WELCOME to CAROLINA PANACHE! I believe our homes should be a haven, a place of beauty and peace that reflect who we are and what's important to us. I'm on a journey to add personality and panache to every corner of my house. For me, good design evolves, grows and changes with the needs of one's lifestyle. I want my home to be creative, to be stylish, to be entertaining, to be real. I hope you will join me on my journey. It's always more fun to travel together.
This blog is all about bringing style and elegance to the home. The art of dressing your home goes beyond hanging a few items on the wall and arranging furniture. Much like a fabulous set of earrings or a new stylish handbag may take your little black dress from fine to fabulous, home accesories and key furnishings can take your rooms from ho-hum to singing the Halleluiah Chorus! Join with me as we discover new ways to add panache to every room of the house.

Kitchen Island - Part 2

Well, a couple of weeks have passed since Mr. Panache and I decided to give our Kitchen Island a mini-makeover. During this time I've researched products and design styles and have put together our budget for completing this project. Basically, the island is going to get wrapped in bead board, painted black and slightly distressed. As I've visited kitchen design centers, flipped through catalogs and surfed websites for inspiration, a plethora of fabulous ideas have surfaced. I am falling in love with the idea of adding black crown molding and light rail to my maple cabinets to bring some unity to the overall design. The pictures that follow are some that I am using to draw inspiration. Adore this kitchen! I love, love, love the blue glazed cabinets mixed with the honeyed wood stain of the other cabinets.
Wow! This designer was bold! Three different finishes - oak, vanilla bean glaze and charcoal gray paint! But is looks fabulous and inviting. I could definiately cook here!

This photo features only one finish but what attracts me to this kitchen is the details used to elevate these cabinets from functional to fine furniture.

Here a classic trio of color is used to add panache to a yellow, blue and white kitchen. This sunny kitchen could wake me to breakfast everyday!

Now this is my dream! Not just one island but two! I love how the pair has been glazed with a dark indigo stain.

This all white kitchen gets a turbo boost of energy by a cobolt blue island. To me there's just something exciting about a room when you mix finishes, colors and pattern. This is where true design comes alive for me. To artfully combine a collection of thoughtfully paired elements keeps the eye moving and interested. Never bored!

I was in my local Lowes Home Improvement store last week and found this black island. I couldn't believe it! covered in bead board, painted black and slightly distressed. Sounds like just the inspiration I was looking for. Now I'm considering having Mr. Panache add another cabinet at the end of my island to create more storage for my growing addiction to dishes.

The paint is a soft, eggshell finish with a slight distressing around the edges and raised panels. This inspiration piece features brushed nickle hardware which is what I currently have and will reuse.
You can see the beadboard on the end of this side and the furniture details such as the base board and the wooden spindle that looks like a finely turned leg of a console table.

This island featured three levels. I like that. It adds interest and movement.

Here you can see all three levels.

I don't plan to add a lower level to my island like pictured here but I would like to add decorative brackets under the portion of my counter that is used as a breakfast bar.
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It's important when making home improvements to invest in areas that will get you the biggest return when you are ready to sell. Homeowners sometimes make the mistake of spending on trends that will soon date their home. I wanted to make sure that my Kitchen Island project, as small as it is, was going to add to the value of my home and not take away. I was really excited to discover that kitchen updates produce the biggest return on investment!
Here are the Top 10 Budget Friendly Kitchen Updates:
1. Make over your kitchen with paint. You can paint the walls, paint the cabinets and some have even ventured to paint the counters and floors!
2. Reface your cabinet doors. Don't have the budget for new cabinets? Change the doors only. Refacing is super affordable compared to new cabinets.
3. Update countertops. I know the rage is granite but if it's not in your budget there are still alternatives that can resemble granite or give you a richer finish at a much more reasonable cost.
4. Replace cabinet hardware. When I moved in to my home the cabinets had round, brass knobs. They weren't my style and so I replaced them with brushed nickle cup pulls and egg-shaped knobs. I was amazed at this simple transformation. The brass knobs made my cabinets look cheap and out of style. The brushed nickle instantly raised the value by giving the cabinets a new, modern vibe.
5. Replace cabinets with open shelves.
6. Add new window treatments. You can make these yourself even if you don't know how to sew. Check out the Nester's Window Mistreatments for loads of inspiration.
7. Kitchen flooring - this one simple change can give your entire a kitchen and home a new vitality.
8. Creative backsplash. There are so many options for backsplashes. Tile, pressed tin, stone - the list goes on.
9. Unconventional Kitchen Island - this one's for me! Make your island (if you are lucky enough to have one) the focal point of your room.
10. Last but by no means least, get organized. Sometimes all our kitchens need is to be decluttered so we can appreciate the beautiful finishes that we may already have hiding beneath the stuff of life. It's amazing how we fall in love with things we haven't seen for a while!
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I hope to have my island re-made in a few more weeks. Stay tuned for the reaveal. Until I see you again,
Happy Decorating!
~Alisa












10 comments:

Kim @ Starshine Chic said...

Lots of great inspiration. Can't wait to see how the island turns out. I want to paint my kitchen cabinets white. And I would love to paint my island black and add beadboard like you want to do, but I have a white dishwasher in my island. So I am not sure what to do. I would really like to paint all my cabinets black but all my appliances are white. But I love the thought of white and black cabinets, it's just the white appliance thing that is stopping me.

Blondie's Journal said...

Alisa,

I am really gaining a lot of insight on how you go about researcing and planning a project, even if it is a small one, such as your island. Your thoughts and expertise on color, pattern and texture make a lot of sense.

Before I had my kitchen at our lake house renovated, I looked at so many magazines for inspiration. I found something I really liked ad not only did my carpenter replicate it, but it is more functional and beautiful than the picture I had. I will post pictures when all the detail work is done!

Can't wait to see the progress with your island!

xoxo
Jane

Karen at Nittany Inspirations said...

I just posted my kitchen redo last week. It is white cabinets with a brown glaze. A portable island was painted black, distressed, and new brushed nickel knobs were added. Good luck with your island. I know it will be great.

Joan at Applejack Lane said...

One of the things I added when we had our kitchen cabinet redo was to add shelving for cookbooks at the end of the island. Alas, my growing cookbook collection has outgrown the number of shelves! I am sure you will enjoy your new island.

Lisa said...

Awesome inspiration kitchens! I had torn out a picture of the 2nd too. It had really cute window treatments. Thanks for all the re-do advice. Can't wait to see your island!

Sandra said...

Aweesome inspirational kitchen pictures! I love the black distressed look!
Sandra

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Unknown said...

what happened with the Kitchen Island project? interested to see how it came out...

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