Friday, July 27, 2007

The Kitchen

Dolly asked to see more of my kitchen a few days ago. So I will give you a little (and I mean little) tour. Now before we begin let me tell you that my home is truley cottage size. When we moved here as newlyweds 26 years ago, it was a whopping 600 square feet. We loved the five acres it was on though, and the price was right. We have since added on but it is still only 1100 square feet. The rooms are not big, but they are cozy and have made a loving home for our family of four. When we moved in there were no kitchen cabinets or appliances! Just an old table and very old (1940's) fridge that we actually used for several years until we remodeled the kitchen. The bookshelves you see my cookbooks on were built in cupboards and there were some wall cabinets where the refrigerator stands. Someday soon I will show you what I did with the doors that used to be on those old cabnets.
The kitchen has been red for about 3 years. It has been white and yellow and I think green. LOL, I can't even remember because I paint so much! Anyway, Earl went hunting one year and I decided to do something wild and paint the kitchen red. I had made the Toile curtains and thought the red would look good with it, and besides, I have a thing for red as you will soon find out if you read this blog for long! I did it in one day. The first coat went on and it looked Fuschia! I just kept going, knowing that darker colors need multiple coats and it turned out ok. It is a Ralph Lauren red, can't remember the name of it. It isn't a summer color but it is so warm and festive in the winter. It looks very holiday friendly! We have actually been thinking of redoing the kitchen and adding on to the house again, but it will probably be a few years down the road. The economy in Michigan is tanking and that kind of expenditure needs to wait for better times. When we actually get around to it I think my kitchen will be a lot brighter, maybe even with white cabinets. But I will be ready for change by then, as usual.


Oh look! I forgot to crop some of the junk out by the sink! :>) Oh well, this is a real working kitchen and about as clean as you are likely to see it. You can see the paintbrushes and scrapers in the bowl by the sink (I made the bowl). They are always there because I am always painting something. If I ever get a new sink it will NOT be stainless steel. I just cannot get it to look shiny and unspotty anymore. The word "stainless" is false advertising if you ask me!
Here is a final picture, my daughter modeling an apron I got at my last garage sale outing. The one where I got all the wonderful pillowcases? This adorable apron was $1, and it reverses to the cotton print you see on the pocket. Cute. That's it for the kitchen, not much to it but we do a lot of cooking and living there!

8 comments:

  1. Wow Kathy thank you soooo much for the kitchen pics!

    I am ohhhhhhing and ahhhhing!

    I love the red walls.....its more bright and festive then mine!
    Our kitchens are alot alike...
    I have hickory cabinets... and white tile counter tops!
    I am really loving the toile valances! I am thinking I may do some for winter valances! I love lace for summer time!
    I too DO NOT like my stainless steel sink!
    I want a white one next re-do!

    My mum is coming to stay for a week...once she leaves and things settle down I will get pictures of my red kitchen!

    Thanks again!
    Enjoy your weeknd!
    Blessings, Dolly

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love you little red kitchen, it's so cozy and the toile curtains are perfect. My studio is painted a deep, deep shade of cranberry, that's just another shade of red.

    ReplyDelete
  3. years ago when I moved into my home, 24 to be exact, I had a red kitchen! Everyone thought I was weird! Now I have pink, white and plum, boy do they shake their heads! I really think you've done a great job! About the stainless, I just bought a stainless microwave and ugh! I am so glad I didn't buy the stove and fridge a few years back like it cause it would drive me nuts!! Seee ya, Lori

    ReplyDelete
  4. I adore your kitchen! So homey and warm Kathy. My home is a true cottage size too at 1344 feet. And we are a family of 7, lol! But it is cozy and it is home. I know how you feel about your cottage :)

    Hugs,
    Amy

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a beautiful kitchen you have, Kathy! I just love the red. That is one sweet apron you found, too!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi. I saw a link to your blog on Tracey's blog, and thought I would stop by.

    I love your red kitchen and the toile curtains. And I really love the vintage apron. I found a reversible apron just like yours. I also have a stainless sink with the same challenge. I keep a towel in the sink and I wash the sink with dish soap and when I'm done rinsing I just dry the sink. It shines it up nicely and gets out any water spots or things that I missed. I also spray it down with chorox cleanup once a month which really gets the dirt hiding deep down.

    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love your red kitchen. The toile looks really nice with it, too. I saw your E and K letters in another post. I am SO impressed with how you painted them! I love them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi! I found you through Amy's blog. Love your red kitchen ~ I have a red dining room & have never regretted it. Had to laugh about the fuschia part, I thought I'd ruined my new house til I was 3 coats into the red!! Can't wait to get to know you better.

    Stephanie
    Angelic Accents

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to say hello :)