design plan: kitchen + breakfast room with touches of kelly green

well. HAPPY NEW year!

and, merry christmas. 

i know, i know. i did it again. i took a crazy long break from my blog. but sometimes i just need to disconnect. its good for me. and i don't every want this blog to be a place where i sell you stuff i don't care about, and post a bunch of pictures just to have a post up. 

it's not me.

want to know what IS me?

mixing super affordable stuff with just the right amount of more expensive stuff to get an eclectic, layered room that reflects the personality of whoever lives in the home.

i wanted to start the new year by sharing a few pages for a full room design that i worked on for a friend and client. as with many clients that i work with, my friend is on a budget, and wanted a plan that would allow her to work on the rooms in stages. 

one awesome thing about this client is that she is totally on board for a splurge on designer fabric, which, in my opinion, can quickly elevate a room from "nice" to "fabulous".

here is the plan i came up with for her kitchen and breakfast room:

the floor plan, showing the enlarged island and new cabinetry in the dining area.

i also drew up a very basic model for the new island, which will include a microwave, pull out trash can, seating, and pantry storage.

one of the biggest changes in this space will be the new built-in, which will house a cookbook library, a coffee station, a buffet serving area, and some pull out food trays for the couples beloved pugs.

thanks for hanging in there with me! i know i don't post a ton, but when i do, i hope you find the content meaningful and inspiring.
have a happy, happy monday!

before + after: basement rec room (the power of an hour)

often, clients will contact me in the middle of a remodel. there is something about seeing those ripped apart/raw walls, that prompts many people to finally feel "ready" for some professional design guidance.

this particular client was at the beginning of finishing a basement rec room. this space was to function as a play/toy and game room, as well as a movie watching area for the family. she needed some guidance narrowing down ideas for finishes and furniture layout.

here are the before pictures:
typical unfinished basement stuff...

i created a pinterest board filled with ideas and possibilities, and we spent our hour long phone call talking about:

*creating a functional layout despite the structural columns, access door to hvac system, and bathroom.

* paint colors and wall treatments (stripes, stencil, pop of color in the small nook under the stairs) to bring life and whimsy to the space

*furniture layout + space planning of future kitchenette

*tile ideas for bathroom

*adding large,  frames with stylized movie posters

after:

 simple ikea bookcases function as storage and a seating area. once a table added, this area will be a place for games and crafts.


the striped wall and custom wall letters add a sense of whimsy.

the birch wall stencil and carpet add texture.

the movie posters are just the right balance between fun and chic.






the space under the stairs was painted a kelly green, and gold dots were added. an inexpensive home depot light, and a bean bag chair were added to create a reading nook.





how cute did the bathroom turn out?

 a special thank you to my client, who never lost site of the vision of the finished basement, throughout the construction, and for sending me these great AFTER images!

interested in working tougher on a space in YOUR home?
email me at autumnclemons@Yahoo.com to get started!
you can see more spaces i have worked on here.

a (very) basic lesson on installing hardwood floors

you know how right after something traumatic happens, you don't want to talk about it for a while?
like talking about it almost brings back all of the pain and aguish?
that's a little bit how i feel about installing hardwood floors!
(i am kinda joking about that, and kinda NOT joking at the same time!)
i also happen to feel that way about moving!

anyway, i just wanted to give y'all a very breief intrciduction to how my husband and i spent about 300 hours of our lives:
i wouldn't use this as a guide on exactly how to install hardwood floors, but it will defeintely give you an idea of what you are getting yourself into if you decide to tackle this yourself!

for best results, a 15 pound felt underlayment should be laid down on top of the subfloor, which acts as a vapor barrier. (that's the black stuff you see! it comes in a big roll and is available at any home improvement store.)

be sure that the floor is swept and free of debris before the felt is laid down. any lumps or bumps could create uneven spots in the floor.


we stapled down about half of the felt, but ultimately found that NOT stapling it down worked the best to reduce wrinkling and bubbles.

hardwood comes in bundles, like you see here. the woods needs to be acclimated to the space where it will be installed because it is sensitive to moisture levels and temperature and will expand and contract. bringing it inside a few days before it will be laid will allow it to "get used" to the air in your house.

bring over at least 2 bundles of wood close to where you will be laying out the floor.
mixing two bundles will ensure an even distribution of lengths, color and grain.
we laid red oak #2, which means that the wood has some "flaws" like wormholes and knots. we actually love the "flaws", and feel like it gives a floor more character. there are also on occasion, boards that cant be used due to missing tongues or grooves, or really large knots and imperfections. we found that, on average, about 10% of the boards were "undesirable" or unusable.
(red oak #1 is a more "even" product--less variation, fewer worm holes and knots. it also costs more that #2.)

carefully cut the plastic straps that hold the bundles together. it is best to cut on the underside of the wood, so you don't score the face of the planks with your utility knife. (the underside of the wood has grooves on it that allow for air movement and help the wood to lay flat on an uneven surface. the top surface is flat.)

next, you "rack" the wood, which means you lay it out on the floor exactly the way in which it will be nailed down.

a few things to consider:
make sure the joints are not too close together. a good rule is at least 2.5 widths of wood between each seam. this will ensure a stronger floor.


make sure that each plank fits together nicely. sometimes they are milled wrong or are missing a tongue or groove.
we found that the work went faster when the "racker" was 4-8 rows ahead of the "nailer".

leave enough space in between where you are racking and where the wood is being nailed in place so that there is room for the nailer to hammer in the staples.
at the end of each row, there will almost always need to be a cut made.

for this project, we used a table saw (for long narrow rips along walls), a chop saw (for end cuts), and a jig saw (for cuts around heat registers and door casings).

each plank gets tapped into place with a rubber mallet. sometimes they go in smoothly, but other times they need some serious whacking.

once the plank is in place, the rubber mallet is used to drive the nail or staple in place. we used staples,
and drove them in about every 6". even though the nail gun is pneumatic, it still takes a pretty hefty swing of the mallet to drive the staple in! translation: it is hard work and will make you sweat a lot.


the staple should fit nicely, right at the top of the tongue. see how you can barely see the staple? that's what you want!

sometimes, the staple splits the wood or doesn't go in properly.
if that is the case, it must be removed with with a hammer and chisel, and the entire area cleaned of wood chips and debris.
loads of fun. 
(can you hear the sarcasm dripping off that comment? i hope so. that part was the WORST.)

as you move along, the area where you will be laying the wood needs to be cleaned to ensure that everything lays perfectly flat.

once you get close to a wall, the staple gun cant be used becuase there is not enough room to swing the hammer. a nail gun must be used instead.

of course, laying the wood is just the  beginning of the process...

 but the hard work...

 is definitely worth it in the end!

have a great thursday everyone!

tile installation "notes"

you ever heard of that phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words"?

yeah. i thought so.

when planning a remodel or building a new home, it is essential to make sure that your contractor or subcontractor "gets" what you want.  a picture is the perfect way to communicate your desires.

there are some finishes in a house that you DO NOT want to have to redo because of a miscommunication or an error. tile is one of them. once the tile is laid in the thin set, it becomes almost impossible to remove without destroying it. you really want to make sure that your installer knows exactly what you want before a single tile is laid. there is nothing worse than showing up to check on the progress of your tile work, and discovering that it has been laid incorrectly!

since i was planning on some "out of the ordinary" tile patterns, i wanted to make sure that our tile installer knew exactly what i wanted. i thought you might like seeing the notes that i gave to them!

* our tile installers mentioned that they were SO APPRECIATIVE that they had my notes to refer to.
nearly every time i visited the house, i saw them in a different place...which let me know that they were being USED!

by the way, we used mapei grout. 

the color selection is amazing, and my tile installers said it is the best:

need help creating a tile plan for your remodel or new home?
i will be taking new clients after may 12th!
i would love to work with you!
contact me at autumnclemons@yahoo.com to reserve a spot.