Over the past few years these websites have stormed onto the design scene providing some fun eye candy, new concepts and inspiration. They have also broken budgets, confused people and possibly broken up a marriage or two. Many of the kitchens on Houzz are beautiful! They are also too expensive for most of us or simply impractical. These sites are great resources when wanting to find inspiration but it's easy to lose yourself in the inescapable vortex of pretty colors and neat ideas. You probably won't be able to recreate that exact picture that you fell in love with online unless you are willing to have a space that shatters your "real world" budget and leaves you with a new job of maintaining, baby-ing and stressing.
The internet is great for viewing ideas for reference; however, it is also great for viewing expensively staged homes that are not lived in with kids, dogs, and a messy husband. The ideas should be borrowed and integrated into your lifestyle - That may mean changing them - It may also mean ditching them. Not every idea can be executed in your space no matter how hard we try. However, when one idea is abandoned another may come to life.
Remember, you don't live in a magazine and no one should expect you to! Bottom line - Brainstorm and get amazing ideas where ever you please, but DON'T stress yourself out and obsess about the little details that may go unnoticed - You may miss practical ideas that are equally good solutions. This doesn't mean you have to settle, but keep your goals realistic and within reach. Your home is yours, so make it that way and accommodate your needs in the best way possible for your life and your family.