House tour

Our latest project pulled inspiration from a few (juxtaposed) places - modern/timeless, urban/rural, and warm/minimal. We also drew inspiration from some of the incredible homes in Park City, a place we love to visit each summer. The dominant design principle however stayed true to the Modern Cottage style - clean and simple, where function and beauty unite. We're affectionately calling this project Luxe Utility.

Here's a look.

Our favorite friend, the Viking range. Such a dashing gent.

I will not get into the drama that became mounting these floating shelves. All I will say is... they turned out great! And I put my little white sconce on a dimmer for the sweetest kitchen night light ever.

We hand-picked the carrara per usual. We really love these pieces. They had a bit more grey than normal which works so perfectly in here. And I'm not going to lie- we eyeballed all the light fixtures in our own house before installation to see what we might like to change out. How can you not? One of my favorite lighting curations for sure.

Huge island - I am a wee bit jealous. Just. So. Much. Room... for cookie baking! You can really spread everything out. 

And yes, those are site-finished solid oak floors per usual - we just cannot get on board with the engineered trend.

We also blew the  budget on lighting - but you do what you gotta do to get the look just right.

Probably the first and last time we install this Kohler sink due to drain compatibility issues (the only one that works - from a Canadian manufacturer - is apparently being discontinued!). I am so smitten though. And because I can't stand to build a house that doesn't function 110%, I searched far and wide for a way to provide hand soap without adding a bulky shelf. I thought about recessing it into the tile wall but it was full of backing for the wall-mount sink. I tabled and revisited the hunt a few times, and in the end, I found this amazing steel holder and soap bottle from Denmark. It is one of my favorite things in the entire house! It's the little things.

And, the vintage lights. Checked and re-wired of course, and professionally installed. I am a wee bit jealous on this count, too. Thought long and hard about where to put in our own house, but alas, I did source them for this project, and they work so perfectly in the stairway. Ok, soap and sink and lights. My short list of loves. Railing is pretty great, too. We used all flat stock to keep it visually light.

Oh, right... and master bath. Sooooo much love. Solid hickory cabinets did the trick. Again, not on board with the wood-look laminate cabinets that are so popular right now. The purist in me, I guess. And: durability. I want these to look good for a long time.

This project was especially fun because we built a separate detached structure known here as an ADU or Accessory Dwelling Unit. It's like a studio apartment that can be a legal rental if desired.

The studio apartment is above the two-car garage. Such a great flex space for guests, teens, nanny, or it would make an incredible office.

Inside the ADU. We finished out the bathroom and roughed in for kitchen and laundry.

The mood of this house is crazy cool - so fresh, bright and cheerful. We just love it.

The clear cedar channel accents were definitely a splurge - but I took one look at the knotty stuff and knew it would not fit the design. Clear cedar it is!  Husband knew in advance I'd pass on the tight knot but indulged me because he knows I like to see all options. The channel style means the boards are stacked vs beveled - a great modern look.

We always love ourselves a little lime-hued smoke tree - the color is so perfect! We also found these amazing chartreuse holly which we loaded up on, and a few narrow aspens (we love the way the leaves flutter in the breeze).

We think it's pretty dreamy.

Did I mention what we started with? This tiny, 560 square foot structure. It was carefully deconstructed to studs until we were left with a couple partial walls and a portion of the foundation. This was necessary to achieve our architectural design given the constraints of the narrow lot. So the detached garage and ADU are newly constructed, and the house is considered a major addition/remodel.

Country Modern

We thought we'd share the photos we recently used to to add a little country flavor to the styling of an ultra modern home. My favorite is this one of the motel just off the highway, riverfront. Yes, I made the husband stop the car so I could take a picture when I spotted it (those "motel" letters are yellow, how could I not?). I also couldn't resist getting a bit of the road sign in there for the graphic punch and to illustrate the "side of the road" location of this motel. Doesn't it look great hanging in this modern space?

And the bull, of course (he had me a bit on edge to be honest. How do you gauge mood on a face like that?).

Gorgeous scenery for miles... plus a great rustic fence.

 

 And a fabulous old barn. Classic Americana.

A little creative cropping also helped to give these images a fresh, edgy feel (each was cropped into a vertical 8x10 to fit the frames). We love finding beauty in the simple things, and the fact that these locations are near and dear to our hearts make these photos even more meaningful.

Modern loft-style office

We recently styled a truly exceptional modern home and one of my favorite spaces is this unassuming little office nook at the landing of the upper level. The desk is from Crate and Barrel and it came with traditional-style oval knobs. A quick hardware swap and it feels much more stylish and mod. The art is comprised of a simple white metal frame with a photo of a contemplative bull taken a few summers back at my uncle's property in Salmon, Idaho (a stop on our road trip).

We mixed a bit of country modern into this home with additional framed photos from our trip and other decorative elements which we used in unconventional ways (like these vintage French fruit crate lids as an art installation). It added a lot of warmth and character and nicely contrasted the modern details and finishes in the home; the juxtiposition is both interesting and playful.

Of course we were sold instantly when we saw these lids with the black printed numbers (finds from treaure hunting :) Sometimes unexpected pairings give the best results!

Treasure hunting

We finally made it out to our favorite antiques gallery with baby...and it only took nine months! Nonetheless, we made it- that's what counts, right? We had some specific items in mind for an upcoming project, but it's always fun to browse, too. Here are some of the things that caught our eye (brace yourselves for a lot of galvi! :)

First up (above) is this vintage nesting box displayed as functional wall storage. Love for a  mudroom or entry. Totally unique piece.

Also this great old olive bucket. Love the shape of the holes and as well as the handles which provide a little contrast.

Rustic pendant lights. Lots of possibilities...

This made us smile: A lamp made from an old water tank. The price tag made us smile, too: $878!!

Set of four cool white retro chairs. Love these as dining chairs or even just one as a casual desk chair. Great for outside, too.

I was instantly drawn to this tote of vintage bulbs. The display felt beautiful and scupltural to me. And interesting!

Giant 3x5 galvi panel. We'd use it like a piece of art. Though it weighs about 60 pounds!

Rad old windmill tail. Really wanted to grab this but just don't have a place for it.  Probably gone by now, but at least I have this picture...

After lots of perusing, our little guy fell asleep on Dad, while the gallery staff oohed and ahhed over the darling sleeping baby (he is pretty darling, sleeping or awake :) Afterwards we stopped by the waterfront near the Space Needle to soak up some sun and enjoy the fountain. It was a fun day - and definitely a milestone for us as parents since it wasn't so many months ago in our newborn fog that we were entirely convinced we'd never make it back to this place again.