Showing up early...overdressed...without an invitation (living area inspiration)

Some inspiration photos for the main living areas our (not ours yet) new house.  I'm so excited to find affordable and easy ways to go from builder-grade-boring to more of a cute-coastal-cottage!

Entryway:

I love love love the dresser in the entryway.  It takes the place of the typical end table and wall mirror ensemble.  And picking a lampshade is going to be so fun!

Kitchen:

The kitchen...(almost) every mother's favorite room.  I personally judge a home by it's kitchen.  Unfortunately, the kitchen in "our" new home has a bit to be desired.  It's a nice kitchen, but very builder grade (honey oak cabinets!), with the exception of the cute back splash.

And this masterpiece is what I'm going for.  I have a pretty high ceiling, so the upper set of cabinets is perfect for my many many serving pieces that are currently shoved in my pantry.  I also love how the color of island brings a splash of color to a cream kitchen.

There's only one problem...my budget.  A custom built kitchen like this one is crazy expensive, and hubby and I won't be able to afford that for a while, especially with all the other project swirling around in my head.  We will have to make do with our too short honey oak cabinets for a few years.  Cabinet painting, here we come.  I'm planning on using Caromal Colours.  They make it look so easy.  Hopefully it will be for the sake of my kitchen.

Dining Room:

My sister-in-law graciously gave us her antique table and chair.  It's pretty big with the leaf and super cute.  I'll probably reupholster the seat cushions.

The table has six chairs, and seats eight with the leaf.  I'm going to try to find some wicker chairs like these from Pottery Barn to add texture since the table is fairly shiny. 

Coupled with some sea grass shades and sheer curtains, I'm going to try to create a beach cottage formal dining room that can still pull-off my china and silver platter...should be interesting.

Family Room:

Other than the kitchen, this is the most used indoor space of our house.  With two small children, it has to be usable, comfortable, and resilient.  Oh...and beautiful.

I love the look of this room.  The leather chairs offset the more feminine accents of this room.  We currently have a cool crescent-shaped leather couch that's (supposed to be) the same color as the chair.  We don't have the room for the built-in cabinet, but I'm going to try to achieve the look with some wall frames and moulding. 

 As a Florida girl, I've always wanted a fireplace, but never lived in a home with one.  It's really an unnecessary luxury, but I still want one.  I've seen a lot of homes with those portable "fake" ones, but they aren't really my thing.  And we don't have gas service to the home, so that's out.  I found this idea on Remodelaholic and it just adds my love of lanterns to the equation.  It's probably the closest I'll come to a fireplace, and I love it!