JackPlusMeEqualsPureGlee: Big Day Today!!!!

One word. Drywall. *smiles* The beginning of the end... of this renovation that is!!

I've been dreaming about how I want the finished product to look ever since we bought this house in the fall of 2007. I have more magazines than I could possibly ever reference. I've googled key words of the "look" I'm going for more times than I care to admit. But it has all been in preparation for this. I used to think I had a very traditional, even country design perspective. Surprise, surprise... All this research has made me realize - I have a much more contemporary side than I'd ever imagined, along with a rustic/farm twist (weird combo I know!).

The first place I started my research for inspiration was with one of the largest design elements in the space: my cabinets. Jason and I purchased a full kitchen of KraftMaid cabinets & their corresponding granite counter tops off of CraigsList in the summer of 2009. We were actually looking for cabinets for an investment house we were renovating at the time - and came across this set as - I believe - an act of kismet. This kitchen we'd found had the one layout change I knew I wanted to make - which faced the range open out into the rest of the space instead of in its original place faced towards a wall away from the rest of the room. The one stutter-step? These cabinets were a color we'd never seen. Pewter glazed. Really? But the CraigsList "deal" was too good to pass up.

So anyways... they've been sitting in storage in my basement since that time - just waiting for their moment to shine! That moment gets closer and closer by the day. I've found it's extremely hard to find images of "grey" kitchens... but the images I'll leave you with all have elements I'm in love with that I hope I can work into our space in one way or another. One thing I forgot to mention is that our kitchen shares the room with a fireplace/sitting area, separated by newly installed French Doors. I'm so excited to see the finished product! Inspired by:

Conceptually I love everything about the fireplace/sitting area pictured below. The top of our fireplace will be finished with drywall so it can accommodate a flat screen tv. I'm not crazy about the color palette for my home, but love the use of the chandelier over the seating area for an added feeling of coziness and tradition. I love the gathered window treatments over the non-functioning side of the French Doors.
All things I'd like to recreate in our home :o)