One Room Challenge Week 1 – Fall 2018: My Sister’s Kitchen

Hello there,

It has been awhile! But you know what time it is? It’s One Room Challenge (ORC) time which means I am back blogging for the next five weeks – six blog posts. I am linking up to the One Room Challenge…again. I have been a featured designer twice and will be linking up for the seventh time which makes this my 9th ORC in  a row! If you have been following my blog for awhile, you will know that there are a number of reasons why I can’t say no to participating in the ORC. First and foremost, is at the end of this journey fraught with highs and lows, you end up with a completed space which may not have even been started if it weren’t for your participation and then of course there is the online camaraderie of fellow like minded designers/bloggers and last but not least, a chance to work with some stellar brands and showcase their products in a professionally photographed space.

For this round, I am working on my younger sister’s kitchen. She has lived in her home with her family of four for 23 years and hasn’t touched her builder kitchen in that time. My sister Arlene has been there for me through life’s twists and turns, especially the last two and a half years after my husband passed away. She checks up on me to see how I am doing almost daily and for that I am grateful. My sister is an amazing cook (she studied culinary arts in college) and I would love for her to have a more aesthetically pleasing kitchen.

Here are a few Before’s so you can see what we are working with:

So you can see why it was time to do a total gut reno – everything had to go except the dishwasher.  A few years ago, she painted out the cabinet above the range to see how it would look. The door cabinet style is dated so painting it wouldn’t have a great impact.

The ceiling height is 8′ and unfortunately we have to keep the bulkhead because of duct work etc which it houses.

Her kitchen is tiny and we aren’t changing the layout at all except for adding in a pantry where the black cabinet and plant are. She didn’t have it in her budget to replace the floor tile but at the 11th hour, she decided to which is great as the terra cotta tile was a lot of colour in the space.

And here are some inspiration photos that I have loved for years. The first one is Tommy Smythe’s former kitchen. This kitchen was published in House and Home magazine in 2004 – that’s 14 years ago but it is still on point today. Timeless and classic always is a good idea.

This kitchen by Toronto design team Feasby and Bleeks has been a long time favourite as well. The mix of colours and pattern is so perfect.

And this is the beautiful kitchen of Suzanne Dimma and it is as effortlessly chic as she is.

Above three images via House and Home

We are borrowing ideas from all three kitchens. Funny thing is we had pinned these inspiration images to our private Pinterest board and then I realized that coincidentally they were all in this article entitled 12 Designer Kitchens That Will Never Go Out of Style.

Next week, I will share the design concept which you can kind of determine from these images.

Make sure to check out what the 20 featured designers are working on here and the guest participants here.

Thank you for following along and leaving a comment. Much appreciated!

Check out my former One Room Challenge Reveals here:

Prettying Up a Builder Kitchen (former home)  – Fall 2014

Teen Daughter’s Bathroom (former home) – Spring 2015

My Parisian Bedroom (former home) – Fall 2015

Teen Daughter’s Bedroom (former home) – Spring 2016

My Charming Kitchen – Fall 2016

My Functional and Pretty Office – Spring 2017

A Multi Purpose Basement – Fall 2017

My Teenage Daughter’s Bathroom – Spring 2018

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Happy designing and decorating,