I passed the builder deadline to inform me of a delay, so my original closing date of April 6th still stands. I realized that with closing coming up so fast I should update my house blog. It has been a few months. What can I say? Life sometimes gets in the way.
Since I have a specific colour scheme in mind, and have had so for years, it didn’t take me long to rule out all kinds of options at the design centre. Blue, black and grey are really big at the moment. Because of that, the design centre had lots of options for people who wanted to choose these colours. So, the challenge was to make up my mind about what I did want from the options that worked. My designer, Suzanne, was very helpful in suggesting a few things that work together and that kept me within my upgrades budget.
Kitchen Design Option #1
Kitchen Design Option 1
My main floor is open concept so everything has to flow together (floor plan posting to follow). We started with kitchen selections. I brought a pillow and paint samples with me to help us come up with some options. This is the first option that we came up with for the kitchen.
The cabinets are maple shaker, a level 1 upgrade from the standard option (from yellow to blue dot). I find that shaker cabinets, while being very traditional, also have a modern feel and work well in a contemporary design scheme. I currently have flat slab natural maple cabinets and love them.
The countertop was a level 4 upgrade (from yellow to black dot). I picked out this countertop when I was scouting out the design options last fall. I loved the richness of the colours. It gives the countertop a lot of depth without being stone. And that saves me money which is always a good thing … especially when building a new house. 
I was having some difficulty finding a backsplash tile that I liked, would work with my colour scheme, and wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. Suzanne pulled out the one in the photo and immediately I loved it. This is a level 2 upgrade (yellow to red dot). The tiles are quite red but they are warm and they work really well with the countertop. Ignore the tiles with the designs. Those require an expensive custom order and don’t fit with the clean lines I’m going for. They’d be great in someone else’s kitchen, though.
Kitchen Design Option #2
Kitchen Design Option 2
Suzanne and I came up with a second possible option for the kitchen, one with a lower budget.
We kept the natural maple shaker cabinets but dropped the countertop to a level 1 upgrade (yellow to blue dot). The countertop in this option is brown and still has some depth to it. The brown backsplash tiles are the same size as those in Option #1. They are also a level 2 upgrade (yellow to red dot).
Immediately on putting these options together I didn’t get the same feeling. The countertop didn’t pop and the tiles weren’t nearly as warm. They all work together and would work with my colour scheme but they didn’t speak to me like the other choices.
Since this was my first design appointment I gave myself some time to think about my options and to consider my budget.
