The way I'm choosing to design my home may make you uneasy.
INTERIORS
Thrifting isn’t what I thought it would be…
3 Steps to choosing the cabinet color right for you and your home.
It may be the biggest piece of advice I have for you. Order your hardware and faucet, if your changing it, now
When we first moved into our new rental I was a bit disheartened by the kitchen cabinets. They were original. yes but 60 years or wear and tear left them drabby and in such need of a paint job. No amount of scrubbing was going to help clean them. I managed to convince the owner to let me paint as soon as she mentioned she was thinking about it. Woo!
So here is a look at the before and after along with all the details you need to know in order to understand why I chose the paint and finish I did.
THE BEFORE
DECIDE ON THE FEELING - It may sound ridiculous but EVERY COLOR HAS ENERGY. Understanding how they translate to your mood and ambiance is important. My go to place Is, as you well know by now, is Pinterest. After creating a mood board, I decided that I wanted the kitchen to feel clean and warm. Knowing I wasn’t going to use multiple colors in the kitchen and understanding that the cabinets were large and would take up a lot of the prime real estate - I decided on a color that had both warm and cooler undertones - resulting in a color choice that would match almost any color pallet I would later decide to attach to it through accessories.
2. UNCHANGABLES - We were working with a rental, so changing floors and countertops was out of the question. Finding a paint color that matches your unchangeable is PARAMOUNT. This is why I found a cutting board that was similar to the colors of the floor and set it on the counter along with all of the color swatches from our local LOWES. Narrowing it down to a few colors became a lot easier and I had a fairly solid idea of what I was trying to achieve
3. BRING IN THE DETAILS - I had ordered hardware prior to painting. It may be the biggest piece of advice I have for you. Order your hardware and faucet, if your changing it, now. Before you choose the paint. That way you have all of the details in one place and can then move forward knowing you love how all of the details look together. NOTHING is worse than spending all this time sanding and painting your cabinets only to find out that they are slightly too cold or warn to work with your door handles. These are the ones I picked Champagne Knobs , Antique Bronze Drawer Pulls , Brushed Brass Kitchen Faucet.
Im sure your wondering what color I ended up choosing. My perfect fit turned out to be a grey/beige color names GRACIOUS GRAIGE. which is the lighter, warmer color on the far right. Visit LOWES for your samples or and snag a few colors. I usually go wide and narrow down my search at home so that I know Im covering all my bases. Sometimes the paint you choose will surprise you and that isn’t a bad thing. Bold or simple, painting a space makes a HUGE impact and Im glad that your on this journey with me.
I want to know what home projects you are working on this summer! Share with me all the things! with a design background I’d hope I can be of assistance to any questions you may have, so feel free to show send me all the things!
Monday Spruce - Spring showers bring May flowers
MONDAY SPRUCES — have become a staple in our household and wild flower pickings always make it in to a vase of some sort and are displayed for the week until they wilt away. Yes they don’t last long but they bring me joy and I’ve figured out a how to make them last longer than most.
Walks through the neighborhoods of Amador County always end with picked wild flowers in hand and a full heart. On Mondays my usual local coffee shop is closed so I have had to shift the usual morning routine of sitting on a leather couch, journaling, to a cool sunrise walk along the beautiful hills and my favorite Oak tree filled landscapes. I really couldn’t tell you which one I prefer.
Once home I put my apron on and get to work cleaning the home to set myself up for a productive week. Am I Perfect with this? No. But setting myself a weekly schedule up is prepping myself for success. And so far this has worked wonders.
MONDAY SPRUCES — have become a staple in our household and wild flower pickings always make it in to a vase of some sort and are displayed for the week until they wilt away. Yes they don’t last long but they bring me joy and I’ve figured out a how to make them last longer than most.
How to make your wild flowers arrangement
Pick 3to 4 varieties of flowers/greenery - think about texture and chose complimentary colors
Use filtered water - Most of us have heavily chlorinated or mineral filled water, changing it up to filtered gives them an extra reason to stay alive a bit longer for you to enjoy
De-stem/de-leaf your flowers- Leaves touching water will make the water go rancid in a matter of 24 hours. De-leafing your stems will help keep them fresh. Leaving 3/4 inches of a clean stem usually is the way to go.
Start with a green base - use it to create your general shape and move on to placing your flowers in one my one. Don’t know where to place them? Think “If I were a flower, where would I grow? Look for an appealing spot and just go for it.
There really is no right way to create a wild flower arrangement. Some florists would disagree. Maybe you do too, but ultimately, they have just gotten a lot more practice in understanding placement. No wild flower ever looks out of place on a hillside so the “Where would I grow?“ has been a simple but effective approach to creating something pleasing to the eyes.
A new arrangement with a pop of color and texture will bring new energy into any space. This week we placed it in the kitchen and Im loving it.
Id love to see what you do for your Monday Spruce this week! Tag me on instagram @jannatenney and use the hashtag #MONDAYSPRUCE
“…the root system compared to the the budding flower or towering tree, it isn’t something to behold..”