Dark Tile, Light Grout Kitchen Backsplash

Over the past year, I've been working with Scott and Beth in many different rooms of their brand new home.  We are taking their kitchen project in stages.  The first stage was construction which included choosing cabinetry, flooring, and countertops.  We went with dark espresso cabinets, dark hardwood floors and off-white solid surface counters.

(Before)

We are now at the point where we are starting to add custom details.  After consulting with Scott and Beth on the overall look they desire, we decided to go with a gorgeous, dark gray tile backsplash.  You can see by the before and after photos how this addition dramatically changed the look and feel of the kitchen. 

The dark tile contrasts against the off-white countertops, which makes it an eye-catching feature.  For even more drama, we chose a light-colored grout. 

We used the alabaster colored countertops as our guide for choosing the specific grout color.  Bright white was too stark, cream was too yellow, but this warm white was spot on. 

What the clients and I love most about this amazing tile is the sophisticated matte finish.  

Next on our to-do list is adding cabinet hardware, character-rich lighting and accessories.  Stay tuned for more on this kitchen project.

If you have a space in your home that needs a new look, I am now available for new projects. 

Back to the studio for me, have a great day! 

  For information on my affordable online design consultation service, please click here. 

® The Yellow Cape Cod 

Updated Traditional Two Room Design~The Dining Room

The crisp, light color scheme of today's featured design project has me dreaming of spring.  The other day I shared part one of this recent two-room online design project which included the details on the living room we designed for Tammy.  If you missed it, click here.  Today, I'm sharing part two of that plan, the dining room…

(Blue/Green/Gray Photo Frame Gallery Image Found Here)

Tammy has a beautiful traditional style home.  You can see in the true-to-scale floor plan illustration we created that the dining room is open to the family room.  Therefore it was important that we designed the two spaces together, at the same time.  

We gave the space a ton of traditional style character with beautiful white wainscoting and thick crown molding.  

This glossy white woodwork looks amazing with the neutral, mid-toned custom wall color we recommended.  A big, beautiful chandelier was placed over the dining table to anchor the space and provide a fantastic focal point.

Speaking of the table, Tammy already had a beautiful dining table.  We gave it a fresh, new, updated look by replacing her wooden chairs with a set of upholstered parsons chairs.  

These chairs bring a lot of softness to the space, making it feel more inviting.  What we really loved about this particular chair from Ballard Designs is the simple style and…wait for it…machine washable slipcover.  The perfect solution for families.  

We found gorgeous blue dinnerware and a fun table runner to bring color to the table. 

The window treatments were kept light and bright. 

 To break up the long wall that connects the living room and dining room, we divided it in half with an imaginary line.  The living room half, was anchored by a gorgeous console table topped with a mirror.  Along the dining room half, we incorporated a large family photo gallery.  This is a great way to celebrate Tammy's young family with candid photos framed in multi-colored frames as shown in the image in the inspiration board from SawDustGirl found here.

Here is a look at the dining room and living room together...

Along with these inspiration boards and true-to-scale floor plan illustrations, Tammy's two room design plan included a complete source list for new furniture, custom paint colors, art, accessories, lighting, custom moldings, and drapery.  We also incorporated some of her current pieces and provided a step by step plan on how to put her new design in place. 

Thank you for inviting me into your home, Tammy. 

For information on my affordable online design consultation service, please click here. 

® The Yellow Cape Cod 

Updated-Traditional Two Room Design~The Living Room

Today's featured online design project is part of a two room design plan for Tammy's living room and dining room.  We designed both spaces at the same time to create seamless flow between the adjacent rooms.  Let's start with the living room...

Tammy's home is absolutely beautiful.  It is traditional in style.  We gave her a design plan that compliments the true character of her home while at the same time, updates the spaces with contemporary elements. 

This true to scale floor plan illustration shows our suggestion for the new furniture arrangement.  We placed the TV over the fireplace and positioned a new sofa and a pair of chairs around the fireplace to allow this feature to be the main focal point.  We also recommended a new fireplace surround and custom built mantle.

The furniture we chose for Tammy's family is a comfortable, handsome, slip covered sectional sofa and a pair of beautiful blue upholstered chairs.  We incorporated transitional style occasional tables and a statement console table to anchor the wall behind the sofa.  

From there we added art and accessories, like this pair of large scale blue floral prints…

and these amazing metal cage lamps.

These items (prints and lamps) can now be purchased in my shop.  

These embroidered pillows from Pier One were chosen to bring color and pattern to the sofa.  We combined them with bold solid green toss pillows with a lovely braided jute trim for a little natural texture.

This fantastic mirror from Home Decorators Collection mounted over the console table will reflect light around the room and provide a nice reflection of the new space.  Speaking of light, we kept the windows feeling light and bright with soft ivory drapery panels.  Additional task and mood lighting was brought to the space with a floor lamp placed next to the sofa.  A neutral mid-toned wall color was chosen to keep the room feeling light while providing enough contrast to make the new crown molding and wainscoting we added to the design stand out. 

  The next post will be dedicated to the dining room we designed to compliment this living room.  Stay tuned... 

For information on my affordable online design consultation service, please click here. 

® The Yellow Cape Cod 

All About The Bed

In today's featured online design project, it's all about the bed.  This large master bedroom was designed with boutique style using the bed as the main focal point of the space.  Therefore, the first item we chose for this space was the bed.  From there, all the other elements were selected.

You can see here in the true-to-scale floor plan that the space itself is large.  We were able to create two areas, one includes a king sized bed, nighstands, dresser and flatscreen tv... and the other a comfortable seating area.  

Everything we selected for the space was large in scale.  Including these three antiqued mirrors we placed over the new bed. 

Since the bed is the star of the show we kept the art on the wall behind it simple, as not to compete with the amazing bed (Riverside Furniture) itself.  The headboard is extra tall, giving it major presence. 

Upholstered chairs added to the seating area compliment the upholstery on the headboard.  

We provided two options for bedding.  Both look amazing with the wall color we recommended, as you can see here.  The first bedding option gives the room a little more variation in color with a soft blue and gray paisley print.   The second option is the same paisley print a neutral palette.  

This gorgeous gray trellis patterned wool rug from Potterybarn provides color, pattern and softness to the floor.  The antique wash on this rug gives it a heirloom feel which is perfect for the boutique style of this design.  When placed under the bed, it immediately creates a dramatic focal point. 

We dressed the windows in beautiful banded-style drapes.  

Simple ruffled toss pillows add a feminine touch to the bed. 

These fantastic large scale lamps with linen shades from Home Decorators Collection are the perfect addition to the nightstands.  We chose cream colored nightstands from the same collection as the bed.  

Combining cream colored nightstands with the wood tones found in the bed and dresser gives the design interest and depth.  

A large floor mirror was incorporated for practical reasons as well as to provide a beautiful reflection of the new space.  This mirror from West Elm is stunning.  Positioned on the wall next to the dresser, this mirror will allow the bed to been seen from another angle giving it double impact. 

Also included in this design plan were recommendations for additional furniture, accessories and art along with information on how to put the new design in place.   If you are ready to get started on a design plan for your home I'm now taking new projects and I would love to work with you.  

Thanks for stopping by!

For information on my affordable online design consultation service, please click here. 

® The Yellow Cape Cod 

Last Minute Valentines Table Using Christmas Decor

Happy Valentines Day!  If you are a Valentines Day procrastinator, like me, this post is for you.  If you're not a procrastinator, tell me how you do Valentines Day in the comments.  While I am scrambling to set up a pretty table for dinner this evening, I thought I would share with you my secret to fabulous, last minute Valentines Day decor.  

This original post was from February 2013…

February is a busy time for my family.  Sadly,  preparing for Valentines Day gets lost in the shuffle.  However, on this day I still want my family to know they are special.

I usually do this by making a nice home cooked dinner and setting a festive table.

Since I wait to the last minute to prepare, I have to use what I have around the house.
 This year I used Christmas bulbs, our Christmas amaryllis and a large white serving tray to create a pretty, large scale centerpiece.  

I can definitely do Valentines decor when it's fast and free.  

How about you, are you a big Valentines Day decorator?

Happy Valentines Day to you and your sweeties.  

or information on my affordable online design consultation service, please click here. 

® The Yellow Cape Cod 

Contemporary Bathroom Featuring Gold Fixtures

Today's featured design plan is a master bathroom created for our client, Anita.  

During our initial consultation I learned that Anita is drawn to clean, contemporary design.  After viewing photos of her master bedroom we got to work creating a master bathroom that compliments her beautiful bedroom decor.  

Here is the true to scale floorplan illustration of the space:  

We did not change the layout of the bathroom, but we did come up with a plan to give it a brand new look by making aesthetic changes.  Our starting point for the design was a gorgeous vanity mirror that Anita just purchased featuring golden-champagne and black highlights. We chose a beautiful granite for the vanity top that looks amazing with this mirror.  From there, we pulled a new color for the walls (BM Northern Cliffs) and a new paint color for her vanity (BM Black Satin). 

We recommended replacing her current builder-grade tile with this gorgeous tile from Daltile.  It's a natural porcelain tile that brings out the new wall color and the warm gray tones in the grantie as well as the golden-champagne highlights found in the mirror.  

We chose a simple but striking shower curtain that looks fabulous open or closed.  

What I love about this bathroom color scheme is that Anita can easily give the space a fresh new look by simply changing out the shower curtain and accessories.  

Speaking of accessories, we suggested a few pieces from this collection from…wait for it…Bed Bath and Beyond.  What we loved about this collection is how amazing the champagne colored sparkling glittered metallic grid design looks with the new granite vanity top. The square shape of each piece is clean and contemporary, just the look Anita is going for.

For color, we brought in this pair of large prints in black frames from ZGallerie. These prints compliment this design and also bring in the gray and yellow color palette she used in her adjoining master bedroom.  

I mentioned earlier that we chose a new paint color (black) for the vanity.  Anita's existing vanity is new and in great shape.  We suggested that she give it a makeover with paint as opposed to replacing it.  This change along with the addition of the new granite countertop will give it a whole new look.  

The last element we incorporated into Anita's bathroom is one that makes a big statement.  Anita found beautiful champagne-gold fixtures at Delta and wondered if they would look nice in her bathroom. Our answer was yes, yes, yes.  The contemporary shape and champagne-gold finish of these fixtures lends a high end modern look to her new bathroom. 

Thank you, Anita for giving us the opportunity to design your master bathroom.  

Enjoy your new space!

For information on my affordable online design consultation service, please click here. 

® The Yellow Cape Cod