dollar store

thank you for my latest crafting inspiration.

kitchen dreams

One of the BIG things on my summer to do list is to finish the kitchen renovation. Sadly, no progress has been made since we got our new beautiful appliances back in January (on my bday!) But now is the time to get down to it and finish the job. Way back in the fall I posted some of my kitchen inspiration and not many of my ideas have changed since then. I still want a light, airy space with open shelving and lots of organization. I have been thumbing through my ikea kitchens catalog and I am starting to plan a very soon visit to the go-to home store about an hour from us. Here are a few of the things I will be picking up:

suspension rails, stoneware vessels, hooks, and a paper towel rack from the asker series
new nexus cabinet doors in yellow-brown (to match what we currently have)
the pragel countertops, in stainless steel (pictured here in white)
and finally, the boholmen 1 1/2 bowl sink with dish drainer.

The tile for the back splash has become a whole other challenge. I am not happy with anything in the big stores around here and I have fallen in love with the lovely modern basics line of tile from heath ceramics. This is a bit out of our price range so some creative budgeting would have to take place but I am not ready to give up on it yet. As the renovation progresses (hopefully soon) I will be sure to keep you updated.

inspired.

It's finally here! It is my day to join so many other creative people in the blog.it.forward mashup. Thanks so much to Victoria for hosting this and to hashai for sending it my way from her post last Friday. Tomorrow's post will jump to Lehua of Heart on My Sleeve, whose blog I have enjoyed perusing lately, so be sure to check her post out. And now to it, what inspires me (in as small a space as I can fit it):
Midcentury Modern Design in all of it's streamlined glory,
especially when it can live in harmony with something rustic,



and understated Scandinavian design, especially when done in a white on white color scheme.

Oh, and beautiful lettering:



like these from designer Jessica Hische,


and even better when they are hand-drawn and accompanied by beautiful illustrations like these from Rifle Paper Co.

I am also inexplicably inspired by garlands and banners



it is amazing how much joy I can find in some scraps of paper or fabric.

Lastly, I am inspired to create and spend more time in the studio when I see beautiful hand-thrown ceramics like
those of eva zeisel
and edith heath.

There is so much more to be inspired by and I am happy to say it would take years to share all of it! That is really what this space is for me on a daily basis, so I hope you will stop back by.

Also, check out these other bloggers that are also posting their inspirations today as part of this mash-up:
alyson is neat, my little apartment, b's wig shoppe, pink o'clock, deldino, sherbet blossom, and teegan photography.

kitchy kitchen

So we are thinking-- dreaming-- somewhat planning, on renovating our kitchen. It would be within a very tight budget with as much diy work as possible, but I know we can make something wonderful. So I have started collecting inspiration and ideas (though I haven't done a lot of technical research yet) and here is what I have concluded:: I like neutral countertops (grays and white, though undecided on a material), tile backsplashes (mostly in neutrals as well), and I love, love, love open shelving rather than cabinets. Unfortunately our kitchen layout does not really lend itself to open shelving, but we will just see once we get a contractor in here. Here are some of the inspiration pics I have collected from over to desiretoinspire (and they do!). Please remember this is in the very early stages, so I just want to absorb ideas and tips. Please share any suggestions you have and I will be sure to update on any progress we make!









I will try to post some photos of our current kitchen soon. It is in pretty good share with the exception of the appliances. The cabinets are nice and we painted the walls in a kind of portabello brown(gray) and a sort of avocado green.