HOW DESIGN AND REALITY COME TOGETHER AT KANUGA

I want to share a little of our design process and insight on our journey thus far…

Our little 1920’s farmhouse is quaint with its lead base paint, moldy siding and outdated fixtures. I stand at the sink and envision myself washing dishes in the newly renovated kitchen. My husband brushes his teeth and can see the beautiful new mirror hanging in the master bath. Every activity we perform we are designing, scheming and planning for what can be. Sketches, measurements and design books lay all over the house beckoning to jump off the pages and magically morph themselves into our home.

More realistically, we are on a tight budget with this renovation so all the work must be completed by our own two hands. A slow, however gratifying process. Additionally, we challenge ourselves by using as many recycled materials as we can. We also decide not to restore the home, but to commit to being sensitive to its basic features.

So let me just start out by saying “tight budgets” and doing the work ourselves have been a blessing in hind sight. We have learned to embrace these restrictions and use them as design tools. Living in our space while saving up funds to complete our projects has caused more dialogue and thought in the process.

As a couple we always dream big, then sketch….then comes the argument over whose idea is going to “win”……After time passes and more funds get added to the “Reno Budget” we find that our collaborative design efforts get simplified into affordable solutions. AND it is still beautiful. We realize each of us come at the design process very differently and most of the time overlaying our ideas together gives us better solutions.

Last insight on the subject of staying sane while living amongst the mess: However small your living space is outside of the construction zone, set up the basic living necessities. We all still have to brush our teeth, hang up our jacket and cook. Right now, we are in the process of finishing our kitchen and I have had no lights other than a trouble light over the stove. I just keep stirring in the dark…..it makes the finished kitchen shine all the brighter.