Kitchen Inspiration

by Amy Platon

Do you hear that? In case you cant make it out- that is the sound of my husband warming up the table saw. And it takes a lot of inspiration to get him to start warming that thing up. I mean, I can ask him for weeks to start something creative for me, which could turn into months, unless, I’ve now learned, he is given a picture of the finished product.

And if you haven’t guessed it, well then let me explain. I have this kitchen issue. It’s well, blah. But now, I have a plan for it, in the form of a photo consultation by Layla Palmer. And here it is folks.














I’m so excited to get started on this. The columns are a great option and we can build that our selves. I love the trough style sink and I’m looking into that as an option. The main focus will of course be the pillars and the bead board she has around the kitchen and in front of the stools. Love the stool covers too, but not sure if I can purchase them or have to make them. Either way, I’ll get it done.

So we’re super excited to get this spring project under way, and once it’s complete, I’ll post it back here. Then you’re all invited over!

If you decide to use Layla for a photo consultation, be sure to tell her you saw what she did here! It’s so worth the $50. Now go get to loving your home, we're gonna be in them for a while...

Wanna see how this redesign fits in with the rest of my house?

Home Sweet Home

by Amy Platon


So many of us are “stuck” in our homes for the long haul, we’ve had to hang up our ruby red slippers and quit house dreaming.

Many of us thought we’d only be here for a couple of years. Back when the market was hot (in my area anyway) we took what ever we could get. We were consumed by a tornado of fear that the house we wanted would be lifted up by it's roots out of our reach. Buy now, lock in your rate, so what if you don’t love it, you can always upgrade later…spun in our heads as we signed on the dotted line.

But here we are, another year in the house we rushed to buy - Lions and tigers and bears, oh my. Things aren’t perfect, but definitely workable.

And nothing can make you fall in love with your home all over again like a cute redesign. I think we did an effective job at making our cookie cutter home right for us. But, I have that one room I’m out of ideas for. And no matter how many magazines I flip through, I can’t think of an easy solution.

That room, for me, is my kitchen. I want it to feel like the rest of my house. It feels hollow, blank, and cold even.

Here’s a tour – come in, and follow the yellow brick road.

When you walk in our front door you are greeted with the subtle feel of water, or the ocean. The tropical beach theme is totally us. Hubby is from the Pacific Islands and I grew up on the coast.













Then our dining room is themed after a sandy beach. I call that my driftwood dining table.













Here’s our patio. It's like a lagoon, which Todo completely approves of.













And I wanted our upstairs living room to feel like a treetop, so green, green everywhere!













It was all moving along so nicely. Once we got to the kitchen, we painted the wall like a sunset (or sunrise) and then I ran out of ideas. I had a bad case of decorators block. I’ll stand over here with the crickets while you take a look at the picture.













I think we can all agree, this tin man needs a heart! I would like a suspended horizontal cabinet over the bar with glass doors that open on either side so it feels light but tucks the room in a bit. And I guess we should break down and buy some handles for the cabinets. An area rug is out of the question though. We have a dog and two kids remember.














Hum, what else?

I’m not replacing the cabinets. They are new and I would never tear them out to add to a landfill unless they were rotting. I don’t think I can refinish them because they are coated in some sort of slick material and that makes them super easy to clean.

…So, maybe a cool light fixture over the sink?

Anyway, you see my problems… I’m totally indecisive. Oh, if I only had a brain... And just when I was coming to terms with having a kitchen I don’t love. (Is that so bad after all?) I realized that Layla (my Dream Catcher) offers her services for just this kind of dilemma.

Well then, back on the bicycle Dorothy, because we're off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of OZ.

I’ll keep you updated. I’m so excited to have her input. I’ll post here with her results. And if you need a little sprucing up, then you need to consider her. She’ll work in any budget (even $0) and her ideas are complete treasures.

Auntie Em! Auntie Em! I’m finally home!


UPDATE! The pictures are in from my consultation: Kitchen Inspiration


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Dream Catchers: Layla Palmer

By Amy Platon

Do you believe in unicorns? No? I don’t either. But now I think I could probably be talked into it…if the story was really convincing. I would probably also require some sort of proof. Yup. I could probably be talked into believing in unicorns.

Well, I have someone to introduce. Her name is Layla Palmer. Have you heard of her? If not, then swing on by her blog. She started it in May last year and has gained quite a following. She launched it to document the renovation of her little cottage. She thought she’d use it as a cyber photo album. She also thought she’d share her design ideas with others who might need a little inspiration in redecorating their own homes. Turns out there are about 700 "others" and countless more who are being inspired daily by Layla’s design ideas.

She hasn’t always been a designer. When she was a kid she had a super ornate canopy bed with french blue floral bedding, ruffles and all. (Although in the 80’s that was probably perfectly acceptable for a young girl’s bedroom). Today though, she says bedrooms are her favorite room to design. And believe me, they are a complete design departure from what she once called home.

Bedrooms are probably her thing, because she has spent a lot of time in them. Layla has a condition called Palindromic Rheumatism. For months at a time, all of her joints fill with fluid to excruciating levels. Leaving her debilitated to the point that she can barely walk, open her mouth, turn her head, or lift her arms. But through it all, Layla’s unicorn stood in the distance of her mind.

And her bedroom today… well, pretty bare. She calls it irony, but I call it celebrating. Since her flair-ups have slacked off quite a bit, she is spending less time in her bedroom. I don’t blame her; I wouldn’t be in a rush to design it either.

About four months before she started her blog, Layla decided that she was tired of working outside her dream path. She wrote down her goals on specific terms. And now, a year later, she is not only a successful interior designer with a popular blog, but reaching even higher. She wants to be the next Design Star for HGTV. And I, for one, believe she will do it.

For Layla, her unicorn was this dream that she would be a designer. Her really-convincing-story is that she is pain free right now, today. Her proof is her gradual success.

Unicorns? Ok, yeah. I guess I’ve got one to go feed.

See the Kitchen Redesign Layla did for me.

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