Dreaming of downsizing..our (dream) Bungalow {the kitchen}

We live "inside the loop" in our metropolitan area. We are fortunate enough to live very close to all the museums, theaters, hospitals, shops and restaurants. That means the lots are small and the houses used to be small too. Over the years, that has changed though. In our neighborhood, there are original bungalows or ranch style homes that were built in the 50's (not my favorite architectural time) and then there are the newer homes that are more "super-sized" and built to the edges of the lots.  We live in one of the latter homes. But Dave and I often dream about trading in our bigger home for one of the smaller ones. In fact, about a year ago a television producer saw my comment about downsizing (by choice) on another blog and contacted me about a possible reality/interior design show.  We had some talks and Dave and I even did a taped Skype interview for the production company.

It did not work out-- which was probably for the best.  I was hesitant to expose our family that way (although they were going to focus on some neat things too like adoption).  But also we cannot find a house in our neighborhood because despite the failing real estate market everywhere else, our hood is booming.  People scoop up those little houses in days (sometimes hours).  A lot of the time, they are torn down and new houses are built.

Anyway, we still look.  We think that we have too much stuff and probably more space than we need.  We would like a bigger yard with a pool and less house.  We yearn for fewer rooms but rooms the whole family would use on a daily basis.  Please know that I am so grateful for our lovely home.  I do feel very fortunate. I am not complaining. I think Dave and I get restless once we have been in a house for a few years.  We have owned 5 homes in 16 years of marriage.  Four of them have all been within a 2-3 mile radius!!!  We like to design, build, decorate.  

So, I often daydream about finding a smaller home in our neighborhood and completely updating/ remodeling it (and that would have been the premise of the show with a lot of DIY stuff).  I want a home with less stuff.  I want a more casual, lived in feeling.  I want to really use each and every space.  I want cozy chic. So, I have been collecting inspiration images of what I would like should we ever find our cozy nook. Here are some kitchens that I think would fit our dream bungalow. Some of course would be scaled down.

Would love to do one big kitchen/dining room rather than a kitchen with island, breakfast area AND formal dining room.  Something like this would be perfect...

{source unknown-have had in my files for a long time...let me know if you know the source}

I LOVE the black steel windows/french doors in the one below....LOVE them!!!

This kitchen is so charming and seems like it is from a small yet chic house.
Although it might be a it too small for our family.  Still I like the vibe.





source

This kitchen below is probably in a bigger home but I love the sunny space and warm touches.

Another view of that same space...

   

Source: aperfectgray.com 

This one below reminds me a lot of my Virgina kitchen…

Source: lauracaseyinteriors.com

Sophisticated and compact….

Source: pinkwallpaper.blogspot.com 

LOVE the herringbone wood floors and the fireplace--- so  impractical in TX though)…

Source: pinkwallpaper.blogspot.com 

This one is gorgeous but large for our {imaginary} bungalow. Plus, I would want it a bit warmer.  There are beautiful elements here though…

Source: keepitsimplekeepitfresh.blogspot.com

I LOVE this kitchen and the house is actually very close to our home. It is an older Georgian style home a few blocks from our old house. It is not a very big house for the particular neighborhood but not really small either (maybe 3,000 square feet).  I think that is a perfect size home.  Ideally, I would have less stuf on my counters but I adore everything else about this space....

In sum, I realize I like the juxtaposition of light and dark (white with black or dark wood touches).  I like worn wood with industrial finishes mixed in.  I adore marble.  And I love white tile.  I currently have all these things in my own home too.  I could post 100 more inspiration photos here but will leave it at these for now.  I will however, share more of my {imaginary} dream bungalow in future weeks.

One thing Dave and I would never do again is a white farmhouse sink.  We have owned two.  We had one in VA for 4 years and one in our current house for 6 years. Both were the expensive and reputable Shaw brand.  Both have chipped and cracked and stained even though they are not supposed to.  I LOVE the look of a white farmhouse sink but I hate seeing the chips and wear every day.  It NEVER looks clean.  I would so a stainless steel farmhouse sink next time.

P.S. I realize these kitchens are not all small.  In our next house, there will be no formal dining room.  We hope to knock out walls and have one large kitchen area with a big farmhouse type table that would be for everyday eating and bigger get-togethers.

Kitchen changes...what do you think?

In general, I really like our kitchen a lot but there are a few minor changes I would like to make. 

Dave is not completely on board with all of these changes though.  First, I would like to paint the island a pretty soft gray color.  I loathe this dark stained wood.  We had it in our family room and we had it painted white.

It is a large island and it is definitely not in the budget to pay someone to paint this for us.  So, my question is...how hard would this be?  It has 8 drawers and 8 cabinet doors.  I would have to do it myself and I have never painted cabinets before.  So if anyone out there has done this yourself, please chime in. I would likely paint the red stools another color too or replace them with something like this....

Lyon workspsce stool

or this...

via Country Living

The next thing I'd like to do (and Dave has given me the green light on this) is remove these cabinet doors below our sink...

and replace them with fabric like this....

{from for the love of a house.  LOVE her kitchen. One of my all time faves.  You can see it here}

Water drips down the front of our sink and the paint has chipped like crazy. We have already had them repainted once.  Wish I could sew because I think this would be super easy to make.

And finally, I am dying to take the doors off two of my upper cabinets...

to have more of that open shelving look.  It is a big trend in kitchens right now and I love the cozy look.  I also know that some people prefer cabinets so to me it is a great compromise.  If we ever sell (which I am sure we will because we move a lot), we can just put the glass doors right back on.  I would remove these and the ones of the other side of the sink in the photo at the top of this post.  What do you think?

odds and ends

I have not been the best blogger lately and I apologize for that.  I am working on an exciting new project that I will share with y'all in a few weeks and  I have been getting ready for our trip.  Disney...here we come!

I will be bringing my computer to recharge the flip and empty my memory cards so I might post while we are gone but I might be too busy having fun as well.

Remember my search for the most comfortable walking sandals ? Well, let me just tell you that I became a little obsessed with finding cute yet comfortable walking shoes for Disney.  I have an issue here because for several years the doctors thought I had MS and I had A LOT of trouble walking. A tiny part of me is afraid that I will have trouble again on trips like this.....SO anyway, I scoured the internet and every store I could find. I spent an incredible amount of time looking for the perfect sandal. I quickly abandoned hopes for anything "Cute" and settled on really comfortable. Becasue really, none of the cute sandals feel good walking around for 10+ hours a day. You would be shocked to know how many pairs of sandals I ordered (and returned) from Zappos.  I am kind of embarrassed to tell you. They are so nice there and they understood my small size, very high arched, fickle feet.  I do love Zappos.

I finally settled (after so many tries) on these Ecco sandals.  They are ugly, I know. But they feel like heaven and give my high arches great support.

In fact, we fell so in love with Ecco's that Will got a pair....

Harry got a pair and Kate got a pair of darling sandals too!  And we found theirs at the Ecco outlet!

I also promised to show you what I bought at Roundtop and never did....

I bought this great old bread board.  It was too big to fit on my counter (under the cabinets) so I put it here.

Then, I bought this sign...

It is a departure from my normal style but I thought my kitchen needed more whimsy.  The wood is old but I think the letters are new.  It is fun and adds some color to our kitchen!

And finally I bought this giant dough bowl.  I LOVE it!  I plant to fill it seasonally with beautiful things.

The layered look

Traditionally, I think I have always been drawn to a clean and more edited look in my decorating. In fact, I remember a visitor to our home commenting once on how I must like the "minimalist look." It was years ago and I actually felt a little insulted until I realized he was right. I haven't usually liked a lot of visual clutter. The images below have appealed to me because their light and clean look....

However, lately I am finding myself craving a much more cozy, layered look. I am currently looking for inspiration for two decorating projects this year (a sitting room and Kate's room). And I am finding myself drawn to a more cluttered (for me) and layered look....

Jane Coslick Design

This one REALLY has me wanting to hang our pots in our kitchen but I am not sure Dave will agree to drilling holes into our marble backsplash. What do you think, honey?

I actually blame Nancy Meyers for this change in my style. Her movie sets really make the layered look so appealing....

The kitchen from It's Complicated.

There are the pots again...really I LOVE that look!


Living Room~It's Complicated

The Holiday

And of course...Something's Gotta Give

Just to be fair, she does feature the clean sleek look in the Holiday too (see below).

Oh how I love those black steel french doors!!!

So, I am having mixed feelings about my decorating style lately. That is not like me, usually I know what I like and I choose easily. This is making it hard to pick things out and make decisions. Luckily, these projects are going to have to be done slowly due to something coming up soon (I will explain). How about you, are you the clean and edited type or the layered and cozy type?

I sincerely apologize for not crediting these photos. I have collected them over time in a personal file for my own design inspiration and I did not label them. I have learned a lesson and will always label the source from now on.