Guest post: Jessica's Gray and Gorgeous Kitchen

Eek...Im trapped in the basement without wifi. Completely unable to blog. Whats a girl to do?

Ok, maybe I'm not locked underground but I really am out of blogging range right now. In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some beautiful transformations from a select few gracious readers.

If you are anything like me, you are a complete slut for a good before and after. Much like a internet pervert, I troll the web for these little unspoiled gems. Err...did I take the analogy too far? I think so. Lets strike the record and get the good stuff, shall we?

Just like anyone who would come to my house as an invited guest, I'm really so happy these guests were willing to share their work here. Welcome!!

Here is the very first guest installment from the stylish Jessica of Lavender & Lillies. Take it away...

Hi. My name is Jessica and I own the blog Lavender and Lilies which features my own decorating adventures. My husband Chris and I live in Upstate South Carolina, which is a far cry from Brooklyn but a great suburban town nonetheless. We bought a 1930s era Bungalow almost two years ago in a beautiful historic neighborhood. The house had been renovated in that the tasks that required a professional were finished but that was about it. We are having a lot of fun redecorating the house and finishing the minor renovations that still need to be completed while living with the constant wonder as to which one of us will fall through the original hardwood floors first.

The only room that is completely finished and decorated is my kitchen (save barstools, if you have any suggestions, send them my way). When we bought the house, the kitchen was orange, which actually looked really pretty in the afternoon sun but too orange sorbet in the morning.

After two bad color choices on my part and some tiling we ended up with this

The walls are Ralph Lauren Orion Gray and we used white subway tiles we bought at Lowe's. The drapes are the Thomas Print Drape sold at Pottery Barn.

We painted the oak cabinets white and added polished nickel hardware. My husband installed lights under the cabinets. Our kitchen is large and also houses a desk area. The desk was another Pottery Barn purchase.

Our kitchen also has a small (and I mean tiny) breakfast nook. Unfortunately, the walls around it are load bearing so they couldn't be taken down because that was definitely my first choice. We did the best with what we had and added a bar height table to make the area feel less claustrophobic.

I also hung a little of my own photography and a framed chalkboard. The best thing is that excluding furniture, wall decor and rugs we spent less than $750 on the entire project including paint, paint supplies, cabinet hardware, drapes, window hardware, new sink, new faucet, under cabinet lights, etc.

I hope you like the space and I would love for you to stop by Lavender and Lilies to check out my other projects. Thanks and Happy Decorating!