mood board

All-White Kitchen Mood Board

Patrick and I started talking about renovating our kitchen before we even moved in two years ago. At first, the entire project was so overwhelming that we couldn't even talk about it without getting annoyed with each other. So we took that as a sign that we should wait. If just talking about it got us stressed out, who knows what actually renovating would have done. So we waited. And waited. And saved money.

Then, a few months ago, we went out on a limb and went to visit a house that was for sale—just to see what it was like. Though it was beautiful and larger than our 1,100 sq.ft. abode, we knew pretty quickly that we weren't going to be able to afford it. Rather than getting discouraged, though, we came home and dipped our toes back into the "renovation conversation." Maybe there was a way to make our home just as nice as the one we'd just seen?

As it turned out—we'd both been pinning kitchens without knowing it!  And our ideas were pretty similar:

Claire's favorite kitchens:

Patrick's favorite kitchens:


Did you notice how similar our choices were? In fact, two of the photos are actually from the same kitchen, just from different angles!

Pretty quickly, we were able to make at least one easy decision. We're going to keep the existing cabinets (a huge $$ savings) and have them professionally painted white to get rid of all the runs and brush strokes. Aside from that, every decision was up in the air.

So, together, we compiled our ideas and made our own little mood board, to help with the decision making process...

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1. Kitchen Print. I noticed this really sweet print from Manner and Lane's last edition. It illustrates conversions—and Lord knows I need help like that in the kitchen. Not sure if they will be selling these by the time we need it—but I hope so! This will give us some basic colors to go by, too—cream, black, blue, and grey.

2. Chrome Finishes. Pretty quickly, Patrick and I settled on this farm-style traditional faucet—which we're pretty confident we'll pair with an apron sink. There's the thousand dollar version, the $350 version, and then the one we're planning on ordering.

3. A rug to bring the color. I'm in love with persian rugs. I don't know how I'm going to afford one, but I love them. Since we're pretty sure we're going to be using a lot of light/white finishes—I can't wait to find a rug like this one to bring some color to the room. It will also match the other kilim-style rugs we have elsewhere in the house.

4. Subway tile. Bam. Easy, simple... and a great substitute for the blue/yellow stuff we currently have. We've heard using grey grout is a good way to get some definition in the space.

5. Significant Lighting. We're looking forward to installing a pendant light over the sink, in addition to some can lights to help make the space feel a little bigger and brighter.  This one is from West Elm—but if we can handle it, we might try to go "local" and support our friend Adam Gatchel, who creates the sweet fixtures over at Southern Lights Electric.

6. Brushed Nickel Hardware. We loved the look of the hardware in the kitchen we both pinned. These are pretty inexpensive - but if we can find some more square-ish ones, I'll be even happier!

7. Simple, round knobs will do just fine for me!

8. Green, green, green. I love it when kitchens have natural elements and plants to keep things looking fresh. I'd love to use some grass like this from Crate and Barrel—or maybe use some succulents, too. Just another way to bring in some color.

Ultimately, we're just excited to get the ball rolling! It's nice to feel like we have a place to look back on, to see if things "fit." Sometimes I wonder if the all-white scheme we want to go for is going to really "flow' from the other parts of the house—but then again, white and grey are like jeans... they go with everything!