A kitchen to Be Thankful For

Sometimes we get a call from clients who start a project with the best of design intentions, then simply run out of steam. Let's face it, shockingly, interior design isn't as simple as it looks on HGTV and Pinterest. 

This kitchen belongs to our clients in Davie, Florida whose laundry room and guest bathroom we revealed last week. 

The floors were great. Ditto the soft grey paint color and like a lot of clients this year, they'd decided on white cabinets with a blue island. A white farm sink and gold hardware were also some great finishing touches. 

But they clearly needed more so we hatched this plan to finally make this kitchen the star we knew it could be. 

Nothing much left to say. We'll let the photos speak for themselves. 

Subway tile in a herringbone pattern for the win. Except when we found some uneven walls but let's not rehash that memory :(

You can see some behind the scenes installation pics here and here. 

A prep sink is always a good idea when you can squeeze one in, especially for busy holidays like Thanksgiving. Pairing with a gold faucet is just icing on the cake.

Over the sink lighting and floating shelves? Yes, please. And our client installed it himself. Ditto those shelves. 

And please don't be afraid to mix metals. The main sink faucet is a stainless steal and looks just fine when paired with the surrounding gold finishes. 

We painted a playful chalkboard wall along the walkway to the kitchen.

PS - they have some talented artistic kids because that wall is very

Jackson Pollock no? 

And we created a comfy, family friendly and high styling breakfast nook - no easy feat! The lesson here is it's never too late to ask for design help. Well, sometimes it is, but we're thankful they called us just in time. 

Have a great Thanksgiving Day everyone. 

A Laundry Room That'll Make You Teal With Envy

In my dreams I have a laundry room as fabulous as this, in which I sip wine all day and wash endless loads of laundry. I even fold, the most dreaded laundry task of all time. Alas, this very room belongs to our Davie, Florida clients whose guest bathroom we revealed here earlier this week. 

This is where we started. Pretty much the standard utility room vibe that plagues most laundry rooms. Since our clients are way too cool to be doing laundry like this, it was time for some major leveling up of that space. 

We wanted bold floors, a vibrant cabinet color, black finishes and shiplap walls. 

First up for installation were these dramatic floor tiles.

Then came some shiplap walls because Joanna Gaines has made shiplap a must have for everyone on the planet and we love her for that. Here are our guys installing the shiplap a few months ago. 

Our clients also did not want that typical lower level transition you see in most laundry rooms because the sink height and washer/dryer height aren't the same (36" standard counter height versus 39" for washer/dryer) so the sink is slightly higher than standard to achieve a seamless countertop. PS this countertop is the remember from the guest bathroom shower wall.

Fun fact: we disagreed a bit about the color of the cabinet hardware. Our clients wanted black. We wanted brown leather with some chrome. In the end, we settled on this amazing compromise #winninghandles

Even though we removed a lot of upper cabinet storage, we still have more than enough for laundry needs, plus a place to hang delicates.

Black on black. My new faves in sinks and faucets for sure. 

And that's all folks. Now I'm off to go do some laundry in my very own not so fabulous laundry room :(

( laundry cabinet hardware photo )

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaE1FczH-Ex/?taken-by=livelaughdecorate
( laundry photo showing teal cabinets)

Guest Bathroom Swooning - With Shiplap, Black and Gold

                                       

This year we've had some pretty amazing clients find us via IG and this family is one of them. They first contacted us in February, asking for help with their Davie home. They are pretty design savvy and had made good progress, but  they'd hit a design wall and had simply run out of steam.
We've been working together ever since then in what has been a very collaborative process. We recently completed their kitchen, laundry room and this guest bathroom/powder room.
Here's where we started.



Of course we had the usual builder grade items, including this not so fabulous vanity.

As you can see from the floorplan, this is not your usual 5x8 bathroom. We had a narrow space for the vanity and a long but narrow shower as well.

We pitched two design plans, both with this vanity in the starring role. We then had options for shiplap or a tiled wall behind the vanity. Our clients selected the shiplap option since we also did the nearby laundry room in shiplap and it would offer some connectivity to the spaces. 

With high ceilings - almost 10 feet. We wanted to go bold with the vanity of course since it would get major use from everyone who visits. She's quite the stunner, especially against the shiplap backdrop. The high ceilings also meant we could go with a pendant, instead of a sconce, since we'd have plenty of clearance. 

Be still my heart with the gold hardware! This vanity also has two functioning drawers to store loads of toiletries for guests, with space below for a basket of extra items if needed. 

With high ceilings, a taller mirror is also key and that isn't always easy to find but we scored this one from Pottery Barn teens - though our clients had a tad of a marital disagreement on this choice. Let's just say, a wife always knows best! 

Of course the shower needed some love too!

We know brass and gold are styling these days but not like this!

Yes, yes, yes! Even a skinny shower can make a statement! A black rainhead faucet, and tile trim are a nod to the black pendant by the vanity. 

We also ran the white floor tile through to the shower floor, white porcelain tiles on two of the walls and then did a pretty stunning stone on the focal wall - we had just enough to do the laundry room as well whose reveal is coming up next so brace yourselves!

And that's it folks. One styling-ass bathroom if I may say so myself! And one guests will enjoy spending just a few extra minutes in. 
What's your favorite element in this renovation? Post a comment below and share pics of your own bathroom renovations that posed a challenge.