Monday, November 9, 2009

Decisions, decisions - I need your help!!!!!!!

I don't think I'm very good at making decisions about the interior design of my home. As far as a "style" of design...you could probably call it eclectic farmhouse, otherwise known as a medley of stuff I like and stuff that was already there when we moved in. Anyway, we're having a woodstove installed in our kitchen. I've picked out the location of the stove, and I've chosen the stove. Good start. Here begins my dilemma...we went to my hubby's shop and tried to pick out the rock for the mat/hearth, whatever you call it. The non-combustible material that goes underneath the stove. Waaaaay too many choices for my brain to pick just one.

Here's my vision so far... this is what I want, not necessarily what I have right now; so please, bear with me. :) The woodstove is black cast iron, floors hopefully someday will be medium-toned "oak" colored wood or laminate (Pergo). A fairly light, neutral wall coloring maybe in pale, buttery yellow, cabinets painted bright white with countertops of french-vanilla toned stone with brown/black flecks or warm browns. And, for the curtains we'll throw in something like red and white gingham check or old-fashioned off-white lace.

Our house is not fancy. At all. Quite the contrary; it's an oldish Cape Cod style built in the 50's that's been turned into a farmhouse out of necessity. It's cozy, it has lots of room for improvement, and it's our home. It's where we live, it is definitely not a showplace. But, I would like to make it look nicer if, and when we can afford to.

Below are the narrowed down choices that I came up with. The pictures aren't great, but they're what I have. I would like your opinions, your comments and your pinnache'. Hey, I figured what the heck...it worked for Pioneer Woman!! It's worth a shot.

Choice 1


Choice 2



Choice 3 (this one's sort of pebbley and textured making it less shiney)

Choice 4

Choice 5



Choice 6




These are all granite pieces and it's what we can use to save some money. My hubby will do the cutting and the edge detail enabling us to save about $500 or so by not having to buy a ready-made stove pad. I'm just afraid of it looking too fancy in our little house. That's definitely not the look I'm going for.
Thanks everybody!! I will greatly appreciate any assistance or opinions you're willing to share with me.
Humbly, Cingspots

17 comments:

Kathleen @ ForgingAhead said...

I think choice one is nice!

Lea and her Mustangs said...

I would pick 2 or 5. Either one, actually all are great but those are the 2 I like. Have fun.

Sherry Sikstrom said...

I think going by how I envisioned the house from your description ,choice 5 would blend nicely with the woods you are using. Good luck with the decision .Whatever you choose it will be lovely.

Dusty Devoe said...

I like #5!

photogchic said...

Choice 1...for sure. Bringing in reds will only go with this one. Has enough black, yellow, browns to pull from your description. Red will be a nice pop with that one. Good luck:-)

Reddunappy said...

I like #5 with the oak and buttery and white tones you say you have!

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

I'd have to agree that #5 would be my choice.

Your home sounds much like our ranch house. I love the lived in feel of that old house and always seem to try to duplicate that feeling where ever I have lived. Nothing can compare though.:)

Anonymous said...

I like no. 5 - it's warm and looks alive and flowing - like fire!

LuLo Designs/Blue Eyed Tango said...

I vote 3 for a less busy/shiny choice which is where the trend is right now.....textured/matte and from what you've described about your home being not a fancy showplace/I call it real living myself...LOL... would be less intrusive. Our house is very much like yours...an old farmhouse redone and I chose black with subtle flecks of green/gold and it's called UBATUBA if you're familiar with that one? It's probably most like 4. I wish I would have chosen a matte instead. I also like 5 but I would like to see the area you're talking about..... can you show us....it's O.K.? I only used granite for our island and the rest of the counter tops are light buttery yellow, green, gray, cream laminate in a faux finished look. Hawthorne Yellow, Benjamin Moore is a great color for the kitchen. That's great your husband can do the finishing work!! Most of all, have fun choosing...YOU have to LOVE it! That's how I choose a design.....I ask myself "do I love or just like it"...the love it wins! Luanne

hayseed said...

I think they would all look nice, but I wouldn't go with a polished stone, to my thinking, it's what makes granite look a little flashy. So a honed finish would be best, in my humble opinion :)

C-ingspots said...

Wow, you guys are great!! Thanks so much for your suggestions and opinions. And, Luanne - yes Ubatuba is a very popular choice. They sell a lot of that, and it is gorgeous. We have a pretty one called Verde something in our bathroom, and it's a very dark green with black and gold flecks. Gorgeous, but...so shiny shows every piece of dust. I'd love to show you pictures, but most of what I described isn't my kitchen's reality...yet. Just my vision at this point in time.

Nuzzling Muzzles said...

#1 is the counter top I wish I chose when remodeling my kitchen.

panthercreekcottage said...

Johnny come lately says #5 too. I would love to take a peak when you guys finish.

Anonymous said...

we have all granite too... seems like my first thought and what i see others have written.. survey says.. #5

blessings
gp who can always use a prayer for the snow ride tomorrow on gazi :) Back at ya

Melanie said...

Well I am not going to be much help, as I always have a difficult time making up my mind when it comes to home remodel stuff!

That being said, I really like #1 and #2. :)

Pony Girl said...

What fun, to do some redos! I was drawn to #2 or #5. Those seemed to perhaps best fit the color scheme you described. Good luck!

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