M Designs

Let’s move into the heart of the home; the kitchen.  One thing that both men and women agree on is appliances…top quality appliances.  Women usually ask for extra work space and a place where the family or friends can sit and relax while meals are being prepared.  And if the couple likes to entertain, we like to include wine refrigerators, warming drawers and double ovens for sure!

When you think of a kitchen island, does a big block of wood topped with granite come to mind? Think again! Designer Suzanne Kasler used an antique French farmhouse table and paired it with Louis XV style dining chairs to create a dining space that can double as additional work space. Image: House Beautiful

This roomy kitchen designed by Penny Drue Baird includes a huge island, Wolf range, built in microwave, oven and warming drawer; perfect for the couple that likes to entertain. The quilted stainless backsplash adds texture to the room. Image: Architectural Digest

This contemporary kitchen designed by M Designs Interiors, includes a large island and dining space. The glass tiled back splash coordinates with the marble on the island and adds an artistic touch. The hardwood floors are easy to clean and care for and add warmth to the space. Image: M Designs

I wanted to share this kitchen because it has such a clean, crisp look and I love the apple green! What a great touch to paint the inside of the cabinets with the apple green and use glass doors on a few of the cabinets to add some interest to the space. The same color scheme is carried over to the adjoining dining room creating a natural flow from one room to the next. Image: Southern Living

Day five – our last day of kitchen remodeling favorites!

KITCHEN FAVS:  WOOD COUNTERTOPS AND ISLANDS

Last but not least, I love wood countertops and islands.  I also enjoy incorporating furniture along with built in cabinets for a more lived-in look.

I love this butcher block island with the built in storage below. Image: Southern Living

Wooden kitchen countertops along with a dining table for an island. Image: Elle Decor

This wooden island has plenty of drawers for storage space. Image: Elle Decor

That’s all for our kitchen remodeling favorites.  Next up….baths!

Day four of my favorite kitchen remodeling treatments finds me thinking about flooring….

KITCHEN FAVS:  WOOD AND BLUESTONE FLOORING

Let’s get away from those ceramic tile kitchen floors and move to my favorites in kitchen flooring.  I love wood and large format bluestone or limestone floors for a rustic, lived in look.

Whether the wood is hand scraped red oak (with the grain only, please), hickory/pecan, teak, or pine, wood warms up the room.

Typically bluestone has been used for outdoor kitchens and patios, but we can bring that indoors, and if properly sealed, will be the perfect addition to your kitchen!

Large bluestone tiles – bring it indoors for a beautiful kitchen floor!

Natural pine flooring Image: Southern Living

This dark wood floor warms up this modern kitchen Image: Elle Decor

We are still working our way through my favorite kitchen remodeling treatments…

KITCHEN FAVS:  STAINLESS STEEL AND MIRRORED BACKSPLASHES

Another of my kitchen favs is stainless steel or mirrored backsplashes.  They add a little glitz and pizzazz to the kitchen, and also make the room feel larger.

"Quilted” stainless backsplash from Stainless Living

This mirrored backsplash makes a small kitchen seem larger Image: House Beautiful

These tiny stainless tiles add glitz to this kitchen

Sticking with the kitchen remodeling topic here are a few more of my favorite treatments!

KITCHEN FAVS:  PAINTED CABINETRY

I love, love, love color!  In a kitchen, sometimes there’s not a lot of wall space to paint or add beautiful art, so I enjoy having the cabinetry painted.  It gives the kitchen more personality.  Great colors for kitchen cabinetry are navy, white, beige or even sage green.

Beautiful painted cabinets Image: Architectural Digest

These sage green cabinets add just the right amount of color to the kitchen Image: House Beautiful

We are working on several new projects and I thought I would give you some insight into what we are “loving” in the way of kitchen remodels.  Seems that everyone has decided to stay in place and re-do….re-vamp…a little “home Botox” if you will.

With this in mind, I thought I would share some of my favorite treatments in several key areas of the kitchen.  I’ll be doing this topic as daily postings over the next few weeks, so be sure to check back each day and see what’s coming next!

Our first topic in this series is kitchen remodeling.

KITCHEN FAVS:  SOLID DARK COUNTERTOPS

When it comes to kitchen countertops, I love soapstone or honed black granite countertops.  Also, variations of black countertops that aren’t polished add a great look to any décor.  Why black?  Black goes with everything!

Black Fireslate, a heat resistant cement based synthetic Image: Elle Decor

Black granite countertops Image: Elle Decor

Black soapstone countertops – featured on Rachel Ray

As a Designer and Decorator, it is very important for us to keep a portfolio of our work….after all, it’s not enough to TELL people what we do, we need to SHOW them.  We don’t photograph every job, however, there are those jobs that stand out, and we want to capture the end result.  The best way for us to do this is to hire a professional photographer, style the space and schedule a photo shoot.

I really love setting up for photo shoots!  It gives us the time on a job to ensure it looks like we envisioned it when we began.  It also gives the client a chance to see their home through our eyes.

What’s involved in a photo shoot?  It’s an all-hands-on-deck effort.  M Designs “styles” the space prior to the shoot.  As you can imagine, people live in their homes and they NEVER look like the photograph on a daily basis.  However, we need to have lots of prep time in advance to prepare the space.  We work with the photographer to style the shot and though I would love to hire a stylist on each shoot, most of the time, we style our own shots.  This includes providing props, which could include fruits, veggies, or food items for a kitchen shot, perhaps dishes and linens for a dining room shot, linens for bedrooms and bathrooms, and pillows and accessories for living areas, and ALWAYS fresh flowers.  We select items that would coordinate with accessories that are already in the space and make that photo come to life!

Once the shopping is finished, we arrive at the client’s home and proceed to “style” the space, putting each accessory in just the perfect place….sometimes moving items many times before the perfect shot can be captured.  This step happens 2-3 days before the shoot so we can take test shots to see what is still missing, or what needs to be edited out.

We work with a professional photographer on each shoot.  We also work with our builder and remodeler clients to style their photo shoots for their photographers as well.  I highly recommend working with a professional for a number of reasons.  First, they are extremely experienced in lighting a shot.   This entails a number of lighting elements, from actual lights, to reflectors, to standing outside a window and shading it while we take a shot.  Secondly, they can instantly tell you which shots will be the best and what will be the best angle to show your work.  We have often moved a piece of furniture 2 inches while they stand at the camera and check the shot for accuracy.  Lastly, our photographer does clean up in Photoshop at the end of the shoot.  This involves removing ceiling fans or plugs that are distracting, adjusting color to match a sample on fabrics, and taking out shadows that we weren’t able to remove in the field.

When you work with a professional team such as we do, it makes our job easier.  Without great photography, you aren’t able to show your work in its best light.  As designers, that is our calling card, and we are only as good as our last photo shoot, so we need to constantly document our latest projects.  Photo shoots are a lot of work, but they are fun, and the end result is always fabulous!