House Tour: The Kitchen

Here is the view from the front room. I thought we would have to get a new kitchen table and chairs to accommodate the more square-ish space. But, when I tried the long table ($10 from the ISU surplus sale last year) coming out of the wall, I liked that it created much more walking space through the kitchen than a square or circular table would. Since the kitchen is right smack in the middle of the house, there will be a lot of traffic through there. The table also allows us to get in and out of the patio door. I am also thankful to get to use the 6' bench that I searched high and low for (and found on amazon.com) for our old house. We can squeeze a lot of little people on that bench!

Here is the opposite view of the eating part of the kitchen BEFORE we bought the house:And NOW:I painted the kitchen (and hallway) walls Mark Twain Ombre Grey (Lowe's) and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this color. It has a touch more brown in it (though you can't tell at all) than the High Speed Steel I used in other places. That makes it go a little better with all the brown in my kitchen (more on that later!). I would like to either have my sister write a Bible verse on the wall in the frame, find some wall words or if I get lazy, maybe just put a big clock in there. I got the huge frame at Hobby Lobby in their 90% off clearance section and painted it my favorite Satin Nickel color.

More jars on the table as well as Abram's silverware since I don't have room for it in my silverware drawer.
View from patio door. Having a BRAND-NEW kitchen with drawers that all work properly and new appliances has been a dream. While the color of the cabinets, back splash and counters are not my fav (by a long way), I am learning to love my kitchen . . . because what is there not to love about a BRAND NEW kitchen?!
I would love a long dresser or buffet in this space to the right of the frig some day but instead I used the tall cabinet I already had. I didn't really need more cabinet space but I needed something on that wall and I put the dishes in the cabinet so that my girls can (eventually) be able to put the dishes away and set the table on their own.

On top of the cabinet
This cabinet used to be more of "curio" cabinet with an upper glass door and lower glass door on it. After using it like that for awhile, I got tired of the formal feel of it, so I took the doors off of it and used it like a bookshelf. It is perfect for my dishes because it is deeper than a bookshelf.

The bulletin board is not the most aesthetically appealing (at all!) but is there out of necessity rather than design. I need to post the kids' daily schedule in a place where I can talk to them about it. Kids adopted from 'hard places' need a very high amount of structure and predictability in their days. Change can often be very difficult for them. I am planning to make flashcards with pictures of a toothbrush, eating, reading, playing outside and other activities that they will do each day. I will hang those on the board to make the schedule. (I got this idea from another adoptive family.) This will help initially in their language learning and then will help them know what is coming next in their day. I plan to go over this with them while they are all sitting at the table for breakfast (and at other eating times). I just bought some cardboard letters at Hobby Lobby today that ironically spell, 'TODAY,' that I plan to paint and put above the bulletin board.

To the left of the frigMain view of the kitchen BEFORE:

And NOW:

This little black shelf that I have had for 5+ years fit perfectly in this little space. It originally had three doors that each flipped down. But, after the doors broke for the second time a year ago, I was done fixing them. I was going to get rid of the whole thing and then realized it would still work well without doors (just like my other cabinet above!). I found totes at Walmart that fit perfectly. I put the kids plastic dishes and cups in here so that again, they can get to them themselves! And my recipe box (complete with grease marks!) on top for very easy access.Another ISU surplus item . . . the 50 cent old paper holder for typing. I LOVE THIS THING! It is magnetic, so I could also use magnets on it. I've very recently realized that I plan out my meals and use what I have in my cabinets better if I have an inventory of all that info EASILY ACCESSIBLE (just like my recipe box). Putting these lists and my menu on this paper holder is a fun way to have it on my counter but look decent, too.

While I am greatly enjoying and learning to love my new kitchen, I'll just take a minute to share my honest opinions about what I don't like. First is the obvious fact that I like grey and black WAY better than brown. But, you all know I am embracing the brown in my house! Second, I am no design expert but the problem is that the cabinets are a bit busy with all of the grain and knots that show on the light wood. Then, while the back splash has a very beautiful decorative strip of tile in it, that makes it busy to look at also. And then the counter top also has a busy pattern in it. If just one of these components were SOLID, I think it would look so much more appealing. Which is why I had planned to stain the cabinets black and replace the back splash.

BUT, Jason is done with house projects and I am thankful for a husband who knows when to say 'when!' I also swore I would never paint cabinets again after I did them in my old house. Not only is it a ton of work, but the moment you sand and put paint or stain on a cabinet, it just seems to me that they aren't new anymore. Paint or stain rubs off in time. If I had old cabinets that needed updating, I would do it in a heartbeat, but to redo brand new cabinets . . . I feel like there is a lot more to lose.

So, the lesson learned is that when God puts a house in your lap that is perfectly suited for your family with way more space for your four kids but the kitchen is not the colors you wish it were, you learn to be thankful and content and even learn to LOVE it!!

Up close with more jars.
Here is the tile I have that I would love to redo the back splash with some day. I love this tile because it would incorporate the colors that I love (while still working with the brown tones). Some day.
On the back side of the kitchen wall with my five jars is this very unique cabinet (in the hallway to the back room). It only has the depth of a soup can, but I love that I can store lots of pantry items in it.
That completes the kitchen tour (with my commentary, of course!)

The House Tour: Front Room

Here was the view when you walked in our front door.

And here it is NOW:

It is about double the size of the front room in our old house. Woohoo! While I do love it, in order to make use of all the space (which is Jason's preference), it looses a bit of the comfy feel without a coffee table (or something) in the middle of the furniture. But it totally works.

Here is the view from the opposite side of the room. BEFORE:NOW:I am planning to paint the front door (inside and out) - it sticks out like a sore thumb. I would also like to put a fun console table in place of the black wooden chair by the front door . . . in time. One decorating lesson I learned a long time ago: Use what you have and be content with it.

Did you see the two sets of four shelves indented into the wall in the before picture? The shelves had to go. We didn't have the time or money to tear the trim out completely so Jason ripped out the shelves and I sanded and painted the wood. The lanterns and hooks were in my kitchen in my old house.
This is my favorite wall in my house by far . . . the mirror collage!

I have been wanting to do something like this for over a year. I didn't have a place to do it in my old house. But, I started collecting mirrors over a year ago and was finally able to pull it off here. All of the small mirrors are from Goodwill. The curvy one ($10) on the left is from a barn in Galena, IL. The fancy looking one ($12) is from the Habitat Restore in Des Moines. The long one is from my old house and the round one ($8) is from Goodwill. I used a Krylon spray paint in the color Satin Nickel from the Brushed Metallic collection (got it at Walmart). I am in love with this color of spray paint! It is like a muted silver. And it looks great against the dark color I painted the room - 'Semi-Sweet' from Lowes. The paint sample card looked like a dark brown color. But, when I got it on the walls, it looks like a mysterious brown/charcoal with a hint of dark purple (go figure!). It was the color I went out of my comfort zone on and I love it!

We did buy a new couch . . . at a real furniture store even! We needed a couch for more seating in this room and I was looking on Craigslist for one. Decent couches are $300-350 (or more) on Craigslist. I wanted a grey couch and knew that would be hard to find. We were in Des Moines one weekend and we decided to just go and see how much couches are at a 'real' store. I honestly had no idea. Low and behold this couch was $359 and so were many others. Who knew? The crazy thing is that I swear to you this couch was GREY in the store. Jason can vouch for me. That is why we bought it. It was one of only a couple grey couches in the huge store. Once we got it in our house it totally looks brown. Which is completely okay. It goes with the rest of the furniture quite well.

You can see the color of the wall better in this picture. The color is actually very dark, but I'm here (along with Nate Berkus) to tell you to not be afraid of dark colors! They add such a warm feel to a room.

I don't know what got into me, but I have a sudden love for decorating with glass. I have always loved old glass jars, but primarily used them in the kitchen. I have them in a number of rooms in this house however. Here they are hiding the nasty TV antenna. And I thought this would be proof that my love for decorating and organizing does not translate into cleaning. Look at all of that dust. And I don't really care. It is way up high where no one can see!

I had to blur out the pics of the kids from Africa once again in the picture below. I would love a different chair in place of the $5 wicker chair I got at Goodwill 7 years ago when I moved into my house and recently spray-painted black. BUT . . . I'm working on being content with what I have! The little side table was a $3 garage sale find that I sanded and painted a turquoise color.

Well, there is the front room and all of my commentary.

Seeking Justice

Re-posting this as a reminder and because it has some updated information. Hope to see many of you there!

Seeking Justice
Orphan Care Conference
First Family Church

Saturday, August, 13th, 2011
9am – 12pm
317 SE Magazine Road, Ankeny, Iowa

Join us for a morning dedicated to encouraging believers to act on James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Come listen to Johnny Carr, impassioned orphan care advocate and National Director of Church Partnerships for Bethany Christian Services. You’ll also have the opportunity to attend two of three breakout groups focusing on International & Domestic Adoption 101, Foster Care 101 and a panel of parents who have gone through the adoption process (both domestic and international). This event is free, open to the public and does not require advanced registration. Please contact Marti Skow with any questions, 515.313.3517.