interior design | myMCMlife.com

Master Bedroom Ideas

02/12/2013

I’m planning on doing virtual tours of more rooms of our new home. (Kitchen tour here.) In fact, I’ve already taken photos of Ali’s room, the next kids room, the den, the dining room, the living room and the master bathroom…however my computer doesn’t have enough free memory to upload the pictures from my camera. So yeah, I need to deal with that. One room you will not be seeing photos of any time soon, however, is the master bedroom. We currently have our mattress on the floor, a headboard leaning against the wall, end tables that are too big, temporary curtains and three big plastic storage totes that we haven’t found space for yet. So if that conjures up a visual, that’s the best I can offer.

I have started collecting inspiration, though. We definitely want to do an accent wall behind the bed, most likely with wallpaper. I didn’t take a photo of the headboard yet but its the same color wood as the dresser with a black horizontal stripe. We have lamps that we want to use but need a fresh coat of spray paint. I’m stuck on orange for some reason. I sent Jason these two initial ideas.

While I love the wallpaper on the left (by Orla Kiely), the one on the right feels cozy and warm. The one on the left is more masculine so it’s not surprising that Jason liked it better. I decided to take another stab at it after I discovered that Urban Outfitters sells wallpaper.

I’m liking #4 best with either this or the light gray wallpaper.

Some big art for above the dresser with orange in it would be another nice addition. This is all just dreaming and brainstorming right now since we don’t have any budget for any of this right now. First order of business: build a bed frame for our vintage headboard and footboard so we can get our mattress off the floor.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

New Home Tour: Kitchen

01/25/2013

Well, I suppose it’s about time that I start giving a virtual tour of our new home. Y’all were so patient and encouraging during the building process and now that we’re getting more and more settled in, I’m feeling ready to start sharing some rooms. Let’s kick this thing off with the kitchen, which is quite possibly my favorite room of the house. I’ve been challenging myself to take over more of the family cooking and I’m starting to really enjoy it…due in part to how much I love the functionality and atmosphere of this room. Everything ended up just like my plan with a few additions thanks to our friend Andy at Markraft Kitchens.

When I walk through the front door, this is my view of the kitchen.

Having an open shelf for cookbooks was on my dream kitchen wish list. We also have a medicine lockbox (DCS requirement) for our daily vitamins and tissues. Ali won’t leave anything on this shelf alone.

I was originally going to get silver stools but I decided we needed some color up in here. Our countertops extend out about 12″ there for casual conversation with friends while we’re cooking.

Another dream kitchen wish list item: a corner cabinet facing out under the bar toward the dining room. It ended up being the perfect spot for Lucy’s food and accessories, and her water bowl is very close to the sink. Perfect.

This section of cabinets is the pantry, coffee/tea bar and home of the small appliances.

Another dream kitchen wish list item. This coffee/tea bar turned out even better than I had envisioned. We use this everyday, many times a day.

I prefer to keep my microwave and toaster oven hidden so he’s where they live. I’m so glad that Andy, our cabinet guru, found a way to make this work for us.

That door there is our coat closet.

We’re planning to add a tile backspace eventually. I really love the light we get in this space.

Our architect, Ryan Thewes, was so thoughtful and thorough with his planning of window placement. The clerestory windows let in a ton of light, mostly indirect. We never need to turn lights on during the day.

Besides the cookbook shelf, one open shelf for our everyday dishes and glasses was at the top of my dream kitchen wish list. BAM. Exactly how I wanted it!

This was a last minute addition to our kitchen plan: a pull out drawer for the trash and recycling. I’m so glad we did this. It’s really practical and I like that it’s close to the front door (the one on the left) where we walk in with the junk mail and go out with the trash.

I’m getting used to cooking with gas. My favorite part of the Whirlpool White Ice gas range is the knobs.

So that’s it, my dream kitchen!

Sources:

Floors: natural, unstained, utility grade hickory
Cabinets: walnut-stained cherry and white thermofoil sold through Markraft
Countertops: Kashmir granite
Appliances: Whirlpool White Ice
Pendant lights: IKEA
Big A: ReAbide
Stools: Tabouret on Overstock.com
Love Bacon print: Matt Butler on Etsy
Wall color: Greek Villa by Sherwin Williams

If I skipped anything you’re curious about, just ask!

6 Comments | Art, Art: house tour, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design, Art: new home build | Tagged: home tour, house tour, interior design, kitchen, mid-century modern, modern | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

New Home: Den/Playroom Plan

11/13/2012

Den/Playroom Room plan from myMCMlife.com

Sources

1. Sherwin Williams Greek Villa

2. Exposed concrete block wall

3. IKEA TROMSO day bed and pull out trundle $80 each (This is a big fat maybe. I was hoping our vintage gold pull out sofa would fit in here but it’s too big. We need some comfy seating that would ideally work also as a guest bed or maybe even a bed for a future child. No futons.)

4. Basketball hoop. $33 on Amazon. The top priority of this room is fun.

5. Natural hickory wood floors, like the rest of the house

6. Black chalkboard wall

7. Jason’s first guitar, which is now wall art. Second priority of this space is creativity and musical instruments will definitely be part of that.

8. Urban Outfitters zig zag rug, 5×7, in gray. Another big maybe but it’s my current top choice.

9. Pop & Lolli Build-a-Bot decal set. I won these on Design Mom’s blog and I’m pretty stoked to play with them… I mean, let some kids play with them.

10. Some kind of bookshelf to store toys, books, instruments. Vintage and metal painted a bright color would be nice. (This one is from UO.)

11. My old Apple iBook from 2002, which is still kicking, sort of, and hopefully has enough juice left to play some kid’s DVDs. Eventually we might add a small LED TV into this room.

12. Vintage footstool

13. Metal storage cart (painted a funky color) for toys and things

14. Child-size seating, like this metal folding chair, and maybe eventually a child-size table.

1 Comment | Art, Art: interior design, Art: new home build | Tagged: children, den, family room, hang out space, interior design, kids, mood board, new home build, new house, play room, playroom, room plan | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Now We’re Cookin’ – Kitchen Plan Part 2

10/30/2012

Remember in 10th grade when you would practice signing your future name “Mrs. Jason Ahlbrandt” and “Martina + Jason” and “MLA” all over your Physics notebook? Oh, wait that was me. Well, that’s me again, except now it’s a house I keep daydreaming about. I was down at the house meeting with our contractor about tile and when I got back to my desk, this happened:

I also might have printed out the kitchen plan elevations from our cabinet guy and sketched in notes about what I’m going to put in which cabinets. (First post about our kitchen plan is here.) It helped me to notice a few things, like that I wanted to add a pull out drawer for the trash and recycling near the end of the peninsula.

Our pantry will surround a coffee/tea bar area.

This open shelf at the end of the peninsula was one of my dream items.

The open shelf here for our everyday plates, bowls and glasses was another dream list item. (Inspiration can be seen in the plan here.)

I’m also very happy about the counter overhang that will allow space for a few bar stools and that cabinet on the right corner that’s accessible from the dining room side—it seems like the perfect place to store Lucy’s dog food and dishes.

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: interior design, Art: modern design, Art: new home build | Tagged: cabinets, design, interior design, kitchen, plan | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

New Home: Master Bathroom Plan

10/29/2012

Master Bathroom Inspiration Board and Design Plan from myMCMlife.com

Sources

1. Sherwin Williams Window Pane – (I lovelovelove this color)

2. IKEA MINUT pendant 13″ globe light $40

3. Kendal Lighting VF3400-1L-SN Satin Nickel 1 Light White Shade Madison Bathroom Vanity Light (Item #: 411819 | Model #: VF3400-1L-SN) from Lowes – 2 of these on either side of mirror

4. IKEA LILLAGEN mirror medicine cabinet $70

5. Delta Vero single-hole, high arch faucet

6. IKEA GODMORGON/ODENSVIK bathroom vanity, white stained oak $489

7. Daltile 1×1 mosaic in “marble” tile for the shower surround and the floor

8. KOHLER toilet with soft-close lid

9. IKEA RAMSKÄR bath mat $17

10. IKEA AFJARDEN bath sheets $15 each

11. IKEA GRUNDTAL toilet paper holder $6, hand towel bar $10 and bath towel rack $15

12. Custom carved wood “Relax” sign from William Dohman

13. Eat More Fiber poster designed by me (this may or may not make it back into the master bathroom!)

14. Delta Vero T14243 rain shower head and diverter – 2 of these for our big shower

Those without prices are items that our contractor already has or will purchase and he can get better than retail prices.

1 Comment | Art, Art: interior design, Art: new home build | Tagged: bathroom, interior design, master bath, mood board, new home build, new house, room plan | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

New Home: Guest Bathroom Plan

10/23/2012

I worked on this inspiration board guest bathroom (AKA hall bathroom, kids bathroom, etc.) and I’m glad I did because I kept remembering more details to add to the plan. Beyond the already decided upon tile, vanity, mirror, lighting and paint color, I realized I also need to plan rugs, towels, shower curtain, towel and toilet paper hanging hardware. I didn’t even get to the point of art or sink top accessories. Here’s what I have come up with so far:

Guest Bathroom Inspiration Board and Design Plan from myMCMlife.com

Sources

1. Sherwin Williams Window Pane – (I lovelovelove this color)

2. IKEA MINUT pendant 13″ globe light $40

3. Kendal Lighting VF3400-1L-SN Satin Nickel 1 Light White Shade Madison Bathroom Vanity Light (Item #: 411819 | Model #: VF3400-1L-SN) from Lowes – 2 of these on either side of mirror

4. IKEA LILLAGEN mirror medicine cabinet $70

5. Delta Vero single-hole, high arch faucet

6. IKEA GODMORGON/ODENSVIK bathroom vanity $489

7. Light gray slate-like 12×24 tile

8. KOHLER toilet with soft-close lid

9. IKEA GRUNDTAL toilet paper holder $6, hand towel bar $10 and bath towel rack $15

10. IKEA FRÄJEN bath sheets $10 each

11. Curved Shower Curtain Rod (maybe this one, pictured, for $40)

12. Daltile 1×1 matte “aegean” porcelain tiles for tub surround

13. IKEA TALLHOLM shower curtain $15

14. White bathtub (it’s already installed and honestly, I don’t remember which one it is)

15. IKEA TOFTBO bath mat in turquoise $13

16. Delta Vero 14453 shower head, diverter and tub faucet

Those without prices are items that our contractor already has or will purchase and he can get better than retail prices.

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: interior design, Art: new home build | Tagged: bathroom, guest, hall bath, interior design, mood board, new home build, new house, room plan | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

New Home: Kitchen Plan

09/12/2012

I sketched out the plan for our new kitchen in my moleskine journal:

Make sense?

Basically, I want walnut-stained wood cabinet doors on the base cabinets and white wall cabinets. Somewhere on the same wall as the refrigerator, I want a small open shelf for our everyday dishes and glasses. Plus, a whole lot of specifics that won’t matter to anyone but us.

These are my inspiration kitchens:

Source: Uploaded by user via Martina on Pinterest

Source: designsponge.com via Martina on Pinterest

Source: designsponge.com via Martina on Pinterest.

The good thing about our house taking so long is that we have time to change our minds about things as many times as we want. For example, at first we thought we wanted all white cabinets. Now we want half white, half walnut. We thought about doing soapstone countertops or concrete countertops…now we’re set on kashmire granite.

Here’s my inspiration board, our plan for the kitchen (not that we can’t still change our minds!):

Sources

1. Sherwin Williams Greek Villa – (main color throughout the house)

2. IKEA MINUT pendant 10″ globe lights $30 each

3. White upper wall cabinets

4. 3×6 glass subway tiles for backsplash

5. Delta 9159-DST Trinsic with pull down single handle

6. Double under mount sink (50/50) with lower center wall

7. Kashmire (Cashmere) Granite countertops

8. Woodland Garden 2×3 from Urban Outfitters $18

9. Walnut-stained (probably cherry wood) base cabinets

10. Hickory wood floors

11. Tabouret counter-height metal stools $40 each

12. Whirlpool White Ice appliances

13. Whirlpool 30″ stainless range hood

2 Comments | Art, Art: interior design, Art: new home build | Tagged: bedroom, interior design, kitchen, mood board, new home build, new house, room plan | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

New Home: Kids Room Plan

05/23/2012

At our last house, I designed a combined nursery and kids room as we were becoming foster parents. It had to be suited for 1 or 2 kids, either gender, newborn up to age 5…all within a 10×11 bedroom. In our new house, we’ll have a nursery for Precious and another bedroom that’s set up for our future foster kids. I’m not really sure what parameters we’ll set next time around so I’m planning this room for 1 or 2 kids, boys or girls, ages 2-12. The room is approximately 10×12. We already own the bed, dresser, curtain, book ledges, owl, sheets and chair. The rest would be new purchases.

Sources

1. Sherwin WIlliams Mélange Green – accent wall color

2. Sherwin Williams Greek Villa – other three walls

3. IKEA VANDRING RÄV duvet cover and pillow case $20

4. Woodland shower curtain from Target Home (as window curtain) – no longer available

5. Owl wall art – vintage

6. Dresser – vintage

7. IKEA VANDRING RÄV Soft toy, set of 2 $8

8. Jimco orange lamp with drum shade from Lowes $40

9. IKEA KURA reversible loft bed $199

10. IKEA RIBBA picture ledges (to use as book ledges), x2, $10 each

11. Target Home 325 Thread Count Wrinkle Free Sheet Set – Blue Diamond $28

12. Chair – vintage

13. IKEA RINGUM 2′ round rug in green, x3, $10

Floor Plan (to scale)

2 Comments | Art, Art: interior design, Art: new home build, Art: new home kids room, Family, Family: Foster Parenting | Tagged: bedroom, foster parenting, inspiration, interior design, kids, kids room, mood board, new home build, new house, precious, room plan | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

New Home: Nursery Plan

05/16/2012

At our last house, I designed a combined nursery and kids room as we were becoming foster parents. It had to be suited for 1 or 2 kids, either gender, newborn up to age 5…all within a 10×11 bedroom. In our new house, we’ll have TWO bedrooms for set up for kids. Hooray! (And another bedroom that we’ll set up as a den/playroom for now.) Here’s my plan for the nursery, which will be for our daughter. She will be about 1.5 when we move in. The room is approximately 10×11 (not including the doorway). The only new purchase for us in this room will be the curtains.

Sources

1. Sherwin WIlliams Rosebay – accent wall color

2. Sherwin Williams Greek Villa – other three walls

3. Petit Collage Animal ABC – Basic $40

4. IKEA BARBRO curtains $15

5. Lamp – vintage, thrifted

6. Dresser – vintage (changing table height)

7. Mr. French Poster Pop-Tone Monkey $30

8. Mobile – handmade by me

9. IKEA SOMNAT crib – no longer available

10. IKEA RIBBA picture ledges (to use as book ledges), x2, $10 each

11. IKEA GOSSIG SPANIEL – no longer available

12. Braxton Studio Letterio White Cradle Chair $80-120

13. IKEA TOFTBO bathmat (x4, taped together, MACHINE WASHABLE!) – no longer available in this color $13

14. Nightstand – vintage, refinished by me

Floor Plan (to scale)

1 Comment | Art, Art: interior design, Art: new home build, Art: new home nursery | Tagged: bedroom, inspiration, interior design, kids, mood board, new home build, new house, nursery, precious, room plan | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Light Ideas

04/11/2012

This whole home building process is taking a loooooong time. We’re still waiting on bids from the general contractors (hopefully we’ll get numbers this week) and the banker just told us the approval process (checking references of the GC we chose, approving our construction loan, appraising the house based on plans, etc.) could take another month. Ugh! We just wanted to get started with the building already.

I’m trying to make good use of this waiting time by researching interior fixings for the house and making some decisions about things like paint colors, materials, appliances, etc. So I’ve been looking at lights lately. Here are some that I’m dreaming about…