Che Bella Interiors

Bathrooms have changed vastly in the last five to ten years.  They have come a long way from the utilitarian place of brushing your teeth and showering, to a luxurious retreat full of elegant, meditative and relaxing elements.

Take a look at the custom tiled shower, over four feet in width!

Spa-like setting with glass shower enclosure and all white color scheme.

Here are some examples of the sizes and finishes older bathrooms use to include;

The size of older bathrooms used to reflect the purpose of the bath and how much time you spent in it.

Old bathrooms were commonly cluttered and didn't have enough fixtures to adequatly light the space.

More and more people are looking to transform their bathrooms from shabby and small to luxurious and grand.  The bathroom is quickly becoming the new place in your house to spend your time, much like the kitchen.

It’s easy to go overboard when planning an outdoor kitchen. While lots of fancy features will make it more fun, they’ll also up the price tag. So start by thinking about how much you’ll actually use your kitchen. Will you want to prepare gourmet meals for friends and family where you’ll need lots of counter space? Or will just a nook with a grill and a sink suffice? Set your limits before you get started.

Leave a Place to Eat
Make sure you think about planning to have a comfortable place to eat the food you have prepared.  Seating options range from patio to picnic tables to built-in benches.

Include a Sink
Your sink is probably one of the most-used aspects of your kitchen indoors. The same will probably go for your outdoor kitchen. Running water is great for washing fresh fruit or vegetables, doing dishes, and cleaning up messes.

Plan for Storage
It can be a major pain having to run in and out of the house for supplies. Plan for drawers and cabinets to store utensils and other tools you’ll need on a regular basis.

Leave a Light On
While lighting may not seem like one of the more important aspects, it’s a great asset to an outdoor kitchen. You’ll be able to keep an eye on your food after sunset without a flashlight — and you won’t have to stand there doing dishes in the dark.

Enjoy your Counterspace
Just like indoors, it seems like you’ll always wish for more counter space than you can have. Make sure there’s plenty of room on your counters for what you’ll need. And make sure your counters are an outdoor-friendly, easy-to-clean material.  Tip: Don’t go too dark with your counter space unless your kitchen is in the shade. Dark surfaces can really heat up if the sun blazes on them all day.

Make it Pleasing to the Eye
Be sure to build a kitchen you want to spend timein. Think about the architectural style of your house, as well as how your outdoor kitchen will look with the rest of your yard. Because kitchens can look stark, it’s fun to decorate them with planters.  Tip: Grow containers of fresh herbs around your kitchen to make harvesting and cooking with them a snap.

Make it Easy
Because you’ll probably end up running back and forth from your indoor kitchen, make sure your outdoor kitchen is easy to get to. Keep it close and make sure it’s paved with an even surface.  Note: While flagstone is beautiful, many types can be uneven.

Think about the Details
The little things can have just as big an impact on how much you love your kitchen. Think about things like a built-in cutting board, the pulls on cabinets doors, and a ceiling fan to move hot, heavy air.

Plan for Power
Your kitchen runs on electricity. Provide built-in outlets so you can run additional appliances such as the blender, electric mixer, or a radio. It’ll not only make your kitchen more convenient, but it will look better and be safer than running extension cords around.

Provide Shelter
Just like your kitchen inside has a ceiling, the one outside should, too. A shelter provides shade on steamy afternoons when the sun is blazing down. And it allows you to eat outdoors even if the weather is a little rainy.

Get a Good Grill
Your grill is a key element of your outdoor kitchen. Make sure you have the right one for you and keep in mind considerations such as if you want a built-in or portable one, if you want gas or charcoal, and how much grilling space you’ll need.

These are just some of the elements to consider while you are planning the design of your new outdoor kitchen. 

The Edina model built by McDonald Construction has been on Parade for the last month! Viewings have been great and there has been a lot of walk-throughs with positive responses. Che Bella Interiors staged the model with help from Cort Furniture, McDonald’s own furniture inventory and many, many accessory items from stores across the Twin Cities.

Enjoy!

Need to get rid of the winter blahs? Consider some of the following ideas to help freshen your home for spring!

Fabrics

• Put away any heavy throws or accent pillows you brought out for the winter months. Wool, faux fur, velvet and other wintry materials should be put away until fall. Replace them with light fabrics and colors and fun spring patterns.
• Consider covering some of your furniture in slipcovers. Formal dining room chairs can be given a spring makeover with white slipcovers, or a heavily upholstered sofa can be made lighter with a linen slipcover.
• Recover some chairs seats (kitchen, dining room or occasional chairs) with a spring-like fabric.

Accessories

• In the spring and summer months less is more, so put away some of your accessories and de-clutter. Lighten your bookshelves and pare down your coffee table and fireplace mantel.
• Try replacing some of your heavier accessories (such as dark wood boxes and candlesticks) with glass vases and lightly colored items.
• If you decorate with candles, replace dark ones with white or ivory candles.
• Bring in some wicker or sea grass accessories such as boxes and storage baskets.
• If you have dark lampshades on some of your lamps switch them out for light ones. You can also decorate lampshades with some colorful ribbon.
• Use flowers to brighten up dull rooms. They don’t have to be any specific variety or color – flowers always brighten up a space, no matter what kind you use.

Windows and Rugs

• Replace heavy draperies with light, colorful curtains. Ready-made curtain panels can be purchased for very little money so it doesn’t have to be a costly change.
• If you’ve got heavy, patterned area rugs roll them up and replace them with colorful, graphic rugs or something in a natural material such as jute or seagrass.

Furniture

• Rearrange the furniture. It doesn’t cost a thing and it can give any room a fresh new look.

Paint

• If you’ve got a weekend to spare consider repainting a room. The difference can really be astounding and if you decide you don’t like it you can always change it back.

The Edina Model home has been keeping us VERY busy over the last few months! We’ve decided to rent furniture along with using some of the builders furniture, we’ve shopped and shopped for items to fill this grand house and we’ve helped the homeowner’s with a few building puzzles along the way. Here are some shots to get you up to date on the progress! (Click on images to enlarge) Check back for the final staged images. If you are interested in visiting this home it will be on tour click here for more info!