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Most of the time, as a designer you are designing FOR a client. This means you are taking their dreams, vision and lifestyle into account and working within those parameters to create a space.

Once in awhile though, a project comes along that is just.. different.

That’s when you get something like The Pink Door, with a pink and green kitchen.

Design Project:

Pink and green kitchen

My friend Chelsea, with Deko Design and Construction, reached out to me early last year and asked if I’d like to help choose the furniture for a VRBO project. I love working with her, so of course I said “Yes!” right away. I didn’t realize at the time how much fun it would actually be.

We spent a few weeks in the “idea phase” and an initial concept emerged. Since we both love California Coastal style, we knew it would have a touch of that. It also had to balance pops of Chelsea’s fave print- palm leaf- with my earthy, neutral aesthetic.

I can’t tell you how many ideas we pinged back and forth during that time period, but I can tell you… it was the most inspired I have felt in a long time. The space to design something just for fun paired with the synergy of working with a likeminded designer and friend… well, it was magic.

Today. I’m sharing the first part of the cute little bungalow, the pink and green kitchen.

Before

Before we started, things were very… grey. The wall separating the kitchen from the dining room made the space feel tight. Plus, a VRBO needs personality! We decided to start by adding some character back in with a retro pink and green kitchen

Retro Pink and green kitchen details

Cabinets + Surfaces

We started with green IKEA cabinets- which seemed like a good idea, but I’m pretty sure the consensus was “never again” after running into issues with missing pieces (that we couldn’t get our hands on). Deko eventually had to have some custom solutions made to fix the problems. But all is well that ends well I guess… I love the shade of green. A fresh, bright white quartz counter helped us get the airy look we wanted (goodbye black!). Finally, we went with pink tile on the splash… this is The Pink Door, after all.

maximizing A small space

To make the little kitchen feel bigger, we took out a traditional bi-fold door pantry in the space you see above and replaced it with a coffee bar and open shelving unit. Open shelves always give you an opportunity to add personality to a space, and in a VRBO they are especially useful because guests don’t have to wonder where things are… it’s all out in the open and easy to access.

To replace the pantry space we lost on the other side of the room, we included this cute little pantry cabinet next to the fridge. Plenty of room to stash those vacation groceries if you’re a person who likes to cook in your home away from home!

We removed a floating counter from this corner (again…too tight!). To fill the space visually, Chelsea made a last minute decision to add a custom word-art mural by the talented Jess White Design , which is always a great reminder. Finally, we replaced existing lights with super simple black flushmounts.

The kitchen is right off the entry and living space so it was important that the design flowed through the entire house. We divided the rooms visually by lining the back of the peninsula with peel and stick palm leaf wallpaper and hanging a great woven light fixture Chelsea scored on FB Marketplace. Pops of pink and green stand out against the black and white palette and woven accents.

The dining room was tight but we made the most of it with this petite table and indestructible pink chairs (ideal for a vacation rental). The original floors warm things up and give the space so much character.

Checkerboard FloorS

One of the riskiest decisions we made was selecting the checkerboard floor tiles… but Chelsea and I both love them and the retro feel seemed to fit the house well so we went with it. We even carried it into the adjoining office. I love the timeless combo of black and white on pretty much anything, and floors are no exception,

At night, the pink neon sign over the bar sets. the mood and casts the prettiest glow on the main living spaces. This is such a fun homebase from which to enjoy Loveland, don’t you think? It definitely feels like you’re on vacation.

If you’re interested in checking out this cute pink and green kitchen (and the rest of the great spaces in this rental property) you can book it on VRBO or AIRBNB. It’s withing walking distance to everything in downtown Loveland and it’s the perfect spot for a girls’ weekend or a family getaway.

We poured so much love and attention to detail into this space… I can’t wait to show you the whole tour.

xoxo

Coming soon… The Pink Door Part 2: Living Space