Sarah 101: Episode 3, Vernon’s Kitchen

I hope you like green, because this week’s episode of Sarah 101 features one very green kitchen and lounge! Take a look at how you can customize box store items to create a one-of-a-kind kitchen, and learn how to tie two adjoining rooms together. {Be warned, my pictures make the green look even brighter than it is in real life!}

How do you like them apples?!

The before pics…

Here’s Sarah & Tommy’s to-do list:

Their starting point was this retro-looking green & grey laminate countertop.

They designed a layout that’s functional and provides additional storage, without changing the size of the kitchen. They removed the existing island and replaced it with a peninsula that allows for better flow and provides more storage.

The colour palette is extended into the adjoining lounge – the fabric selection process!

They also brought the green into the lounge by painting a wide stripe up one wall, across the ceiling, and down the opposite wall. The stripe adds interest to a space that doesn’t have much architectural detailing.

I love this clock huge clock . Sarah designed the words and had them printed at a sign shop. The mechanism is from a craft store.

Ta-da!

Sarah attached a large bulldog clip to the wall above the counter to hold recipes.

The big reveal…

   

What did Sarah & Tommy teach us?

1. Customize off-the-rack cabinets by having the doors spray painted. The colour options are limitless, and if you ever decide you want a new colour, it’s easy to have the doors repainted.

2. To further customize a kitchen, combine white, glass & steel, and colour cabinetry.

3. Use a single flooring material in adjoining rooms to link them together.

4. If you have a low ceiling, hang curtain rods high up on the wall. This visually elevates the ceiling.

5. If you don’t have room in your kitchen for an island, try adding a peninsula. 3’ x 5’ is a good size.

6. Mix vibrant and muted colours, as well as plush, bold, and geometric fabrics.

7. Sarah’s first colour choice for the kitchen turned out to be the wrong shade of grey. The grey she chose had a green undertone. She said that she should have looked at the deepest colour on the colour chip that the colour was on to see the undertone. It’s good to know that even the experts make colour mistakes! Only the have somebody else to do the re-painting for them ;-)

  

If you live in Canada, you can watch the episode here. And click here to see the list of sources.