My fabulous friend Nikki and her husband Nick just bought a new house. We had them over a couple days before they moved to brainstorm some ideas for how to decorate on a budget. The kitchen needs the most work so we got started on a plan for that. Here is what we came up with!
The Kitchen
The cabinets are in pretty good shape so there is really no need to replace them at his point. However, Nick has plans to take down the overhead cabinets to open it up a bit! All they need is a fresh coat of white paint and these adorable knobs from anthropologie.
They will need 38 knobs @ $2.95 for a total of $112.10. All Nick will have to do is remove the old knobs fill in the holes and the top hole on the cabinets and drill new holes in the center of the drawers. So simple to do, and already the kitchen is going to feel bright and crisp. Next we talked about the backsplash. Glass tile is very expensive but if you notice the backsplash area is quite small. So it is the perfect place to add a bit of luxury. We picked out this glass tile from www.glasstilestore.com
It is called Tao Bliss Glass tile and is great because it is a mix of clear and frosted glass which will add a nice dimension to the backsplash. I haven't taken measurements but I guess it would take about 12 to finish it because they will have to cut the sheet leaving extra that can be pieced together. At $14.95, 12 tiles would be $179.40. Because the wall is red, they will need to put at least 2 coats of white primer to be sure that the pretty sea foam blue green shows up. The web site allows you to load pictures of your own projects and I think this one shows it off nicely.
Nick wants to remove the four upper cabinets and replace them with pendant lights and I think two of these very simple and very affordable lights would look just perfect.
Hampton Bay 1 light 78 inch hanging brushed nickel pendant $29.97 each from Home Depot. The brushed nickel will perfectly complement the white and sea foam color palette. The floors and countertops are a beautiful blonde maple and they have a cherry dining room table and chairs from world market that will go in the eat-in part of the kitchen. To really bring out these colors, we thought this blue from Sherwin Williams would complement/contrast both nicely.
SW6770 Bubble
The soffit above the cabinets would be painted white to keep the room from feeling too squat, but the rest of the walls would get the gorgeous Bubble color.
Accessories and Art: the fun part!
This green rug from West Elm comes in a bunch of different sizes but a 2x3 is $49 and perfect next to the stove or sink. Love it! And I love this big bowl from Z gallerie. A few big accessories really make a big difference and keep your kitchen from feeling cluttered. This bowl is perfect for the top of their cherry dining room table. Although it's almost $80, its big, beautiful and will make great impact.
Organic capiz Bowl from Z gallerie $79.95
This canisters, also from Z gallerie are huge and are perfect for what will become an island of sorts after the top cabinets are removed. Placed against the wall they will echo the cabinets and create a crisp look. Plus they are so versatile that when she gets tired of them in the kitchen, they can go virtually anywhere (on the fireplace, coffee table, sofa table, in the bathroom, etc) But you can definitely achieve this look by spray painting anything you have that is somewhat similar a high gloss white.
Nikki claims she isn't creative at all but I think if she and Nick team up they can definitely tackle this project featured on crapivemade.com
It is just dollar store silverware spray painted and hot glued to the fabric wrapped frame backing. It would be oh so pretty to do the silverware and frame in white with a bright pattern. I think you could even get away with decoupaging a coordinating scrapbook paper to the back of the frame. It would even be cute to do 3 frames each showcasing different styles of spoons, different styles of forks, etc. Lots of possibilities with this easy fun diy. http://www.crapivemade.com/2010/06/kitchen-art.html
So this is somewhat the plan depending on how far their budget goes and how much nick can accomplish before he starts work as a dentist. Both Nick and Nikki just graduated (Nikki from dental hygiene) and I am so proud of them both. They are so excited to make their first house a home, and I will try to upload photos when they finish.
Peace. Love. and Raspberry Mambas.
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