Why I Skipped Some of My Favorite Design Elements in Our Own House
- Molly Ishmael
- Aug 6, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 10, 2022
In a previous post, I shared design inspiration and some specific choices we made for the new house design. But also, there were some gorgeous elements in my original plans that we skipped at the last minute. And at the time I promised to share those along with the reasoning behind skipping them.
Just in case you missed the original post, here it is:
So here are a few design elements that I LOVED but we ended up skipping, and why...
Too bad, so sad! I ended up skipping the black walls in the bathrooms. Photo credit: Apartment Therapy.
Gorgeous Design Elements We Ended Up Skipping
...which I hope one of you does so I can live vicariously through you!
1. Black Walls in All the Bathrooms
Originally, we had black walls written into the paint plan for all the bathrooms. I was PSYCHED. This is a look I've ALWAYS wanted to do. Honestly, I couldn't believe my husband was going to sign off on it! I would have done white trim, colorful art, and lovely lighting to make the smallest rooms in the house extra dramatic.
However, in the end we ended up deciding to do black interior doors throughout the home, and then it was getting tricky - I wanted white doors in those rooms to break up the black walls, but the exterior side of those same doors would be been black to contrast with the white walls outside the bathrooms... We would have had to notate each door and explain to the painters via the builder's designer... So yeah, we skipped the black paint.
Except for two exceptions, that is: the toilet room in the master bathroom and the bathtub statement wall will be black. We went with Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black, which I also used in my classroom this year and LOVE! Can't wait to see how it looks in the house!
The black ceilings aren't happening in our house. Who among who is willing to paint yours instead? Photo credit: Pinterest.
2. Black Ceilings in the Bathrooms
Yes, I love the color black...
So, after deciding on white walls throughout due to the black doors, I rallied one more time to get black ceilings in the bathrooms. David didn't buy in. I think the fact that the ceiling are 12 feet high gives him comfort - in our previous homes, I could just paint them when he goes on his next work trip, right? But he knows I'm not scaling a 12 ft. ladder with a gallon of paint, so he's basically operating with impunity now! Oh, well. :)
Emotional sadness... goodbye, chandeliers! Photo credit: Decor Pad.
3. Chandeliers in the Kitchen
From the very beginning of the design process, I intended to have two wrought-iron crystal chandeliers in the kitchen, contemporary Victorian-style. However, as the other lighting fixtures and finished were chosen, I began to think the chandeliers might be slightly too ornate for the style of the house (but only slightly... after all, can anything really be "too" ornate? :)
So, we chose simple wrought iron lanterns instead. But if any of you are interested in installing chandeliers in your kitchens, please, let me know so I can visit them. Oops, of course I meant visit you.
The classic southern front porch. Photo Credit: The Glam Pad.
4. A Front Porch
This was actually my husband's "favorite." Ah the classic southern front porch... He pictured himself sitting on a rocking chair sipping sweet tea, taking in the views of nature.
However, the build price was figured by square foot, whether inside or outside, so adding several hundred feet of front porch would have added a surprisingly high cost, even though it isn't enclosed or "finished." In the end, I believed we would not ever use it due to the heat and the bugs - a screen wasn't the look we wanted for the front of the house, rendering the porch basically useless for us. We tend to be the type of people who get eaten alive by mosquitos, sooo... there's no front porch. Instead, we put our money into the back patio which will be screened with a fan. That's the practical decision!
And those are the things we originally planned but ended up skipping. In the end of course, I'm happy with our choices. And maybe one of you lovely folks will use the other ideas in your house so you can share pictures and we can all share the joy!
With Love,
Molly
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