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.

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?

Clifford: Master Bathroom

I showed you the plan for our master bedroom a few weeks ago, and this week, I bring you the master bath! Since construction is still (%!@*#!) at a standstill (serenity now) I am going to take solace in looking at the plans and dreaming about the day when I actually believed Pete and I would be able to move in to Clifford the Big Red House by March. Le sigh.

If you are architecturally savvy, you can see the layout for the "master bedroom suite" here in the plans.

The master bath will have two separate sinks, soaking tub, and a steam shower.

As you might recall, this is the color scheme for the Master Bedroom, with the solid green damask being the wall covering. Once again, I assure you, in person the colors don't read like a nursery.

I wanted the bathroom to tie into the overall look of the master, but I prefer a pure, white, tiled sanctuary with minimal color. I found this absolutely perfect wallpaper from Osbourne & Little, which incorporates all of the colors from the master while maintaining a pretty white neutral palette.

The floor will be done in this white scalloped pattern by the good folks over at Waterworks.

While the steam shower will feature this mosaic to tie it in with the wallpaper.

The piece d'resistance?!?

{Via Elle Decor}

THIS gorgeous tub, sans puppy...

Not only is it just stunningly gorgeous, but it ties in with the pewter metallic of the birdcage in the wallpaper.

Ugh, I can't wait. But patience is a virtue. So I will. Begrudgingly. I will.

And as soon as there are updates on the construction, I will keep you posted as well!

Clifford, The Big Red House Gets a Haircut!

I am traveling today, but hopefully I will be able to get all of my planned posts up at some point, so keep checking in...Before I hit the road, however, I wanted to leave you all with these pictures of Clifford the Big Red House after some much needed pruning...

{In the backyard this mulberry tree was beautiful...}

{But way, way too messy when all of the berrys dropped...}

{Now the backyard looks HUGE! We are going to plant a tree to replace the mulberry next fall, but for now you can see how much space we really have back there!}

And so it begins...

Soooo...I dropped the ball again...and if any of you are still reading I am impressed by your loyalty and tenacity, I will try not to let you down. For awhile there I got a wee bit confused trying to figure out what this blog was supposed to be. 

Chicago travel guide? Interior design resource? Forum for angsty quarter life crises? I just didn't know and it left me at a loss for words. 

Then I remembered I have about 10 readers and that is only because of the sheer boredom the workday seems to induce, and it would seem as long as I post SOMETHING to distract y'all for 5 minutes of your day, I have done my job. 

So now I am back. And today I have put on my interior design hat to update you on Clifford, The Big Red House'sFabUlasss makeover!

Before I post the pictures I want to warn you, they are a bit gruesome...But if it is helpful I would recommend you think of it more like the scene in Wizard of Oz when The Scarecrow gets fluffed up...

"Pat pat here, pat pat there

And a couple of brand new straws,

That's how we keep you in repair

In the Merry Old Land of Oz"

Ok...ready?

This is what it was like when we first saw it...

And this is what it is like now!!!

Sort of before...

After:

Before:

After:

Before!

After!

It is funny to think Pete and I got into this wanting just a wee little project! This is going to be a major adventure for both of us, and if we end up with more than a pile of rubble at the end I will call it a major success.