As I mentioned last week, I am taking part in the One Room Challenge, a really fun design experience where designers and bloggers create a space in 6-weeks and capture all the antics week by week. The whole thing is put together by the lovely Linda at Calling It Home. 

When designing a space I always think really hard about the overall look and point of view. In my living room and kitchen, I knew I wanted it to feel urban and polished but family friendly. For a recent client space in Aurora, I wanted it to feel really sophisticated and luxe. 

When I design a space I always pick 5 words to define the space, and then filter all design decisions through these words.

For this round of the ORC, I am designing a cottage kitchen- but of course I am going to put a modern spin on it. My 5 words for this space include: industrial, vibrant, rustic, whimsical and relaxed. I'm going to accomplish this in a few ways.

For a little industrial edge in this cottage kitchen, I'll be using these pendants and stools from Bouclair- love how budget friendly they are:

The cabinets in this kitchen aren't very old, and I honestly could not justify suggesting to swap them out as the layout works very well in this space especially given this is a cottage that is rented out for large portions of the year. But to give the cabinets a little upgrade we'll be using GRASS quiet close cabinet hardware on the interior hinges for that nice soft close. It's a small thing to add but to me makes a big difference in the user experience.

I want the space to feel really relaxed and not too fussy or polished, so I have chosen to go with Belanger laminate counters both for ease of installation and low maintenance, in a light grey.

Throw in a gorgeous touch faucet (I am a little obsessed with the design of this Delta Trinsic faucet) 

And this black Maytag range to tie in to the existing black appliances

And there's my relaxed palette! 

To add a vibrant pop, I'm going to spray out the existing cabinet hardware in a bright blue- and then I need to find a whimsical blue fabric to use in a window covering and maybe some table linens or a bulletin board? And I am thinking I might need to do something fun on the floor- because you know how much I love a patterned floor. Tune in next week while I figure that element out! 

In other news, it has been 1 week since I have re-entered the internet world after my month long sabbatical from social media. It is nice to be back, but I am also back with a less obsessive approach, which I think has been great for everyone in my house : )

I'd love to know what projects you've got cooking up and what you've been up to! Let me know in the comments below : ) 

Thanks to my lovely friend and colleague Jo Alcorn for providing me some inspiration with the image of a recent laundry room she completed pictured above!