New House Living Room - Design Board

*** CHECK OUT OUR LIVING ROOM REVEALED HERE! ***

I just love hanging out at the mall these days!  All the stores are looking so festive with their Holiday decorations, that sometimes I'm not sure if I'm looking at the products or checking out how they decked the stores.  I love decorating for the holidays, but I guess I'll have to skip it this year and save the hassle of going through boxes to find the Holiday accessories.

For now, I'll just have to satisfy my craving to decorate for the Holidays by putting together some design boards for our new house.  Earlier this week, I shared some inspirations on our living room's furniture placement.  We've done some virtual shopping to come up with a design board for it.

Remember how my Mr. LOVES trims and mouldings projects at our previous house?  One of the first projects that the Mr. is longing to start is the wainscoting for our ground floor.  This project will be different from our previous dining room trims, as he'll be building out on the wall instead of just adding trims.  We'll also ditch the chair rail and have a single pane from floor to ceiling, similar to this but without the gap midway:

image via panellingireland.com

The wainscoting will create depth along the walls of the living and dining areas, and the single pane will help to emphasize the height of the space.  I will make sure I take more in-progress photos this time around!  

I mentioned in the previous inspiration post that we want the living area to be an elegant, yet somewhat casual sitting area where we can plop down on the couch.  PLOP DOWN is the key, so I went in search for a couch with nice lines that looks comfy enough to sleep in!  I kept coming back to this one...

DUMONT LINEN SOFA | ONE KINGS LANE

It looks very ordinary, but the indented curve at the arms makes this casual-looking couch more refined.  I love a couch with a single seat cushion - it takes the ordinary out of a couch, and nobody has to sit on a crack between seats.  The grey piping is also a nice pickup of our grey kitchen cabinet (whichever grey that may happen to be) from just across the living room.  Tell me this couch doesn't look comfy enough to nap in!

For our narrow living area, adding a pair of armchairs on either side of the couch will provide more seating when we have guests over.  The tufting on this chair exudes a sophisticated air that enhances the elegance of the couch above, and the open arms make it oh-so-welcoming!  The grey brings out the grey piping of the cream couch and gives the room some contrasting colours.

Cardiff Tufted Upholstered Armchair | POTTERY BARN

With the living area right off of the pathway next to the kitchen, we decided to go with a coffee table with an open bottom.  The wiry legs of this coffee table helps to give an illusion of a wider pathway.  The bronze metal colour provides a nice contrast against the cream couch and grey armchair, while the mirror top adds the sparkly element to this otherwise rustic looking piece.

Bliss Studio Arbolo Cocktail Table | LAYLA GRACE

To complete the look of symmetry, we would have a pair of side tables on each side of the couch.  It would be a great spot for some knick-knacks and a pair of table lamps for ambiance lighting.  A pair of round side tables would lessen the stiffness of the straight edges of the coffee table,  We also prefer a more airy piece to balance the chunky armchairs, and this side table below fits the bill..  The deep antiqued gold frame of this side table works well with the dark iron frame of the coffee table.

Clairemont Side Table | CRATE & BARREL

If we have enough space in the living area, these stools would be some nice-to-have extra seating...  you know, in case we throw a huge party.  The wooden legs add some warm tones to the coolness of cream and grey seating, and are a nice contrast to the metal legs of the tables.  The carved detailing on the legs also adds an elegant feel to complete the living area.

Karline Ottoman | JOSS AND MAIN

Here's is a glimpse of the basic pieces mentioned above put together in our living room to-be, in perfect symmetry.

You didn't think I would leave it at this, did you?  Well, it's the holiday season, I can't leave the room bare!  Let's shop for some accessories!

The floor looks like it can use an area rug.  A light coloured rug would liven up this living area against our dark floors..  I especially love this rug, with its silvery blue zebra pattern.  It's my subtle take on a daring pattern =)

WILDERNESS RUG | ONE KINGS LANE

Let's continue filling up some empty spots.  Artwork on the wall would be a great addition of some much needed patterns.  The architectural photographs of Lisa Russo have a neutral hue that works as a nice backdrop for the living area.  The stone detailing on this print will accentuate the panelling and mouldings of the space.

LISA RUSSO FINE ART

We can't miss ambiance lighting to enhance all the details of the living area.  This pair of elephant lamps add a bit of whimsy, while playing on the bluish-grey tones found throughout.

Hathi Table Lamp | JOSS AND MAIN

And there, we've covered a set of basic accessories to dress up our bare living room.  Now we can take that up a notch by winterizing the accessories, and jazzing up the space with some simple Holiday decor.

Sources:  water colour cushion - Craftberrybush; all other cushions - Indigo; fur throw - Restoration Hardware; faux Holiday arrangement - One Kings Lane; antique brass reindeers - Etsy.

This is the look we hope to achieve for our living area - an inviting tranquil space that will be an elegant focal point through the entryway.  By pulling the kitchen cabinet colour to add contrast in the living room, it creates a nice transition between the two spaces that are just across from each other (see layout in previous post).  The Mr. said he can be see himself being a happy Chef Honey looking into this space from the kitchen.

For me, I'll just be on the couch, taking a little nap while he's enjoying his new kitchen.  Just call me over to do the dishes after you're done cooking up a feast, dear.  

New House - Inspirations for Transitional Living Room

The myriad halloween activities are finally over, and it certainly felt like a marathon with pre-Halloween parties and preps for class treat bags.  Friends are now starting to schedule their holiday parties.  For us, we'll skip hosting parties this year, since the rental isn't the best space to hold gatherings.  All this party planning reminded me of how the Mr. and I have designated areas at the new house that will make an entertainment hub.  One such area will be our living area opposite to the kitchen. 

The builder's floorplan has an eating area parallel to the kitchen, with an adjacent living and dining area at the back of the house.  We decided to do things our way...  

Forget about that eating area.  Who needs 2 tables that are practically in the same area?  In place of the eating area, we will have a sitting area/ living room there.  The builder's living/ dining area would become one large dining area (we'll talk about the dining room in a future post and leave it spare for now).

One of the advantages of having an open floorplan with the same flooring material throughout is the option to designate areas without worrying about them spilling over each other.  Without a typical builder's tiled eating area, we were able to take advantage of the new trend of an open living kitchen area, such as these:

image via Style at Home

image via nobswall.com

Back at our old house, guests would spread themselves around our open ground floor, snacking at the dining room or chit-chatting in the family room.  I think the open space floorplan at the new house would make another great entertainment hub.  The living room becomes the focal point through the entrance from the hallway, while the kitchen is tucked away on the right side.  Hence our design plan to keep the kitchen muted and let the living room take the glory.  

We had planned for a more formal living room at our old house, since we had a more casual family room for us to put up our feet.  However, there wouldn't be a family room on the ground floor at the new house.  That means, while we still want the living room to be an elegant focal point, we'll keep it a bit more transitional so that it's also a comfy spot for plopping down.  Here are some photo sampling of my vision:

image via Sarah Richardson Design

image via Joss and Main

image via olystudio.com

image via horchow.com

Our living room space is narrow, so the furniture placement such as those above would be ideal to maximize seating.  Large art piece above the couch, pair of side tables flanking each side, and some extra seating on either side of the couch create a simple symmetry suitable for a small space.  It would also be a nice setup for us to participate in our guests' conversations while working in the kitchen.

I've been doing some virtual window shopping for the living room.  Can't wait to finally be able to "check out" my carts when it's closer to move-in time!  I'll be sharing some of my finds for the living area soon.  Remember to check back to get a glimpse of our living room in transitional style!

We're not usually rule breakers, but when it comes to design, it's ok to set our own rules that work better for us. Which room in your house is not done in a layout as suggested by the builder's floor plan?  

New House - Range Hood and Minimalist Kitchen Design

*** CHECK OUT OUR NEW KITCHEN! ***

So far, we've talked about kitchen design trends that we're contemplating for our new kitchen, and also some appliance choices that will help free-up our counterspace.  In choosing our kitchen appliances, I also emphasized how we wanted to hide them from view to achieve a more streamlined look.  Maybe this idea of hiding appliances came from the daily HIDE and seek games with the little man at around the same time we were researching for appliances.  I'm almost certain about that.  But one thing that started our design of a streamlined kitchen was the want to hide the range hood.

Here's another look of our kitchen layout.  

As you can see, the island faces the stove.  I pictured myself looking into the kitchen from the island.  Do I want the range hood and stove to be the focal point of the kitchen?  Not unless it's an immaculate setting.  So my first design attempt was to hide the range hood, using a hood liner with custom cabinetry, in similar designs as these:

image via houzz.com

image via houzz.com

image via houzz.com

Notice the red lines along the bottom of one cabinet, to the higher line at the range hood, and then down again to the adjacent upper cabinet.  The more I browsed through photos of beautiful kitchens on Pinterest, the more annoyed I got by these up and down lines.  I mean, it's a normal look for most kitchens, and we've all grown used to it.  For our new kitchen, where the direct view of the stove is open to the rest of the floor, I would rather have a nice quiet background that is the stove area, without the distracting "up and down" lines.

I had an idea, but I wasn't sure if it was possible.  Can I just hide the hood in a cabinet?  Similar to a hood cover, but in place of that would be our existing cabinet doors.  I forgot what keywords I used to google my idea of "level range hood with cabinet" or "hidden range hood ".   I was beyond myself when I found these possiblities, and I immediately showed them to the Mr.!

image via timturnerphotographer.com

image via deroseesa.com

image via domainehome.com

It only makes sense that minimalist design is best suited for small kitchens.  Hiding the hood may be much ado about nothing, but this streamlined minimalist look will work well for our open concept floor plan.  The design of a muted open kitchen will bring the focus to the kitchen-facing living room and the adjacent dining room.  

If these designs exist, then there must be hoods manufactured to be hidden away.  For that, we turned to our appliance expert, who we had been bugging since the week after we bought the new house.  

She quickly found us the brands that make these INTEGRATED hoods and gave us some options.  Not surprisingly, they're mostly made by European companies.  Modern living quarters in Europe/ Asia are in abundance, and streamlined kitchen designs are most popular with their small kitchens.  A built-in hood would do away with the bulky look of a conventional hood range, streamlining cabinet design for a clean look.  We're not going the modern route, but a minimalist kitchen is exactly what we're after!

Here are several options she recommended with at least 600 CFM (cubic feet per minute, a measurement of the volume of air extracted by the range hood):

Faber Jewel Tilt Out Range

Miele DA3596 Flush Fit Hood

The design of our kitchen will have the upper cabinets installed a bit higher than normal, to accommodate for the minimum distance between the range hood and the stove.  Here is a rough rendering (using the IKEA Kitchen Planner Tool) of how our kitchen will look like, incorporating some of the trends and appliance choices we talked about in the previous posts.  Sorry for my attempt in creating the marble slab backsplash...  yikes!

The upper cabinets are level across the kitchen, to avoid that "up and down" look at the stove area. I love the open feeling brought about by the glass doors and the light that's reflected through them. The fridge and freezer drawers on the side wall frees up the counterspace that would have otherwise been taken up by a conventional fridge unit.  The microwave drawer and dishwasher are located on either side of the sink at the island.

The kitchen is the heart of our house.  Like most families, the kitchen is the last room we're at before we begin a busy day, and the first room we head to after coming home from work.  A well designed kitchen and one that functions well would make our lives that much easier!  We hope that our minimalist design will give our kitchen the efficiency that's crucial for a small kitchen, while feeling roomy.  We very much look forward to starting our daily mad dash in our new kitchen, and ending a busy day prepping some yummies on the mile-long counters.