Floor Plan Sketches for Fun

Ladies and gents, this is where I come clean: other than blogging my way to fame and fortune (Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge), I'm not entirely sure how I am going to go about transitioning into a career in interior design. I've thought of numerous ideas ranging from grad school to a second bachelors to a simple certificate in architectural drafting (as a starting point), but that's where I get stuck.

While figuring this all out, I enrolled in an online Introduction to Interior Design course offered by Ed2Go and Morraine Valley Community College. Twice a week, new lectures are posted to the classroom's homepage along with supplemental material, an easy quiz and an assignment. It's not a rocket science course, and I don't get much (if any) from it after completion, but it's a start. Originally, I signed up for the course to see if interior design was actually something I found intriguing. Turns out, it is! 

Here it is, well past my bedtime, and I've been in my own little world, drawing a scaled version (1' = 1/4") of the large, wasted space of a kitchen in my rental. No seriously - it's fantastic that it's so big (roughly 12' x 12'), but with so much open space in the middle, I've always felt like something was missing. 

See for yourself:

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The assignment goes on to have me update the space as I see fit, including fixtures and finishes. I'm really liking the red kitchen by Jane Ellison that I shared in a post last week and am using it as inspiration for my space's "makeover." I'm thinking a kitchen cart to fill the void, a red accent wall with open shelving along the North wall and updated appliances (er... well, really, updated everything) to start.

* I'm loving the POP of color this kitchen cart brings to the room!

* A clean, modern take on the kitchen cart!

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Tell me, what do you think of using kitchen carts to fill wide-open spaces?

- LG

P.S. Don't mind the erase marks on my floor plan - I'm still learning! 

Design-spiration: Open Shelves in the Kitchen

When I was 13, my mother picked my brother and I up from school and nonchalantly mentioned, "Today, kids, I bought us a new house." *Insert typical pre-teen temper tantrum here* My world was most definitely ending (mind you, I still was able to go to the SAME exact school).

This house, however, was not a move-in ready home. Oh, no. This house, unlike our previous house, had buckets of characters hidden behind layers of ick. My mother being the visionary that she is (don't tell her I said that) spent months turning this Yellow-on-Yellow-on-Yellow house into a surprisingly not-yellow, elegant home. Because of this, I find that, without a doubt, the two most important rooms in a house are the kitchen (which she updated) and the {master bath} (which she didn't)*.

So today, let's talk kitchens. Last year, Zillow declared open-face cabinetry as the top trend for kitchens in 2014 (one of my fave bloggers, Centsational Girl, did too!). Though I'm not sure they caught on like many hoped, I can't help but love the style (even if i I am bit of a hoarder collector). These kitchen in particular caught my eye:

Via Alice Lane Home Collection

* I love the combination of textures from the exposed beams and the backsplash! Plus, utilizing open shelving in this space kept a light and airy feel in the kitchen which might otherwise have felt boxed in and dark with a second wall of traditional cabinetry.

Via Jane Ellison

* Hello, gorgeous! If there's anything I love most in the world of kitchen design, it's red. As in EVERYTIME I built a new home for my Sims family (which was ALL OF THE TIME), I would have a red kitchen. Red invokes hunger. Red stimulates the mind. Red is all things. Red is also VERY overwhelming at times, and I love how this design makes it not so overwhelming. The rest of the space not included in the photo is on point as well. 

Via Jane Kim Design

* I. Love. Loft. Spaces. The salvaged wood + brick walls + blackened steel canopy just works.

Via NBR Design-Build

* I honestly don't where to start. I just love this kitchen. It's bright and open with the unique pops of color and texture. Love it. 

Via Loop Design

* Color! I love anyone who isn't afraid of using a little lot of color in their kitchen!

Via Increation

* Though the open-faced shelving is limited in this space, I couldn't help but share it. Purple is not often a color one finds in the kitchen, but it works beautifully here, don't you think?

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What does your dream kitchen entail?

* More than ten years later, my mother finally updated her master bath. I have yet to see the final project, but from what I saw last time I was home, it turned out beautifully! Blog of interest: