our bonus bathrooms, and would definitely consider something similar for a kitchen or bar area.  It just makes sense on all levels.  The thing is, nowadays it just seems like everyone has the same house.  It's like the great Tuscan takeover of 2000.  While these spaces are beautiful and enviable, for me it feels like they just feel like they can be lacking in personality and I have to wonder how dated these "modern" kitchens will soon feel, once they are in every model home in the country.

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know that a few years back I decided to jazz up our kitchen a little with some patterned tile, and I have to say that to this day it is the best design decision I've ever made.  It just added so much oomph to our home and it is the one thing that everyone still comments on when they come in our home.  The mini renovation that we did recently, only enhances how great the tile is, and I can honestly say that I've never been more excited to cook in my life.  I really do love being in that space!

I will do a full kitchen reveal soon, but until then, here is what our kitchen currently looks like, once all the construction dust settled.  As you can see the tile is most definitely the star of the room, and while it probably isn't everyone's style, it is so univocally me.  Like, if I were tile, I would be this tile and I would want to surround myself in navy, brass, neon pink, and butcher block.  Oh look, someone already did that ;).  You get what I'm saying though, when we put the backsplash in, it wasn't a budget buster, and it totally changed the whole personality of the room. I find myself constantly amazed when looking through blogs or magazines just how much impact can come from adding a little bit of patterned tile.  Below you can see my roundup of my all time favorite tiles, and each just goes to show how just adding a little bit of pattern can make a big difference.

Our kitchen. Man, I love her. 

I am obsessed with this fireplace, mostly because we have the same tile, but also because it's just so damn pretty.  I am absolutely copying this if and when we move!

Now THIS is a stairway to heaven! Tile on the stairs is never a bad idea. 

Never. 

Patterned tile in a more traditional kitchen... Yeah, I could live with that!

Some moroccan tile inspiration.  I swear I could look at this all day. 

The tile used here adds so much visual impact to what is a pretty neutral space.  Without it there would be no personality, but that backslash makes it a show stopper!

I love how this tile takes the plain subway to a whole new level.  That bathtub?  Well, I cry.  Someday. 

Again, subway and pattered tile... a killer combination.  A claw foot tub obviously doesn't hurt anything.  

This is probably my favorite tile of all time, and is perfect on the floor (below) or on the wall.  Talk about some serious impact. 

Wall to floor... clearly I need to meet this person, I'm pretty sure we'd be best friends. 

In my next home my one luxury item I'm demanding is an island and I love the idea of a white kitchen with a tiled island similar to this bar.  Throw in some black lower cabinets and you had me at hello!

Here there is some mixing of tiles, and I am not mad at it at all.  I also love the tile on the side of the tub!  This would be perfect if you had an old tub that you were looking to camouflage. 

What do you think?  Are you like me, do you love a pattern in a room, or is it something you shy away from? 

One Last Thing.

You know, I'm a firm believer that if you don't like something in your home, just paint it.  It's the easiest and by far the cheapest way to bring new life in to a space and if you are willing to do the work yourself, you can essentially change an entire room for less than 100 dollars.

Which brings me to my next, and final project in the house.  After going back and forth, my husband has finally agreed that it's time to have our kitchen cabinets painted.  This one actually pains me because when we bought our home, it was a demolished space and we could have done anything in here.  At the time I had no idea what I was doing, and basically copied what I saw in every model home around the country.  The standard, cherry cabinets, gray marble, cherry floors.  Totally and completely beautiful, but 7 years later, now that I've actually found my style, our kitchen sticks out like a sore thumb when combined with the rest of the house, which is anything but traditional.   If I could do it all over again, I would absolutely go with navy cabinets, white marble and brass hardware, but since you can't go back in time,  I've figured that the least expensive way to breathe new life into our space is a fresh coat of paint on the cabinets, coupled with some fantastic new hardware.

The question then becomes what color?  Of course, I would love to do navy, but I don't think it would look that great with our backsplash (which I still love with ever fiber in my body) and the dark counter.  Originally, I planed to just match the blueish turquoise in the tile, but now I'm thinking the way to go is something more dramatic. Way more dramatic.

 Black.

But not quite black.

Black with dark blue undertones.

Inky Black.

 After a lot of thought, I  think it will be the best way to mask the counter that I'm not in love with, and will also add so much drama to the space, especially paired with the brass hardware.  The more I think about it, the more excited I get! The black also will make the kitchen so much more modern, which will blend so much better with the rest of the house.

I've looked it to it a little bit, and I was surprised at how affordable it can be to have your cabinets professionally sprayed. Because these are newer, And without and damage, the whole thing can be done rather affordably and quickly! 

Okay, I'm sold. 

This is not something I'm planning on tackling before the holidays, but you can bet by the time Summer rolls around our kitchen will be looking shiny and new!  Here is the current state of the space.  Again, it's totally, perfectly fine...it just down't really go with the rest of the house. 

I am absolutely keeping this tile backsplash, and will probably have this somewhere in every house I live in for the rest of my life.  

The inspiration. This is exactly the color I'm looking for. 

Right now, these are the top three color contenders. They look much lighter on the screen than in person. In person they are dark, dark, dark. 

F&B Pitch Black

F&B Off Black

FB Blue Black (the frontrunner.)

The hardware is pretty much my favorite part of the plan, and I'm absolutely going with these babies from Schoolhouse Electric. 

Can you guys see it?  I think it's going to be really fantastic.  I'm not going to lie, I'll probably paint one or two cabinets myself just to make sure this is the right choice (versus going with the obvious creme) and will make sure to let you know how it turns out! 

Out of everything that we've done with the place, I have to say this is the one I'm most excited about!!!!

To be continued...

Master Bedroom Makeunder.

 Okay, so remember here, here, and here when I said I was totally "done" with my master bedroom.  It turns out that actually wasn't true, because our master bedroom has once again undergone some minor changes, and this time I swear it's finished for real.  I know, I know, boy who cried wolf, yada yada, but seriously, after 6 years I finally, finally LOVE the way our bedroom looks, and since it's the room I spend the most time in, this is a good thing.  As you'll see in the final pictures, there aren't any  major changes, just the bedding, art, and lights, and I think that's important to point out.  As I always tell my sister, make sure you love the (pricier) big pieces of furniture you buy, which in this case is the bed, dresser, and chair, and the rest don't go crazy on, because in a few years you may be completely tired of it. Or in my case, 6 months, but really, who's counting?

Here's the thing about our bedroom, from the beginning I just wan't sure what I wanted it to be.  At first I wanted it to be spa and zen like, so going to bed felt like a retreat, but after about a year of that I realized that it just wasn't my style and I like color, and drama, and well, that's about the opposite of zen, so out went this room. 

Then, we had the big basement flood, which required a repainting of the whole room, and once I went dark, that was a whole new ballgame. I wanted color to pop against the dark walls, so I basically went as bright as I could. 

... and then a few months later even brighter. 

 This was great for a while, especially while the rest of the house was still being worked on, but over the past year I found myself longing for a calm and neutral space, one that really blended in with the darkness of the room, without trying to compete with it.  A few months back, I ordered a new duvet (although that orange and white one above will definitely still be in rotation in the warmer months) and found a simple piece of art that popped against the dark walls, and some much needed sconces for reading at night.  Most of the accessories were moved around, and the previous bedding found some new homes.  I have to say, I absolutely love the finished product, and this is one room that I won't be changing for a very long time to come. Seriously.

Here are a few pictures from our bedroom makeunder. 

The whole room is kind of dark and moody, which normally isn't my style, but I have to say I love how great it is for sleeping.  These pictures don't really do the room justice, but in person the space looks very simple, but layered.  There isn't too much clutter, and most everything in this room serves a purpose. I still have my little pops of color, but the majority of the furnishings are gray and I think the whole room really flows together well.  I keep telling my hubby that in our next house I'm probably going to rebel and make everything white after living with so much gray, but for now dark is where it's at... and where it's going to stay. 

Oh, and yes I lost a little drama when the skateboards over our bed were moved to the hallway, but don't worry, they were replaced with something equally as awesome in our master bathroom. 

I'm not going to lie, I made a pitch to put Kate over my bed, but my husband thought that was a little weird, so now she watches us from the other room, which is luckily still visible from my bed, #smokingkills #but90ssupermodelsneverdie

So there you have it, the final makeover of our home. I'm hoping to get some "real" pictures to share with you all in the next few months, but for now these will have to do.  I have to say I'm at a loss, without any more little "projects" to do, but I'm also really looking forward to living in this space, rather than planning on how to change it.  Designing a home is a tricky thing, your first instinct is to get it all done, to make it presentable, but I feel like a person's taste and style grows so much over time, that there really is something to be said about waiting to find something that you absolutely love.  I feel like the way our house is now, is such a true reflection of our family, and myself, and I really couldn't be happier to call this space my home. 

So Minty!!!

 Remember last week when i was debating whether or not I should paint the bathroom mint? Well, on Monday, I whipped out my paintbrush and got to work. The end result pretty much speaks for itself, and to say I LOVE it, would be an understatement! Here are a few shots of the space.

I ended up painting the moulding and doors as well, basically because they were looking a little dingy, and I have to say this is my favorite part of the whole room.  This took a lot longer than I expected, but having everything one color really makes the space look so much bigger.  From now on I'm definitely doing this in every room I paint (which hopefully won't happen for a very long time :))

This just goes to show, when in doubt... always paint!!!!!!!!

Small Space? Put up a Gallery Wall!

 Our upstairs bathroom is one of the first places that you see when you walk in our home, and given our open layout, it is pretty much visible throughout our entire top floor.  A few months back, on a whim, I started a little gallery wall on the wall you see first, and have been eagerly awaiting Gray's move to his brother's room to steal all of his artwork to complete my dream of having one room that is essentially one big gallery wall (don't worry, his brother still has enough for the both of them ;)) 

 I wasn't quite sure exactly how to lay it out, but just like last time, I realized that once you jump in and start hanging, you can start to see a clear pattern (or actually the opposite which is what you want) emerge.  Given all the "projects" we've had going on around here, this was not something I wanted to throw money at, so rather than buying new frames, I collected what we already had, hit the clearance basket at target, bought a few mini cans of spray paint, and got to work. 

 I'm not sure how the experts tackle a gallery wall, but I've found that the easiest way is to hang the frames first, sans artwork, just eyeballing, and try not to have too similar of a color or shape near a similar color or shape.  90 percent of these frames started out white, which made things a little easier, and as I hung, I would swipe a little q-tip of spray paint on the frame, so I knew what the end color would be.  Using, gold, navy, and bright blue, I painted all the frames at once, and when dry put them back on the wall.  I then collected all the random artwork and pictures that we had around (mostly in Gray's room) and filled in what fit by size, again trying not to put too many of the same medium side by side.  Finally, I saw where there were holes, and ordered a few of my favorite prints in the sizes needed from shutterfly, and grabbed an inexpensive print from etsy to fill in the one remaining frame.  In the end, this little project probably took about 4 hours, and $40 bucks, and for the visual impact it provides, I'd say that is quite a bargain!

I'd like to say that this room is "done" having painted it white a few months back to try to get the art to "pop" but no sooner was the last nail hung, when I declared that I think another color underneath would actually make everything stand out more (insert my husband's eye roll here.)  Initially I thought it should be navy (no surprise there) but the other day it hit me that this would be a perfect room to try out one of my favorite colors; mint.  I am a firm believer that mint is the perfect shade to paint any room, because basically everything looks better when paired with it.  Given all the random colors in the gallery wall, I think this would really make what once was a boring 'ol bathroom, look really special.  Now of course, finding the right shade of mint is my new mission, and luckily the internet is not short on inspiration. Here are a few of my favorites the prove what a great neutral mint really is. 

I'd like to say I'll wait a few weeks before taking everything down and painting the walls (leaving every nail of course) but knowing how I work, I'm already plotting how I can enlist my sister to get this done by the end of the weekend.  Final results to follow...

If you have a small space and are looking for a BIG impact, trust me when I say you will not regret a large gallery wall.  Who knew our little upstairs bathroom would actually become my favorite room in the house?