One of the rooms I was absolutely certain about how I wanted to decorate in the new house was our kitchen. When we first went to choose our colours I had picked out my perfect white kitchen and even went out to buy the perfect stainless steel accessories to match. When M and I went back for some follow up on Saturday I was stricken to learn that the builder has changed kitchen providers and my white kitchen was no longer available. Worse, if I wanted anything else in the shade I would have to pay $10,000 more.
Knowing how much I wanted the kitchen M was ready to capitulate, but I just couldn't see paying that much extra. So, my dreams of a white kitchen have gone down the tubes. Hopefully I'll get it in our next house, which M is now more determined than ever to build himself.
The new cabinets are set to be a kind of greyish-brown, which I do think will still be nice, even if it's not what I wanted. If we stay in the house we will change the kitchen later so I decided just to go with the standard kitchen with elongated cabinets, can't see spending much more on something I don't really want. C'est la vie.
From Left: Tile, cabinet, countertop, floor - I apologize for the bad quality cell photo!
Naturally builder's prices for anything are exorbitant so we were lucky to find a standard tile, which is pretty and matches the colour scheme I have in my head. It's a grey-taupe neutral that I think will work well. We are also going with the standard countertops for now, which we will switch out to granite once we move in (at half the cost at doing it through the builder) and build the island I'm planning for the kitchen. We ended up going with a greyish stain for the wood floors, called "Pewter," that I loved but was hesitant about in terms of maintenance. M loved them, though, and we eventually decided to just go with that. Right now I'm just crossing my fingers I won't have any trouble with the builder in terms of the non-standard measurements for our fridge/freezer.
Our Afrodite Range Hood
We had originally wanted a resale house we could renovate, but when we couldn't find anything we agreed on we went the new home route. At times like these I sometimes regret the choice, making any changes is prohibitive due to the costs associated when it comes to the builder (although we did add a major structural change to the main floor that I think will really be worth it in terms of design and dramatic effect). For example, just asking them not to put in the cabinets over the stove so we can install our range hood (ourselves) would cost us over $300. So we told them to leave the cabinets and will have to remove them once we're in.
Hard to tell but this couch is a greyish-blue-silver hue. Surprisingly comfortable. What do you think of it with the ottoman?
On a brighter note, we also did some furniture browsing this weekend. We know that we want a distressed heritage kind of table (something like in the first picture above) and have already come up with some good options (like this one). Now we just have to make sure the wood blends with our floors. And then there's the challenge of chairs. I know exactly what I want, but what I want may not be practical (light colours, easily stained fabrics, etc.) I find I'm having the same problem with the couch, balancing design aesthetic with comfort and function. I'd love any suggestions or what you went through when choosing your furniture (and what you regret or love).
I saw some great pieces--couches, chairs, exotic carved consoles, screens and storage units--during our shopping trip and then we stopped at Niche where I had a yummy espresso macchiato and to-die-for hot banana bread covered in Nutella in their charming back patio. I just about died.
Spotted: A pretty bust--only $69!
To add to my weekend frustration the traffic was crazy because of multiple road closures and I had to rush to pick up my parents from the airport before heading back into the city to attend the Taste of the Danforth.
Like we usually do we ate at a restaurant instead of from the street vendors, but it's fun to walk among the crowds and music before and after, though. What did you do this weekend?
