Clifford: Kitchen

I was being a little bit of a bitter Betty in regards to Clifford: The Big Red House while we were stuck in zoning hell, but now that we are free at last I am excited to bring you the plans for our kitchen!

I know these are hard to read, but here are the plans for the first floor. At the top you are looking at the entrance hall and the living room, which is open to the dining room. As you move back in the house down the hallway you pass a bathroom before getting to the kitchen at the back of the house.

Here is a close up of the kicthen layout. Because of the french doors there will be a lot of light which we want to take full advantage of.

Here is an initial drawing of the kitchen elevation looking toward the stove...

And then the ever important view from the kitchen sink...

I have posted this kitchen before. It is one of my alltime favorites, and we will definitely be keeping with this idea in our kitchen (think white cabinets, beveled subway tile) however the white carrera marble counter tops are just not the most practical with as much as I cook, and as much, ahem, red wine we have been known to consume.

But who doesn't love a white kitchen?

They are just so pure and inviting!

So now we are looking into alternative countertops, like these CaesarStone countertops from Ina Garten's kitchen of the year.

Or maybe we could switch it up and do a dark work island and keep the white countertops?

OR call a complete audible and go black with light countertops like Gwyneth!?

THEN I saw Tory Burch's fab apartment in Elle and decided that I too, must have high gloss painted floors in my kitchen.

What about this fun pattern?

Or YELLOW!?

House of Turquoise

Or plain bright blues?

I think regardless the details are really what will pull the space together and make it feel homey.

Christopher Peacock

Sarah Gilbane

And as always, if I haven't properly credited a photo please let me know! I love giving credit where credit is due, but a lot of these images have been in my "favorites" file forever, long before I had illusions of blogosphere notoriety.

Color Me Happy

This is a pretty cool idea for the non-OCD parent.

A funky ladylike abode: Nanette Lepore's NYC Home

With shelter magazines dropping like flies these days (RIP Met Home) I have started delving deep into my binders I have kept for years with tears from my favorite home spreads for inspiration. Like this article from Elle Decor awhile back featuring designer Nanette Lepore's New York Apartment.

I have said it before and I will say it again, there is a way to do white and make it look warm and interesting.

The different finishes and textures in these spaces keep it fresh, not sterile...

I hate to speak ill of the dead, but I have to admit, Met Home seemed to be featuring a lot of uber modern hospital room esque designs lately...

I love how the color palette is subtle but still offers continuity with the pops of green in each room.

And I LOVE this red kitchen! What a fun surprise!

I had filed this room as part of the same spread, but I still don't quite believe this is the same apartment, I love both looks, and I especially love that Lepore's vision and talents are not limited to working within a white palette. If I had a study I would do something very similar, really go for it with the wood panelling. And I love the quirkiness of the chandelier and Eva Peron portrait above the fireplace.

Lepore's Bedroom

What I especially remember from this spread originally: Her FABulous closet.

And adorable little girls room...

Not to mention this jewel of a patio?

I think I could handle NYC in an oasis like this.

Rethinking Clifford, The Big Red house

Clifford, The Big Red House has been gutted and empty for weeks now. I highly underestimated the level of corruption and incompetence in the Chicago Permit Offices. I was warned, but I just could not fathom it could be this bad. Just to give you an idea of how far behind we are, the third floor edition (which includes ripping off and rebuilding the roof and the back wall of the house) and all outside work was supposed to be completed and sealed up by November 1. It is November 3rd and no such work has begun.

Serenity Now.

All of this time sitting and waiting knocked my design brain all out of whack, I have scrapped all of my previous plans for the living spaces and am now starting from scratch. I have heard many talented designers complain in the past that when it comes to doing their own spaces, they are often at a loss. Not that I, a lowly assistant, put myself in their shoes, but I now know what they are talking about. When you work in design, you see SO many different ideas every day it can make your head spin! Working for clients who have different tastes than you, you learn to train yourself to see the merit in many different design styles, so that sometimes it is hard to remember to Follow Your Bliss!

See how I did that??

Anyway, a voice has been whispering in the back of my head for awhile now that my bliss is Peacock Blue. Our house is such a dignified old gentleman I think it is time for me to shed my girlish ways (i.e. neon) and embrace a more mature attitude towards color. I think that peacock blue is the key.

But now I am wracked with insecurity over my new design persona. Thank the Decorating Gods for House of Turquoise, otherwise I would be a lost little rower in a giant sea of peacock blue. H.O.T. is a blog completely dedicated to the authors love of Turquoise interiors, which really amounts to a keenly edited array of blue hued rooms and accessories. Trust me, even if blue isn't your bliss, it is a great resource. By scouring H.O.T.'s archives and my own I have come up with zillions of examples of what Blue can be:

{Contemporary: via Domino}

{Girly: House of Turquoise}

{Glam: Kendall Wilkinson}

{Classic: House of Turquoise}

{Soothing: Domino}

{Preppy: Michael Robinson}

{Equestrian: Diamond Baratta}

{Studious: Cote de Texas}

{Warm, House of Turquoise}

And now these, are my favorites:

Miles Redd because can't he just come to Chicago and design my house FOR me!?

{Miles Redd again, the high gloss is funky but the dark floors and color palette ground the room.}

{I have posted this before, I think Clifford is a classic American, just like this room: Southern Accents}

{Miles Redd again, I'm sorry, I luff heeem}

{This room is just so cozy, but might it get too dark? I don't know...But I love it. Jan Showers}

{The walls here might be a bit too turquoise for my purposes, but I love it with the white accents and green velvet chair. House of Turquoise}

{This has been in my favorites file forever, I love the high gloss and the pop of pink}

In the end I think Clifford, The Big Red House, should be a mix of preppy Ralph Lauren, classic, and cozy with a contemporary twist.

So what do we think, have I become completely unmoored, or is this just what the Design Doctor ordered?

Excuse me, have we met?

Sooo I was just perusing the blogosphere and stumbled upon this sketch on High-Heeled Foot in the Door.

Look familiar?

The room was designed by Michelle Moreland and was featured in Domino Magazine (I believe...) a few years back.

I posted it a few weeks ago to demonstrate the desired look for the living room at Clifford.

I love seeing how the vision of a talented designer gets translated into reality.

Really inspiring.

If only I could draw, maybe then I could get a grasp on the massive project Clifford the Big Red House has turned into...