Curtis Park Home Tour: A Kitchen by KDI, a Peek

 Spring means a flurry of house tours, decorator showcase tours and garden tours....all of which I plan to attend this year! First up this season is a home tour in my own neighborhood: The Curtis Park Home Tour. My own home was on the tour a few years ago right after I had finished my kitchen remodel.

This year I have another kitchen on the tour! Katie Denham Interiors designed a new kitchen for a young family here in Curtis Park, and they decided to put the home on the tour. I thought you might like a little peek! I still have some staging to do for the event, which is this Saturday.

I wish I had better "before" pictures for you because we reconfigured the space while staying within the original footprint of the house. There was a doorway and small hall leading to the Laundry room which I closed off to allow a spot for the new refrigerator. I opened up a new doorway through the eating nook with a French Pocket door. There used to be a doorway between the kitchen and nook, which I opened up making the space much more open, and the kitchen larger as well. 

The Curtis Park Home Tour is celebrating its Silver Anniversary this year. It has been an ongoing tradition for 25 years. Tim and I moved to the neighborhood 19 years ago this month, right before the birth of our oldest daughter Hannah. We had a little 3 bedroom house that we fixed up before moving to the house we live in now...which we are still fixing up! We waited a few years before we found another house in Curtis Park to move into. By that time we had aother daughter and one bathroom....it was time to to find a bigger house....but moving away from this wonderful neighborhood with its historic elm trees and huge Sycamores, the parks, the houses built from the 1910's through the 30's and 40's was out of the question. So waited patiently.

Curtis Park is a neighborhood like no other. There is a sense of community you will find in very few other places. There is a strong tendency toward historical preservation, and this is reflected in the Home Tour. There will be vintage cars parked along the route, and a talk given about the history of the neighborhood. The houses on the tour reflect the architectural history of the neighborhood. The tour is less about decor, and more about "home" and what it means to the generous neighbors who have leant thier houses to the tour this year.

I think the thing I look forward to most about the tour is getting out in the beautiful Spring weather and seeing all of my neighbors and friends.

For a great article about the Curtis Park Home and Garden Tour by the Sacramento Bee, Click HERE.

For More Information and Online Ticket Sales, click HERE

My Kitchen Pendant Lights

Pendant lights. They are like the icing on the cake, the last piece of jewelry to make the outfit perfect. When I was designing my kitchen, I wanted something simple, classic, and a bit on the casual side. I was going for a vintage farmhouse with a little commercial kitchen and Napa Bistro thrown in. We love to cook and spend a lot of time in our kitchen, so I wanted really good light. With the EPA standards in California, 50% of the wattage in a kitchen must be Fluorescent or comparable. This made it a bit difficult to put in any incandescent fixtures, but one must have something with some character! 

I found just the thing when I was picking out lighting at Lumens Light and Living here in Sacramento. These Pendants from Roost had just what I was looking for. They look a little industrial with their beaker shaped hand-blown glass, and I love the long filament bulbs. I also like the way the glass is held in place with the hand tightened screws.

I have received many emails requesting information about these pendants and if they are still available.I decided I should check and see! And YES! Lumens can still get them for you. They are not shown on their online catalog, so give them a call at their Sacramento showroom HERE and ask for Sean. Tell him you are looking for the glass cylinder pendant from Roost....he will know all of the information.

Thank you for all of your emails!

Befores.....And Other News!

Whenever you see the beautiful pictures in the magazines, finished and perfectly accessorized, it is hard to imagine that the project starts out in this condition. I have been busy at work on a few projects that are at this stage of the game.

The first photo is a house that has been gutted top to bottom and I am in the process of working with the nicest couple to put it all back together. I am very excited about it because there is a definite budget involved, and we are coming up with some great ideas on how to meet the budget. I am headed over today for the final walk though before drywall. It will really begin to take shape after drywall in complete! I can hardly wait....and neither can my clients. They want to move in by November....we should make it in time I think!

The next project involves a Kitchen:

An eating nook area:

A Powder Room and Laundry Area:

This project is still in the demo stage, but rough plumbing and wiring are commencing as we speak. The family that lives here is anxiously awaiting the return of normal life since they are living here without a kitchen. Remodels like this are planned with great care ahead of time so that down time for the family is as short as possible.

When working with older homes, there is always the inevitable structural issue that is unknown until demolition. In this case, a chimney flue that we had thought was in a position that would accommodate 24" deep cabinet threw us a curve ball, literally. We knew the chimney was there, and had poked a hole through the wall to check it's position. However....it did not go straight up and down, but slanted over about 9-10" by the time it hit the ceiling:

Since it still houses a duct for the heating upstairs, we decided not to demolish the flue. Consequently, the adjacent door is now being pushed over about 6". A little unexpected glitch, but resolved.

These two projects are both at a stage where progress is happening very quickly. I am so excited to see the deigns completed! And I will keep you posted on progress and the completed projects as things unfold.

In other news,

I have a project that I have been working on that will be on a East Sacramento Home Remodeling Tour this Sunday. If you are in the area, stop on in! For ticket information and times, hop on over HERE!

And....

I have another kitchen remodel project that will be featured in an upcoming issue of Sacramento Magazine. I spent my labor day happily staging the kitchen for the photo shoot.

So, my friends, I will keep you updated on all of the madness as things progress!

What I've Been Up To

Often a project can start with a single inspiration. A "fleur-de-lis" for example. It can start with a wonderful antique sconce that a client was lucky enough to find and keep for her long planned kitchen remodel.

It can carry over into other things. Like the little fleur-de-lis edge on a chandelier.

Or a carefully placed accent tile.

The accent tile can lead to more tile. A color palette and tile design may follow.

That little bit of black and that little bit of French may lead to a black French range.

It may lead to carefully selected hardware.

And special clocks.

It may lead to many hours of memories in a new long planned kitchen.

You never know what a single inspiration can lead to.

Just a little taste with more to come later!