Tour Tuesday: Kitchen Love…

August 22, 2017

Let me preface this whole post by saying that if I suddenly had about $75,000 disposable cash to pour into my kitchen I would do it in a heartbeat. I would install custom cabinets, redo my floors, hang some pendant lights I have had my eye on for years, redo the laundry/pantry area that is off of the kitchen…you get the drift.

*^^^Turquoise prayer beads from Israel and chimes from the top of Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, Thailand hang outside the entrance to the kitchen.*

Several years ago we had to make a decision about investing into our business or redoing the kitchen. I had cabinets all picked out and was working with a kitchen designer, so needless to say I had my heart set on a fabulous new kitchen. After really talking it through with my husband, we made the choice to invest in the business and forgo the fancy kitchen. Instead, I spent several weeks redoing all of the kitchen cabinets. I painted all of them, put up beadboard and installed pull out shelves in most of the lower cabinets. Just doing that alone made a big difference in our space.

*^^^View of the kitchen from the living room couch…*

*^^^These garlands have reproduced over the years! They are favorites from Anthropologie, Target, Cost Plus World Market and a Bay Area store named Nest. Curtains from Target.*

Over the years, our business has flourished AND the kitchen has really come into its own. It is the colorful, happy heart of our home and I truly love it. I would still love to change out the tile floors and get rid of the tiled white counters but all things in good time :).

^^^My strand of lights over the kitchen sink goes on (with a timer) each day around 5:00 PM and off right before we go to bed. Plates above the cabinet are from Anthropologie from many years ago…The kitchen valence is actually two tea towels with maps of California.

I painted the kitchen cabinets in Annie Sloan French Linen and the kitchen island in Annie Sloan Provence. Instead of using wax to seal I did a coat of satin poly and it has held up beautifully. I did a little distressing with some other random brownish/grey paint I had in the garage because I really wanted these cabinets to look worn in. The knobs are from Home Depot. The beadboard on the endcaps of cabinets and around the kitchen island is also from Home Depot and I cut and installed them myself. I’m still pretty proud of that :).

^^^The backsplash and area above the upper cabinets is distressed barn wood WALLPAPER from Target! After I put it up I went over it in places with a dry brush and a little white paint for a more distressed look.

The butcher block counter is a relatively new addition to our kitchen. We installed it almost two years ago. It is solid maple and is 2 1/2 inches thick. It is gorgeous and I admire it every single day. We didn’t stain it or seal it; we care for it by oiling it every other week or so. Or when we remember 🙂

See that big window? It is an antique that I got from a friend years ago and then painted in the same Annie Sloan Provence color as the island. It is really old and fragile so having it propped on top of the cabinets is a great place for it. Unless there is an earthquake…then we have a significant problem. The fabric giraffe is from Home Goods years ago. I took the doors off of the cabinet over my microwave and instead filled the space with about a dozen antique bottles.

*^^^Mercury glass shades are from Pottery Barn.*

The chandelier hangs over our kitchen table and is actually really plain under all of those colors and fabrics. It came with the house and over the years I have added to it with garlands, favorite Christmas ornaments (that stay up all year), souvenirs from many trips, art the kids have made, you name it. Basically if I love it and it fits it goes on the chandelier :).