AyA “Blog Podium Bound” Contest Entry

Have you heard about Blog Podium? It’s Canada’s first (and only) conference for design bloggers and the next event is happening this May in Toronto.

The conference sounds amazing! The keynote speaker is the wonderful Nicole from Making It Lovely, there’s going to be a panel about the business of blogging, and of course the chance to rub shoulders with some of the best design bloggers out there. It sounds perfect!

This is something I’d LOVE to go to, but with all our renovations and myself recently quitting my job to focus on my own freelance business, we don’t have the extra money to fly out to Toronto for the event. I do have hope in attending though, because AyA Kitchens is having a contest where they’re sending one blogger to Toronto for the event and paying for their airfare, hotel and event ticket. Um, yes, please?

To enter the contest, you have to create a mood board for your dream kitchen and post it to your blog with a brief rationale. So I thought that since we’ve been renovating our kitchen anyways, I’d make a new mood board for it and give it a shot. :) The contest closes tonight at 11pm EST though, so I’m just sneaking in in time!

So here’s my mood board:

And here’s my rationale as to why it’s my dream kitchen:

Our house was built in 1927, and it shows its age in its uneven floors, crystal doorknobs, and doors whose frames change with the seasons. We wanted to create a kitchen that would flow seamlessly with the classic features of our old house, while still maintaining a fresh, bright, and modern feel. We kept all permanent fixtures neutral and timeless like wooden floors and hexagon marble tiles, so that our accessories would be the source of all colour, making it easy to bring in a new look by updating things like dishes and towels as we want in the future.

Sources:
- Mission Fairfax cabinet in Latte from AyA
- Globe pendant light from West Elm
- Cook books from Amazon.ca
- KitchenAid mixer in Ice by KitchenAid
- Farmer’s market fruit basket by Anthropologie
- Glass fountain hardware from Anthropologie
- Glassware from Anthropologie
- Colour palette (all Benjamin Moore): Silver Satin, Pelican Gray, Waterfall, Majestic Yellow, and Hydrangea Flowers
- HJUVIK faucet from Ikea
- Italian marble hexagon tile backsplash from Carrara Tiles
- Bianco Ibiza marble countertop from Marble.com
- Ebony Oak hardwood floor (similar at Home Depot)

Thanks to AyA for putting on this contest, and a huge thank you to Blog Podium for bringing a design blogger conference to Canada!