Fun with Color

By Tammy

Yep, the home remodel continues.  Finally, all of the carpet downstairs is removed and the gorgeous wood floors are down.  And now the fun begins! 

When we built our house we had always envisioned the third bedroom to be a temporary guest bedroom, then a nursery.  Well, life throws you curves and plans don’t always go your way.  So now, it’s a “play” room for my daughter, which is conveniently located right across the hall from her very pinkalicious bedroom.  What is it with girls and pink? 

The original neutral color still adorns the walls in the play room, so before we move all the stuff back into it, our plan is to make it a study / media / hang out room for a very soon to be 7 year-old and friends.  So starting with pretty much a blank canvas, why not paint the room?
 

Here’s where you can help – why not let my readers Vote!  And recommend any items or tips to transform this blank canvas into a room that any child/tween would want to hang out in.  

My friend and co-worker over at See: Create: Be Happy has been helping me during the remodel process.  She’s a product designer at Wilsonart and really knows my likes and dislikes.  We thought this would be so much fun!  Here are four (4) color palettes we have chosen:

Don't you just love these names?

A.  Mysterious Mauve SW6262; Ruby Shade SW6572 and Refresh SW6751

B.  Intuitive SW6017; Gleeful SW6709 and Reflecting Pool SW6486

C.  Restful SW6458; Apples & Pears BM395 and Beguiling Mauve SW6269

D.  Valentine SW6587; Aloe SW6464 and Springtime SW6708

Kids living with color…what more can you ask!

Win a Ticket to Type-A from The Lean Remodeler

The Type-A Parent Conference is coming up on June 23, and The Lean Remodeler team will be there in Asheville, North Carolina to discuss blogging and home design. And luckily for one of you, we have an extra ticket that we are giving away!

The deadline for entries is June 9th, and here's all you need to do to be eligible to win a ticket to the Type-A Parent Conference:

1. "Like" the Wilsonart Facebook page.
2. Look for the Facebook post about the contest and "Like" the post.
3. Tell us your favorite Madura pattern and how you would incorporate it into your home and leave your answer in the comments section below.

The Madura series of premium Wilsonart Laminate was released this year and is the newest addition to their line (see a fantastic install here). These Madura patterns are perfect for homeowners searching for the perfect combination of earth colors that coordinate with a variety of cabinet wood-tones and stainless-steel appliances:

Madura Pearl: A light, warm white with accents in peach and pearl-grey. Coordinates well with light wood, painted cabinets and dark contrasting woods like mahogany and walnut.

Madura Pearl

Madura Gold: Carries lighter values of golden beige with accents of sienna brown, soft grey and black. Gold and shards of grey are trendy colors that go well with all cabinetry wood-tones.

Madura Gold

Madura Garnet: Carries mid-tones of mahogany with accents in garnet, soft greys and black. Includes light areas with soft detail. Goes great with stainless steel and black appliances.

Madura Garnet

Madura Citrine: A light, yellow gold coloration with warm white and amber accents. Includes soft greys and black. Works well with maple and cherry cabinets in brown and spice stains.

Madura Citrine

Just choose your favorite Madura pattern and let us know how you would use it in your home in the comments section below!

(Up)Date Night Part 1: Get to Know the Gibsons

Today's post is from Jeannett Gibson over at Life Rearranged, who is undergoing a kitchen transformation with her family and has been nice enough to share her experience here on Lean Remodeler. You can follow the transformation on the latest installment of our (Up)Date Night video series.

When my husband and I first walked into the kitchen with our realtor, visions of an update immediately sprang to mind.

I saw painted cabinets, fun hardware, pretty pendant lighting and gorgeous countertops.

I knew upon first look that the kitchen had great bones and amazing potential...it was just a little dated.

And a lot not my style.

Don't even get me started on the white tile with white grout. Who decided that would be a good idea?! I would love to meet them.

And then hand them the bottle of bleach and toothbrush that I've spent waaaaaay too much time with over the last three years.

But it was well designed and nice and roomy for our quickly expanding brood.

It just needed a little spruce up.

And a ton of elbow grease.

But the truth is, that's our style.

Andy and I are the quintessential DIYers.

We grumble and moan through the process, but we absolutely love the finished product 100 times more simply because we know that WE did the work.

Somehow, sitting on our patio and looking out at the landscaped yard is so much more satisfying knowing that it was our sweaty selves who laid that sod in the summer sun. (That's our friend Jon that we conned into helping. Note the baby in the pack and play!)

While we had certainly done our fair share of projects together, the sheer workload involved in painting cabinetry WHILE parenting three kids 3 and under...

...well, that made me break into a sweat more than once.

In fact, it may have induced a mild panic attack at one point. Just maybe.

The reality is, that while adults can wait until 9 p.m. to eat dinner (take out, naturally) after the work is done and cleaned up, twin one year olds and a three year old aren't exactly so patient.

And they can't put themselves to bed.

Or even wipe their own....

noses.

And the littlest still has therapy three times a week.

And the husband has a business trip on the other side of the country sometime in the middle of this mad dash rush.

And...well...life doesn't pause while you're trying to knock out a fairly labor intensive project.

Painting...particularly something as large scale as kitchen cabinetry...isn't exactly something you can stop mid-brush to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

And little sticky fingers are certainly unwelcome anywhere NEAR drying paint.

Luckily, I knew the pros would be installing the countertops. So that was one task off our plate.

Knowing that this project had high Bicker Potential, Andy and I tried to stave off some of the tension by talking about it ahead of time.

Late one night, after the littles were in bed, our feet up on the coffee table, hot fudge sundaes in our laps, our conversation went a little something like this:

"This project is going to be insane. None of it is going to go as smoothly as we would like. So let's try and just go with the flow and not hate each other at the end of it."

"Deal."

While that may seem simplistic and silly, it really has helped so far.

We just knew that this wasn't going to be a project reminiscent of our pre-three-kids-in-two-years days where we could work uninterrupted and for as long as we we wanted/needed.

And somehow, being open and upfront about lowering our expectations...and laughing that surely someone will tip over a gallon of paint at some point...is helping.

Even in the planning, as I try to order hardware that I can't seem to find in the quantities I need...or trying out 15 different shades of white (who knew?!)...or trying to figure out how to still make meals during it all...

We're going with the flow.

We're making it work.

We're trying to laugh and not freak out.

Even though the temptation is certainly there.

Hopefully that feeling of relative flexibility and calm extends as we're actually in the trenches of kitchen updating.

No kitchen is worth strife.

But it's certainly worth the elbow grease.

Pattern Play

by Gale 

Most of us think we avoid patterns because they are overwhelming or too confusing to deal with. The truth is we are surrounded by patterns on our walls, floors and yes, even our countertops. Some patterns may not be obvious and others are over the top, but they are great enhancers to our décor. 
 
For instance, patterns in fabric add life to otherwise dull material. Patterns on rugs give that flat surface dimension, and lately patterns on countertops can help renew a kitchen by bringing new life to the surface.

At the recent Kitchen and Bath Show, I found some great examples of new materials that could have a radical change in how you look at your kitchen. Do not do anything else but change your island counter, and see how it creates a new look for less. Resurface the peninsula with a bolder pattern for emphasis. And in a tiny kitchen, a new countertop makes huge difference.

Reactions from KBIS 2011

By Gale

Trade shows can be intimidating for many of us. There are the rows upon rows of exhibits, the commotion of the music and of course the crowds of people. However, I have just braved the 2011 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas and returned home with my head filled with ideas to share with you.

There was the big theme of the show and naturally, the smaller emerging themes as well. Water, water, water was the big theme, with most of the plumbing companies sporting WaterSense tags on their new merchandise…that is water-saving, in case you did not guess. And from toilets to showerheads, that label was everywhere.  It is a good reminder for most of us that like Energy Smart, this is a program that will save money as well as water.

The smaller themes were equally intriguing: Universal Design appeared inside cabinets, outside cabinets, on backsplashes, on countertops, and inside drawers. This is recognition that we need to make our storage of all kinds more accessible.  This trend is not just for the physically challenged – it is for everyone – the young, the young at heart, and those in-between who are looking for convenience. Clever cabinet inserts means the contents stay organized, and who would not want that?

New countertop designs were another theme at the show: great new looks in laminate, quartz, recycled materials for easier living.  They include marble and stone look-alikes without the fuss of maintenance as well as bolder patterns that differentiate an island countertop. What a way to make a statement without a major investment!

Lighting is going through major changes with 100 watt incandescent light bulbs heading off the market in 2012. New options in compact fluorescent, LED and halogen are appearing, and the more the merrier so that the price heads down to a more reasonable range. Keep an eye out for these energy-efficient alternatives.