Hopefully you read my last post and realize when you come to visit our Parade Home entry you won’t be surprised to walk around an active construction site.  We’ve been working hard to get the home safe for guests to visit.  I realize its not completed but I personally think its fun to be an active part of the Design/Build process.  So we invite you to come visit and see our Progress.

Since there are  A LOT of details that will take place over the next several weeks as we finish construction, I thought I would take you through some of the ongoing design elements happening right before your eyes.  When designing a home, I almost always start in the Kitchen.  I feel the Kitchen is the heart of the home and everything else stems from it.  In an open floor plan such as the Mabry, the kitchen is visible in all main living areas so the colors and style will influence all the surrounding areas.

I spend a lot of time on Pintertest and Houzz.  Thankfully,  due to my profession, I can browse and “pin” all I want and consider it “working”.     Well, if you spend any time on any Home Design media you will notice a trend that is coming back in a BIG way.  Stained wood cabinets with a lot of grain and texture.  The older, knottier, rustic, grainier, the better.

Now, if you haven’t been paying much attention to the latest trends, you may be tempted to question my expertise, like Neil did when he called me right after the cabinets were installed.   Side note: this happens from time to time, when Neil calls me in a panic wondering if I’ve lost my mind because he doesn’t immediately agree with my color/design choice.  I’m going to be honest, his reaction has made me question my own ideas and design prowess from time to time but in the end when it all comes together I’ve never been disappointed and neither has he (knock on wood).

This year, I knew I didn’t want to have a “white” kitchen and I knew I wanted to incorporate some wood grain.  I kept seeing this gray/woodgrain combo kitchen pop up again and again on my browser.  I’ve been drawn to the overall look with the mix of gray and the warm tones and texture of the oak.  I love this look and it inspired my color choices for this home.   But I do admit when you first walk in and there are just cabinets, and the tops haven’t been installed, and the tile backsplash hasn’t been installed and the coordinating colors and details haven’t been installed yet, the wood grain gets your attention.  So the fun part is watching it all come together.  Here’s what we have so far:

I love the Kitchen layout in this Mabry plan.  It has a lot of perimeter cabinets and a nice big Island, all us gals love!   I chose to take the cabinets all the way to the ceiling and add some glass doors on each side of the hoodvent.  I added my usual “nice to haves” with pullouts on each side of the cooktop, large pot and pan drawers, and extra storage on the backside of the island.

I’ve been wanting to use the Black Stainless Kitchenaid appliance package for awhile now and finally have a kitchen colorscheme I can integrate this rich, sleek, finish.  I’m so excited!  I get a little kiddy just talking about it.

I added the newer, now trending, Black kitchen faucet along with a Silgranit kitchen sink in my favorite color Cinder.  Then, I tied all the finishes together with these gorgeous Midnight Chrome island pendants and Gunmetal hardware.  Gorgeous!

Right off the Kitchen is the large Dining area.  There’s a lot of things to love about this Dining area.  First, the view off the back of the house is amazing.  The Dining area itself is really spacious and offers a customized Butler’s cabinet with glass doors and a plate rack for displaying all your special dishes.  The ceiling is a tray that we are adding 1×6 Tongue and Groove that will be stained to coordinate with the oak island and hardwood floors.

Finally, I added this gorgeous black iron and gray bead fixture to give it a heavier but elegant feel that pulls all the surrounding color and finishes together.

When finished, this will be a great place to entertain and spend quality time with friends and family.

I invite you to come see for yourself this weekend, April 27 & 28th from 12:00pm-5:00pm at 52 Diamante Drive in the Portofino Community.