Our house was built in 1959 and the kitchen cabinets had been replaced when we moved in ... but we always thought they were probably used cabinets because they didn't really fit the room. The little tiny kitchen was originally designed, as were many from the era, to house the washing machine ... but not dryer. A sun porch had been added to the back of the house and the washer and dryer hookups had been moved to that room. So, needless to say ... everything was kind of a hodge podge. There were things I liked about the kitchen ... a vaulted ceiling and room on top of the wall cabinets to display my stuff ... white ceramic tile on the back splash walls ... It was small enough to be handy ... and I had learned how to do some serious cooking for big crowds in the small space!
Here it is ... the BEFORE ... what I had grown to feel was pretty ugly ... especially after I took all my stuff off the counter tops and off the top of the wall cabinets!
Now ... here's the big reveal! I'm really not finished ... have to replace the wallpaper, but I'll do that myself ... when Spring arrives and I can open up the house for fresh air!
My kitchen is a working kitchen ... lots of blog posts and newspaper cooking columns originate in this little space ... so I will never have pristine counter tops or an empty stove top! For the next two weeks, I'll be cooking catfish almost every day ... to get a jump on my next cookbook ... "My Brother's Catfish" ... which I hope to have published by summertime!
With this re-do ... there were a few things I wanted to be sure of ... that I was able to keep the white ceramic tile ... and that there was a special place for Miss Phoebe to sit and watch me cook ... or help me cook! Here's Phoebe's perch!
I love all the changes ... but I have a favorite spot ... Because I have a dining table on the sun porch and a dining room right beside the kitchen, I decided that I didn't really need my little kitchen table in what would have been considered a "dinette" spot. Here is what replaces the table ... I love it!
These shelves have been hanging on this wall for years ... but they were an ucky brown stain that didn't even have any gloss on it. When my painter friend came by to look at the ceiling and walls ... I handed her a stick of butter and told her I wanted the walls and ceiling to be the color of the butter ... and I handed her the lid of an antiqued red basket and asked if she could make the shelves look like it. She isn't just a painter ... she is a faux finisher, well known in the region for the work she does in historic churches ... refurbishing religious icons and gold leafed trims. Of course, she could make the shelves look like the antiqued basket!
I have another cute spot ... on the side of the fridge ... where the pantry went ... A friend's dad made the framed chicken wire piece where I'll enjoy hanging more pictures than the refrigerator can hold! Remember ... my kitchen is for living in ... I've also added hangings of several gadgets that are relatively old ... but still frequently used!
And speaking of things I use ... here's a collage of those spots!
Then there are those things that double as necessities and decor!
Here's a shot of the red baskets I used for all the red inspiration!
This cute wreath hanging above my old wash board will change with the holidays! It is a simple creation ... I just tuck ribbon into a wreath form ... and never cut the length of ribbon, so it can be reused! It takes just a few minutes to make and adds a little colorful holiday fun!
These last two pictures feature my sink. Maybe you don't think about sinks ... but unless you really need a double sided sink, which was originally designed for us to wash and rinse dishes ... I'd encourage you to consider a single sink. You lose a little width, but add several inches in depth. It makes it so easy to sit a stock pot or a canner in the sink ... and because I can ... I wanted a sink big enough to wash lots of fruits and vegetables in. I'm sure this will hold more than a half bushel of tomatoes!
