Bell Cabinetry & Design Holiday Tour

You know what goes realllllly well with custom cabinetry? HOLIDAY DECOR!!

This is our first holiday season in the new Bell Cabinetry & Design Buckhead Showroom and I'm slightly embarrassed to tell you I've been pumped to deck these halls since some of the designs were just ideas swirling around inside my head! One hood in particular was literally destined to sport a wreath. Luckily the showroom was also slotted to be the location of two holiday parties, which made getting the space holiday ready necessary not just fun. 

The Monday after Thanksgiving I enlisted the help/guidance of my mom, the Holiday Decor Whisperer, and fellow designer Addie Sandidge  and we got busy decking the halls! The showroom has 5 kitchens, 2 baths, a pantry, a closet and a mudroom, each with it's own style. The goal was for individual vignettes to feel cheerful and festive in a unique way while maintaining a cohesive feel for the showroom as a whole. No easy fete, but we were up for the challenge and ended up being pleased with the end results! Let me show you around.....

Here's a view of our front entry, note the Santa hat on our logo.

The first vignette as you enter the showroom showcases our Heritage Collection.

This display is classic, elegance so we wanted the décor to reflect this vibe. A beautiful magnolia wreath plus mercury glass Christmas trees and balls did the trick.

Next up is our Studio display AKA the kitchen with the hood made to play back drop to a wreath. 

And a boxwood wreath at that. Oooooh the charm. 

This kitchen is fresh, clean and happy with open shelving, a farm sink and a subway tile backsplash. We let the wreath on the hood be the "wow" and then just added hints of cheer here and there with pops of red and more boxwood clippings scattered about. 

Our back Milano Collection Kitchen sits right off the conference room with floor to ceiling steel windows and door. 

We kept the decor on the kitchen itself minimal and focused our attention on adding wreaths in a grid pattern to the conference room window wall! We loved the impactful, yet understated effect. 

Lastly, one of my favorite little spots in the showroom is our mudroom. 

A few mini Christmas trees, a festive scarf and tiny lumberjack kissing a red nutcracker make this spot cozy and bright!

Well, there you have it, a little peak at the holiday scene currently happening over at our new showroom. Each day we light our Fir & Firewood candle (best smell ever!!), turn on the Christmas Tree lights (we have 3, not pictured!!) and some days we even crank up the holiday tunes making this the hap hap happiest 3,000 square feet on the block!

All photos are my own. 

Our House - Year 2

It's hard to believe we are in the last month of 2017 already! This year has truly flown by, but before it's gone I want to take a minute and look back at all we've accomplished here on the home front. Back in October we celebrated our two year anniversary in this house and I'm happy to say we feel 100% more accomplished this year than we did after year one.

Our house is feeling more and more like a home and more excitedly our home with each project we complete. Some rooms are finished and some still have a ways to go, but a lot of them underwent some type of improvement this year.

Let's get the party started with The Living Room:

Earlier this year we added a chandelier, curtains and a coffee table to this space and man does it feel good in here. We definitely spend a lot of time in this room, so it's nice that it's one of the more completed areas in our house.

Up next...The Dining Room:

This room definitely saw a lot of action this year. We wrapped up our antique mantle restoration, figured out our chair situation around the dining table and added curtains. We also incorporated antique brackets to separate the dining room from the foyer which really elevated the whole space.

The last area we dug into this year was our mudroom. 

We touched every inch of this space and after adding planks, replacing our entry door, updating our laundry door and building out mudroom storage over the antique bench we reupholstered I would say we can officially consider this room D O N E.

And lastly, the never-ending project - The Outdoor Kitchen:

This is the most updated shot we have. It's from April and we haven't made much project since then. Next year is our year to finish this beast, I can feel it.

The process of updating, furnishing and decorating a house can feel overwhelming, exhausting and expensive. If you all are anything like me you know it can be hard to work through spaces, one at a time when what you really want to do is blink and it all be done. But in all honesty, I'm a sucker for the process too. Even if I had an unlimited budget and all the time in the world, I know I would still take forever because often times the best rooms are those that are collected and perfected over time. As we wrap up year two I'm feeling excited and proud that more rooms, especially on our first floor, feel like "us" as compared to the empty caves they were this time last year. So, cheers to progress and embracing the sloppy, tiring, expensive and rewarding journey!

All photos are my own. 

Dining Room Curtains

We are in the process of wrapping up the mudroom remodel (2 posts left to share!) but before we bounce back into that project I wanted to show you the newest addition to our Dining Room....

Curtains!!!

It never ceases to amaze me what an instant difference curtains make in a room. It's like the room has it's eyebrows and is giving you a hug all at the same time. I talked a bit about our curtain journey back in August and shared how we decided to use some antique brackets to separate our dining room from the foyer. This allowed us to purchase more expensive fabric for the dining room curtains because we wouldn't need AS much.

We considered several options in various colors and patterns....

And while any one of them would of worked we fell in love with the texture and dimension the raised flower pattern brought to the table.

Once we made our decision we lined up our favorite super-star seamstress - Cindy (Brent's Mom) and she got to work creating the curtains. In no time she was back in Atlanta, curtains in hand and we (Brent) got them installed. One tricky element was the bay window. We decided we didn't want to hang curtains within the bay window because we didn't want to block the natural light, so we had to find a rod that could make a 45 degree turn.

The curtains add such a nice layer to the space and I love how they pop against the background of our antique mantle. 

The  room feels so much fancier with the addition of the curtains. Brent and I both agree this is definitely the fanciest room we've ever created (in our own house that is). But I guess if you're going to have a fancy schmancy area in your house a dining room is the best space for that to be! All in all this room is feeling SO good and while it definitely needs some fluff - a rug, art, lighting, etc...it has come a long way this year and is definitely one of our favorite spaces in the house. 

All photos are my own. 

Fall Decor + Croix is Famous

Hey Y'all, welcome to my Fall front porch!

Random fact: Thursdays have always been my favorite day of the week. A lot of people love Friday, Saturday or Sunday, but for me it's always been Thursday. By Thursday you are so close to the weekend you can feel it, the day has promise and excitement of what's just around the corner. Fall has the same affect on me. Fall is just all good things - cooler weather (well, hopefully that will be coming to Georgia soon), college football, pumpkin spice lattes (I'm basic, I'm aware) and a whole list of exciting things on the horizon - Halloween, my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Croix's birthday, New Years Eve, etc...

My love for the season always has me eager to pounce on our Fall decor as soon as October 1 rolls around and this year was no exception. Actually it was...I put out some of my decor at the end of September. GASP....I wear white pants after Labor Day too. I'm wild, I know.....

But I'm not the only overly excited one around here.....

This year we built upon on the scene we created last year by adding some bats to the mix in addition to a fresh collection of pretty mums and pumpkins.

I'm especially obsessed with the little gold pumpkins we sprinkled around. 

The cherry on the top of this month was definitely seeing the October issue of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyle Magazine because just look who is on those glossy pages representing Bell Cabinetry & Design....

Photo by Rustic White Photography. 

He will be signing autographs just as soon as he learns to write his name. ;)

Bats | Gold Pumpkins | Buffalo Check Mat DIY

Unless otherwise noted all photos are my own. 

Walnut Fireplace Surround

Hey, you know what takes a beautiful antique mantle with a white marble surround to the next level of eye candy?!? A walnut coat.

I know it's a little early in the season to be talking about coats, but can you deal with the prettiness?! 

OK, now that I've gone and showed you the final results let's dig into the details of this final element in the rejuvenation of this 100+ year old mantle. After we got the mantle painted, things were looking really good, but there were some holes on each side of the mantle from where the old fireplace used to sit.

We've known about the holes since we mounted the mantle earlier this year, so we've had some time to contemplate the fix. There was always the option to repair the sheetrock and paint the walls but as the mantle really started to come to life with the marble + paint, we started dreaming of adding a final layer to the scene in the way of natural wood. It just seemed like the perfect finishing touch. 

We knew we wanted to use walnut and we knew we wanted that walnut to be thick so the frame would be substantial enough to look proportional around the mantle itself. We had heard about a wood store from the folks at Highland Woodworking and popped by in early July to see if we could find what we were looking for. 

The wood store is called Carlton McLendon, Inc. and IT...IS...AWESOME! Because I design cabinetry for a living I'm a big fan of wood, but this place takes the love of wood to the next level. There is literally wood everywhere in every species and size you can imagine. Not surprisingly they had exactly what we were looking for in a big stack so we were able to sift through and pick the pieces we wanted.

These were the winners:

After that, they took the wood downstairs and ran it through the plainer. This machine smooths the top and bottom of each piece of wood, and makes it flat and symmetrical. Here is Brent catching the wood as it came through. This step was really cool because the beautiful graining and color started to show through immediately.

Unfortunately Carlton McLendon's didn't have a joiner which is the machine that cleans up the sides of the wood. This step is very important because we needed the boards to be the same size and STRAIGHT. Lucky for me, I have some super talented, woodworking friends, specifically Richard Oliver, an engineer at Bell, who rigged up a jig on the table saw to trim the wood evenly. The pieces ended up being 2" thick by roughly 5" wide.

With the wood all trimmed up we started the sanding process. Brent sanded all three pieces with 150 grit paper.

Next, we applied a coat of Tung Oil. We landed on tung oil as our finish of choice after talking with the guys at Highland Woodworking.  Natural walnut is just so beautiful, so we knew we didn't want to stain it, but rather just protect it and bring out its natural grain. They suggested Tung Oil, so that's what we went with. We applied a coat, let it dry for 24 hours, sanded it down (1st round with a 220 grit), applied tung oil, let it dry for 24 hours, sanded it down (2nd round with a 320 grit) and then applied our third coat of tung oil, let it dry for 24 hours and sanded it down a final time (3rd round with a 400 grit) with one more application of tung oil at the end.

Once the boards were completely dry, Brent applied wood glue to the back....

And then installed each piece, starting with the sides. Thank God Croix was willing to lend his muscles to the cause. 

So, because Before and Afters are just so satisfying to see, let's take a walk down memory lane...

The original fireplace:

                

The 100 year old mantle fresh out of my Papa-Jack & Grandmother's garage:

And finally........

Boom! We are proud of this one, she has come along way!

All photos are my own. 

Neolith

Today I want to talk countertops.

White marble is still one of the most popular countertop selections in the kitchen and bath market despite the fact that it is porous and does require upkeep and maintenance. Over the years countless companies have come out with  man-made options some of which I have talked about here on the blog, however when it came time to pick the countertops for my first kitchen, what did I choose? Marble. But maybe not next time for me...why? Well, there is a new (to me) kid on the block and he is putting all of the other options to shame. His name: Neolith.

This name may ring a bell as I talked a lot about it during a few instastories surrounding my  Luxury Living Show Bath at Phipps Plaza earlier this year. I selected the Calacatta Gold for the shower walls and was blown away by the finished results.

Photo by David Christensen for Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Magazine

Can you believe this is not real marble? I had seen the marble - esque slabs in person at Stone Center, but seeing the product installed in this shower application just blew me away. It really looks like marble. The veining, the colors, even the feel..... 

Photo by David Christensen for Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Magazine

It's a looker that's for sure, bur even more importantly, it is virtually indestructible.

Yes you read that right, this product is....

• UV Resistant - making it great for outdoor applications.
• Waterproof - No etching!!!
• Freeze/Thaw resistant - another great attribute for an outdoor surface
• Hygienic - meaning it is suitable for food contact. In fact it's just as good as stainless steel.
• Easy to Clean - No household material will hurt it. 
• Heat resistant up to 500 degrees celsius
• Stain Resistant

To prove the last two points Leo Chuahy, owner of Stone Center brought a few props into our showroom last week to showcase the toughness of this stone. Up first - a blow torch.....yes, a BLOW TORCH. 

A lot of quartz surfaces say you can put hot plates and pans right out of the oven on their surfaces, but most of them can only withstand up to 350 - 390 degrees. Neolith is heat resistant up to 500 degrees celsius (932 degrees farenheight!), so there is nothing you could cook in your kitchen that would be hot enough to hurt these countertops.

Next he pulled out a sharpie and a can of spray paint. He let me write on the stone with the sharpie and then wiped it right off with rubbing alcohol.

Next, he sprayed this smiley face on the stone using spray paint.....

     

..... let it dry and again, it wiped right up. For me, this is so cool because I think of all the activities that happen on our countertops, specifically our island. While you can get (and I did) natural stone surfaces like marble sealed against food and beverage stains, I would of never feel comfortable enough to let Croix color with sharpies or Brent paint something on my old marble countertops. They were just too fragile in my mind. It would be really cool to have a surface that not only looks the way you want it to, but is care-free enough you can actually use it and enjoy it worry free.

Ok, ok, you get it..Neolith is cool, but what exactly is Neolith? Neolith is a sintered compact surface made with 100% natural material. Quartz, silicon and clay are mixed together and brought to solid form using high pressure, high temperatures or both, which is exactly how the earth makes natural stones like granite or marble. It is a 100% recyclable material that comes in a lot of different patterns and finishes, from matte to polished and a few in between. One of the coolest things about this product is it's size. It's light weight and can get as small as 1/8"(3mm) thick which is what you would use for cabinet cladding. The next size up is 1/4" (6mm), perfect for walls and flooring (this is the size we used for the walls of the shower in the photos above). And finally 1/2" (12mm) which is the size used for the countertops. The shower wall application is especially nice because you will be able to create drama and beauty with no grout!

As you can see, Neolith has a lot of good points, however, like anything, it has it's limitations. It is not chip resistant. No stone countertop is, but there can be the misconception that because this stone is SO easy to care for and worry free that it is indestructible. But this not true, like any stone, it can crack or chip if it's hit at the right angle with the right pressure. The good news.... chips and cracks can be repaired.

As I think about my next kitchen remodel, it excites me that there is finally a product like Neolith that will allow me to get the look I want without sacrificing my sanity down the road.  It's funny because when we bought our first house, the kitchen was the very first thing we tackled, but now that I'm a Mom, I'm thankful almost every day that I do not have a brand new kitchen in this house as I watch Croix slam into cabinets and spill anything and everything on the countertops. Kids change things and while I know he will grow out of this specific phase, he is going to live here, eat here, play here, do homework here, etc. for the next 16 1/2 years, so the idea of having a surface in the most used room of my house that he can actually use without me worrying sounds pretty good.

So yeah, I'm a fan....can you blame me? 

If you are in the Atlanta area and you are interested in hearing more or would like to see the stone for yourself, Stone Center in Norcross is the place for you. Click this link here for their info. 

Unless otherwise noted all photos are my own.

Chit-Chat ((feb 17'))

Every now and then I thought we could break up the normal design/house related posts of 2017 with a little chit-chat about nothing and everything. Sound good? Ok, great, let's start.

I found eucalyptus at Trader Joes and I'm addicted.

Not only does it smell amazing but each bundle is only $2.99 and has been lasting over 2 weeks with some water in the vase! You may have noticed some eucalyptus on my coffee table in this blog post and on the center piece of my breakfast table in this Instagram photo.

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Photo from Jack & Ella Paper

A few weeks ago I ordered this grocery list and now I actually look forward to meal planning and grocery shopping!
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I love ramen.

I've always loved the packs of ramen you get in the grocery store (terrible for you I know...) but after visiting Japan a few years ago my love for ramen went to the next level. Lucky for me, Brent stumbled upon Hajime - Homemade Noodle Bar and the ramen is SO good and reasonably priced too! Atlanta people - GO!

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s o c i a l     m e d i a     Favorites:

Instagram Design Account: namdangmitchell

Instagram Stories: LivingwithLandyn 

Blog: Chris Loves Julia

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About a month ago Brent and I started going to Passion City Church in Atlanta. Great music and relatable messages. We really like it.

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For year's I have been using NARS bronzer which is pretty pricey. But because I'm pretty makeup simple minded, I've never been brave enough to try something else. Well, lucky for me (?) I forgot my bronzer on my trip to Orlando last month and ended up borrowing bronzer from my friend Melissa. Welllllll, that bronzer I loved and guess what? It's $6.49 AND IT COMES WITH A BLUSH that I also love.


Do you guys like posts like this? Let me know......Happy Valentines Week! xoxo

Unless otherwise noted all photos are my own. 

Living Room Updates // Coffee Table + Curtains

Before Christmas we checked off 2 more boxes on the living room front, making this space one giant step closer to D O N E.

At this point I'd say it's safe to assume the other rooms in our house are definitely starting to give the living room the side eye. Ok, on to the details....Up first....

A Coffee Table

A coffee table had been high up on our priority list from day one. The coffee table we had purchased from Scott's Antique for our last house was not big enough for the new living room set-up, so we sold it on Craigslist and kept our eyes open for a new one. Trouble was, with every option we saw, we became less and less inspired. We had either seen it a thousand times or it was too sharp (Croix), fragile (couldn't use it as a table when we eat our dinner in the den for fear of spills) or it was the wrong size. We know how we live and we didn't want to invest in a piece that would feel too fancy or too dangerous or too run of the mill.  In addition, with a new tiny, mobile family member to consider now we wanted to be mindful of a selection that would be pretty, functional and safe-ish. So, as is typical right around the time we stopped talking/looking for a coffee table we found one without even trying.

One Saturday afternoon before a UGA game we ran over to Publix to grab some homemade pizza ingredients (yes, the pizza oven is up and running...more on that later....) and popped into Nadeau, a furniture store in the same strip. We were casually perusing around when we came upon the coffee table.

I'm not going to say it was definitely the donut detailing that stopped me in my tracks, but this detail didn't hurt. Not only did we like the color and details but it was the right size and the right price so we bought it, loaded it and Croix has been walking around it, knocking anything and everything off of it from that day forward.

Curtains

There are a lot of windows in our living room. Two high ones on either side of the fireplace and then an entire wall of windows/doors with glass that looks out to the patio. We love all of the natural light but in the late afternoon the sun that streams through is so intense that it makes it uncomfortable to sit in there, especially to watch TV. So, curtains have also been high up on the priority list for sometime. Trouble is, it's real hard to pick curtain fabric when you don't have much direction for the overall vibe of the space. I didn't want to commit to curtains and then box myself in to bringing the rest of the room together around them. So, we kind of sat back and let the room organically evolve and then by late Fall the room was really starting to come together with our new built-in doors + succulent wall and giant art for over the couch so I felt comfortable moving forward with curtains. 

We headed to several fabric stores and hung up our favorite swatches on the walls around the windows to see which one would be the winner. 

In true "us" fashion those swatches hung there for um....months. Ugh, yes months. BUT finally we narrowed down our favorite and our in-family seamstress  (Brent's Mom, Cindy) got busy making them for us. 

We planned to use the metal rod hardware we had used for our living room curtains at our first house, however when we went to install them we quickly figured out that wouldn't work. The span was too long and the weight of the curtains was literally pulling the brackets out of the wall! Oooooh the joys of home improvement projects. At the end of the day it was the fact that 3-4 smaller rods had to be screwed together to achieve the length we needed. We ended up finding a wood rod that is a lot more sturdy because it's broken up into only two pieces that meet in the middle.

We ended up going with a nubby rough cotton weave. The color is very similar to that of the walls so the curtains add layers of texture and interest without overwhelming the room with another statement.   The ceilings in this room are 10' high so in order accentuate the height we hung the curtains right under the crown moulding for a little drama. We also ordered enough fabric so the curtains could actually close all the way. This is especially nice in the late afternoon when that sun is pouring into the room.

Slowly but surely this 2nd house of ours is coming together. As much as I sometimes wish I could just blink and it would be all done it's pretty fun watching it take shape, layer by layer, piece by piece.

All photos are my own. 

Junior League Tour of Kitchens 2015

This weekend was SUCH a rush! 

Saturday our house was on the Junior League Tour of Kitchens!

Our home was open from 10-4 and hundreds, yes HUNDREDS of people (300 +) came through to tour our space. In the midst of the tour there were two cooking demonstrations AND a Keurig representative giving out hot drinks.

Needless to say things got pretty crowded and it was surreal seeing all of the people lining up to get into our home. Everyone was so nice and patient and they were full of sweet compliments and great questions. 

Because of the way our house is situated the entire downstairs was open with the exception of our two guest bedrooms. People entered through the front door and exited from the deck, so they got to see a lot of the projects we've completed along the way, including the outdoor kitchen and our recently completed office solarium! It was cool because I was posted up in the inside kitchen to greet people and answer questions, while Brent was posted up on the deck with the outdoor kitchen waiting to do the same. Surprise, surprise, the outdoor kitchen and TV cabinet were a huge hit and gave the actual reason for the tour (the inside kitchen) a run for it's money!

As you all know our house nor our kitchen is big by any stretch of the imagination, but it is full of a lot of heart and consideration. I was excited for our house to be on the tour to represent Bell Kitchen & Bath Studios for a lot of reasons, but especially to show people that great storage and functionality is not synonymous with an abundance of space. When we began designing this kitchen I pulled every rabbit I knew of out of my hat to make each and every cabinet count. Custom cabinetry is great on a lot of levels, but for small spaces like ours it was especially useful as it allowed us to make our space the best it could be by capturing every storage possibility we could. 

While Brent and I have been very happy with the kitchen, you never know how people will react. There were definitely times in the months leading up to the tour that I worried people would be underwhelmed by our small space, but boy was I wrong. I was thrilled to find that a lot of the people that came through really connected with our smaller space and were excited to see the storage components we used and hear about our thought process. There were so many questions, comments and oohs and ahhs. It was awesome!   

It was a proud day for sure and Brent and I are SO happy we participated, but BOY do we feel a huge weight lifted off our shoulders now that it's over! The good news? This tour forced us to get our butts in gear and complete a bunch of projects in and around the house. So, get excited because I have all kinds of new projects and finished spaces to show you all in the coming weeks!

All photos by Lori Foster. 

HGTV Urban Oasis Photos and Contest Info

Happy Labor Day friends!!

To celebrate this day of relaxation I thought I'd let you all know the images for the HGTV Urban Oasis 2014 are now online and ready to be perused and drooled over by the masses!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this unit is located right here in Atlanta at the Mandarin Oriental and Bell Kitchen and Bath Studios (the company I work for) provided most of the cabinetry! While we had the opportunity to watch this unit take shape over the past few months we were just as anxious as everyone else to see the finished shots with the rooms all furnished and decorated.

Check out some of my favorite shots below:

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw this sneak peek of the kitchen last week:

The cabinetry is from Bell's Metropolitan Frameless Collection with slab doors and a painted finish. As is the case with any kitchen, one wants as much storage as possible, which is why there are organizational storage components and features included throughout the kitchen.

You would never know it but there is a whole pantry behind that oven wall. The entrance was covered with cabinetry which really provides a seamless, clean look. 

Living Room:

This space sits right off the kitchen and shares a wall of windows overlooking beautiful Stone Mountain. The built-in cabinetry also has slab doors with touch-latch hardware.

Master Bath:

This space is full of texture and interest which really evokes a calm, tranquil vibe. With a giant tub and spectacular views this room is equal parts relaxing and luxurious.

This has just been a taste of the apartment, see more shots of these spaces and tour the rest of the unit here.

Y'all this beautiful space could be yours! To enter, follow this link for instructions and guidelines. You can enter through October 10th, 2014, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Just think....A nearly 2,000 square foot apartment located in the heart of Buckhead on the 37th floor of The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta PLUS, a 2015 Acura TLX and a $50,000 cash price!!! Holy smokes, go enter.......and one of you Cow Spot readers WIN WIN WIN!!

All images are from HGTV's website.