birch & lily, Search results for: 20 things

Dreams do come true

Whew! Well we’re all done the “20 Things” series… that took a while! But it was fun, eh? I really love dreaming of my “One Day” house, and I hope you snagged an idea or two for your own home.

The other day Sean and I talked about a realistic timeline for when we could build our house out on the farm. Realistic = long. (This is probably the 9 millionth such conversation.) But it was a good conversation and gives us an idea of how to plan the next few years. (Well… as best we can plan.) I think next week I might post about our house journey (and why it’s taking so long!) for any of you who are curious. For those who don’t care and just want some eye candy, that’s OK, and you can skip over the long all-text post next week. :)

But while we’re still waiting to build, sometimes it’s nice to know that eventually it does happen for some people - they actually realize their dream of creating a home just like they’d imagined. Here are a few stories for you to check out…

1. I LOVE this one. A Country Farmhouse is a blog written by Trina. She and her husband took an ugly old house in the country and reinvented it to be a beautiful home. Seriously, her blog is like taking your brain to a really great B&B.

*sigh* Look at that view!!

2. I’ve followed Erin from Design for Mankind for quite a while, and this year she’s been c hronicling her and her husband’s journey of moving back to the midwest and renovating an old bungalow to make it their dream home. Erin’s design eye is keen and en trende… but ever-changing. Almost ADHD. (I mean that in a loving way.) She’s always interesting, funny, and honest. I can’t wait to see the final outcome. Here are a few shots from the work so far:

The before shots of our condo are baaad. But Erin’s are some of the worst I’ve seen. I’ve spared you from the mould picture. yyyick.

Here’s the house in process… about where they are now.

and here are some inspiration boards she’s pulled together.

(The dining room)

and the kitchen (heart!)

3. And how about this undertaking? It’s been featured all around the blog block, but I love it and want to share. Jessica’s home and studio built from scratch in a most lovely of locations is amazing.

In the words of Michelle Tanner, “Whoa, Baby!”

studio. yessss.

home.

aaand one more of the studio. I love creative spaces.

So there you go folks. Have a great day, and keep dreaming!

20 Things: Ceiling Height Cabinetry

I’m working my way through 20 things that I would love to have in my house one day… you can read about it in this post.

There are 2 things I want for my future kitchen cabinetry:

1. Simple, Shaker-style doors and trim, and

2. Ceiling-height upper cabinets.

To me, ceiling-height cabinetry and transom windows go hand-in-hand, so I’ll put them together on this list.

In the first few apartments I lived in I put stuff on top of the kitchen cabinets. Why? Because my mom did. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? Pieces of pottery, baskets, knick-knacks… All disgustingly dusty in very little time.

Then at some point it hit me. You don’t actually need to do that. In fact, my ideal is to have the cabinets go as high up as they can - more concealed storage, less clutter, and less dusting!

In our current kitchen we opted for the extra-tall 39" upper cabinets. They don’t go all the way to the ceiling (the walls and ceilings are too crooked in an old place), but pretty close, and I love it!

Another option is to have a separate set of smaller cabinets atop the regular height ones. Either way, it’s the way I want my future kitchen(s)!