Fresh, Light, Beautiful Kitchens

I got all excited about the idea of fancying up a kitchen recently. Thoughts were running through my head of redoing the cabinets, changing out the lighting, the flooring, counters, sinks, adding a back splash, fruit bowls, everything.

I began looking at some beautiful kitchens for inspiration. Well guess what! I am going to let you, my friends, in on the fun!

I love a bright, open-feeling, kitchen with lots of light!

Here are 19 examples from some hard-working, talented folks.

This one reeled me in with its beautiful grey walls, the gorgeous greens outside and the wooden beams. This wonderfully-windowed kitchen is from here.

Look at those subway tiles! Look at those glass cabinets! I'm ready to move in. The photo is from these talented folks.

I love the vaulted ceilings on this one and the long bar. These are the fireplace lovin' people who I borrowed the photo from.

This is a house I could imagine growing up in. I would be doing my homework at that island (at 2am because I am a terrible procrastinator). I would be making my pierogies on that stove. I would be breaking those pretty bowls and plates by spastically trying to juggle the oranges. Check out the bead board backing to that bookshelf!

This is one bright and modern kitchen. If I lived here I would definitely feel like I was vacationing in Stockholm but I don't see any problem with that!

Hello backsplash! What a pretty thing! I wish I could see what they are hiding in that open area under the sink. The photo is from these sneaky people.

Add bright yellow into any room and I will be a happy camper. I love how they have cabinets all the way up to the (very tall) ceiling. No wasting here! What a lovely, airy door! This photo is from these  yellow-lovin' dudes (probably dudettes too).

This kitchen has combined lots of different styles and they have done it well. What a fresh, light, beautiful kitchen. Photo from here.

WHAT IN THE WORLD! Who has a view like that? Why have I not been invited. To the people who own this kitchen: Yes, I accept your invitation.

LOVE the industrial look mixed with the calming blues and the awesome backsplash. This is the kind of kitchen where you have a good time making deviled eggs (?) just like the folks above. Photo borrowed from here.

SMART PEOPLE! See through cabinets when you have a nice window and lots of light on the other side of them. Adding some subtle grey tones and beautiful pendant lighting certainly didn't make me turn my nose either. This beaut of a kitchen was found here.

Clever! I am very impressed at how they were able to make this tiny kitchen feel so big. Those floors are driving me wild! Drool-worthy floor photo from here.

How lucky to have two windows in a fairly small kitchen. The bar really opens the space up! I love the wood counters! Photo on loan from here.

What a neat grouping of bottles at the top right of the page. That space is perfect for it. I love that they used a vintage-looking cabinet for the wet bar. Once again, I am digging the back splash on the back wall. This lovely space was found here.

Bead board bead board you are nifty! I love the idea of having a shelf stop right at the top of some tall, bead board wasinscottng. This fresh kitchen was found here.

This one is not exactly fresh and light but it is beautiful. AND look what I see hiding on the left side of the picture. I think I see a loft!!!!! Photo from here

Ohhhh la la! That FLOOR! That ceiling! That beautiful pendant light. This kitchen is wonderful! They even snuck a bunch of my favorite color, green, all over the place. Image from here

This one is a bit country and  a bit shabby chic. All of the light and the wood ceilings are what caught my eye. I do love some yellow and grey too- those are some funky cabinets! Image from here

Last but certainly not least is the gorgeous kitchen from the the clever folks over at Young House Love. They magically turned a dark, wood-paneled, claustrophobic eating factory into this fresh, light, and beautiful kitchen. Image from here.

Our kitchen at our current house is just fixed up enough that the anti-waster in me would be very upset about changing anything. I really like our kitchen and boy oh boy do we have a beautiful view (with lots of windows to show it off). 

All of these fresh, light, and beautiful kitchens have got me itching to get my hands on a real fixer-upper.

Murphy Bed For Sale

A little over a week ago I wrote a post about buying a Murphy bed on a whim. We bought the Murphy bed specifically for the lake house that we had under contract.

Well, my friends, I am VERY, VERY sad to tell you that it looks like we will not be living on a lake... at least not right now.

It turns out that, even though we were pre-approved, something went wrong in the financing department. That loft potentional-ed, lake-y, old cabinet-ed, duck tenant-ed son of a gun is not to be.

and I feel... well, it just stinks.

So now, my good pals, there is a Murphy bed back on the market.

Let me just share a few photos with you of what could have been. Picture me listening to 'N Sync "Bye Bye Bye" and Boys II Men "End of the Road" with tears streaming down my cheeks. 

And, of course, the reason that I am the most disappointed that we didn't get the house: This Bathroom.

Below the photo I will give you a list of reasons why this bathroom was a keeper.

The Sweet Bathroom:

• 80s wallpaper
• Popcorn ceilings
• Washer and Dryer in the bathroom
• Washer and dryer behind the always-durable bifold doors (please note my sarcasm here)
• The water leak in the ceiling (pictured top, middle left)
• Not pictured- but still in the same bathroom is a toilet with about 4" of space on one side where there should be at least 15" (for code and for comfort).

I am just trying to talk myself into believing that this house was not meant for us. I would still take that wall-paper-infested, close-knit-toileted house in a second if that were an option.

Someone do me a favor and tell the ducks that we aren't moving in. I can't bare to tell them myself.

Well at least I learned an important life lesson here: Never buy a Murphy bed on a whim.

I will be back with another, hopefully slightly more uplifting, post tomorrow morning.

Checking Out The House!

I have been writing lists like a mad man and thinking about today nonstop for the last week.
Today is the day that I got my grubby, little paws back into our new house. 

Today was the day of the inspections. 

Our Realtor said we didn't need to be there for it. It was pretty obvious that he didn't want us in the inspector's hair. I can understand that but it was going to take a lot more than a subtle hint to keep me away from my chance to measure, photograph, map out where the couch goes, imagine all the new closet systems, etc.

Cora and I headed up to the house and I was determined for it to be an amazing day. So, of course we started it with a little music and dancing. I changed around the radio stations until I found something that would get my jazz hands working (while holding very steadily onto the steering wheel). I found it in an old Strokes song. All it took for Cora was me to say, "DANCE, DANCE, DANCE" and her arms were flailing like wild. It was the kind of stuff that melts your heart and makes you wish you could pause the moment forever.

Since the DNC is being held in Charlotte right now we saw lots of blue lights flashing all over the place. This led to another highlight of the trip. We saw about 6 cop cars driving down the interstate. Most of them were police car/ horse trailers that had attached blue lights flashing and "Police" written on the side of the vehicle. For some reason it made me smile a lot thinking about these fancy horses being driven around in their fancy rides. I have told a few people about it and no one seems to think it is exciting as I do. Oh well! We were living in the moment and loving it.

Getting back into the house was very exciting but somehow the rose-colored glasses had changed their tint a little bit. There were now roach traps and spider webs everywhere I looked. This was all understandable and not a problem but it is just funny how those things did not seem to exist the first time we saw the house.

Here is Cora's first impression of the house. She went running in and was ready to explore.

The terminator came today. (I always forget what exterminators are called and convince myself they are called terminators).

Sassy Arnold photo from here.

Boo! They found termites. 

They also found a snake nesting under the house. Not sure if it was a Black Snake, a Water Moccasin or a Copperhead. Let's cross our fingers for the 80s hair metal band, White Snake's alter ego, Black Snake.

The inspector was there too. He was a very friendly guy. I can't imagine that I could possibly get in his hair. He seemed to be very happy to have people around. He did mention something about the chimney falling off. Well, he may not have used those words but he was not too fond of the chimney's tilting ability.

So, we shall see. It may not be the perfect house after all but I did thoroughly enjoy my time taking photos and crossing things off my list.

For the love of listing I will tell you some of the things I did while we were there:

• Measured everything (cabinet heights, bar height, counter sizes, room sizes).
• Took lots of photos.
• Tried to visualize where furniture would go.
• Kept Cora entertained. Luckily my mother-in-law came by to check out the house and do the Cora entertaining.
• Tried to find a place that we could keep our bikes.
• Tried to convince myself that we could make due with about 1/4 of our current storage space.
• Tried to decide what color the walls should be.
• Talked to our awesome Realtor, Chip, about his recent trip to Costa Rica and about his super awesome wife, Lauren, and their baby who is on the way!
• More visualization (can we raise the kitchen ceilings, can we work with existing cabinets, can we eventually redo the bathrooms to make them more functional).

The highlight of the visit to the house was the three adorable ducks that came to check us out. They were very friendly. I think they wanted to make sure they would like the new tenants at their house. Luckily, I think we passed the test. They definitely seemed interested in us and Cora was fascinated with them. After all her first real word was "duck."

Look how cute these ducks are. All three of them are completely different colors. I know there is a chance that if we move in here we will say, "mannnnn, these ducks stink. Come on now ducks- enough with all the duck poop."

Here is a photo of Cora and her grandma, "Boo" checking out the ducks.

After all of the excitement of tape measures, ducks and snakes we headed back to Boo's house so Cora could take a nap. TOO MUCH EXCITEMENT! Cora was not interested in nap. Another example of what I have been talking about here and here about Cora definitely not being the world's best sleeper. Cora had no interest in taking a nap. Every time I tried to put her in the crib she would scream like there was a herd of ducks attacking her.

Luckily, Boo is very patient and snuggily and let Cora take an hour and a half nap on her lap. I looked at the monitor and this is what I saw:

It was a sweet, little moment. Sorry it is so blurry.

The End Of My Day!

10 Things I've Learned From Owning A Home

This is the night that our occupancy went from 2 to 3!

In no particular order...

• Write down every single paint color you use- trim, walls, cabinets, ceilings... EVERYTHING. Write down the brand you used, the finish and the color. I keep my paint colors in an email labeled "home paint colors" that I sent to myself. That way I can easily search for it when I need it.

• Vinegar! It does so much good! It shines things. It cleans and disinfects things. It takes grout residue off tile. When you think your coffee maker is broken- just run a little vinegar through and BAM it will come back to life (tip from Kelly via her lady magazines). You can even use it as deodorant. Although some people (Scott) may not appreciate it when you do. 

• If your city is lucky enough to provide you with a "bulky item pickup" find out all the details of what they take and what they don't before you dump your stuff at the curb.

• Buy air filters in bulk. They are expensive! Amazon ends up being a decent amount cheaper than Wal-Mart or somewhere like that. Plus, it is nice to have them on hand when you decide to change them.

• Try to reuse what you already have. If you aren't loving of a piece of furniture or some art in one room try it out in another room. Maybe refresh it with some paint or a new frame.

• If you are questioning whether or not to put down a drop cloth. PUT IT DOWN. Also, go ahead and put something on that you won't be upset about messing up. I'd like to see you in your stone-washed jeans and shoulder pads or, really, anything that Dorothy Zpornak would wear.

• Try to keep your garage parkable. That is almost impossible for us. Once you start throwing junk in your garage it is hard to go back. So clear it out. Park your el camino in there and keep it that way!

• If you are low on storage space take another look at your closet and other storage areas. I bet there are a few places that you could add shelves. I put hooks all over the place. A great hidden place for them is right above the door frame of a small non-walk-in closet. I hang plastic bag overflow there. I have hangers on hooks above the door in the laundry room. Also, on the wall behind the door in a walk in closet I have about 15 hooks holding my bags.

• Spray paint works wonders! It is great to use when you are on a budget. You can even turn your old brass hardware into a fancy schmancy oil-rubbed bronze or brushed nickel looking hardware.

• Flip your mattresses, check your gutters, check the disposal for spoons before you run it, stain your deck as often as recommended so you don't have to replace boards. Love your home and take good care of it.

Murphy Bed Buying On A Whim!

There is no Eldin here. I'm not talking about Murphy Brown. I'm talking about a fancy, fold on down, hide it when you want to Murphy Bed!

I did my research and I found an amazing deal!
When you hear the words "amazing deal" you should automatically be able to guess...
CRAIGSLIST!

Murphy bed questions of the day (in list form, of course):

1. Who would want to buy a murphy bed that they are not even sure they can use? 
2. Who would want to buy a murphy bed when the earliest they will possibly use it would be 2 years from now?
3. Who would want to buy a murphy bed when they know that they are going to have to transport the ginormous piece of furniture at least twice? 
4. Who would want to store that gigantic piece of furniture in their garage for a year while selling their house?

Well... a little drum roll action would be nice. 

The answer, my friends (my friends being my sister and my husband... the only people who read this blog) is ME! Laura Ross Spencer. I am the one. It is I.

Look how happy I am in the photo below! That girl in black (me) looks like someone who just answered, "I would" to those last four questions.

*The photo is obviously from the opening ceremony of the Sister Sister Olympics! More on that another day.

It all started with the research. It always does. I very rarely do my decorating in the spur of the moment.

First, I did the fun stuff. I google imaged pictures of murphy beds. I found some fantastic options like the ones below.

Snazzy! I think I am mainly drawn to the floating shelves in this one.

Hello, office. What do you store in that massive cabinet? Maybe a turbo strength printer?

Sneaky, Sneaky. Super sneaky.

Ohhhhh la la! These colors will stop me in my tracks on any google image search.

I love the idea of adding some funky patterns to it.

Looks a little DIY! Definitely not a Laura DIY... this one is a bit more legitimate looking.

Next, I started checking out how I would DIY a murphy bed for $500 or less. The answer is simple. I would not DIY a murphy bed for $500 or less. The hardware alone is whopping $300 and that is just for the metal part... no wood or framing included. The other part of the problem is that I have no idea how to build furniture. 

There may have been a little pouting to myself for a second. But I was over it quickly because I turned to my best pal, Senor CRAIGSLIST.

I couldn't figure out how to put a tilde on the word senor so I added a sombrero instead. Hope you don't

mind.

The first item that popped up in my Charlotte Craigslist was a photoless ad for a "brand new" murphy bed for $400. It seemed too good to be true. So, I emailed asking for photos. I got a quick, polite response with these two photos of a beautiful, brand new murphy bed.

Whoa! The next step popped into my head before I could start hyperventilating about what a good deal this was. 

Step 5ish: Convince husband to answer "I would" to the questions at the beginning of this post.

I called and told him about it. He automatically said that it made no sense. He was right. It didn't. So I forwarded the photos along... he became slightly more interested. Finally, I convinced him that it would definitely be worth it if we could get it for even cheaper than the $400 it was listed for. 

So I replied to mr craigslist murphy bed telling him that I think he was selling it for a very fair deal but it made no sense for us to buy it unless it was an out of this world deal and I offered $200. He wrote back and said $300 would take that nifty little bed away. He didn't actually use the term nifty but I think we all know that he should have. 

The next day the Home Depot rental truck was in our possession and that bed was to be mine. We met him at a condo building. He was a Realtor and had sold the last unit in the building. All of the units came with Murphy Brown beds but this particular buyer decided she didn't want it. So it was his job to get rid of the bed quickly.

We set to work unbolting it from the floor. Scott and Mr Realtor were working hard getting that thing unbolted. I was busy entertaining my sweet, little baby with things like opening and closing the door.

A few hours and lots of hard work (by my kind, kind husband) later that bed now resides in our once again unparkable garage.

Already sad about the idea of leaving

We got the house! 
It looks like we will be moving into our LAKE HOUSE in Davidson in a year.
I am so excited but my stomach is in enormous knots thinking about it. Usually, I love moving. The idea of getting rid of a bunch of junk, packing and unpacking is my thing. Sometimes I have dreams about unpacking and I wake up happy.
Reasons I am sad to leave this house:

• IT IS AWESOME!
• It is beautiful.
• It is spacious.
• The views are gorgeous.
• We have done so much work to it. I love it. Our new house has someone else's feel.
• Going along with the last one- we put lots of money into fixing this house up and we won't have any money to fix up our new one.
• I love our new master bathroom and we will hardly have a chance to use it.
• There is SOOOOO much storage. My mom and sister keep loading me up with their junk and I still have enough storage space left for them to unload 3 more attics.
• It has a garage. Our new house will not.
• Everything is updated.
• It has an awesome kitchen. Scott spends a lot of time cooking and I spend  a lot of time entertaining Cora in a play area in the kitchen. Our new kitchen is not so exciting. Scott will also really miss the gas stove and having two kitchen sinks along with about 50 other features in the kitchen.
• The neighbors are great.
• There is almost no yard maintenance. We have zero grass. We just have to do a tiny bit of leaf blowing and a little weeding here and there.
• We are close to uptown Charlotte.
• We have deer and owls in our backyard!
• Cora was born here (well she was born in a hospital but this is her home).
• Cora took her first steps here.
• We have a laundry shoot! It is like a secret passageway! I was super duper excited to learn about it when we moved in here.
• We lived here when we got married.
• soooo many more reasons.

Loftin' it up!

About my love of lofts:

• I love to rip pages that inspire me out of magazines and catalogues. I cannot tell you how many of those pictures have been of lofts (and of beds in alcoves). 
• I was obsessed with bunk beds when I was young because I knew it was the closest I was going to get to a loft. 
• I was thrilled to get the top bunk in college! Anyone who had their dorm set up with two top bunks and desks, etc under the bed got instant awesome points from me.
• I love the idea of a library ladder and lofts can make that happen.
• A loft is like a secret little hideaway.
• Lofts are the best location to have when you are in a dart battle. I learned this from many years of ski trips and the mandatory dart gun battle that comes along with them.

The house that we are looking at has a perfect place for a loft and it would add some much needed square feet.

Here are some photos of lofts that make it work! *sorry I didn't save where I borrowed these images from.

I like how this one used the end slopes as storage.

Funky! Kelly, this is your color!

Love the modern railing

 I like the little alcove at the top left. 

Open! Good Lighting!

Cool spiral staircase 

What a view! Amazing windows! How cool to get to experience that view from an even higher level 

 Beautiful beams!

Fantastic bookshelves!