A Girly Kitchen: What would you do?

Tori even put the Toile wallpaper on the ceiling

I was just checking my calender and today is Wed..."Girl Stuff"... and, in keeping with the Kitchen theme that I seem to have going on this week, I thought that I would show a "girly kitchen", at least I would consider it kind of girly, with the toile wallpaper. Then again, maybe it's just because I've been married for quite a while. I've always liked this kitchen and the apartment home of Tori Mellott (decoration editor of former Domino magazine); her New York apartment is only 450 square feet. I could only imagine what it looked like before she worked her magic. I'm sure it was quite depressing!



But, personally, I love it and would wallpaper in a minute (maybe toile depending on if Hubby was around). I would defiantly paint ugly cabinets and doors (as you already are aware) and I would hang a pendent light and stack my dishware just like that. Look at her wine glasses, cute desert plates, miniature cappuccino cups--could be egg cups--but nonetheless...A-Plus!

I love the Farrow-Ball striped "Five Over Stripe" in her living room, which I came close to using myself a couple of times.

Now it's your turn... given a tiny New York kitchen apartment (probably a rental, reflects budget even more) what would you do to make livable? How many of you would wallpaper? How many of you would use toile ? How many of you would wallpaper the ceiling? How many of you would paint godawful ugly cabinets and doors and then be really brave and do a stripe in the next room?

My Budget Friendly Kitchen

This is a picture of my old 1930's kitchen in Nashville

When Hubby and I first purchased the house, we were not quite sure what we were going to do with it! We knew we wanted and had to do something, but realistically speaking, $$$ always seemed to get in the way. We thought about maybe knocking out the back wall (where you see the stove & fridge) to open it up, but the thought of getting our money back lingered in the back of our minds! Plus, we had high hopes and dreams of heading back to the Atlanta area. So knowing there was uncertainly, our short term goal was just to make the kitchen somewhat tolerable for us to want to go in there and cook our meals and feed our dogs.

My Notes To Self:

1. Remove cabinets doors (originally had wanted to remove all upper cabinets and install shelves). Painted the kitchen cabinets in Benjamin Moore Dove White (oil-based paint). Became way to yellow... drove me crazy (see More on Kitchen Stuff)! Told later by a Benjamin Moore employee that could happen with oil based paint in old house. Almost repainted cabinets when Hubby was out out of town. Glad I didn't...it's a lot of work! Wanted the back of the inside cabinets painted but never got a around to it.

2. Had real beadboard installed two thirds up the wall by my loving carpenter. He told me later how disgusting it was when he removed original baseboards...never forget!

3. Painted the beadboard in Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace (more of a pure white...). Latex, this time. Did not want to make same mistake as with cabinets.

4. Hubby & I almost got divorced after I commissioned him to remove seven layers of flooring from the kitchen floor. Top layer was peel & stick vinyl tile... looked like it was done by a kindergartener. Once flooring was removed, Hubby painted the pine sub floors in oil based paint Home Depot's Davenport Brown & Dove White in a checkerboard pattern. Complained durning the winter season how godawful cold it was without a real floor...always kept stove on!

5. Wall paint above the beadboard painted Restoration Hardware's nortourious Silver Sage Green. Was going to repaint but Lucilla told me it looked chic..So I left it...I was tired!

6. Lighting above the sink came from Lowe's. Had lighting just like that from another store once) but found three lights at Lowe's at unbeatable, almost give-away price!

7. Also, had my electrician add outlets so we could plug coffee maker in....very crucial. Also, added outlet above the stove for a microwave which I was clearly missing.

8. Subway tiles used on back splash came from my stash ( found tiles at Home Expo red light sale) $700.00 worth of tile for 76.00...another can't beat price! The first batch I used in my bathroom. Lugged the rest with me here to Atlanta... currently waiting for another project!

9. In late Spring 2007 realized we were heading back to Atlanta area. No more $$$ for poor old kitchen. No counter tops, formica would have to do! Sorry carrera, perhaps next time. Viking stove, one day we'll meet, you'll see!

10. August 2007, getting house ready to go on market but must install a proper kitchen floor. Goal not to spend a lot of $$$ so we can leave with a profit. VCT tiles... swear by them. Go to any home improvement store & you can special order them in variety of colors. Adds lots of interest...would be really cute for a play room.

(see Kitchen Stuff Continued)

End Result
*November 2008 sold cottage house in Nashville
*Left with a decent profit.
*Most importantly...did not put cabinets doors back on!

Loving Cottage Living Kitchens

Image from Cottage Living Photographer Roger Davies

Personally one of my favorites!

Last week, while checking out at the grocery store, I noticed that the editors of Cottage Living had compiled together their top twenty-five cottage kitchens! I love this magazine and I'm a subscriber, but I did notice a few kitchens that I did not have. Anyway, if you need a little inspiration for your kitchen, I would recommend taking a look--it's currently on newsstands!

Kitchen Stuff Finale!

I love this kitchen with all the natural light and the beautiful Cowtan & Tout (key stripe) wallpaper. Picture courtesy Of House & Garden 2006 issues. Home of Jennifer Nicholson.

Today's kitchen pictures are simply for the mere fact that I like them! Plus I think they are a good example that's it's not always about the size!

Picture Courtesy of House Beautiful March 2008 issue.

I love this kitchen and would love to see more of it. You may think I'm a minimalist after seeing my dream kitchen, but I love a good display! It's the antiquer in me.

Picture Courtesy of Southern Accents - I've always loved this kitchen! It's red & I did say I'm a white kitchen type of girl. But after all, it is called the Zen Kitchen!

I always love glass cabinets in a kitchen!

Perhaps one day, I'll paint the back of mine! Picture Courtesy of Domino

Last but not least, who would not want to have their morning coffee here - I know I would! My personal favorite happens to be the roman shade fabric in jungle green. Picture Courtesy of Domino--issue Oct 2007-Interior Designer Celerie Kemble.

The END!

Yes, More Kitchen Stuff!

Picture Kate Spade Advertisement

Some other things I had my handyman guru carpenter guy do were install beadboard- my absolute favorite! Some may call it tongue & groove; I however, call it beadboard. This is when we had our first big disagreement. I thought we should put it on the ceiling, as well, as wrap it around the kitchen (my ceilings are lower in the kitchen); guru carpenter guy thought it would be too much—so for the sake of our relationship, I let him have his way!

Picture Courtesy of Southern Accents

Then I got my electrician guys, Dave & Jeff (always good for the neighborhood country music gossip) to install my retro pendant lights, and they fixed a lot of other little things so my house would not burn down. Then they added another power outlet so we could plug in the coffee maker. Once this was all finished, it was time for my handyman to come back and do the back splash – subway tiles—of course!

Lighting I choose - Picture from House Beautiful

So today’s pictures are pictures I pulled that are a lot closer to the reality of what my kitchen looks like—1930’s galley style kitchen, with a couple of farm animals (two canines) running around, a little architectural beadboard wrapped around and two thirds up the wall (still not on the ceiling) to give it some charm, retro lighting. Finally, some white subways tiles!

Picture Courtesy Of Country Living September 2005 issue

My kitchen looks a lot like this - now for that dishwasher!

Tomorrow--Kitchen Finale!

More On Kitchen Stuff!

Since I have made a decision regarding the floor—the next item I have to conquer is our Formica counter top. Just in case you have not noticed by now—I love carrara marble! Like anything else, I have done my research on carrara marble and I’m aware of the pros and cons it comes with. So I do indeed know exactly what I’m getting into if we install it. However, as I said earlier, hubby and I are nomadic so I don’t know if the next homeowners will love it and appreciate it as much as me! I even thought of doing a little pastry bakery area with it! But I’m still unsure. I do have the sink picked out and I’m ready to go once I have made a final decision on the countertop! We’ll see.

Yes, we have Formica and a few years ago I was quite happy to read in the May 2006 issue of Domino a feature with Vesta de Yampert Fort. She is an interior decorator from my hubby's home city, New Orleans, and she shared a tip from her former boss. Gerrie Bremermann, (whose work I very much admire), also from New Orleans. The tip had to do with Formica “She said never be afraid of white Formica –it's cheap and innocuous.” You know what, I have white Formica! One of the best little tips I’ve read and totally agree with. So this is another reason why I have just left the Formica, at least for the time being. But boy, I would love to have that carrara marble!

Picture Courtesy of Domino

So you may think, what has she done with a kitchen with no proper floor and Formica countertops and dreadful looking dishwasher! Let’s see, another kitchen I had pulled for inspiration was yet another kitchen from House Beautiful – Kitchen Of The Month. The homeowner here had painted her cabinets Benjamin Moore’s White Dove. I loved it and have used White Dove for trim in the rest of our cottage house as well. However, I used a high gloss oil based paint on my cabinets and they became a little more yellow than I actually wanted–such is life!

Pictures Courtesy of House Beautiful

Yes, more on kitchen stuff tomorrow!

Kitchen Stuff Continued!

Picture Courtesy Of House Beautiful

After writing yesterday’s blog I thought it would be nice to mention why I love that kitchen so much! Here they are my Top Ten Reasons as follows:

1. Perhaps it’s the very large beautiful Carrara honed marble island
2. Or it could be the open airy feeling with no upper cabinets
3. The retro industrial lighting helps - of course!
4. I love the fact that it’s just clean and simple with no clutter!
5. On top of this, I’ve always been a white kitchen type of girl
6. I’m definitely a huge fan of bead board!
7. I have always dreamt, even before I could cook, of having a Viking stove!
8. Have always dreamt, even before I drank coffee, of having a high-tech cappuccino machine!
9. Plus, who would not want all that natural light!
10. Overall, the end result—timeless classic elegance!

That truly captures me!

All the kitchens I gravitate towards, big, small and somewhere in-between, do have certain elements -which you will see. A few of these elements I have already incorporated into my own small kitchen.

Picture Courtesy of Southern Accents

Now, after freezing this past winter and putting on my mittens and scarf to fetch my morning coffee—I am in desperate need of a proper floor. Both the cold air and the dust from the basement just seep through the prominent cracks in the pine right now! I know last week, I said spring has sprung here in Nashville; however, the weather here in the South can be very deceiving, and especially here in Nashville! You can get all four season in one single day—I kid you not! Like today for instance. This morning—sunny, slightly cool and Springy. On my mid-morning jog—bitterly cold, snow flurries. Now, as I’m writing this blog—overcast in the early afternoon. In just this one day, it was wintry freezing and sunny comfortable all within a few hours.

So today’s pictures have to do with floors

Above Picture Courtesy of Cottage Living

Above Picture Courtesy of Domino

Picture Courtesy of Martha Stewart's " Decorating With Color"

For the sake and cost of my flooring installation I am leaning towards VCT tiles. Some of you may ask what VCT is. Vinyl Composition Tile is used in commercial installations. I have had installed VCT tiles before, I like the price, and with this type of flooring, I can keep my checkerboard floor pattern. If the hubby and I were not nomads and if I weren’t already planning our next house—I would probably splurge and do wood, which we had in our very first house.

More Kitchens tomorrow!

Kitchen Stuff!

All Pictures Courtesy of House Beautiful 2007 isssue

(Kitchen Of The Month)

Last week, I spoke of how I was going to call my beloved handyman so we could continue where we left things off this past fall. First, I should explain why I love my beloved handyman:

1. He returns my phone calls!
2. He shows up!

• He shows up on time.
• He even shows up early!

3. He knows what I like & can read my mind
4. He goes the extra mile!
5. He brings me flowers (just kidding)!

With that said, I now need to put him back to work in my kitchen. And you know what? A floor would be nice! I do have a floor, if you want to call it that—wood plank sub flooring that we painted (hubby actually painted & I told him what to do) in a checkerboard pattern. This was done to buy us some time until we could figure out what we wanted to do with our kitchen, expand, counters, etc... Before moving into the house the seven layers of existing flooring (asbestos, linoleum) had to go! Plus, the top layer peel & stick tiles was indeed very ugly and looked liked it had been installed by a five-year-old. I do love my checkerboard floor and the hubby does have talent for drawing and painting. He has quite a steady hand and should have been an ophthalmologist-oh well! Now it’s been a year, and time to make a decision on the kitchen floor- I would hate to spend another winter with sub flooring. Winters here in Nashville get mighty, mighty cold, and turning my oven on first thing in the morning is not going to cut it! I truly envy people with proper kitchen floors but also the ones with heated flooring—how nice!

Last year, around this time I pulled the following kitchens for inspiration, the first one being my dream kitchen (House Beautiful -Kitchen Of The Month) with a butler’s pantry—which I’ve always wanted. Granted, you could put my kitchen in that butler’s pantry! Hey, it’s always nice to think big!

The Kitchen belongs to Judith Barrett, cookbook writer - No Doubt!

Above - Her Pantry That I Love!

Some Nice Touches To Capture The Look

More on kitchen stuff tomorrow!