Sunday 18 May 2014

The Heart of a Home


They do say that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses. This means that these two areas have the potential to completely blow out budgets. But the same as the rest of the house we had quite strong ideas of what  we wanted before meeting with the builder.


http://design-crisis.com/house-tour-jeff-and-jasons-rustic-chic-retreat/
design-crisis.com house tour -jeff and jasons 
decorpad.com
ninawilliamsinteriors.com

stevesblindsandwallpaper.com








































We wanted  clean white spaces with charcoal for depth and contrast, Caesar stone bench tops, pendant lights over the kitchen bench, glass splash back in the kitchen; so much easier to clean than tiles! Super functional sink, lots of storage. Subway tiles in the ensuite bathroom, but we weren't sure if we wanted the same tiles in both the bathroom as the laundry.







We chose a larger sink than standard, with built in colander, draining rack and chopping board, so along with the industrial style bendy sink tap it will be a real chefs kitchen, so it should be from two people who were both in Hospitality in previous lives.

I have to say that I did freak out a little during our first visit to the tile show room. At that point we knew that we wanted wooden floors of some description but we didn't know if we would be able to afford then, the strict budget and all. So during the first visit to the show room, I almost ended up in tears as I hated all of the floor tiles for the main living areas. Not that there is anything wrong with tile floors, they are just not for me, I find them too cold, too sterile, they remind me of the rental properties we have lived in since we have been here.

Luckily the next stop cheered me up immensely as I fell in love  at the Caesar  Stone showroom. Through the builder we had a multiple of choices but for me it came down to two extremes, either a white with flecks of shimmer, or black. But the one that I loved was a light grey marble, London Grey.

So I was very pleasantly surprised when it came time to make the final decisions my darling other half requested London Grey Caesar Stone benches in the kitchen with a beautifully dramatic (and expensive shhh) waterfall end, like the decorpad image above.

To keep it all clean and fresh, we have opted for semi gloss white cabinetry and an almost white, just the slightest hint of pale milky blue grey, glass splash back.

Along with super practical pot drawers next to the larger 90cm oven and stove top. We also chose to have a retractable range hood as it gave us additional cupboard space above the range hood and as it is enclosed I don't have to clean it!!




For the ensuite bathroom we chose a grey marble floor tile and this is where we used the white subway tile, which will go to the ceiling in the shower enclosure, which will have a frameless glass door.


In the main bathroom we have a darker mottled grey floor tile and  white marble wall tile. With the same in the laundry. It feels slightly more practical in higher use rooms and will create a seamless visual transition from the living space,

We wanted to differentiate between the two bathrooms, to make the ensuite a bit special, at bit more luxe than the other wet rooms. We also went a bit lighter than the other bathroom as it is on the shady side of the house and won't receive as much natural light.

Everything will be tied together with dark wood floors and charcoal grey carpet. Its not a real hardwood floor, way to expensive, and with the dogs they will scratch the floor and there would defiantly be tears, either from me as they chase each other up the hall way or from them as they are shut outside. The carpet is only in the bedroom so we decided not to be completely practical and went for a plush carpet, a little nicer under foot.

AA xx

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