white kitchens

For some reason, I am always drawn to white kitchens. Maybe it is because they seem so clean. r maybe it's because they provide a bright backdrop to lots of texture and color, which is important for someone like me who is always wanting to change things up.

I found myself collecting photos of white kitchens (you should see my inspiration board, lots of them). And while I always like certain elements, I haven't found one yet that I just love...until today. While I was doing my daily blog run (it's really starting to get out of hand) I was of course perusing the last couple of posts on design*sponge and ran across some images highlighting Jessica Helgerson Interior Design (Portland, Oregon). So I popped over to her website and checked out her portfolio (you must visit, it is amazing). Low and behold I found these images of her very own house and fell in love. Especially with the kitchen. I think it is now officially my dream kitchen.

Why, you ask? White Shaker style cabinetry, check; carerra marble counters, check; hardwood floors, check; white tile back splash, check; farmhouse sink, check; vintage stove, check. Okay, so now you are saying, "Lots of kitchens have all of those things. So what?"

Well, what I like most about this kitchen is that it is in a classic house but it has a very modern sensibility. I love the mixture of organic ethnic pieces with modern silhouettes all on the vintage backdrop. And it seems very doable, this is key. I want a kitchen I can actually cook in and get dirty and then clean, and clean, and clean again. Because that's what you do in kitchens. You make a mess cooking spaghetti for the 438th time and then you do the dishes while toddlers scream at you for more "baba" and six year olds reinact the Piston Cup. It looks like a kitchen that real people live in but still has a personality and sense of style.

And who doesn't love a kitchen sink you can bathe the kids in? Wash dishes and the kids at the same time? Now that is what I call multi-tasking.

All photos from http://www.jhinteriordesign.com/

light love

I haven't been happy with the light fixture I am using in the breakfast room and today I stumbled across this deco pendant lamp on design public and it took my breath away. I'll have to mock it up in photoshop and see how it looks with the curtain fabric. Stay tuned!

revelation = new work

So this "pattern-a-day" thing hasn't exactly worked out the way I had hoped. I had hoped that making this personal and public committment would prompt (read "force") me to do some visual brainstorming--create a bunch of stuff that I could go through later, edit and turn it into product. I was even hoping to get feedback on some of the designs, a little market research if you will. Not much of either of those happened. But something interesting did. You see, I actually did create quite a few designs (okay, like 8) but I only posted a few. I kept tinkering with the others feeling like they weren't ready or needed something or just plain sucked too much to post. And then it happened: I realized I have a hard time designing in a vaccum. While I am so drawn to color and pattern, I realized that I need to see it in context to get a good read on what works and what don't. This is good. Instead of feeling shitty about not keeping my committment to myself, the project has made me realize how I design. Insight, good.

So I have designed the first product based on one of my designs that I never posted. Now, what do you think? I am thinking letterpress...ooo, ya...

pattern-a-day | day 3

I'm not sure how well this works as a pattern, but I like the imagery and colors.

A detail.

pattern-a-day | day 2

I know it looks like I am getting behind already! But I have actually designed a bunch of stuff, just still need to get it posted(:

a pattern a day in may!

So I am going to take on another ambitious, month-long project similar to my "SaucyMom's 25 Daysof Christmas" posting. This time I am going to design a new pattern everyday in the month of May and post it to the site. I am hoping this will motivate me to get off my duff and start designing for Jubilee again. Here is day one in two colorways. You like?