Taking a vision to reality in home design

One thing I know for certain is that you can not be afraid to take risks. As the saying goes with big risks comes big reward. That doesn't mean to say you should throw caution to the wind or go beyond your scope of abilities, but it just means trying something that is different, and doable.
I work with my husband on every home design endeavor. We both bring different abilities to the table...literally..as you will see what we recently did to this kitchen dining nook below.

© Dawn Gagnon Photography

I guess you'd say, we existed before Chip and Joanna Gaines of HGTV's show "Fixer Uppers." Which we happen to be huge fans of because they embody so much of what we love and believe and we share the same views in so many ways..

At any rate, this table did not come from a store, well, the base did. The top though was small and round and didn't suit our needs so with my vision and my hubby "The Donald" and his skills we came up with a solution. Simply build a top to the specific size we needed. Some molding and paint for trim and voila, we 're done.

Now the built in storage/benches made sense. Building those was merely about two by fours, one by twelves and wood trim to finish the edges off. I think it came out quite well and offers up the storage that gives the space additional functionality.

I can dream it, draw it, figure the materials and hand it to The Donald and from there he goes. That's how we work. We're a team. Donald is a little more wary of taking one of my brainstorms from paper to reality because he often can not "visualize" what I need until I sketch it for him. Once that happens, and he can see it, it "becomes."

It may not be something you'll see anywhere else, but that is when I like to say "well every idea starts off, not being seen anywhere else..." You truly can't let that be a deterrent. 

Here we needed a fireplace mantle, but I had a specific vision in mind..and with my sketch pad in hand...Donald was able to give this fireplace a cozy new look:

Once that idea came to life, well, you know I had to go further. The dreamer in me never gets rest and The Donald would say neither does he..matching book shelves we next on the list and I designed them to be simple, rustic and complimentary to the fireplace. I would tell others on this endeavor, to always start off with simple ideas and build from there. Experience and success come through trial and error.