THE DESIGN PROCESS...

Now I know why they say that the most difficult undertaking for any designer is to design their own homes.  We are constantly sifting through design magazines and websites looking for inspiration in which we can store in our banks of creative ideas.  However, when it comes to our own homes, where do we draw the line between what is appropriate for the home versus using it as a design lab for testing all of these ideas?


The house was a blank canvas - I had too many ideas swirling in my head, and looking back now, too many bad ideas. Thankfully, after doing more research about mid century interior design, I was able to pare down these ideas to what is appropriate for this house and the period it was built. Here are few 'rules' to mid century design -

• No Carpet 
• No Crown Mouldings 
• No Granite
• NO VISUAL OVERLOAD

Now granted, I am into the retro look- but I am not about add shag carpets or any avocado green. Instead, the look we are going for is modern comfort and finishes while keeping the overall integrity of the home. 

White Thassos and Carrera marble, dark wenge floors, and travertine (yes, it is sort of breaking the rules but it's for the guest bath and I love it.) This is the pared down version - trust me. At one point there was wallpapers and various paint colors, but I had to step away and think, 'NO VISUAL OVERLOAD.'


So there went the idea of Marie Antoinette meets Mid Century Mod. Horrible, yes I know, I did say there were too many bad ideas. Instead we are going for modern and clean - but also classic at the same time.

Classic Artemide - Tolomeo Sconces for Hallway

THERE IS NO TURNING BACK NOW....

Matt and I did a site visit today- and with a little sigh of relief and the excitement of anticipation, we also realized that there is no turning back now! Construction and demolition is in full gear...Here is a little sneak peak of the before and current state.

Kitchen Before

Kitchen Currently - Separation wall between the kitchen and dining area removed to create a more open feel. Allows light from the kitchen to filter into the dining area and create more of an interaction between the spaces.

 

View from dining area

We also took a run to the local Goodwill store to do a little treasure hunting for some vintage finds...

 

How great are these Mid Century candlestick holders and little bird sculptures! Matt also found another vintage MacGregor golf club to add to his collection. He is planning on having them restored to display in his garage/man cave. 

'I Have Been Cheating On Fashion, With Furniture' - Carrie Bradshaw

Maybe not as glamourous furniture, but I have been buying bath hardware like a mad woman! Being that all of the bathrooms are being gutted as we speak, now comes the fun part of looking for new towel bars and rings, mirrors,faucets, and yes...toilets. Here are a few of my finds...

Kohler Rainshower Head

Ginger Co. TP Holder

Ginger Co. 24" Towel Bars

Modern Fan Co. - Ball Fan for Living Room

Modern Fan Co. - Cirrus Fan for Kitchen

I have been obsessed with these fans ever since I got the first DWR catalogue and have been dreaming about having these in my home ever since!

The Kohler Hatbox Toilet - waaaay out of my budget at $3,000 on up. But who says that looking for toilets can't be glamourous?


Kellie

The Diamond in the Rough...

Many of you may be wondering - why did I buy this particular house? It's old, needs a ton of updating, and well...am I crazy? Many years ago, during my time at the UH School of Architecture, my first year professor, Leighton Liu once said - 'When I walk into a Mies (van der Rohe) building, I can feel it in my pores.' That is exactly what I felt the instant I set foot in this house. I loved everything about it, I can't really explain, but I felt it. 

My husband knew how much I loved this house at that moment, and quickly called the listing agent to get more details. Come to find out, it went into contract that very day to someone else.  I sulked for the rest of the day, week...One month later, the house came back on the market, and needless to say, we swooped right it. 

Every house has a soul, and it yearns for people to occupy it filling it with love, laughter, and light. Without it, it becomes an empty shell, rapidly disintegrating. I deeply believe that not only did we choose this house, it chose us...

Exterior - Front

View to Front Door - With Built In Planter 

Living Room

Fire Place - Original Brick

Kitchen

Golf Course Views from Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Bedroom 2 - Guest Room

Guest Bath

Dining Area

Exterior - Back

Demo work has already begun, I will post some pictures soon to show the progress!


Kellie

Design Obsession - The All White Kitchen

I have been gathering design inspirations for the remodel, one of my many obsessions are all white kitchens. Clean, pure, light, modern, and well, just divine!

Our 'New' Home!

It's been a while since my last post - many exciting things have happened since! 


We finally closed escrow during the first week in April and the keys are in hand!  Although it is very exciting, now comes the hard part of designing and renovating our new home.  We have a great team behind us consisting of Project Managers, Contractors, Plumbers, Electricians...and can't wait for this phase to begin.

This picture shows the sunken living room with the original brick fire place, this is what I fell in love with!


Everything from the kitchens to the baths and bedrooms will be torn out and renovated, however, still keeping with the overall integrity of the original design. The location is on the East side of town, over on Desert Rose Golf Course. The home (1,525 sq. ft.) sits on a quarter acre lot right on the golf course with great views!


These photos came off the the GLVAR site, but I will add my own photos to the blog soon!


Till then,
Kellie

Current Digs

Before I get more into this new house, I thought that I would post a few pictures of our current house. Granted it is not pictures of the entire house, but a few of the better areas that we may try to some how incorporate into our next home.  How I will incorporate these ideas into a Mid Century home is beyond me at this point, but I will save that for another blog.

The first two images are of the foyer as you enter our home.  My husband had bought me the Quan Yin statue a few years ago for my birthday, as I always wanted to have one in our home. Tables are by West Elm, along with other tchotchkes that I had collected from little boutiques and various antique shops throughout the years.  The wallcovering  is from Romo, one of my favorite designer wallcover and fabric companies.  

The last three pictures are of the office, which as you can see is black.  It was quite a ball-sy move on my part, but it was a pure white canvas when we moved it.  I decided to take the plunge with the design in this room, and it became a design experiment on my end.  I actually was very happy with the way it turned out, especially with the creme colored crown mouldings in which we had installed.  Again, the wallcovering is by Romo along with more collected treasures displayed in West Elm floating shelves.

As you can see, it is a fusion of many different styles. The crown mouldings almost seem a little 'French' combined with Asian statuary and patterns on the walls.  How it will all come together later in conjunction my current design inspirations for this new home will be revealed in a later post. 

Till then,

Kellie