Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Model Home Tour...Inspiration!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was so inspired by the model home that we recently toured in Castle Hills Estates. It was chalked full of great ideas and very similar to my floorplan. What was so refreshing to me was that it subtly mixed cottage, beach, and formal elegance together in a way that flowed seamlessly.

I'll try to guide you through the house with the pictures I snapped below:

When you entered the formal sitting was off to the right. This is the same room that my house opens to. The very room I've been struggling with since we moved in. I've been trying to make it my new office in a structured, formal kind of way. One idea I've been toying with is adding built-in bookcases on either side of the front window. This gave me the motivation I need to move forward with that plan!




I'm also diggin' the soothing barely blue wall color they chose. I'm drawn to these colors but wasn't sure how to incorporate them into my open floorplan since each wall blends into the next room. Furniture placement is another problem, and I'm really liking how they made a circular path with the upholstered ottoman in the center.


The long hall leading from the front door to the Great Room is lit by these fabulous hanging lanterns. Again, incorporating elements that would be found in the outdoors and giving it that subtle beach theme.

The lantern theme continues into the kitchen over the center island. Our kitchen has a center island and we've debated what to hang above it for years now. We also have the light granite counters with the cream cabinets. I am sooo excited about the blue island! I never would have thought to use that color but it really works against the cream antiqued cabinets.

Our island was never finished out and remains sheetrock around the sides, but we have the built-in cabinets below (where I keep Nikolas' art supplies) and so this really helps me to visualize what finishing it out will look like. Adding the posts gives it the look of a piece of furniture....loving that style!

In case you want to know....I found out that the color used on island is Benjamin Moore's Granada Villa with a tea stain over it.


The living room is opposite the kitchen and breakfast nook and the shades of the sea continue into this room as well. I love the plush velvet upholstered sofa....makes me wanna curl up with a book!


The Master Bedroom



Okay, a girl can dream, right? Look at the floor and the built-ins, Oh and the Sconces!!!
I NEED a round Ottoman in my bathroom now with a tray of seashells on it!







Who doesn't want to take a bath with a big chandelier hanging over them?



Going Upstairs and Falling In Love with the "Family" Wall...



We have a Gameroom (former playroom) that I've been trying to decide how to make it more inviting and convert it more into an upstairs living room. I have these large expanses of walls on both sides that need some character...this wainscotting picture ledge wall is the perfect solution. It really breaks up the boring wall and I'm all about wainscotting!

This little girl's room is so precious...almost makes me wanna try for another baby...(almost!)

Hmm...houndstooth in tan and frost blue....inspiration for baby bedding?

The stenciled border around the room reads" In a World Where You Can Be Anything...Be Yourself. I am Kate."



Guest Bed...I like the textures of the different linens.

I hope you found some inspiration as well! The design group that did this model is I.B.B. Design Group based in Frisco.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

OMG!!! Word Wall Trick

I'm about to Rock Your World if you LOVE the look of hand-painted lettering on your Walls. I went into a model home (BTW...great way to get clever design ideas) last month and loved just about every inch of what the design team had done with the space. It was Over-the-Top GORGEOUS and the Best Part was that it was very similar to my floor plan. It really helped me to look at my space in a new light and try some design ideas I might never have thought of.

One of the first things that grabbed my attention was the dictionary definition of "Family" along an expanse of what would otherwise be a boring, blank wall. I have a long wall at the top of my stairwell that I've been agonizing over what to place there for two years to be Exact. When I saw this...it was that "Ah-Ha!" moment for me!


Since seeing this Word Wall, I've been trying to decide how to go about executing it so that everything looks straight and the spacing is exact. I knew this could be acheived with vinyl stick on lettering, but I don't have a big budget to spend on a hall wall and I think hand painted is so much prettier. It's a really big space and so I know the letters will have to be magnified by quite a bit.

Then I ran across this great blog, My Sweet Savannah , which happens to have the step-by-step tutorial for this exact word wall idea! I'm guessing the team that furnished the model home where I got the idea from, probably got the idea from this blogger in the first place!


I'm so EXCITED! Not only am I about to try this Word Wall out this weekend on my upstairs hall wall, but I've come up with about 6 other ways to use this technique around the house. The best part is that other than getting it magnified at Kinko's, it's virtually FREE! Love Me Some Free!!!!

I hope you get some great ideas!
xo, Kristen
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