The Style Cure

So we’re all-in with the kitchen update, and I’m excited to say that I think we’re almost there! I didn’t know if it was going to be doable with two little ones underfoot, but thanks to a lot of help from both sets of grandparents in both the babysitting and manpower departments, I think we may just finish on time.

Today is an important day for the rest of your Cure. It’s time to sit down and make note of what you need to get the job done, which means that those of you who put some time in on the research assignment yesterday should be able to conquer this step handily. If you still need to research your project or product, no worries, just roll that into today’s “homework”.

Alright, this is it: your room transformation is about to REALLY begin. The time has come for the weekend cleanup and clearout. (I know, sorry! But, just as I’m sure you knew it was coming up, you also know you’ll feel GREAT when it’s off your list.) Taking some time this weekend to do a really good, thorough decluttering and cleaning of whichever room your are curing can be a big job, but it’s absolutely a key moment in the Cure journey. You can do this!

Drawing up a proper to-scale 3D floor plan was a revelation. My usual method is to drag furniture around the room shouting things like, “Yes, it’ll definitely fit there! It will! It’s going to look amazing! Okay, so it’s bit tight, what about over there…?” Until everything has found a home and I have discovered new arm muscles I didn’t know existed. I used Autodesk Homestyler to make a free floor plan for my daughter’s new bedroom.

There won’t be much moving or rearranging happening in our kitchen this year. We’re updating on a tight budget, so we’re not replacing the cabinets or splurging on new appliances. We’ll be painting the lower cabinets (we painted the uppers white during last year’s Style Cure), switching out the dated laminate countertops for butcher block, adding a wood plank backsplash, and installing an inexpensive apron-front farmhouse style sink from good ol’ IKEA.

You are looking at my favorite room in the house, the sunroom. Can’t you tell how loved it is? Unfortunately, it has looked like this—or variations of this—ever since we moved in two summers ago. But it hasn’t always been the case… See, we actually bought the house 7 years ago and redid this room back then. This is the “true” before. This is what the space looked like at closing.

This year’s Cure isn’t for me, it’s for my Dad. Recently retired, not quite sure what to do with himself, and kicked out of his bedroom because he snores too much — it’s time Dad gets a little space for himself. But how do you get a straight answer about style out of someone who, in his own words, defines his own look as “embarrassing?

I always had myself pegged as a clean lines, simple shapes, less-is-more kind of person, but inspiration shopping for my daughter’s room unleashed an exuberant pattern-mixing, color-clashing side of me that I didn’t know existed. Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised as another glance at our Style Cure interview responses shows a shared love of all things colorful and uplifting.

Here we go again! Last year I decided to go all out and attempted to “cure” my kitchen. While it came a long way thanks to the Style Cure, we are now almost ready to begin phase two — we just installed wood floors and are planning to paint the lower cabinets and add butcher block countertops and a farmhouse sink.