Pinterest is always a great source of inspiration for me but one lady in particular that has always been my design spirit animal ( is that really a thing) and in my opinion can do no wrong when it comes to interiors is Ms. Lauren Liess herself. I have pulled so much inspiration from her past homes and I am doing my best to sprinkle a bit of that magic around this little home of ours starting with the kitchen.
Her use of natural materials is spot on and her design encompasses my passion for a palette of white, black and wood tones with just a bit of nature added in here and there.
It was through Lauren's design that I fell in love with soapstone. I had always thought of myself as a marble only kind of girl but the warmth of the soapstone seemed to be just the right choice for our new home. I've had this vision of a warm and cozy european kitchen, the kind you can smell bread baking in just by looking at it. Old and new elements woven together resulting in exactly the right balance of rustic and modern.
This kitchen, is by far my favorite ever posted anywhere on the inter web, and every time I see it I get all the feels. It wasn't until after I started choosing the items for my new kitchen did I realize it was pretty darn close to this one, and I'm pretty sure influencing all my decision making. This is where I fell in love with Alberene Soapstone from Virgina. Seriously, even the runner is just so good!
I contemplated going with a more modern white hood for our range but the more I looked at this image I just couldn't decide. That was until I saw this Kate Marker design (2nd image) below and that pretty much sealed the deal for me.
Once I had settled on the look of the kitchen it was time to start working on sourcing all of the products. Thankfully, I was able to get in touch with Polycor. They own 30 quarries which are mostly based in the USA and I was able to work with them and choose just the right soapstone for our counter tops and backsplash. Now, because I do love some marble, I also decided on a
White Cherokee marble from Georgia for the top of the island.
Polycor has been a dream to work with and I can't even begin to tell you how beautiful their stones are. I am also so happy to be using a locally (as close to home as possible) sourced product, mined right here in the United States.
Polycor sent all of their stone samples for me to choose from, and even though I was sure I wanted to use the Alberene Soapstone and White Cherokee Marble, it was so awesome to see and feel all of the stones and the different finishes they offer.
Now a little peek at the stone that will be gracing my countertops and backsplash in the next coming week!!
Excuse the grainy pictures but c'mon its still so pretty!!
