Are You Still There?

I know I've been away for a greater length of time than I usually am, and I hope that you all are still around looking for inspiration to take from Color Outside the Lines. I found another fabulous kitchen to share with you all today.

And pantry ... with it's mirrored walls and copper counters, rough hewn floors, and chalk white cabinetry this room is rustic but elegant, casual but beautiful, interesting but useful! Oooo, my favorite!

And the sitting room off of the kitchen, perfect for reading the morning paper and starting that day-long affair with the crossword. The Shumacher fabric really is such a compliment to those beautiful blue walls. I really love how they've played with the negative space when accessorizing with the rugs. Instead of having the furniture groupings on rugs, they have the furniture groupings on the floor, and the rugs in the walk space. Perfection.

Another view of the kitchen, styled differently, and with a better look at the gorgeous beams that frame out that beautiful ceiling. This kitchen is custom through and through, but there are so many great ideas to take from this kitchen if you're thinking about changing around your own, or if you're starting from scratch on less than a 100K budget:

• Don't be afraid to use lighting that is unconventional, that is - not found in the kitchen section of Home Depot. Notice the fabric covered pendants hanging over the island.
• Paint! It's the cheapest and quite possibly the most significant thing you can do when transforming a space. Especially kitchens and bathrooms. Paint those old cabinets, play with faux finishes, and don't worry about a color other than yellow or white making your kitchen look dirty: blue is a calming color perfect for the kitchen, red is a firey color that will really appeal to those with booming appetites, and muted shades of warm gray are the perfect backdrop to any pattered china you can display on plate racks, open shelving, or glassfront cabinetry.
• GO BIG! Accessories in a kitchen can overpower and clutter the space in no time flat. Invest in a couple of large accessories, (like the medallion used in the range backsplash) and a great fruit and vegetable caddy - leave the silk ivy and wicker baskets for another room in the house.
• Let the light in. The single easiest thing you can do to transform a room, is open the shades to a window. The light will make your room look lighter, brighter, and happier; as seen here with just the valance above the two windows on the back wall. Open the blinds - and if you can, remove them completely. Enjoy the light!

And the family room, which is open to the kitchen. Now you can start to see all of these rooms flowing together beautifully and harmoniously, hmm? Again perfectly edited, you can see that this room is a cozy place to watch a movie, read the paper or a good design book, entertain company while food is being prepared in the kitchen, or just take a long nap with a cozy throw.