I am all about green this year. For whatever reason, I am drawn to anything that is lime green, avocado green or a bright cilantro. It’s fresh and gives off a vibrant energy that has the ability to energize me at the same time it is relaxing. What color does that better than green? None, I say. This kitchen got me thinking about redoing my mom’s kitchen. She doesn’t have a huge budget and this is a design we would replicate on a low budget so it’s perfect.

First, we got some green tiles at Home Depot for the backsplash. We are going to keep her countertops white but we’re going to insert a few green spots of color into the mix. This way we are not replacing the entire countertop, but just a few tiles here and there.

We painted her cabinets white and added nice bronze hardware. For her window coverings, we used bamboo and canvas to give the kitchen a fresh and tropical feel.

I have the privilege of picking out my dream kitchen, not only once, but twice. We recently remodeled our kitchen thinking we were investing in our dream kitchen, but as luck would have it, we tested the real estate waters and received an over priced offer on our home in less than a day.

So very quickly, we were off and running and looking at various homes, looking for the home that would be our next forever home (hopefully). We ended up putting an offer in on a place that we had found on Trulia had me from the first sight of the kitchen. This was my dream kitchen and it was already done. It had beautiful antique white cabinetry and tumbled travertine black splash with granite counter tops. It has a cool pass through going to a separate bar.

There is just something about the distressed or antique look that I love, especially in a kitchen. It says home, comfort and style, all which go into the foods you prepare, the drinks you concoct and the entertaining value of your home.

Adding fresh accent colors to a neutral room decor can be just the right amount of pop needed to spice up a room without doing a complete overhaul.  I love these bright yellow chairs in this otherwise soft grey kitchen.  It gives a freshness and truly changes the overall appearance of the room with just the addition of these contrasting yellow chairs.  You can find chairs like this on Amazon for a good price and then paint them to the color of your liking. 

Another option would be to salvage chairs from garage sales and online postings for an eclectic look.  I’ve seen some pretty cool kitchens master the art of mix matched furniture with different chair types and colors that are pulled together simply by their differences.  Once you have the look you’re after nailed down, you can pull the room together with matching or contrasting accents like mason jars, apothecary containers in various colors and useful kitchen tools that double as design elements.  Living and fake plants are also a must to bring life to an otherwise blank slate.

My husband and I are in the process of buying a new home so we are on the hunt for new kitchen accent pieces, appliances and accessories to update the kitchen. It is an older home and initially, we will not be making any major changes to the kitchen, but we do need to start the process. We wanted to find something that was beautiful in everyday use but that also had a bit of old world charm and character.

We are looking for new plates as our current ones are beat up, chipped and don’t match our new kitchen. I’ve found a set of dinner plates that are also simple yet elegant and I love the detail in the patterns. We also picked up a few of the frames which I’ve used to display some of my favorite old world recipes passed down from my great grandmother, which brought character and a personal touch to our new old kitchen.