Kitchen Tour: Shannon's.

 (The cake stand my most amazing co-worker and friend Susan built for our wedding sits atop the fridge my dad got us as our house warming present.  The little cow creamer, and toile print pot that holds my wine corks, also came from Susan just as little "hey I found this and thought of you" items I would find on my desk at work.  The green dishes were wedding gifts.  The tin canisters on top were saved for me by my co-worker Lucy who, like me, can't stand to see such things go to the trash.)

It such a common thing to hear, but really the place in our home where we probably spend the bulk of our 

 time is the kitchen.  It over looks our backyard, opens up to our back patio where we can sit and have coffee in the morning or a cocktail after work.  From the window over the kitchen sink, we can see the side gate and drive where we can see each other arrive home, and watch our dog Elwood as he races back and forth from fence to fence alerting us to any dogs, bikes, or passersby.  Our kitchen is a humble affair.  When we first moved in it was all chipping, nicotine- colored paint, a stove we were told didn't work, a mini fridge, (yes a mini fridge), sub flooring, and brown veneered cabinets from the 1970s.  We bought the house and got married in the back yard within 19 months, which meant a whirlwind of paint, peeling wallpaper, sanding, scrubbing, making and installing trim, shelving, windows where there was only plywood covered holes and more.  The kitchen got the least attention, but I still love our little bright green corner of the house.

Our circa 19?? 'Brown' Stove

 This is where it all happens.  The stove and oven that we were told didn't work totally does- you just need to keep a long handled lighter near the burners, and turn one of the burner knobs while holding the broiler tray open to get the oven to light.  Simple.  We had a maintenance man come out our first year in the house when all of a sudden we couldn't get the oven to light at all.  Seventy five dollars later, he shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, told us he never even heard of a 'Brown' and left me to figure out that one of the switches had just been accidentally bumped from manual to auto.  This oven is definitely all manual- no auto.  Rusted out holes have finally pushed us to purchase a new one.  We're just waiting to find one that can take its place....

 If Erin has a baking station, I have a coffee station. I asked Matt to install the shelf that hangs over the stove to hold all our coffee mugs close at hand and the photo of all my family in our Celtic Festival garb to greet me each morning.

The view onto the garden from the window above the stove.

My Martha Stewart Style Open shelving

The cast iron skillet that hangs here is one of our most used items.

The shelves and pegboard came with the house (so to speak).   I just painted them all with a few coats of primer and a 'clear' gray color.  I was surprised by how well it seems to work. Many of the objects on these shelves are things I found at consignment and thrift shops.  The cake stands and big green bowls were wedding gifts.  The recipe box was part of my bridal shower gifts, painted to match my kitchen and filled with the favorite recipes of everyone who attended.

 The green wicker basket holds tea.  The giant black Le Cruset pot and the smaller green on the shelf above it we found on sale and were our anniversary gifts to each other.

What you couldn't see in the first photo- the washer and dryer that sit below.  I had to include this shot as anyone who has ever been over for dinner, pot luck, brunch etc. knows what a central role these non-kitchen appliances have played in the workings of my kitchen. Until the old washing machine finally gave out, the two appliances were the exact same height and were quickly transformed into bar, buffet, prep area, or just used as conversational seating for guest while I cooked. Just hop up! You gotta make do with what you got... someday we hope to move the duo upstairs and put in a proper counter and bar stools.

Willie and Friends

The inside of our tall cabinets original to the house. We only painted them a semi gloss white.

The chalk board that is the only part of the kitchen visible from the dining room table.  We write up weekly menus here when we're on top of things, or put up a menu for  special dinner parties. Matt made it for us using some salvaged wood we found in the attic.

 

An Elwood-esq tile my mom got from a potter in Vermont

 

El himself, always at the ready in case some tiny morsel drops.

Where it all ends up... my grandmothers dining room table with the chairs she hand embroidered.  The bar was a alley find refinished by Matt, and the stained glass doors for it were made by my father-in-law.  The mirror came from an "antique" shop in Ashland many years ago. 

RFC kitchen tour: Erin's

I love the idea of welcoming you into our kitchens because my kitchen is one of my favorite places in the world, with all of its windows and good smells and life.  When I moved into my 1928 bungalow nine years ago, my kitchen was super tiny- there was only room for a Barbie stove and a play refrigerator.  Over the past several years, I have been able to expand into the former screened porch (also too tiny to be any fun) and make a happy, bright space to live and work.

All of the tropical plants take refuge here during the winter. 

My workspace.  See the giant holly tree right outside of the window?  Someone carved their initials (with their sweetheart's) in it long before I moved in.

My constant companion and premier dishwasher, Clyde.

My baking station.  And more plants!

Farmhouse sink from Ikea and Paperstone countertops.  Plus, a pass through to the dining room.   The cabinets, backsplash and shelving as well as the pass through were all made by Shannon's husband Matt.  He is most talented.

Open shelving to keep well used items in easy reach.

Bookshelf just for cookbooks.  

The stove, spice rack and window into the pantry. 

kitchen finds

My kitchen has been overwhelming lately. I needed more space for everything: spices, beans, knick knacks, etc. I have been planning to have my brother build another shelf system so when he happened upon the perfect shelf (already built!), it felt like kismet.

I think this is such a good-looking piece. I had so much fun filling it up with everything that had been overloading my other shelves.

And it works better than I could have hoped. Now I just have to empty it again and hang it on the wall. Here's hoping that's a 2011 project!
How about you guys? Any last-ditch kitchen projects to get in before the end of the year? I still have a little something up my sleeve that I'm hoping to share soon. I'd love to hear what others are doing.

I Love Lucy to Modern Family: Renovating a Cape Kitchen

My husband and I have a small cape on the Northside of town. He found this buggy for sale and upon first visitation, I leaned over and whispered, "Are you mad at me?" As a first time homebuyer, the wallpaper and orange cabinets seemed to be too much to conquer. But, Rob was right: this house had potential. Over time we've been chipping away at the 1940s style kitchen, making something that fits us and our life.

Busy wallpaper and dark cabinets - eep!

The kitchen was small (!) and separated from the larger more formal dining room, which is typical of traditional capes. The kitchen even had a built-in ironing board and the original stove. This push button relic took ages to boil water and half the kitchen space.

Check out the space between the eyes!

For the plug-in appliances, like a percolator!

When we moved in the first thing we did was to pull down the wallpaper (Mom helped, she was such a trooper). But, underneath the wallpaper was more wallpaper and rough plaster.

'Alo, patches!

I'm not gonna lie. Our kitchen looked like this for a while, I mean a while. I preferred it to the wallpaper, but clearly something needed to be done. Then, like magic, we found the energy to do this....

But, we still had two more opponents!

The wall separating the kitchen from the rest of the house and the linoleum flooring.

Ehh...this was going to harder than we thought.

Make that WAY harder than we thought.

Heavy machinery was required.

The wall came down.

Holy smokes! The house felt twice as big!

But, the floors were still a little busted.

One of Rob's dearest friends re-did our hardwood floors.

Here we are enjoy the new flooring with a glass of wine.

We still have more to do, but the hard work has made our small kitchen fit our lifestyle...lots of cooking and entertaining. The greatest pay-off is the integration of the cooking space and the living room. We put our farmhouse dining table in the front of the house, and the couch in near the kitchen. This layout allows us to enjoy our company and cook at the same time. Life is good.