The Kitchen Part 2: Dreaming of gorgeous floors

I'm not good at not having a project in progress. In the absence of back-breaking painting or grouting, I've been adding things to the mantel, hanging curtains, planning a gallery wall ... little touches like that. And I can't stop. I can't sit still and watch TV in my living room without dreaming of the next steps. 

So I thought I'd do it out loud, here. Last week, I enumerated the things we've already done to make the kitchen mine. But there are still a few things to do. Some day, I'd like to break down the wall between the kitchen and dining room and add a breakfast bar, but that's a ways down the road. 

But, fingers crossed, if my tax rebate allows, I'll be able to do the floor this spring, and the kitchen will feel finished. If only I can figure out what to do with it. So, this evening, I'm looking back through the Pinterest board I used to I start dreaming up this kitchen. 

First, I looked for something neutral. I figure white would be smart since I have a white dog who sheds a clone of hair a day. I love the idea of something light and neutral so that I can place a beautiful runner by the sink as the bright pop of color. 

There's this lovely kitchen whose grey base cabinets and reclaimed open shelves I definitely mimicked ... I think the warm stone tiles work here well, but my grey is colder and I know the colors wouldn't work. Most stones like this have those warm/tan/creamish colors. 

Now, this is probably what I picture most realistically right now ...  This silk white tile is not TOO white, but nice and neutral. Plus, I love the herringbone pattern with these thick rectangles. Unfortunately, Vintage Revival's link is no longer active, so I'd have to find a similar option. 

And then there's this beautiful makeover on Design Sponge. The whole makeover is one of my favorites, because the owners clearly have that rare and wonderful ability to look at a total lemon and see past stains and shag carpets and see the beautiful home it could be. These white painted wood floors are stunning, but given how my white painted couch has faired so far, I know that that's not a practical option for me. (This family says they've always been a shoes-at-the-door fam and don't mind the scuffs adding a rugged look.)

I'm also a TOTAL sucker for hexagons. This marbled look might be too similar to my counters, so I've been looking for a white hexagon tile of this size. 

These hexagons are beautiful too, of course. Everything from Home Polish is. I've begun to follow a million design firms and blogs, like Home Polish, on Instagram and everyday I ogle at them and dream of designing famous peoples' homes with unlimited budgets.

In my search for beautiful white floors, I started to come across some really nice black and white designs. I realized that something like this may be a really nice retro nod to the era of my house. 

This is pretty with these grand high ceilings, but might be too busy in my smaller kitchen.

I like that this one is like eight parts white, two parts black. The accents would really bring out the black hardware in my kitchen, while still hopefully masking a lot of Merlin's hair. Of course, I laughed when I clicked on the Architectural Digest link and I found out that this is the kitchen of one Michael J. Foxx.

DROOL. That's all I got. But I know I can't afford these ... 

Another pretty design, but probably for a smaller space like a bathroom ... 

This example helps me see how a black and white print might look with my duotone cabinets and subway tile backplash. Makse me think it might be a good idea ... 

This is probably the most affordable version of black and white tiles. Unfortunately, it's my least favorite. Mama's got expensive tastes. 

Hubba Hubba!

Besides these options, my dad's been pushing for a Pergo laminate or similar, because he's installed them before and knows how to do it. Unfortunately, the majority of their options are faux wood, which would not look nice next to my real wood floors. Perhaps a white-washed laminate or something to contrast my floors. I haven't yet found one that I like in that category. The other idea my dad had was to try to continue the hardwoods from the rest of the house into the kitchen. I'm not sure how I would get them to match or if it's in my price range, but I definitely think it would look nice. I was really hoping the Powerball would work out and the rest of my reno would be a matter of hiring an interior designer sharing my Pinterest board with her.

So for now, I'll keep looking for inspiration and searching the aisles of Floor & Decor for new affordable options. If anyone knows of a good place to look in Richmond or online, let me know! And cross your fingers for my tax rebate!