Touraine Project | Great Room Reveal

Hey strangers! My blogging game has been weak lately, but now that we’re (semi) settled into our new house, I really want to get back in a groove with it. What better way to ease in than finally revealing our previous house, aka The Touraine Project?! I’ve shared plenty of glimpses of it over on Instagram (are you following us yet?!) but wanted to dive a little deeper and share it here on the blog too. First up is the biggest - some may even say greatest - room in the house…the Great Room! Which is the catchall term I’m using for our open concept kitchen, living, and dining room area.

Let me take you all the way back to the year… 2016. When Ryan and I first walked into this (not so) great room, here’s the magic that greeted us:

That may or may not be a pee-soaked mattress on the left there… charming right?!

As you can see, you walked right into a wall, which I’m pretty sure is universally frowned upon. Ready for some afters?!

I’m currently sitting in that chair up there writing this blog post. I got two of them off of Craigslist for 60 bucks, and Ryan HATED them. I think they’ve grown on him a bit though… they’ve obviously made the move with us and are #heretostay! ;) You can also see a blurry peak into the dining room, so let’s jump over to that area. Here are a few of the scary before photos…

We had a lot of walls, a lot of brown, and a LOT of extremely dusty ceiling fans on our hands. Ready for the afters?

I could not love this space more and am obsessed with how the photographs turned out, thanks to Sarah’s mad skills! I chose to mix a more farmhouse style dining room table with modern copper chairs for contrast. It’s one of my favorite things to do with design - it just adds so much interest! I added sheep skins to the chairs for texture and comfort. Although we sold both the table and chairs to the new homeowners, the sheep skins made the move with us, and are looking mighty fine draped over our new dining chairs.

Painting the brick on the fireplace and adding a distressed wood mantel really lightened things up in here.. We added shiplap on the walls next to the fireplace and after living with those walls painted white for a bit, ended up painting them Benjamin Moore Cheating Heart. I’m so glad we did! It was looking (dare I say) TOO white in there, and there’s nothing I love more than balancing bright and airy with moody! The dark walls accomplish that and ground the space.

And the room everyone really wants to see… the kitchen!

There was a huge wall dividing the kitchen from the dining area, making the kitchen into a tight, galley-style layout. The cabinets were falling apart and everything was dirty as all get out. After a few minor changes (ha!) here are the afters:

So much better without all those walls! We gained so much space in the kitchen, and got to add an 8 foot island that made me feel like I was on a cooking show when I stood behind it. My darling husband tiled that whole backsplash (and may or may not have wanted to kill me for making it go all the way to the ceiling…), installed the open shelving, and added the cabinet hardware. Talk about pressure - there’s really no room for error when you’re drilling into your brand new tile/cabinets.

When I look at the before photos of the kitchen remodel, I can hardly believe it’s the same space. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (and, let’s be honest - money) to take this space from the before to the after, but it was well worth it. There’s not much that’s more satisfying as a designer - taking a space that’s rundown and scary and turning into something beautiful and functional.

Stay tuned for more Touraine Project reveals! And if you have your own Orlando renovation project to tackle, don’t hesitate to reach out - I’d love to help you design the space of your dreams!

Pssst - if you’re interested in sources for anything, you can now shop our house! I am slowly but surely getting everything possible up there - if it’s not on there, it’s probably from Craigslist or Homegoods! ;)

The Low Down on Slate Appliances

When we bought our house and decided to rip out and totally redo our kitchen, we knew we'd have to consider appliances, since we weren't loving the creepy, dirty, old ones that came with the place. Ha. The default for kitchen appliances seems to be stainless steel, but I'm just not a big fan. As a hater of all things silver, I wasn't really feeling a bunch of huge, silver appliances in our kitchen.

Slate appliances had been on the outskirts of my radar, but when we actually went appliance shopping, both Ryan and I fell hard for them. We love the deep gray color and the matte finish. Pretty much everyone that comes into our house has commented on them or asked about them! 

Our Slate Appliances in action when we first moved in!

So what's the deal with slate appliances? Their classic yet distinct look makes slate appliances a great option for anyone who's looking for stainless alternatives. The slate finish has actually been around since 2012, but hasn't quite reached mainstream popularity levels yet. GE is the only company that manufactures this particular finish, and their line includes all of the major appliances, such as refrigerators, gas and electric ranges, dishwashers, and a microwave. 

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The GE slate line is sold at most major retailers, such as Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Sears, but you can get the slate finish appliances for hundreds of dollars less by shopping at certain online retailers, such as Appliances Connection or Abt. We got our refrigerator and dishwasher from the Sears' Outlet, which saved us a lot of dough. Our range was ordered online from Appliances Connection, and we got a great deal on that as well! It's always worth shopping around online to see what kind of savings you can find - especially for big purchases! 

What differentiates slate from other common appliance finishes? The color is unique; a deep gray that is matte rather than shiny. Unlike stainless steel, slate appliances are in fact magnetic. Another advantage the slate finish has over stainless is the fact that it’s “smudge-proof” and won’t get fingerprints all over it. Where a stainless steel fridge can quickly look messy and require cleaning, slate maintains its clean appearance.

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(All of the sources for our finished kitchen can be found here!)

We love our slate appliances, and would buy them again in a heartbeat! (Edited to add: we now live in our new house, and bought slate appliances again - check them out on our instagram page!) I know I've discussed mostly aesthetics, but they actually do their jobs pretty well too. ;) 

If you need help pulling together the design of your space, don't hesitate to reach out! We offer both full service design and e-design, and would love to help you!

Hey, We Actually Live In Our House!

As you may have gathered from the title of this post... we are officially moved into our house! What a concept - actually living in the house you own!? Ha. This is our third week in here, and we're loving it. The house is still in shambles, with moving boxes, decor, shop vacs, and stuff everywhere. Which is just awesome since our housewarming party is this weekend! Whoops. Hopefully our family and friends will go easy on us - this house is far from finished, and will probably be a work in progress for many months (heck, years) to come! 

On the *bright* side, we do have kitchen lights now...

It feels like we've done a ton since I last gave you an update... but then also not so much. We've had our fair share of nights spent binge-watching Netflix rather than doing house stuff. I don't think we did a single project the whole first week we were living here. These two, on the other hand, have been SUPER BUSY creepin' on the new 'hood from my office window. ;)

The biggest things we've been working on are the backsplash in the kitchen, painting the fireplace, and getting the office in order. 

After much deliberation (subway tile? arabesque? beveled subway? herringbone pattern?) I stuck with my original backsplash choice of plain ol' subway tile in a brick pattern with dark gray grout. At the last minute I started throwing around other options, but just wasn't sold on anything. I didn't want to take a chance on a job as big (and permanent) as the backsplash, so I stuck with the original plan. Subway tile is classic, and I already know that I love it. So there ya go! 

Ryan's spent the last week painstakingly placing tiles - did I mention that I just HAD to have the backsplash go all the way to the ceiling? He loves me, I swear. As we speak (or I type...) he's finishing up the last sliver of wall under the uppers. Hallelujah! 

We continued the white out by painting our fireplace and the walls next to it white. We planked the walls on either side of the fireplace with wood to add some more interest and texture. Even I had to admit that it's so white up in here at the moment... but I think it'll all balance out once we add in all the stuff - mantle, things on the walls, etc. 

Before | One Coat of Primer on Fireplace | First Coat on Everything

The "After" - Two Coats on Everything... plus some lovely table clutter ;) #keepinitreal

Aside from the main room, the only room that I've put any effort into organizing is the office. I spent some serious time last weekend planning out what kind of storage I needed. Three cheers for having somewhere to put everything. A $10 Craigslist bookshelf and one IKEA trip later... we are in business! 

I can't decide what I'm more obsessed with in this room... my huge elephant ear plant, the 24x36 prints of the girls flanking the window, or my ugly vintage chair (that Ryan HATES haha). I'm happy with the direction this room is headed, and it definitely feels like a place I want to hang out and browse Pinterest - I mean, do some work - in. ;) 

That about brings us up to speed! There are a million other little things we've done, but those are the biggies. Make sure you're following along on Instagram for even more updates! 

Homespo Reno - Weeks 10&11

I've been putting off writing this post, because SO MUCH has been happening over here the last two weeks! We've got an (almost) functioning kitchen! We've got an (almost) functioning bathroom! Lots of exclamation points are necessary! It really looks like an actual house over here, and I never want to leave. We're shooting for this weekend to start staying here full time, and I can't even wait. 

Kitchen Cabinets Installed

After a few delays, our kitchen cabinets and island finally arrived last Tuesday. The outer cabinets are all white, and the island is gray. We've got drawers, doors, and lazy Susan's a-plenty & I couldn't be any more in love with how it all turned out. The shaker style doors look awesome, and they'll only look better when we put some bling (ahem, hardware) on them. 

Countertops Are IN

I've always been a fan of concrete countertops, and had been torn between those or quartz for our kitchen. When I found out the quartz I wanted would be significantly more dough, the decision was easy. Concrete it was! 

The original plan was to have plain white-ish/light gray-ish concrete counters. That was, until I found out that the guys doing our counters could do so many badass things! I ended up giving them a marble coaster and saying "I want them to look like this!" - and they so delivered. It's truly insane the things they can do with concrete - can you tell I'm kinda impressed? To say I'm thrilled with how our counters turned out is an understatement. They look like marble, but they're way more unique, durable, low-maintenance, cool, etc, etc. I. Am. In. Love!  

Guest Bathroom (Mostly) Finished

Priority number one before we move in is to have a functional bathroom (not counting the port-a potty that's still in our front yard...) so we've been busting our butts trying to get that room finished up! We planked the bottom third of the walls and painted them Benjamin Moore's Simply White. The top 2/3 we painted Benjamin Moore's Dark Harbor. 

We've got our toilet in and working, and just need to scrub the shower and put the finishing touches on our dresser-turned-vanity! 

Painted the Closet

I suddenly decided that I was dying to paint something in our house black. It's still a neutral, but it adds some draaaama and makes a statement! I started off small, and painted the bottom 2/3 of our master closet Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black. I have no regrets. #PaintItBlack

I think Ryan's concerned I'm going to start painting the whole house black now. Not to worry - I only have plans to paint some doors and one of the office walls... so far. ;)   

Moved a Uhaul Worth of Stuff

Last Friday Ryan conned two of his oh-so-lovely co-workers into helping us move. They grabbed the Uhaul and moved over all of our big stuff like beds, dressers, and the couch. It's so nice to be able to sit on our couch again! And to have our bed over here - even if we are still sleeping on an air mattress at the townhouse currently... 

The only things we have left to move over are our day-to-day essentials like clothes and toiletries. Hoorah! 

Hung Curtains

We got the curtains hung in the two front rooms (and by we, I mean Ryan) and it's amazing what a difference it makes. My office feels so much fancier already. Even though they are definitely nothing fancy - a $20 curtain rod from Lowe's and $25 curtains from IKEA. ;) 

So that's where we're at! We're actually in the home stretch now, and should be spending the night here in a few days - we can't wait! 

Homespo Reno - Weeks 2&3 Progress

Holy cow - has it really been 3 weeks since our renovation started? Time is flying - but somehow not going fast enough at the same time - since we're anxious for our house to be finished! 

In the meantime, we're trying to enjoy the process. The changes in weeks two and three were a lot less visually dramatic (no knocking down a million walls), but things are moving along all the same. Here's the rundown of where we're at!

Our Garage Door Opens

We finally have a garage door that opens! It's the little things. If you'll recall from the before pictures, our garage used to be an in-law suite. We decided to convert it back to a garage, and in a stroke of luck, the garage door and all of the rails needed for it to function already existed! They had dry walled over them when they converted the space, but we ended up only having to pay for labor to have the rails put in place - so much cheaper than having to buy new parts or a new garage door. Whew! We are still sans garage door opener (we're not made of money - ha), and will be that way for the foreseeable future. 

We Got Our Appliances & Farm Sink

Our bath tub... I mean sink. 

One thing I knew I had to have for our new kitchen was an awesome farm sink. We were originally planning on a 30" farm sink, but then our contractor informed us we actually needed a 36" sink because of our cabinet configuration. Holy cow, that's a lot of sink! I feel like this picture doesn't even do it justice - it's truly massive in person. But we loooooveeee it! After a ton of research, we bought our farm sink from Vintage Tub & Bath. It's the Whitehaus Duet Series 36 Inch Farmhouse Fireclay Farmhouse Kitchen Sink in the white finish, and was the most affordable one we could find. 

We also purchased our appliances, & two out of three of them have been delivered. We ended up getting them from the Sears Outlet, and went with GE Appliances in a slate finish. I love love love how the slate looks, but thought Ryan would still want to go with stainless, since that was what he originally requested. After seeing the slate in person, he was actually the one who was pushing for us to get those ones! Well, twist my arm... ;) 

We ended up with this range, this fridge, and this dishwasher. (And didn't pay anything near what they're listed for on the site - wooop!) We got pretty awesome deals on everything - the fridge and dishwasher are from the Sears Outlet, and I ordered the matching range online from Appliances Connection. I can't wait to show you guys a picture of them once they're all installed! 

Paneling/Built-Ins Next to Fireplace are Gone

On either side of our fireplace we used to have lovely dark paneling with built-in shelves. We decided to have those suckers removed, and thank goodness we did! When the crew took the paneling down, pretty much the entire wall was covered in mold. Cool. So we got some new drywall, and we're in business! That room already looks so much lighter without the dark wood paneling dragging it down. 

Re-wiring the Electric is Underway

A couple weeks ago we got our first really bad news call (which Ryan referred to as our Chip & Joanna call... #fixerupperobsessed) - we needed all new electric in our house. UGH. It's something that our inspector (who also happened to be our original contractor who we were NOT a fan of) should have caught. Funny how it can feel like someone is still screwing you over even after they're out of your life!

But I digress... our wiring was all aluminum... aka our house could spontaneously combust at any moment. Perhaps I'm being a tad dramatic - but really, it needed replacing. Replacing to the tune of $6,000. Oooof. The joys of home ownership... and fixer uppers... and renovations...

So the re-wiring started at the end of last week, and should be done this week. Then our contractor will patch the millions of holes that are now in our walls, and we'll be back in the saddle! 

We're hoping to start painting and then laying floor by Memorial Day - fingers crossed that little dream works out for us - ha.