::Goodbye Old Kitchen, Hello Someday Kitchen::

PSSSST...I'm no longer blogging here!

You can now find me at

www.acottagegirl.com

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Let's talk about kitchens, shall we?

Today I want to show you my old kitchen in my previous house.

I never did a post about my kitchen because it was just weird. 

Functional, but weird. 

It had mismatched, old appliances, crappy laminate counters, nasty vinyl floor, orange oak cabinets

.....well you get the picture.

Actually you get this picture...taken the day of our inspection in 2008.

Here's another beautyshot from that day:

I was working with a limited budget and overwhelmed with the amount of wallpaper and brown we were dealing with throughout the home, so I just used the magic of paint mostly.  Oak cabs turned white, hardware replaced with black, walls became blue....

Then brown.....here's the shot from our realtor's camera in January, taken for the listing.

And how 'bout that oak ceiling light box, eh?  Fabulous.  

What this doesn't show is the beast of a stainless fridge we got secondhand from a friend remodeling her kitchen as ours was 25+ years old and falling apart....and I loathe stainless steel, btw.  Hated it from the moment it started popping up in my country/cottage mags 15 years ago.  To me it's cold and sterile and the opposite of what I'm trying to achieve in my cottage look.  

But hey, it carried the mismatched vibe I had going on in there already....stainless fridge, bisque oven/fan, black dishwasher, white sink. *rolling eyes*.  I like eclectic, don't get me wrong, but really?

I did love how my valance fabric looked with my walls....

 Anyway, in case you missed it, we're hoping to build a house next door to the small home we just bought.

So now I'm plotting and planning my next kitchen.....and because I'm drawn to so many different cottage looks, it's been quite an exercise in frustration.

Still trying to differentiate between my likes and loves.

 Here's the builder's take on 'modern cottage' with our floor plan (this was their offering for last year's 'parade of homes')

Terrible picture...it blurs when I try to enlarge it. Here's a link to the page where you can see better shots of the interior of the home.

Anyway, not my style.

So what am I shooting for?

Well, if you've been watching my 'Yummy Kitchens' Pinterest board blow up, recently, you'll see ideas and looks I'm trying on for size.

You'll see lots of blue cabs and white appliances with warm wood floors.

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This is my mama's kitchen, Christmas 2011.

Missing her so much on this new decorating adventure (she's been gone 6 month now....)

Then I see beautiful white cabs with pale blue walls and go *sigh*...

I've shown this kitchen previously, but I just adore the beachy hues (but not the stainless fridge, lol)

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This awesome space comes very close to vibe I love....

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Seriously considering glass front upper cabs with blue backs like this:

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But I adore open shelving too, especially if beaded board arrives on the scene, like these:

(Chris' kitchen is AMAZING.)

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Other ideas I'm kicking around:

Mixing finishes/colors...

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love the warm wood touches....

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This kitchen has so much of what I love...white uppers with blue backs, blue lowers, wood island (and beadboard, planked ceiling, mixed counter surfaces....not sure how I feel about the subway tile, and I definitely don't like the lighting.)

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Other touches that caught my fancy (like or love?  Still trying to decide!)

Interesting trim detailing under cabs, awesome aqua ripple glass and fabulous knobs.

I even kind like the baby subway tile....hmmmm.

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farmhouse sink....

(no link from pinterest?)

I know this isn't kitchen cabs, but I love the color Diane used on this hutch/dresser and I'm seriously thinking of going with brass hardware on my lower cabinets.  Diane dulled the shine a bit...I actually like both the shiney and antiqued versions of brass...but not plain shiney gold a la 1980's.

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And how 'bout an antiqued brass pendant light?

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with a vintage-look antique brass faucet?

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Then again I love oil-rubbed bronze too....and we'll prolly use that on all the doors around the house.

I took this elcrapo pic with my phone from Country Living's 500 Kitchen Ideas book last night at B&N:

I think this comes very close to what I'll do....it combines many of the elements I mentioned in this post:

White glass-fronted upper cabinets with colored glass knobs and corbels beneath (perhaps paint the interior backs with my pale blue wall paint color)

White Beaded board.

Painted lower cabs and island (I'd do some darker version of my pale blue wall paint with brass bin pulls)

Butcher block counters (may just do this on the island), and I'm digging that warm wood corbel on the overhang....

I also like the Shaker style cabs and white appliance(s)

Donuts.

Did you notice how I took a ton of images and began pulling the common denominators out to define my style?  Then when I saw the above image, I recognized 'the look' immediately, even though my kitchen will still reflect ME.  I actually spent several evenings deleting many kitchen pins from my board, so I could really focus in on stuff that I know I can commit to long term....my loves.  

And of course, many of these elements will be grafted in to our builder-grade kitchen over time as we can't afford to do everything at once, even though it's tempting to mortgage the cost of that antique brass faucet up there....

Thanks for walking down the long, windy path toward my dream kitchen....I'll keep ya posted as we wait on word from the lender on whether they'll even finance this undertaking next door.

I'm curious...do you go thru and delete pins now and again as your preferences change or become more congealed?  I'm working on cleaning up my inspiration files both on Pinterest and on my decorating books/mags shelf.  It's a great way to walk thru that sorting and sifting exercise, that honing of your personal ::cottage instincts::

What to do with old windows.

PSSSST...I'm no longer blogging here!

You can now find me at

www.acottagegirl.com

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Basically, store them in your garage for a few years, 

set them against the wall in different rooms hoping for some inspiration for another few years,

then steal ideas from pinterest and make them a picture frame. 

(who noticed the sneak peek of these frames in this post?)

Hang those puppies up on a big ole wall that really should already *have* a window,

and voila, instant brag board.

You could even add wood letters down the middle so's folks don't think you just stole faces 

from the inside of Walmart frames.  

I stained mine 'special walnut' or some such, and didn't even sand 'em.  

Used command hooks to adhere to the wall.

Luxuriate in the chippy goodness with me...

Here's how I attached the pictures to the back of the glass.

There's prolly some better way, but this is workin' for me.

Get those clear picture corners and put them on backwards so the sticky side goes toward the window.

You prolly knew that.

Here's a somewhat awkward shot of the one taken of hubs and I.

I was too tired to climb on a chair to get even with the picture.

I think I look tired.  

Wait. I am tired. 

Which is why I just snapped this picture from my seated position in the first place.

So there ya go.  What to do with old windows. 

Have a butt-load of kids and get a big black dog to fill the panes,

then show 'em off. 

Prolly taking this post to some of my favorite PARTIES, listed in the link on my side bar.

There are times...

...when a few simple words

are all that's needed

to pull you through.

And maybe just a few hours of working with your hands

using some pretty raw materials that make ya feel good,

and completing a simple task from start to finish

can make the big stuff, the scary stuff, seem not so big and not so scary.

So if you find yourself today feeling overwhelmed, scared, helpless, even hopeless

maybe take some time to do some handiwork

using things that you love

to create a space where peace can reign just a little in the midst of chaos and uncertainty.

Let simple words and simple crafts bring solace from the storm.

(edited to add that this post is linking to creative little daisy's impromptu quick craft linky and Funky Junk's Pennant party)