Tuesday, January 31, 2012

 Remember my pantry project?
from here 



to here



next, we moved on to part 2
I showed you this corner
it was even less efficient 
this was where stuff  was piled on the floor




and 
remember 
how I told you 
that the only, original sink was in the  pantry?

There it is..under that piece of sheeting. 
We put it  there to add a bit of extra counter space.



purty, isn't it?


Really now, I had a hard time with this


Don't we all want  farm sinks, right now?
 Those that know me
know that
i.am.a.purist.
especially, when it comes to old stuff .

But, girls, I am on a mission
to finish this house and clean it up.
The sink did not help me to reach those goals.
If I wanted to get that stuff off of the floor,
the sink had to go.
(It's not gone forever...I am still brainstorming
for another place to put it)


I moved in this bookcase
It is an old one that I picked  at Stars
and have moved it all over  the house
trying to find a good home for it.
It fits perfectly here.
I will probably find a small microwave that will fit  on the shelf.



After the storage was complete
I could move on to what I really love to do.
Playing with pretties.


 a window treatment I'm playing around with


I used a vintage apron




 a collection of mini white ironstone pitchers

 The chair landed there by accident.
I needed something to stand on
and 
once it was there
I really liked it...

We'll see if it is in the way or not.


 I want to show you my sweet cake box 
I found thrifting 
a couple of years ago.







"She is dressed for a ball, awaiting Werther, and he arrives to find her in the midst of her young brothers and sisters, cutting bread for their supper."


Aren't those sweet words? 
Just don't look it up on google..the novel isn't so much.


I love  how this space has turned out.
It is so bright, fresh, clean
and
pretty.


It has become one of those spaces that give old houses 
so much charm and character...
Even putting groceries away is fun...for now.

I am almost finished working in the rest of the kitchen.
I'll be back soon to show you all.

White Wednesday @ Faded  Charm 
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground
Farmhouse Friday @ Laurie Anna's Vintage Home
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
PRIMP Your Stuff @ (PRIMP)
Thriftin' on a Thursday @ Savvy City Farmer

Sunday, January 29, 2012




...may the 
words of my mouth 
and 
the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, 
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalms 19:4

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

heart of the home...part two


Last week 
I showed you where we started with my kitchen.
Today, 
 I am going to show you
our initial re-do when we first moved in
14 years ago


Remember, this is the original floor plan


The red indicates the changes we made


We My Mr. and the kiddos


gutted the room 
changed doorways and  windows
put the hot water heater in the cellar
removed the chimney
and then on to the fun part.
CABINETS


The built-in became the  standard for  the new cabinets.


We worked with our local cabinet maker to order cabinets.
It cost less than Home Depot
and
 we were able to customize to fit my style.


we ordered:
 raw maple (no paint or finish on them) boxes
shaker style
taller wall units


The we MY Mr. added the top box-y thing 
to match the built-in and brackets

We added an oak island with a wood top.
That island has seen some serious use in the past 14 years.
I do everything there.



I LOVE my island...I' not sure I could cook without one anymore.
The wood top has an food-grade epoxy on it 
that has worn wonderfully...
the only wear is where one of the boys cut through it with a knife 

(don't ask...I don't know what  he was doing)

(Don't we love a man with his tools?)

We My MR. installed oak wood floors...
I LOVE those, too!
( my 3 girls...sweet, huh? Oh, I LOVE a girl and her tools, too!)

(Oh, how I miss those days)

The floor is tough 
and 
doesn't show dirt...enough said.
We're due to add another coat of polyurethane soon...
not bad for 14 years of heavy-duty use.



The walls were painted green
up until about a year ago.
Many of you have asked about the color
Here is the formula:
B-30
C-40
D-6



(this is a good shot of the opening we made to the family room)



Now, just for fun, 
I'm going to show you all some of my rose dishes.
It will show you what my style has been.
Stay with me...
and 
you will  see 
how it  connects to what my style is NOW.








That's all  for now.
I'll be back
because
I still want to show you 
the transition stage,
 phase 2 of the pantry (I'm almost finished!)
and then all of the updates (re-decorating) 
I've been doing in the main kitchen.

For now, here's a peek at my new look.






(How did this cutie get here?)
 My baby girl young-in.she's 15 now. all of  my kids have grown up on ladders.

White Wednesday @ Faded  Charm 
Vintage Inspiration Friday @ Common Ground
Farmhouse Friday @ Laurie Anna's Vintage Home
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
PRIMP Your Stuff @ (PRIMP)



Tuesday, January 17, 2012

the heart of the home...my REAL farmhouse kitchen..part one

 While we're finishing phase 2 of the pantry
I thought I would give you a bit of history of my kitchen...
This is  peek at what my farmhouse kitchen 
(be WARNED-not for the faint of heart) 
looked like
 15 years ago 
when we first walked in the door 
to take a look at our new home...


  • yes, that is the same pantry that I showed you last week
  • yes, it was dirty, mouse-infested, and scary
  • yes, those pantry cabinets were the only cabinets in the kitchen
  • yes, that was the kitchen sink (back in the corner-behind the wall)
  • yes, it was in the pantry
  • yes, that is a chimney and the washing-machine hook-up


  • yes, the  *kitchen*  was empty except for the...
  • yes, that is a  built-in china cabinet 
  • yes, that doorway lead to the bathroom,
  • yes, there were 4 doorways
  • yes, the floor was that gross,
  • yes, I was in love with this house,
  • yes, I had a vision of what this house  could be

and



yes, we bought the house!


without one minute of hesitation...



If you're like me,
 you like to see
 before and afters
and all of the details.


This is a rough floor plan of what we started with.




my favorite carpenters
hard at work
ripping out the old
and 
putting in the new


You should know:
this is how we like to buy 'em.
I like my houses old 
and 
I like 'em original.
I want to work beside  My Mr.
and beside my children
to make the  house into our home.
At a price we can afford.


Here's a peek...at where we ended up.
This photo is a couple of years old-
in the height of my *shabby chic* days.
Come back for part two to see  a few more details
and
to see my new farmhouse style.



White Wednesday @ Faded  Charm 
Vintage Friday @ Common Ground
Farmhouse Friday @ Laurie Anna's Vintage Home
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
PRIMP Your Stuff @ (PRIMP)