this is my kitchen

Welcome to my kitchen. It’s so nice to be back!!!!

It seems like forever since I last blogged, between getting sick and then trying to catch up with Life. Whew, yesterday we just sent Michael off to his senior retreat until Friday, so I plan on getting some things done around here.

First things first. Buy some fresh flowers. Clean the kitchen. And of course, invite you in. 

There’s something incredibly Spring-like about the fluffy, white blossoms of the pussy willow, don’t you think?

I’ve never done a post on my kitchen before, and quite a few of you have asked about it. The real reason is that the lighting in here isn’t the best. But I just discovered this wonderful website that’s helping me learn all about my Nikon D90. Check it out if you’re a beginner like me. I’m finally figuring out about aperture and F-stops and ISO, which is what I need to know in order to shoot good photos in here.

My kitchen is not grand or particularly big. No custom cabinetry in here. These were the original orangey, stock oak cabinets that were painted white. (Someday I’ll share my horror-story with our painter, but that’s a whole other post).

Those glass paned doors? I think we found our same style doors at Home Depot (this was years ago) purchased them, and simply took them to a local glass shop for the glass inserts. As you can see, the microwave simply sits on the counter.

My next kitchen project will be to paint these black chairs and table. It’s part of my “lightning up” phase. Remember my white bricks? Well this is the same room.

I’ve never really had a decorating budget (maybe when we write our last tuition check?) so there’s lot’s of DIY projects around here.

We put a pot rack overhead because the ceilings are so high. I consider myself a vintage décor gal living in a more contemporary floor plan so I’m not a fan of the angular ceilings. You have to work hard to create coziness.

Which reminds me, I need to lower my chandelier. We lifted it for one of our parties and forgot to put it back again, in case you noticed.

I chose tumbled marble for our backsplash and granite for the island, and although it’s been wonderfully durable, I chose it for its resale value rather than my love of it. And here we are, eleven years later… haha. You can check out my Pinterest kitchen board to see what I might choose these days.

I hang old baskets for warmth. And I’ve got one of my favorite antique trunks overhead too. Do you see it?

I have large Saltillo looking porcelain tiles throughout the house and although it creates a feeling of warmth when you enter my home…now that we’ve had wood upstairs, I’ve fallen in love with wood. The tiles have been amazing for ease and durability though. While the boys were growing up I had annual Halloween parties, Christmas caroling parties, and birthday parties, with tons of kids. And I’ve never worried one bit about my home.

I think scratches and dings and smudgy fingerprints are a home’s laugh lines. I’ve got a few, and so does my house.

And for adult parties, tile floors transform into great dancing floors.

I love my double ovens. It was the best spurge if you love to cook and host family get-togethers.

Remember when I re-decorated my office? Well I brought the old black and cream valance in here. Yep, just taped it from the inside. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep it here but for now I like it.

I like to use old silver (plated) pieces for storage. Next to the coffee pot I have stir sticks and sugar and tea packets hidden inside.

An old trophy holds some kitchen utensils.

Here’s a shot of the other side of the room. Do you want to see how dark and red the bricks looked before I painted them with ASCP? Go HERE.

A few final thoughts

When we bought our house it was considered a total fixer-upper. I still remember finding a drawer filled with real estate broker cards because of all the people who must have looked at it and rejected it. And of course, we tackled the kitchen first, knowing that we had so many other things to do.

I now wish I had waited a bit longer, so I would have grown into my taste more. But since I can’t change all the brown tones in here, I’ve been using a white paintbrush to change things. I think our houses reflect who we are at any given moment, so I guess it’s natural they keep changing with us.

Maybe this is the motto of a true DIYer, eh?

Today I’m just grateful for everything I have. And I’m loving that my Flu is gone, and that you’re here today visiting.

 

xoxo

Leslie

 

I’m linking up at these creative places:

• http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2013/02/wow-us-wednesdays-107.html?
• http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/2013/02/winter-blues-wednesday-its-party-106.html
• http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/2013/02/open-house-party_27.html?
• http://www.frommyfrontporchtoyours.com/2013/02/treasure-hunt-thursday-96-highlights.html
• http://www.stonegableblog.com/2013/02/tutorials-tips-and-tidbits-37.html

 

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