November 2016 Archives - The Inspired Room

Hello, there! Today there is a pretty exciting development happening our kitchen. I can hardly believe it, but the cabinets are being delivered and installed! No photos yet of the progress since the work hadn’t started when I published this post, but you can imagine I’m doing a HAPPY DANCE AND SPORTING A HUGE GRIN ON MY FACE!

If you happen catch a glimpse of the kitchen on Instagram stories or see it later this week on the blog, you’ll notice it currently has dark blue walls and a natural wood ceiling. The blue is just a primer and while the tongue and groove natural wood ceiling is pretty, it will actually be painted white. And man, let me tell ya, those two elements have been throwing off the whole vibe I’m going for! I can’t wait for the day it all gets painted. They have projected a completed space by December 21 (!) so you can bet I’m counting the minutes.

Even though our kitchen is obviously a small one, a lot of thought went into each and every detail we wanted to work with. I think with a small galley kitchen you need to think through elements more carefully. We had to consider how each piece would work together even more than I might have otherwise, because everything we bring into that room is going to shout at us visually in just a few square feet of space.

While our kitchen will have a fresh and clean feel, we didn’t play it safe or boring. It will definitely have its own personality. We chose to avoid dramatic or boldly patterned design statements as they would potentially overpower or close in our entire small kitchen, and instead we strived to ramp up the interest in other ways.

Our starting point for the design was to create a subtle backdrop while using interesting contrasts, shapes and textures. The newly updated architectural elements like the archways, the round window, the lights and other choices bring personality to the shell of the room. That personality means we can keep the rest of this space simple and clean and edited. Or if we are feeling like something new, we can play as much as we want with color and patterns through seasonally changeable items like plants, rugs, dishes, cutting boards, and dish towels.

I do love to change the look of a room, so I know I’m going to really enjoy the flexibility of this space for years to come. You can see some of the elements together in the design board today. We couldn’t capture every special detail of the room on the board, but rest assured, more will be revealed and any questions will be answered in due time!

I’ll also show you the layout and happily offer more detail down the road about why each element was chosen. There are some sources linked below in case you are curious, but I will do a more detailed/complete source list once the kitchen is finished. I haven’t had new appliances in years (we kept the same stove and fridge in our last kitchen remodel) so having all new KitchenAid appliances installed is truly going to be a dream, too. I can’t wait to tell you more about them and I’ll be sure to have all the model numbers for the source post, too.

We can already sense that this kitchen will transform the feel of our home in all the ways we hoped it would.

Kitchen Elements Sources:

Wall color: Simply White by Benjamin Moore / Dutch door color: Blue Note by Benjamin Moore / Cobalt and brass wall lights / Farmhouse sink / Brass faucet / Hardware: Crystal Knobs, Small Knobs, Drawer Pull, Round Knobs / Plaid kitchen towel (set of two) / Appliances: Refrigerator / Stove / Quartz countertops: Daltile / Tile floors: Daltile (Haze color)

A more detailed source list will be provided when the kitchen is complete!

Happy Tuesday!

Do you have a dream that is just forming or maybe even barely starting to take shape in your heart or mind? Maybe you sense a significant purpose for your life is there beneath the surface, but you just don’t know how to get it from fuzzy dream state to thriving rewarding reality. Maybe you feel too much doubt in yourself or have a paralyzing fear about your abilities. Or maybe you believe with all your heart you are called to something more, but you feel at a loss for how to figure out what it is or what to do with it. I so relate. That was me. All of it. If it is you too, be sure to stick around for the end of this long post.

Ya’ll, as I’ve mentioned a few times now, January 2017 marks the official 10th anniversary of The Inspired Room. I get kind of choked up even thinking about it. Ten years? This isn’t the anniversary of the blog, but the anniversary of the day I took a leap of faith to start my business by the same name. While the foundation of The Inspired Room was essentially created during my lifelong passion for the home, I obviously couldn’t see all that was was ahead during that time.

What started out like a very hazy vision of a dream about eleven years ago finally started to become a little more clear that January day.

Right there at my desk in my own home, I officially began this amazing adventure by giving that undefined dream a name. The name The Inspired Room reflected what my heart felt compelled and called to create.

I felt inspired to encourage women in creating an authentic, healthy, stable and beautiful home. I was passionate about the message of creating a home inspired by who we are and what we love.

Sitting there at my desk that day and giving my dream a name was a small first step towards a future I didn’t even know was possible for our family. I seized the moment, even though I could only see a tiny bit of the vision. I seized the opportunity, even though I didn’t know where I was going.

I didn’t have a longterm business plan. I didn’t plan to start a blog. My only hope in that moment was that the name would give me confidence and even motivate me to find a way to help a few people. If I could help a few people, it would have been enough for me. Helping others to see the potential in their home and the impact it could have on their life would become my mission from that day forward. That mission was something that spoke to my heart and it propelled me to keep moving forward.

Ella Frances Sanders

One day at a time, one step at a time, I invested myself in small daily goals to impact others. I poured my heart into everything I did and seized nearly every opportunity that came my way. Months before there was ever a blog, I met with women one by one in their home, helping them to transform their rooms. In the process of helping others with their home, I grew more confident and overcame some of my own insecurities, too.

About seven months after the day my business had a name, I started a blog with the same name. At the time I saw a blog as just another way to find people I could help. Blogs weren’t a big deal or even seen as a real business opportunity back then, so we had no clue what we were getting ourselves into! My goal was always to help others to see the potential in what they already had around them. Each step of the way, whether it has been through the blog or through other avenues that came along like book writing, my goal has always remained pretty much the same.

What do I have to give that might impact or even change even one person’s life in some small way? Those answers became my why and my purpose.

As the 10th anniversary of taking that first leap of faith draws closer and New Year’s Resolutions are right around the corner, I’ve found myself reflecting on what the past ten years have meant to me and to our family. I thanked you all for being a part of my journey a few days ago and I really mean it.

I’m so glad that I didn’t dismiss that hazy vision that was so hard to see or understand at first. I’m so grateful that God nudged me strongly to push past the procrastinating, doubt and fears about myself because they nearly kept me from ever taking that first step at all.

It didn’t seem like much, but I’m so thankful for the passion I had for my home. I’m especially grateful that I was inspired to get out of my own four walls and persevered in offering what I had to other people every chance I got.

Honestly, you guys, here’s a thing I’ve learned.

IT IS THE GIVING of ourselves (yes, even with our limitations and doubts) that changes everything. Not only is it immensely rewarding to help someone else, but in so many unexpected ways for us, it was the giving that ultimately TRANSFORMED OUR FAMILY’S LIFE in every possible way, too.

Kate Alizadeh

If you are right now where I was back then, looking at a hazy undefined dream wondering if you have something or even anything worth giving away, believe me when I say that you DO. When you stop making excuses, stop procrastinating and especially stop doubting that what you have right now is enough and worthy and just start giving by pouring out what is already in your heart, IT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING. I hope you’ll remember that and take it to heart, no matter what bright or hazy dream might be welling up in you.

YOU have something special to offer and the world needs you to give away what you have!

Do you believe that? I hope you do.

Here’s a special invitation for some of you to seize a moment that will change YOUR life.

As I’ve been thinking back on my first ten years in my business and dreaming about where I’ll invest myself for the next ten, I sense a new mission and purpose bubbling up in me. I’m honestly both humbled and a bit scared (!) to put myself out there again but in a new way, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt it is time again to take what has been given to me over the past ten years and give it away.

No, I’m not giving away the blog. Not even a little bit. The Inspired Room isn’t going to change; I love what I get to do everyday and will still be here sharing about the home for the next ten years, just like always. :) But with ten years of successful business building behind me and many years ahead of me, I know the time has come for me to invest myself in personally cheering some of you on to build a successful business. I’m now passionate about helping others with their own business goals, too.

I’ve hesitated on how or if I could or should do that for the past year now, but just like that day when I named The Inspired Room, I know it is time to seize the moment and step out to help others. I know there are likely some of you out there right now who have been hoping or praying for the right opportunity to take a step towards your own dreams and goals.

Maybe what I have to offer is just what you need.

I’ve been so impressed with Young Living ever since I joined three years ago. I began incorporating these products into our home and life and because I truly believe in how life-changing they are, I sharing them with my readers via the blog and social media. You can read about it here.

If you’ve been looking for the right opportunity or for additional financial support for your dreams, I’d love to personally mentor you in starting your own home business through Young Living. Young Living is not like any other company I’ve been a part of. It is NOT a direct sales company, you do not keep an inventory. You don’t sell or deliver products. You can incorporate your Young Living business into what you love to do or dream of doing, so it will perfectly reflect your interests and your own community.

With Young Living, you:

1. Educate, train, and care for others.
2. To teach people how to set up their very own account so that they can have these amazing products.
3. To plug people into community, like our Facebook groups, and lovingly care for them as a friend would!

When you join with my team, you’ll also become part of my own special community and be invited to a private Facebook mentorship group! I’d love to help you reach your dreams.

Would you like to know more? Please email me at pureandlovelyliving@gmail.com.

Social Proper