Coastal Collective Co.

Kitchen

Coastal Kitchen Makeover: Things To Consider When Choosing a Roman Shade

Home Blog Posts, Interiors, KitchenAnneke McConnell

It is amazing how ONE single change can impact the look of a space.  The function is the same, but the style and look is what makes the room "you" and feel pulled together with other design elements.  I'm happy for my recent experience working with Blindster to share our kitchen window update today!

Let's back up a bit first though.  Recently, I decided to tackle our kitchen for the One Room Challenge, and am SO in love with the results so far!! We painted the cabinets white, added brass hardware, got the cupboards organized, and pulled it together with a new rug, curtains, desk area, etc.  You can see the process over the weeks in the following blog posts.

Week 1 / Week 2Week 3Week 4 / Week 5 / The REVEAL

At the end of the challenge, we were still waiting on our lighting and window treatment to arrive, and now that they have, I NEED to update you on the changes! It looks so good if I do say so myself!!!

Just to review, here is the BEFORE when our home was a vacation rental.

FOCUS on the window area above the sink.

Here are just a few thoughts on the design process and why I chose what I did:

  1. I love, love LOVE natural shades.....anything bamboo and beauty and I swoon.  There was something in me saying that they just were NOT the right fit for the kitchen.
  2. One of my main goals after painting the cabinets white was to creating either a focal point with the window or something that would flow seamlessly and give the kitchen a larger feel.  
  3. I usually lean toward inside mount shades, but from previous experience I knew I wanted ALL the light possible without a shade or valance covering the top portion of the window when it was fully open. (see below)
  4. Also, there was an awkward space ABOVE the window and our ceilings are low, under 8 feet high (which was also a challenge when selecting our island lighting) >>>>> SO, choosing an OUTSIDE MOUNT WAS KEY to creating a visually higher ceiling AND letting in the most light possible.
  5. Because this window is right above our sink, I already dealt with the frustration of pulling a string that seemed to always be in the way and I opted to go with a cordless roman shade.
  6. The light sea blue roman shade brought some softness to the room with the fabric and color versus a hard surface/texture of a bamboo shade.

Below is a photo from our previous home showing you what I mean in #3.


So there you have it!  That's how I went about choosing our window treatment, and yes, Blindster was FANTASTIC the entire time to make sure I was going to order something that I loved!


Below you can see when I was popping the plastic parts into the bottom backside of the shade.  This allows us to easily pull the shade up and down with the cordless mechanism.


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We are so happy with how they turned out!

When they arrived, they had a bit more of a green hue to them than I thought they would, but I love them just as much.  The texture of the fabric is amazing, and the lining is great quality.

Here is EXACTLY what I ordered if you're wondering.

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Yup. Wilmington Water did not disappoint!!  Of course I had to get our little maltipoo Copper in a shot. ;-)  And yes.....he desperately needs an appointment with the groomer, because I give up! 

He often comes and lays on the rug next to my feet while I'm cleaning the kitchen from dinner.  You can't tell from here, but there is a bit of a view of the water from the kitchen sink.

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Because the shades are cordless, it's nice that it comes with a clear plastic part that slips easily on and off the bottom of the shade.....not so easily that it detached when you're using it, but easy enough to take off and clean.  The fabric on the shade stays nice and clean this way. #winning

I love adding custom shades to homes because they really fit the space perfectly.  Even as an outside mount, I measured these so that they would fit with just enough space on the sides to add a little margin room and a couple inches below the ceiling to add height without going ALL the way to the ceiling.

I'm happy it looks so beautiful and next up will hopefully be the faucet!

I hope you have found this design post helpful - if so, please pin it and share!

***This is not a sponsored post, however the shades were provided by Blindster, and all opinions are my own.

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xo,

Anneke

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Kitchen Makeover Reveal

Home Blog Posts, Interiors, KitchenAnneke McConnell

Welcome if you are hopping over from the One Room Challenge!  It's been quite the push over these past six weeks to get one room completed, and we decided to tackle our kitchen, which we started this summer, but fizzled out on momentum.  More on that HERE.

We admittedly did not get everything done on our list, but I can say that I am just so happy with how it has turned out!  

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Still yet to tackle:

  1. Trim out the kitchen sink window.
  2. Install backsplash (we did not paint since we are doing this).
  3. The lighting and window treatment were delayed, but will be installed as soon as they arrive.

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NOT BAD!

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Here's a recap so far -

Week 1: The Vision and Before Photos

Week 2: Painting the Cabinets

Week 3: Purging, Storage and Organization Solutions in the Kitchen

Week 4: Herringbone Tile

Week 5: Evaluating Progress

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HERE IS THE BEFORE:

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This reveal post is a little "lighter" than I'd like it to be since our kiddos were sick since last Wednesday and unfortunately it caught up to me this weekend, just after posting my last blog on Nautical Pendant Lighting. :-/ Boo!

I will be back this week with a full post that includes more photos and complete source details! As reference, the before photos were professional HDR photos taken for our home when it was a vacation rental.  The following were taken by myself, and although I'm improving, I'm thankful for these online courses that have taught me more about photography! 

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SOME AFTER PHOTOS:

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Navy Blue Velvet Drapes (mine are from Target, but they are sold out) / rug found on eBay







Desk was a craigslist find - $50!



Capiz Shell Table Clock (found at HomeGoods - HERE is a similar version)


Looks like I caught out cute little Maltipoo Copper sleeping on the job! I not so secretly love that his ears match the blanket. Lol (similar here)


And a sneak peek into our little living room off the kitchen.  I just updated the fireplace stone with some paint so details coming soon about that!

BEST armchairs for cuddling with kids, puppies, and a book or magazine!


Isn't this the cutest little wishbone jewelry tray I found for by the kitchen sink?! I got ours at HomeGoods, but found a similar one HERE.

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Wishing you all a Happy Holiday Season! Thank you for your encouragement along the way!

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xo,

Anneke

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Nautical Pendant Lighting

Kitchen, InteriorsAnneke McConnell

Lighting has the magic of taking an otherwise completed space and giving it an entire different look and feel depending on what you choose.  I love, love, love nautical pendant lighting, especially of the antique brass variety, because it adds that instant classic coastal look to ANY home.  On a quick note, be sure to check back soon for our final kitchen makeover reveal! I can't wait to share it with you!!!

When picking out a pendant light, be sure to consider a few things:

  1. The dimensions of the pendant are important for how it/they will fit in your space. Whether they are for a kitchen island, entryway, above a desk, etc.,  make sure to check the height available as compared to the width of the pendant.  Pendants range from a mini size to a larger scale of 14" or more, so always triple check!
  2. I personally think it's ok to mix metals, but pay attention to how the placement of metals balance out your room.  If you have brass predominantly on one side and bronze on the other, it will feel a bit out of place.  I can't wait to show you more about how to make this work using our kitchen as an example!
  3. Different finishes will requires different maintenance, especially the shape of a classic nautical pendant.  I personally recommend stocking up on these guys to keep things in ship shape! They may have changed my life slightly!

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Of ALL these nautical pendant lights, I'd say THIS ONE is my favorite which comes in a larger and mini pendant size!!!

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As for some other great sales you may want to check out currently:

Nordstrom Clearance Event:  Just a few days left of this sale with up to 40% off items.  I love shopping Nordstrom for clothing AND home, and it's my go to for Dash and Albert rugs......and heels, and sweaters, and coats......so much love for this store. Lol

ChicWish: this is a great place to find affordable AND stylish clothing and they are currently offering up to 35% off sitewide.  I know I've got my eye on some pretty holiday party dresses and sequin tops!

Neiman Marcus:  there are some pretty high quality items up for grabs at up to 40% off in NMs New Arrivals First Call sale.  Tory Burch, Vince, Cole Haan, Rag and Bone are just a few that have some great discounts.

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Thanks for stopping by today!

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xo,

Anneke 

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Kitchen Progress: The Finishing Touches

Home Blog Posts, Kitchen, InteriorsAnneke McConnell

Wow. Only one week left until the full reveals for the One Room Challenge and I am admittedly feeling a "little" bummed, but not stressed.  Things are happening slower than I'd like, but I think that's just life. I have to make a choice to be at peace that I'm keeping my priorities in line.  :-) If you're just joining, you can see the first post and vision HERE.  And here is the before when our house was a vacation rental.




Our lighting will most likely arrive today or tomorrow and I CAN'T WAIT! I feel like it is going to make such a statement while providing the much need function of more light.

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We chose the Hinkley Fulton Bronze Island Pendant Light (shown above) from Lamps Plus.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to work with them, and while this is not a sponsored post, they did work with us to provide lighting for our kitchen.  Not just that, but when I was struggling with a few options and dimensions, they were so very helpful in giving advice on the right fit.   They are known for legit great customer service like that as I've heard from others time and time again.

It really was quite the dilemma finding the perfect light because we are dealing with wanting the most number of bulbs/amount of light possible, yet have low 7.5' high ceilings, PLUS the higher full bar height.  We did not want to rewire and work with what we already had. We needed a lighting option that dealt with ALL of those factors, not to mention while adding character AND creating a visually streamlined look.  I can't wait to see this installed and share next week!

Last week I talked about how the husband and I talked about and agreed on herringbone tile.  I am SO happy about this!!! As a family in full-fledged hunting season (deer and elk), he has been gone every weekend for the past month, so this part of the project won't be rushed.  We'll hopefully have the window trimmed out and the tile installed before Thanksgiving though, so I hope you'll come back to see how that makes a difference from next week's reveal (which I think is spectacular in and of itself btw!).

As for the nook next to the kitchen cabinets, it is coming along with my favorite rustic desk and some blue coral artwork.  From drapes to chairs, to the kitchen rug, it feels like it's coming together nicely with the finishing touches.   I'd love to paint or wallpaper that part of the wall where this desk is, but it won't look quite right until the tile is installed with the pencil molding in place (this gives the installed tile that finished edge/look).

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Because it was kind of a "down week", I directed some energy into working on lightening our fireplace stone.  Our kitchen, dining and living are all open in one small area, so although I was focusing specifically on the kitchen portion for this challenge, it only makes sense to work on the other areas when I can so they are compliment each other.  It has been a bit tedious, but easy to whitewash the flagstone. See the difference already! This was after the first layer of graywashing the stone before whitewashing it to make it even lighter, and I am painting the dark wood mantle the same white paint as the kitchen.

I love to "shop our home" occasionally and move things around for a different look and feel.  Because we are in the fall/winter season here at our beach house and not walking on the beach as much, I opted to use this rug of ours below (found on eBay!).  Since it is a smaller "scatter" type of rug, it has moved often over the past year, but I think will work perfectly in our kitchen in front of the sink.  I love the kilim look and will put it on top of our memory foam mat to keep things comfortable and not slipping around.  These don't look so pretty by themselves, but they make ALL the difference in comfort, so throwing a pretty rug over the top works great.

Oh! And Copper says HI! ;-)

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Thanks again for joining us on our journey!

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xo,

Anneke

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@coastalcollectiveco

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