Wednesday, November 30, 2011

New Kitchen Post #2...the "Right Side"...

O.k. friends, today I thought I'd show you the "right" side of the kitchen.  There are a couple of things I love about this side of the kitchen - my farmhouse sink and my open shelves.  I'm also glad I decided to take the cabinets all the way to the ceiling.  Our ceilings are 9 ft. so I must admit - the far upper cabinets are not that practical - but they are great for storing seasonal dishes and such.
 In this pictures you'll see the pantry door - oh my goodness - probably the room I've spent the most time in since we moved in a month ago - the pantry.  I love having all my "non-pretties" in there and the best part - it is so easy to find everything.  When I get it all organized one day - I'll show it to ya ;-)
 In each corner of the kitchen - I decided on two cabinets that kind of resemble a kitchen hutch.  Great for displaying my white pitchers and other finds.  I also love the two drawers under them -  I'm sorry - you can't see here - but they are perfect for foils, wraps and such.  You will also notice - the glass is not in the corner units yet either - jus' another lil' thing that still needs doing.
My open shelves - hubby says "just another place to sit things" - well, he is right.  Fortunately, I did not need the cabinet space and I love the airy feeling it gives this side of the kitchen.
Lastly, the one thing I said was a must when we built this house and I truly only asked for this one thing - a farmhouse sink.  I found many online in the 1,000+ dollar range and I thought about just breaking down and getting one.  But I have a great friend, Julie, who let me tag along on a very loooooooong drive to IKEA and we found this one for just $299 - which sounded great - no fun to load - but the price was right! Thanks Julie!

You will also see we opted for a traditional shaker style cabinet front - we are really happy with the simplicity of it!
Well, that's it - the right side of the kitchen.  I'll share what's happening on the left a lil' later!

Have a happy day!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

My new Farmhouse Kitchen...the FIXTURES

Today will be part one we'll say of the "kitchen posts".  Now, I'll share with you right of the bat - this will be far from the fanciest, "priciest" or prettiest kitchen you'll ever see - but I love it and I'm loving it a lil' more each day.  Our intent with our farmhouse kitchen - was just to give it a timeless look on a budget.  You will not see any tile or granite here - just simple finishes for a simple family.  But it is much improved from what I had - most importantly - I have a dishwasher - YEAH! - 15 years without one and I didn't realize what I was missing out on.  It came in real handy this past weekend when we got to share our new home with family for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Hope you enjoy the things I get to share with you - and if you have any questions about the products we used - just holler at me ;-)

Fist up are the island pendants - they have an industrial feel but I just loved the simplicity of them.  These fixtures were purchased from Lamps Plus and give nice diffused task lighting right over the island.
 Next is the Allen + Roth fixture from Lowe's.  This one hangs right over my new apron front sink, which I LOOOOOOOVE by the way.  But honestly, as much as I love the look of these new fixtures with their Edison style bulbs - they do not give off good light - if it hadn't been for the recessed lighting - I would have had to return this one.  I will probably change the bulb out soon for a "whiter" light.  Don't get me wrong - I love the style of the light - I just need a brighter light for function.
 We chose simple farmhouse pulls and some knobs for the cabinetry.
 I priced many vintage style faucets - fell in love with many but just could not fork over that much $$$$$.  Plus our sink had one pre-drilled hole so that also posed a bit of a challenge.  Luckily - I found several on-line at Overstock and settled on this one.  I was unable to use the sprayer and soap dispenser - but that is o.k. - I've never had one anyway.  My favorite things about this faucet are the height and the "hot and cold" buttons.
 And lastly - this is kind of cheating a bit - but I get to see my other favorite fixtures out of all my kitchen windows - which I love.  My barn style pendant lights from Barn Light Electric.
More pics in a couple of days!  Have a blessed start to your week.

Cathy

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving...

Wishing you a beautiful, happy and blessed day
with your friends and family.


Sunday, November 20, 2011

A Happy Fall Wedding...

...yes, my friends - I'm still here.  We are in our new home but I have been without internet for nearly 3 weeks.  But besides the move - I've been extra busy these past few weeks with other projects.  Before I begin to share with you some pics from our new farmhouse - I thought I'd share some pictures of a recent wedding reception I had the honor of helping with at the end of October.  Meet sweet Christina - a beautiful young lady - both inside and out  who married her prince charming, Chris, on October 21st.  I also helped with her precious sister Morgan's wedding a couple of years ago.  Luckily - Morgan's husband is a very successful farmer - a pumpkin farmer - and that helped a great deal having that contact for Christina's fall wedding.  As usual, this family is always wonderful to me - helping me in every aspect - so I can't take all the credit.  It was an incredibly beautiful day - about 70 degrees - warm sunshine - crisp autumn breeze - couldn't have been a more perfect day!
A country wedding - with all the warmth of happy smiles and lots of love.  Best wishes Chris and Christina - I wish you all the very best!