My Kitchen Makeover: Nook Sketches

My Kitchen Makeover: Nook Sketches

In my last post about the kitchen, I mentioned how I felt some designer’s block when it came to the styling of my kitchen. I was torn between trying to implement styles I loved while simultaneously doing the colored vintage tile and my O’keefe and Merrit stove justice. Normally, I wouldn’t breakdown my odd thought processes and “Eureka!” moments quite to the extent I’m about to, but here it goes: the instant inspiration I was looking for came from, of course, pinterest. And, also of course, it came from Justina Blakeney (this woman can do no wrong, I tell you).

Click to visit the specific pin! :) And, then, of course, visit the source.

So, for reasons I still can’t explain, this gorgeous little sofa via Co-Lab made something in my brain click, and I decided to draw a mock up of my kitchen nook to spec and see what my benches would look like with this pattern (Facet 5, by Seacloth / Lee Jofa).

At some point during my drawing, I remembered that almost a year ago I pinned a sketch by an English artist that I thought would work perfectly in my kitchen (although, ultimately I don’t want it in the nook area, so it’s not in the above sketch; the artwork in the above sketch is by Lullie Wallace, and Jamie Rovenstine):

Floral Dots with Yellow Stripes, by Studiolegohead. Visit her Etsy Shop!

… which also dug up the memory of reading this:

“Black and white are another neutral that sherbet can mix with effortlessly. However, if retaining the saturated softness is your goal, I would avoid mixing too much black with the look. Instead, opt for thin black lines or small details… White can only make the look feel more airy so go nuts in that department if a bright, cool sorbet palette is your desired outcome!” —Chloé Douglas from Plenty of Colour, via Rena Tom (A scoop of Sorbet)

I’m feeling that organic, sketchy thin lines of either black or navy (or both!) will really help me love this kitchen, but still keep it bright and airy and in sync with the permanent fixtures in the room! So, the fabric from the beautiful sofa helped me to realize that I already had come across the ideas I needed to implement to get me out of my designer’s block! Thank you awesome sofa! (and Justina, for pinning it, and Lab Co for making it, and Seacloth, for the fabric).

Image via the Foundary’s blog.

After I nailed down the idea of thin dark lines, I was able to easily add in other inspirations that I knew I wanted to use. One source was Erin Lochner’s Designer Spotlight for the Foundary, and many of the featured items I used in my sketches. Of course, the shop is now closed (/pout), but you can still view the items I used on pinterest, and the items are still viewable through the shop, although you cannot purchase them through the Foundary anymore.

Also, we didn’t end up painting it gray, because I felt like gray would have dragged the whole room down, and I’m trying to keep things as light and airy as possible while having a wood table and wooden blinds. I was having a very hard time choosing a paint color — I didn’t even know where to start. Then I saw something very pastel on IG, (It was a photo of @locketship posted by @modcloth), and I immediately thought “ice blue” in the kitchen.

I think the ice blue really helps to tie in the tile and the stove and the stuff I already have going on with the kitchen, even if I think I might have liked the gray more if the nook was it’s own space. I’m still feeling pretty torn about what pendant light to go with! I love this faceted light from IKEA, Tyler loves it, and it’s $99. But I also really like the pendant with the touch of wood from West Elm, but I’m OH SO IN LOVE with this sea glass chandelier from Serena & Lily (seen in the above sketch)! Of course, it is totally out of the question at $1,500. Especially after I realized that the Seacloth fabric is super expensive designer fabric, and decided I probably shouldn’t go for it on these benches because I can get awesome fabric for 1/10th of the price, and I don’t love the shape of these things! So now I’m thinking about this fabric from IKEA or something similar. Jenny Komenda kinda has me on love for spots right now. :) The rug I have in the first sketch (the gray one) is from IKEA, but this one here is from Urban. I just bought it for the office space, but now I’m wondering how it will look in here! It comes in the mail today! I’ll try it out…

I’m happy to say that we have the table in and the shelves and the blinds installed now, and it really is remarkable how much it looks like my sketches! I’ll have some photos up of how far we’ve come in the kitchen soon–we’ve made tons of progress, and we are certainly over the “ugly” hump. :) Now I get to focus on fun things, like styling and artwork what fabric to use! :)

2 Responses to My Kitchen Makeover: Nook Sketches

  1. My girlfriend and I took two weeks of recently and spent the best part of the second week in IKEA. I like shopping (unlike many men Haha!), but I think we were pushing sanity limits.

    This nook area looks brill! It has that window seat cosy feel about it, which has me thinking about our own kitchen/dining room area now (which I hate with a passion!).

  2. I’m not really knowledgeable about kitchen designs but these are absolutely great. The play of colors and diverse patterns liven up the room just splendidly.

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Welcome

Welcome to Visual Vocabularie! My name is Jesyka, and I am a designer, artist, mom to Laelia and Luca, wife to software engineer and UX designer Tyler, coffee lover, and all around enthused person. This is my blog; here I share my personal projects, whether it's a furniture makeover, a new painting, a birthday party, an invitation I designed, or a favorite outfit for my little. You’ll also catch a glimpse into our family life in Los Angeles.

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