Decorating a Holiday Rental - The Kitchen/Dining Space

Above: A holiday rental in Alabama with cabinets by Vance and Sons 

Want to find out how to create a desirable holiday home on a limited budget, today we focus on the kitchen/dining area. This is part of a series of posts to help get maximum bookings for your holiday rental.

French Country Cottage Appeal, With a Modern Twist

A simple image, however it immediately captured me. The relaxed sofa with its deep squashy seats and natural creased linen juxtaposed against the rough sisal flooring. Not to mention, the blue and white (my favourite combination), and those crisp, green apples you feel you could pluck from the painting above. This space conjures up an afternoon of lounging on the sofa with a good book or a pile of House and Home magazines... relaxation without the massage.

Kitchen Tile Inspiration - Subway style

To tile or not to tile, that is the question? Well, not exactly 'my question', I want to tile but which tile is my question? If you have been following my blog you will probably have read I am planning to renovate my kitchen. It was meant to be ready for Christmas, however a rather high quote for replacement doors and bench tops has led me to the decision of a complete 're-design'. I've been dreaming of a kitchen similar to the one made famous in the movie 'Somethings Gotta Give' and was going to use simple white subway tiles, but after viewing tiles first hand, its not as easy as I had envisaged. Subway tiles come with straight or bevelled edges and once you have decided on your tile shape, you then need to select the finish, as gloss or satin will each achieve a very different look. Subway tiles can also be laid in different ways as you will see below. Where does this style of tile originate from? My childhood memories took me back to London's underground lavatories...eeww! However as the name suggests, they are derived from the tiles that lined the subways in early 20th Century New York.

My existing kitchen has a stainless steel splash back installed by the previous owners. I can see the reasoning for hygiene, however it is the bane of my life when it comes to keeping it streak free, not to mention it doesn't work with my decor in this open plan living area. High gloss tiles can be easily cleaned, and modern BAL grouts with Microban technology prevent the growth of bacteria. It is important therefore, if you decide to tile your kitchen, make sure you use a grout that contains this technology. If you are not sure about what colour to grout your tiles, The Yorkshire Tile Company have a nifty, 'grout selection tool' that allows you to choose a tile design and then try different colours of grout to see the effect before you buy. This tool is on their website and free to use.

Above: Bevelled edge tiles will suit both traditional and contemporary styled kitchens. Breaking up the white tiles with a double row of black tiles, looks smart and less clinical. You could also use darker grout between the tile if you are worried about discolour. A pale grey grout works wonderfully with sharp, white tiles, ultimately grout colour is a personal choice. Hence a good idea to use the grout tool I linked to above.

I think the bevelled edges soften the look. If using all white tiles, an off white such as alabaster, will look less sterile.

The relief patterned tiles above add texture and interest to the surrounding white, gloss subway tiles. They have a Scandinavian feel about them and would work well in a contemporary kitchen.

A herringbone effect

Flat sided tiles in a semi gloss. Remember when 'avocado' was all the rage in bathrooms, I actually had a bath and vanity in 'avocado', very similar to the colour of these tiles......eek! Although I wouldn't use the colour again, it is nice to see this shade returning as it actually looks acceptable as a subway tile and this green has more depth to it.

High gloss tiles laid adjacent to each other achieve more of a seamless, contemporary look.

 Images and tiles above from the The Yorkshire Tile Company.


More inspiration via Pinterest...

1. A modern kitchen with smaller subway tiles and grey grout.

2. Subway tiles work nicely with the concrete benchtop in a kitchen I would describe as country versus industrial.

3. A traditional  'subway' look, the dark grout makes the pattern quite distinct. Use a grout matching the colour of your tile if you want a subtle look.

4. A contemporary herringbone layout using larger tiles - Photography and styling by Paulina Arcklin

5. Black subway tiles in a more natural, rough, buffed finish, add interest by way of texture. I really like the way they have combined colour, texture and pattern in this kitchen.

6.The sides of the benchtop have been tiled to match the walls. White grout gives a clean look


Images via 1|2|3|4|5|6

Am I any closer to deciding my tile? I am pretty sure I will choose bevelled edge subway tile, colour, possibly alabaster, I have not yet decided on the finish. I will wait until my plans are drawn up and listen to the designer, but at least I have narrowed it down to a subway tile.

If you are thinking of updating a kitchen or bathroom with subway tiles, I hope you found this post helpful. Once work starts on my own kitchen I will be sharing the project from design to completion. If you don't want to miss out you may want to sign up for email updates (on my sidebar) which will come straight to your inbox. 

Lee oxo

Sharing this post at the following blog parties:

I should be Mopping the Floor
Alderberry Hill

The Dedicated House

A Stroll Thru Life

DIY Showoff

Savvy Southern Style

Not Just A Housewife

No Minimalist Here

The Real Housewives of Riverton

Kitchen Inspiration - A Touch Of Country

I am currently seeking inspiration for my kitchen makeover which I plan to have underway by Spring. I have found a company in Auckland who will replace the doors and bench tops so I can keep the existing cabinets in place, to this I plan to add new wall cupboards and replace my overly large gas/electric cooker with a sleek induction top and under oven. My current kitchen is white, modern with a lot of stainless steel and cheap Formica tops and simply doesn't have enough storage. My house is 1940's, classic style panelled doors, high stud and wooden floors. The overall feel of this open plan living area is currently one of discord as the current kitchen is in contrast to the other end of the room which has more classic styling. I hope to achieve a more unified look in my makeover by replacing the flat doors with a traditional style and the Formica bench tops with a lovely granite. I also want to achieve more storage and better use of bench top space. I have been looking for lots of ideas and drawing some inspiration from the following kitchens...

Image sources: 1|2|3|4|5|6

Any thoughts or comments are welcome, next week I will post my kitchen mood board and a before shot of the kitchen. Hopefully my guest bedroom will be completed within the next week or so and I can post the before and afters shots.  I am waiting on the window treatments at the moment and also waiting for the foam for my headboard (I will be sharing how to create a headboard). The room is really coming together beautifully and I am looking forward to sharing images of the full makeover.

White Kitchens

Everyone absolutely loved Becky's Farmhouse kitchen post last week and I was thrilled that this has been one of my most popular posts, it just goes to show how loved the "farmhouse/country" style is.  Becky has posted some more images, her before and after and work in progress which you can view "here". If you missed my earlier post on Beckys kitchen you will find a link at the end of this post.

Yesterday a friend came over and was mentioning that she is about to re-do her kitchen and how she found my blog great inspiration, of course I was thrilled to hear this and therefore decided to share some more fabulous kitchen ideas. I've chosen five all white kitchens, each one having it's own unique style. It's made me desperate to do a mini makeover on my tiny kitchen, starting with the most annoying light which hangs over the breakfast bar. This flashy designer light (already in the house), is down to 2 working bulbs out of 6 because no-one, male or female, can work out how to get these darn bulbs out to change them!

Image sources: 1|2|3|4|5

If you are still thirsting for inspiration, visit my Pinterest boards;

Pinterest kitchen board 

Country kitchen makeover ideas

Becky's Farmhouse kitchen makeover