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Thursday, February 13, 2014

sunny day not-quite-done kitchen reveal












It seemed, on a recent sunny day, that showing you the kitchen, even though it's not entirely done, wouldn't be the worst idea.  Who knows, after all, when it may be finished?  This may also be a good way to collect a few opinions before we proceed.

As you can see, we need to close in the area above the oven, so that it will have cabinets above.  The same goes for the fridge, which isn't pictured.  I think this will really finish off the space, and the area of countertop there will feel more "cut out" of the big space, like a cozy nook, when those cabinets above oven and fridge go right up to the ceiling.  Since we can't exactly match the maple cabinets, I think we'll just go for a white farmhouse look.  Maybe with doors that are sort of "barn door" looking (think that Z shape on a barn door), but with hardware to match the maple cabinets.  Thoughts on that?

And can we talk about the ceiling?  We went with that whitewash look, which as it turns out we really really really love.  So much so that we're going to repeat it in the living room.  I love how the wood showing through gives it a warm look, and yet still puts it in the white family.  And somehow it really ties in the cabinets, as the hue of both is remarkably similar.  I wasn't sure if the cabinets would work once we did all of the painting, but I think they do.

There is also the issue of trim.  Nothing here is trimmed out.  As of now, the plan is to go with simple, Shaker-looking trim (on the chunky side), in the bright white that you see around the windows, and on all of the posts and beams.  Bringing that green from the built in couch over to the kitchen door was a last minute decision that we're really excited about.  It ties both ends of the room together.  I'm half tempted to do more with that green, but I think we need to resist this temptation to avoid overkill.  This spring I may swap out the red fabric on the couch for green and white, with a little bit of red.  We'll see.

That brings us to the hoosier, in desperate need of restyling.  It looks so much prettier in it's new bright white suit, but I do wonder if this is my chance to do more green.  I'm thinking green glass knobs, and maybe vintage paper for the back walls of the shelves, which you'd see through the glass.  I've been pinning various things I find, which you can peek at if you care to share an opinion.  hoosier pins

So what do you think?  The light in here now is amazing.  The overall feeling of clean warms my pine-smothered heart.  The only problem is now the rest of the house feels so unfinished!  Sometime I'll share our thoughts on what to do next.  The living room is on the docket for next room to work on.

Today is snowy and gorgeous.  I hope you East-coasters are enjoying this brilliant winter white.

18 comments:

  1. Wowee, that looks absolutely beautiful! John just came and looked at all the picture with me and is also blown away.
    I love the hoosier cabinet. I think green glass pulls would be great, but it also depends on what you'll be putting in there--are your dishes colorful?

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    1. Thanks Suki! It's encouraging to know it looks good to other people! The bottom shelves of the hoosier hold my cookbooks, and the middle and top on each side hold the china (thrifted) that we don't use very often. It's mostly white, with a tiny detail of little flowers (pink, blue, green). A bold background would definitely show, and I'm wondering if it would combat the "washed out white" look overall. I'm open to any advice!

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  2. Yay! The white is lovely. A white kitchen always appeals to me. And the white-washed ceiling is awesome! How cool that it ties in with the cabinets. I can picture what you mean about the counter area feeling like a nook cut out of the kitchen once you enclose the area above ovens and fridge. Perhaps the window there will be even more of a focal point. I just noticed that your cool, three tiered serving dish (what is that kind of piece called?) up on the top shelf is a green like you are considering for the drawer pulls. Pretty!

    Nice work. How homey!

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    1. Thanks Annalisa! It was a really satisfying project. We'll have to get you down here to check it out in real life!

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  3. I love your painting job! It looks amazing. And the whitewashed ceiling is great -- just the right touch. Everything looks pulled-together and pretty. Love it love it love it!


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  4. Just love!!!! Can you tell me what you used for the countertops? I am researching replacing ours and have always wanted wood. What about treating them and the upkeep?

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    1. Thanks! We got ours at IKEA, so very reasonably priced. Upkeep is not hard at all…simply refresh occasionally with an oil of your choice. After three years, we also did a light sanding when the kitchen was torn apart anyway, and that took care of any scratches or stains that had appeared. Easy! Good luck!

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  5. just found your blog from like mother like daughter (a favorite!) absolutely beautiful kitchen, beautiful blog as well :)

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  6. Amazing kitchen! I just came over from LMLD and, you know, I think we went to college together. I'm a good friend of Robyn Rice's. Nice to see this space you have created, your beautiful children, and that you have found the Catholic Church.

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    1. Oh, you're so kind. How funny that you found me! It is a small world, I suppose. Did we have some classes together, or would we just have seen each other around campus? I'm so curious now to piece all of this together! Were you Catholic at Gordon, or did you convert as well? Either way, I'm thrilled you found me here. Thanks for writing!

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  7. Your kitchen is beautiful! I too came over from LMLD. I hope this doesn't sound ridiculously forward from a stranger, but how did you come up with the plans for the house? We have 5 young children (1 girl and 4 bouncing boys!) and are moving this summer to another state. I would love to seize the opportunity to purchase some land in the country and build a lovely home that makes sense for a larger family. Love your posts, I'm so happy for the link! God bless!

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  8. Thank you so much Josie! Our house is a "FirstDay Cottage," and it was VERY VERY affordable, partly because we built it ourselves. You should head on over to their site right now and check it out! I can't say enough about how rewarding it was to build our home with our own hands. It will never be "all the way done," I'm sure, but we feel good in this space everyday, which I suppose is what counts. Thanks for your kind words! Here's the link: http://www.firstdaycottage.com/

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    1. Thanks so much for the link! We watched some video from the site-how inspiring! God bless & looking forward to your posts.

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  9. Gorgeous! I came here through like mother, like daughter... If you wouldn't have mentioned it's being unfinished, I never would have known. Really beautiful. Love the comfy-looking red bench!

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  10. I LOVE this airy, hard-working space! So attractive. In my opinion, I would not do green pulls on the hoosier, as that would look rather planned. I think you're right to limit the green to two powerful punches on either end of the room. (I adore that built-in sofa with all its comfy cushions - love your idea of changing it up sometimes, too). is there another color you love, that you could use for the pulls? Or what about classic black - a common theme for hoosiers?

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  11. Beautiful! I came over from LMLD too - how did you make such a big kitchen table? We have 6 kids and always seem to be outgrowing our tables. Did you make it yourselves?

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  12. It’s slowly coming together gorgeously. You must be over the moon with the progress you've made. Your furniture are fine choices, and I love how you put the pieces together. When is the final reveal?

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  13. It looks wonderful already! And to think you weren’t even done yet. Well, I assume the progress is now fully complete, since it’s been almost a year since the partial reveal. I’d love to see how it turned out. I hope it’s as perfect as you wanted it to be. Cheers!

    Arthur Bryant @ Contractor Express

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