Friday, July 1, 2011

Our country kitchen

Because our kitchen is such a masterpiece right now, I just had to share some of the highlights.  And honestly, I do want some input. What should we do with this room?



Our vintage hood sounds like a rocket blasting off.  


Cover your eyes for the next photo. It's not appropriate for young children.


Yes, it's a boob. There are two of them. Lovely ceiling tiles again.


Huge wood-burning fireplace.


The fireplace ain't brick, though. It's all a facade, sadly.  And it's been through a few half-hearted repairs.  

Behold the lovely linoleum flooring, though.  It's actually in great shape.  Too bad it's hideous.


Wallpaper and fake wood paneling.


We only have two windows to the exterior.  Notice the 1980s era roman shade.  And our brand-new faucet.


Gross.  This is above the "office" area in the corner.  (did I tell you there are 7 light switches in the kitchen?)


Our temporary storage solution.  The door leads to the back sunroom.


 Finally, our new fridge.  It is only about 17.5 cubic feet, and you see it fills the space.

And yes, there are dirty dishes in the sink. I have three small children, remember?

So there you have it.  My kitchen.  Any suggestions?  Bring it on. Can be a dream material, something funky, a traditional idea. Whatever. (one final note: the floor is not level. not even close, so flooring would have to be something that could handle it)


I shared this post at Oy Vey Q&A! (Betsy Speert's Blog).


3 comments:

  1. Kathleen here: I would chisel all that faux brick off the fireplace and put up a pretty glass tile with some neutral colors that will not go out of fashion or a while...or even use something natural like river rock. Hard to say b/c I'm not sure of your colors or exact style...I see little things in your photos that I love though...like the peacock fire screen. It's lovely and looks vintage. I'd tear down the faux paneling and either do drywall or beadboard. The boobs must go....and the ceiling tiles...oh boy. I don't even know what ceiling alternatives are...what's under the tiles? Are they the soft kind like in commercial bldgs or are they hard? Bethany made some beautiful drapes in her newer house and it's prompted me to sign up for a sewing class! If I master this course I'll be happy to help you with the drapes!

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  2. Wow, what were they thinking? I know I know, it was in style then. For the sake of budget, I think I'd start with the ceiling and lighting and get those professionally redone. While you are saving up for the next phase, you could paint the paneling white and strip off that wallpaper. Since your linoleum flooring is still in good shape but ugly, you can paint that, too, with a good floor paint (Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint will adhere well and cover well, you'll just need a hard laquer finish over it) and maybe do a little stenciling on it for interest. You could paint your cabinets, too. And not knowing your budget - you could paint the fireplace bricks until you can redo it with tile.

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    Replies
    1. Interesting idea on the painted floor--we'll see what Ryan thinks about that!

      As for the ceiling and lighting, those require cash we do not have at this time. We have money for paint right now, that's it! We've already started priming the wallpaper because removing it would mean damaging the walls. We already tried to take some off, and the plaster was coming off with it. Sometime in the distant future, we will tear down the walls and replace them after redoing all the guts.

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