Kitchen Update

So, awhile back, a friend told me that it’s high time I show an update of my kitchen.  Two years ago I did a serious overhaul to our kitchen.  It was bright yellow and seriously outdated.  You can see the before and after here.  But, since then, I have changed some things.  We replaced the window last fall.  That has made a big difference because now I have two opening windows in the kitchen!  Before it was a huge picture window that hadn’t been properly installed, therefore, had some issues.  We kept the same size for the window space so I wouldn’t lose any of the precious natural light that comes into the kitchen.  

As you can see, I like color, but I am not the type that likes everything to be matching or perfectly in place.  I end up falling in love with different types of jars, colored pots and different types of plates.  So, instead of having everything matching, I get what I love most.  And so, I usually end up with a hodgepodge of things.  But, I must say, I like it that way.

Here I have added a few more shelves to accommodate all my flours, sugars and pots.  I recently had to put up the bottom shelf to make room in my pantry for all my home-canned goods.  So, a lot of the grains from the pantry were moved into the kitchen.  And jars.  I have a big thing for jars.  My husband always teases me about it because we have so many jars in the house.  What can I say, I like food being on display!  I buy nuts in bulk, and they are accessible for a quick snack for everyone in the clear jars.  The rest of the items are all my baking flours, sugars, chocolate chips and grain overflow from the pantry.  And of course serving bowls and platters and my all-time favorite Le Creuset pots.  That way, everything is very easily accessible when I am cooking.

My husband built this amazing kitchen island for me a year or so ago.  It has been one of the best additions to the kitchen.  I do all my prep work, rolling out, mixing, everything there.  All my baking spices and powders are in the front drawer under my mixer, while all my scoops, measuring spoons and what-have-you are in the drawer under the cutting board.  Mixing bowls, measuring cups and other baking items are in the cupboards below.  It’s the perfect station.  Before he built it, he asked me what kind of design I wanted.  My first request was to have the back side be open shelves.  I knew I wanted my cookbooks to go there.  Since then, baking dishes and my ice cream maker have partially taken over, and any overflow of cookbooks have gone to the shelves on the wall.  I like being able to have all my cookbooks on display.  It makes looking for one a lot easier!  And they have so many beautifully colored spines.

We replaced the seriously old refrigerator that was in the house when we bought it.  My husband had to enlarge the hole for the new fridge since the older one was significantly smaller.  He also framed in the hole so it wouldn’t look like a literal hole in the wall.  The backside of the fridge is opposite of the pantry in what we call the “back room”.  The house was built in 1910, so the kitchen obviously wasn’t designed for an actual refrigerator, so instead they cut out a hole opening to the room behind the kitchen.  It works for me!  The back of the fridge has become our artwork display for the things the kids bring home from school.

Since the kitchen has exceptionally high ceilings, I have been utilizing the height as much as possible.  Extra large serving bowls, my cooking wine rack and a few display items have made their way up there.  Things that I don’t use very often, but are still accessible (I can reach them on my tippy-toes!).  And of course, on top of the dish cabinet, are my favorite cake stands that I have collected and use frequently.

In my last overhaul, I had talked about potentially taking this cabinet down and putting up open shelves.  I decided that it would be easier and cheaper to simply remove the cabinet doors, and paint the inside to achieve the open shelves for the dishes instead.  So far, it has worked beautifully!  And below, is the little coffee station on top of a dresser that has been passed down in my family through the generations.  The dresser holds crafting items for the kids, dishtowels, extra cutting boards, and aprons.  

We also replaced the oven for an updated double door oven.  I opted for a double oven since there are many times that I am cooking multiple things that need to be cooked at different temperatures.  It saved space and gave me what I needed.  I love it! 

As you can see, the homemade chalk paint is holding up beautifully.  I am very impressed with it, and I would definitely do it again.  If you want the “recipe” on how I made it, check out my previous post about my kitchen.

As of now, we don’t have any future plans for the kitchen.  I think I have maxed out my ideas for the moment, but it is working beautifully for my needs.  I thought you all might enjoy seeing the space that all my food comes out of, and one of my favorite places to be.  A pantry post will be coming soon with all my home-canned goods and items I always have on hand.