…and my beautiful holiday kitchen makeover.

For the past 30 years I have had a great passion for interior design; for the past several months I have had a great partnership with InteriorCrowd.

 Last month, I wrote a teaser article, introducing InteriorCrowd and my plans for a kitchen project with them.

But, before I write about how it all went down (and by down, I mean UP!) let me back up and start from the beginning of my journey with my kitchen.

This is the kitchen into which I moved (courtesy of the real estate website).

Can you see those floors? Can you see how bad they were? No. You cannot. Trust me.

So, last year we fixed them by replacing the floors You kind of have to see the pictures to believe how bad the laminate used to be. It wasn’t just unattractive, it was also scratched and perpetually dirty-looking. Hat trick!

The pros to my kitchen were:

TONS of cabinet space

It is an Eat-In Kitchen

Big windows provide a lot of natural light.

The cons were:

Everything else

(including old, mismatched appliances, a heaviness with the cherry cabinets and metal knobs, clutter and more).

Our kitchen looked old, even with the new flooring.

And so, when I spoke to the AWESOME folks at InteriorCrowd, I hit them with a big idea:

I asked if they could help me with my kitchen.

And, with some hard work, creativity and ingenuity, they said, “Yes. Yes, we can.”

So, how does InteriorCrowd work?

Here is how it works.

How easy was that?

But, since I am all about keeping it real, let me tell you how it worked for me.

Once I decided on tackling my kitchen and working with my husband on a budget, I began the process on the InteriorCrowd site.

First, I went through their style brief. This meant that I looked at pictures of different design styles and I said what I loved, liked and didn’t like and, in some cases, the reason for why I felt the way that I did.

This allowed my design personality to shine through, even when I did not possess the vocabulary to have articulated it on my own.

According to the InteriorCrowd analysis, I “Loved” Midcentury Modern, Modern and Transitional design. I “Like” Vintage, Rustic Elegance, Hollywood Regency and Eclectic styles. I decided to “Leave” Traditional and Coastal designs behind.

I also chose a desired color palate (cool, neutral colors; shocking!)

I uploaded pictures of my current kitchen and I even made a Pinterest Board.

The most important thing I did, however, was to write a note to my prospective designers.

Ready for this?

I wanted to make my kitchen look absolutely light, airy, fresh and fabulous while on a budget…

so that I could sell my house.

I had decided that, for many reasons (including my love for transformations), I wanted a fresh start.

An old, tired kitchen would detract from the quality of my house, and so I wanted help in designing a sell-able space and also advice as to how to stage the room for future showings. I would not be putting the money into replacing the cabinets or backsplash, but everything else was fair game.

That’s a lot of information up there to digest, so just take a second and breathe in all of the kitcheny goodness.

Okay. Now come back to me.

Once InteriorCrowd synthesized my information, I got to do this:

This part was so much fun. Not only did I get to see different designers’ ideas for my space (and see their impressive bios and portfolios of work) but I got to really see, right in front of me, how my project could come to life.

Here are just some of the concept boards that I received. Can you guess which designer I chose?

Ultimately, I went with a chic, lovely designer named Heather Brents, who wrote me a pitch, saying “Starting with light white and gray granite…the rest of your kitchen will be lightened up with a few tweaks to furniture and art. Because styling for resale is the priority, mass appeal accessories have been chosen in small quantities. I’ve offered two dining options. The top represents your current set with just the top painted white (or a similar new white table if you don’t want to paint), or a new set with cleaner lines that will take up less visual space. Visual space is key in resale, and these pub height table and chairs will help achieve a more sophisticated look while still being easy to clean with your children. Contemporary art in shades of blue and turquoise will coordinate with your living room. White curtains will cozy up the space for a more high end look. A small hide rug will brighten the floor…Easy to move sheep skins will add texture and warmth for your holiday parties. And finally, plants and your existing white accessories will finish off the space. If you choose to work with me, I will provide streamlining suggestions for when you are ready to photograph your home for the market.”

I chose Heather, whose concept board is the largest one above, because of her portfolio (check out some of her previous work–OMG!) and her expertise in staging a home to sell.

And so, Heather and I got to work.

We had a great rapport and worked together, mostly through InteriorCrowd email, to bring her vision (which soon became my vision) to life.

She sent me things like this,

and I wrote to her all about my love of Jonathan Adler. I found a fabulous white kitchen table from CB2. I was able to use my existing white, leather chairs and I could even re-purpose the faux sheepskin rug I had (in my son’s nursery) for staging.

Heather helped me to streamline my shelves and windowsill.

This

became this

These changes happened, as well.

Big things.

  A huge part of my transformation occurred when I replaced my old, dated, mis-matched appliances with matching stainless appliances by Samsung, purchased by a a local business called Gerhard’s.

They were excellent.

We took Heather’s suggestion and replaced our gray laminate countertops with white and gray granite; granite had “name appeal” and we thought that it would help us in selling.

And then, what do you do 4 days after having granite installed?

Well, you have a killer “Mischief Night” costume party, of course!

(Sorry for the blurry quality of the photos; I was perched on a chair, on my iphone, dressed as The Black Swan.)

The point of the photos above though is that our party actually became a kitchen party;

I learned this phrase earlier this year and I think that it is the best. It describes those parties when you have tons of space (in my case, I even had a photo booth), but everyone hangs out in the kitchen.

Because our kitchen was so dope!

So, let me show you a little bit of what we have going on.

Jonathan Adler and his friends are happy in our home.

I chose white granite with gray movement to lighten up the space, and most of our accents are white ceramic.

We now spend more time in our kitchen than ever,

having dinner parties with our friends (and yes, I use the faux sheepskin for pizazz!)

baking with the kids

And, having holiday-like dinner parties. For two.

Candlelight, wedding china and our best champagne. Faux fur from West Elm and some romance.

Can we dim the lights, please?

That’s better.

Thanks to InteriorCrowd, our kitchen is now room for all occasions, all seasons and perfect for the upcoming holidays.

Now, are you ready for the twist?

I decided to work with Heather and InteriorCrowd to update my tired, dark kitchen in an effort to list and then sell my house.

And, guess what happened?

My husband fell so madly in love with the new space that he no longer wanted to move. And by “no longer wanted” I mean he said, “no”.

He did not want to give up his new, fabulous kitchen. The kids were in agreement.

And so, though my story did involve a great transformation, it didn’t take me exactly where I had expected.

It took me to someplace better, perhaps.

And I want the same for you.

For this time, this holiday season AND, most of all, for your lives.

It may just seem like interior design but trust me when I say that it is so, so much more.

Now, here is another big reveal for you: As a gift to my you, my readers, InteriorCrowd is offering an exclusive deal, just for MEA. Go to www.interiorcrowd.com to get started and use promo code ‘icmea’ to get 35% off the regular design price of $299. The first reader to sign up for a contest will also receive a gift card for the @williamssonoma family of brands valued at $200. This can be put toward furniture or accessory purchases.

This story was not just a happy ending for us, but a happy beginning.

Now, it’s your turn.

Happy decorating!

Featured Image Via

This post was written in (proud) partnership with InteriorCrowd; All reviews, ideas and opinions are, as always, 100% my own.