All White Kitchens and Design Inspiration

Here is the kitchen that we get to design!

I've always dreamed of an all white kitchen and now it's finally within reach!  

Here are some of our design elements that we've chosen for our kitchen - classic white thermofoil cabinets - These were one of the only items in the entire house that we did not upgrade. You may wonder why - It is because we have two little boys.  We remodeled our current home before we had little ones and spent a ton of money on custom furniture grade cabinetry for our kitchen.  Well, when my big boy got to be a toddler, we realized that he's not very gentle when it comes to closing cabinet doors or drawers.  And crayons...don't even get me started.  

We did upgrade the cabinets to have soft close so they cannot be slammed, and the drawers all will have dovetail joints.  The pros of having thermofoil cabinets is that they are easily cleaned, can take a lot more abuse, and we can replace a panel, door, or drawer front if needed at Home Depot.  

We also chose a backsplash of hexagonal Carrara marble - it's absolutely gorgeous!!  And the countertop will be quartz stone in White Zeus Extreme.  We chose quartz because it is a very hard material, second only to diamond.  It's nonporous and beautiful.  It will definitely hold up to a family that uses it all the time!  Because it's nonporous, it won't stain nor can germs get into the counter itself.  There is also no sealing required which is a huge plus in my book!  It is also not cheap - I don't know the exact cost per sq. ft that we paid but it was a significant upgrade charge from the included granite slab.  And yes, I would have LOVED a huge slab of marble but I know me and I know that I have 3 kids....marble just does not lend itself well to young children....An apron sink sits in the middle of the island. We got all KitchenAid appliances but no built in refrigerator - it just wasn't a must have on my list.  

Here are some kitchens that inspired me:

House Beautiful

Traditional Home

Style Blueprint

Style Blueprint

Homespo

TomKat Studio

 Decor  Pad

Decor  Pad

Nicole Davis Interiors

Pros & Cons of Building a New Construction Home

Why did we choose new construction vs. purchasing a resale home?

I had several criteria for buying our next home:

1.  The new home had to be large enough for our family of 5 to grow into.

2.  It had to have a bedroom and full bath downstairs for when our parents come to visit.

3.  We had to stay in the same school district.

4.  With the budget that I had, everything had to be accounted for - ie - if the resale home needed a new kitchen or landscaping work needed to be done

I've had my eye on the real estate market for the last year and nothing ever came up in the resale market that matched my all of my criteria.  One home may have had a gorgeous kitchen but then I would have wanted to rip out all the bathrooms.  I factored the cost of say bathroom remodels and new flooring and the amount of time it would take to redo everything and I realized that a resale home may not be for my next home.

PROS:

The resale homes in our area of comparable size were believe it or not - higher priced than new construction.

New construction also allowed us the flexibility of choosing the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, whether we wanted a regular sliding door or an 18 foot floor to ceiling accordion door, choosing flooring that fit our needs, brushed nickel bath accessories and door handles, the entire kitchen customized to our liking, and many more details that I'll go into in another blog post.  We LOVE the open concept floor plan and were able to choose the floorplan that best suited our needs!  We also don't have to pay for upgrades that we will never use - such as a surround sound system.  

KB Home also offers a full one year warranty on everything and then a 10 year limited warranty - less money to shell out for maintenance = happy me!

Everything is built to be energy efficient so that means lower utility bills.

So, I waited patiently for a builder to start building in our area.  KB Home was the only builder to fit all of our criteria.  

CONS: 

It's been mostly smooth sailing with the building process - the only downside I feel and we still haven't even broken ground yet even though we signed our contract back in early November is that our timeline could have been better managed.  We were told in the beginning of a March/April move in and now we're looking at June/July.  It makes it hard to sell our current home because we need to rent back until we move into our new home.  Temporary housing is not in the cards because it is just too hard to move twice in 3 months with 3 special needs kiddos.

We may be looking at piles of dirt outside our windows for a while as they build up the next phase of homes after we move in - but the boys will think that is great fun. 

There is no negotiating on the price of the home as we are in a highly desired market.

Every upgrade and customization costs money and trust me when I tell you that it adds up really fast!  If you want to replicate what the model home looks like, be prepared to shell out some serious cash.  I suffered from sticker shock at first....but when Phil did the math for me, every $10,000 in upgrades would only cost me $50/month in additional mortgage payments - this is calculated at the interest rate for our loan.

Home Guide: The Best Housewarming Gifts

Moving homes is no walk in the park!  Starting anew, be the perfect guest with one of these beautiful housewarming gifts.  One of my favorites is this address embosser for only $24 and these gorgeous address labels.

Find more perfect gifts at these retailers:

Etsy

Pottery Barn

Nordstrom

Holiday Guide: Cute Halloween Decor & Costumes

Minted.com Wishlist & Giveaway

We've partnered up with our friends over at Minted to show you our favorite finds!  They're known for their gorgeous stationery but did you know that they now have beautiful home decor as well?  My favorite is the state wall art - I plan on ordering one for each state that we've visited - it'll make for some lovely wall art as well as conversation starters!  

They're offering free shipping for all framed wall art thru 8/24/15 with the code:  ARTFRAMEDFS

and 15% off Custom Photo Gifts with the code:  SUMMERPHOTOS exp 8/17

Minted is also giving away $50 to one lucky winner - head on over to our Instagram feed to enter!  

Take a look at the beautiful pieces that we've rounded up for you:

Gift Guide: Unique Family Tree Gift Ideas

Family history is more than just dates, records, and research.  It is about finding the rich history behind each and every person.  You can start off by building a family tree and displaying it proudly in your home - they used to be quite simple - a tree with lines for names.  

My - have they evolved!  Take a look at these pretty family trees - depicted in so many different ways!

Home Guide: Luxury Laundry Supplies

Let's face it - we all have to do laundry - mind as well do it in a glamorous way!  These are some of my favorite laundry supplies - the folding board is a MUST have in my book - my shirts are folded perfectly every time in no time at all!  And the pretty ironing board covers - they're on sale for $9.99!

Shop the Post:  

Home Decor Guide: Top Picks Under $25 at Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale

Happy Saturday!  Here are my favorite finds in home decor for under $25 at Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale!  Don't forget to check out all of our other Nordstrom Anniversary Sale posts!  

Style Guide: Whale Love in Fashion & Decor

Whales are just so majestic - I loved seeing them in the wild when we went whale watching earlier this year.  I love how popular they have become on items.  They're not only cute, they symbolize listening to your inner voice, peaceful strength, and the importance of family and community.  

Here are some beautiful items that I loved finding for you:  

Decor Guide: Personalized Kitchen Decor & Gift Ideas

I spend so much time in my kitchen that I love to customize everything from labels on my Oxo containers to a custom painted Kitchenaid mixer.  Take a look at these beautiful custom pieces for your kitchen - they would make a wonderful housewarming or wedding gift as well!

Backyard Remodel - Children's Playground with Rubber Mulch

The backyard remodel is *just* about done.  All the major work is done - now it's the finishing touches that are going in - like my succulent gardens, finding the right outdoor dinnerware, and such.  

My kids absolutely LOVE their new playground!  It's a joy to have a backyard that is completely safe for 3 little kids and also waterwise for our Southern California needs.  

I especially love the rubber mulch that we had put in under and around the entire playground.  We had a 2.5" depth put in so when the kids fall off the structure, they won't hurt themselves.  Make sure that the kids are wearing shoes when playing outside because it does get hot to the touch.  

It's heavy and won't wash away in the rain (not that we get any) and it looks great next to the decomposed granite border.  You definitely need a border to hold the rubber mulch in.  Also love the fact that it's economical (lasts around 10 years), eco-friendly and it doesn't harbor bugs.  We got ours at PlaySafer.  

The playground was from Costco and the bendable border  is on sale right now for 20% off.  

Home Guide: Memorial Day Sale Round-Up for the Home

Happy Memorial Day!  We've rounded up some amazing sales for home decor - some items like these Moscow Mules - they're only $15 for a set of two!  Patio umbrellas for $39.95, a 4 piece firepit for $69.96, and a 9 piece 3 gallon drink dispenser set with mason jar mugs for only $49.95 are not to be missed!!   

Patio sets - if you're looking for one are also highly discounted this weekend - other than that - there are huge savings everywhere.  Here are a few sites that have discounts up to 90% off!  Keep in mind - One King's Lane & Joss & Main are both flash sale sites - meaning, once they're sold out of an item, most likely you're not gonna see it again!  

One King's Lane

Joss & Main

Williams-Sonoma - Free Shipping on entire order with code:  FREESHIP & Take an extra 20% off clearance with code:  EXTRA20

Pottery Barn - Take up to 20% off your entire your order with code:  SAVEMORE

Pottery Barn Kids - use code:  FREESHIP for free shipping - save up to $500 on furniture sets

Serena & Lily - Save an extra 20% on everything with code:  ALLOUT

Horchow - Free shipping with code:  MEMORIAL - save 20% off on all Outdoor & super plush Ralph Lauren towels on sale for $13.99

Happy Shopping!

Home Guide: Nordstrom Half Yearly Sale - Home Decor

Have you been seen the pretties that Nordstrom put on sale?  It's a must see - so many items are marked up to 40% off (many are discounted even further) - gorgeous bedding, cute gift ideas, and home decor.  

Design Guide: Backyard Design and Decor Ideas

I had the itch to do something with my front and backyards this year - instead of just doing the obligatory spring planting, I decided to have it completely overhauled to be not only drought tolerant but also totally kid friendly.  We are out of water in California so our lawns were dying and something needed to be done.  So - while my front yard is being finished this week, my backyard will be demo'd next week!  So exciting!  

In the meantime, to keep myself busy - I'm looking for elements to incorporate into the backyard.  I already have a huge playset for the children scoped out.  I plan on putting in a giant piece of plexiglass so that they could paint on it.  A small area with giant river rocks with water for sensory play.  A large patio with stamped concrete that will hold our outdoor sofa and a dining set as well as a built in bbq is also in the works.  

Now, to decide on a color scheme - I'm leaning towards neutrals with pops of color.  Take a look at some of the pretties that I've found for you to easily decorate your outdoor space:

Design Guide: Easter Brunch Decor

Easter is a special time of the year for us where we reflect on the resurrection of Christ.  We spend the morning at Church and then come home for a nice Easter brunch with the family.  I have collected so many pieces of Easter decor over the years - it'll be nice to pull everything out again this year to decorate.  Here are some pretty pieces that I'm considering adding to my collection.  

Places to find pretty Easter Brunch Decor

Williams Sonoma

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn Kids

Home Guide: Serena & Lily Sale - Take $100 off $500

I love when Serena & Lily has a huge sale like this!  Their style is definitely understated elegance.  So much detail and thought goes into each piece that they create.  Just take a look at the beautiful items that I've found for you.  And the best part?  You're saving 20% off your total purchase!

Home Guide: Decorating Your Home in Shades of Grey

Grey is such a beautiful neutral.  Though personally, I would only use it if you have enough natural lighting in your home.  Otherwise I do feel that it can feel a bit dark.  Read on to see how these designers used grey in various rooms and the exact paint colors used.  All photos courtesy of One Kings Lane.

Designing An Amazing Dorm Room with Emily & Meritt

Summer is half over and school is almost in session again.  Now is the best time to start planning out your dorm room decor!  My favorite this year is designed by Emily & Meritt for PB Teen.  Emily & Meritt have designed some pretty amazing pieces to turn your dorm room into the ultimate home away from home!  

If your budget doesn't allow you to do the whole room - consider starting out with just a set of pretty bedsheets and add a few throw pillows.  

This sequined bow pillow is absolutely darling!

Leopard print is hot this season! 

And this sequined kitty pillow is too cute for words! 

Fun bunny ears jewelry stand

Pretty heart bulletin boards