My Happy Place

About a week ago I made up my mind that I was going to post my kitchen TODAY. Why today? Well, I thought I needed to set a goal for myself or I would never "finish" my kitchen. My poor kitchen gets dumped on, it is triple duty as kitchen, laundry room and project/craft room. And, of course, since we have a nice big breakfast bar it is also the dumping ground for everything! I have been working in my kitchen for last few days and had to kick it in to high gear today but I got it done. So here I am posting at 12:08 a.m. Tuesday like the crazy loon that I am! Does it count that it is technically Tuesday now?? Oh well, got it done so.........good enough!!
I finally- after a year of living here- decided to decorate above my cabinets. I am not 100% happy with the way the area turned out but I never have been good at accessorizing. It works for now- any suggestions??
This picture didn't turn out well. I really like the rustic baskets with the glass and crystal pieces. The painting is another one that Marc's late Grandfather had painted. This particular one is my absolute favorite one................

This side I decided to do all of my milk glass. I have started a collection and hopefully it will continue to grow. More paintings from Marc's late Grandfather, an old chippy picture frame from the flea market, one of my red and white china plates, a couple of old Ball jars and another old dish of Evelyn's......................

Ahhh..... my favorite "possession"........... my range. 6 gas burners with BTU's varying from 600- 15,000. This baby makes me feel like Emeril in a skirt. Too bad my skill level isn't comparable!! We had purchased this range before we moved back into an apartment (as well as a dishwasher) so I was thrilled when we found out we were allowed to bring our appliances. She would have been very hard for me to leave behind...................

This is the view from the laundry area into the dining room area. There is the bar that is always cluttered but I cleared it for the pictures and I am hoping it stays that way! HA HA HA My Aunt Debbie made the rug that is in front of my sink. She is the Aunt that has her own Etsy store now Fruit of My Hands . She made it for me as a wedding gift and I have decorated my kitchen around it ever since..................

Refrigerator side.............still waiting on my stainless steel one.......... this poor thing looks a little out of place. Too bad we can't paint the cabinets or those things would have been white months ago!!

Okay, through a doorway is my laundry room/pantry. It is very small- as is the rest of my kitchen- so functionality, maximizing storage and organization has been a big priority. I can not believe I am going to show you this but............... here it is..................... this is the side above the washer......

I keep all of my cleaning supplies in here as well as cleaning rags, dishtowels, dirty towel bin, etc. Don't really want the kids messing with all of that stuff! Here is the side above the dryer.........

All medicine and first aid items are in here because the kitchen is protected by a gate to keep the kids out at all times. They have free rein of the rest of the apartment so it is safest here! Some of my favorite cookbooks are here too for quick and easy access.

And my most recent project...................I am SO happy about my new spice racks!! I had my cousin pick up some spice jars at IKEA a few months ago because I wanted something prettier than the ugly plastic containers the spices come in. He told me he would be more than happy to pick them up for me and then when I told him how many I needed he thought I was joking. 72 spice jars- he had to get an entire flat and then didn't even know if they would fit in the car!!! I bought some twine and some little key tags this weekend and labeled them all and they look so cute! Then, today I hung up the racks and put all of my spices in- alphabetically, of course! I was so excited! And the shelves didn't fall off the wall!!!! Wahoo!!

Here is a closer shot of both sides................ the picture in the middle of both racks is of my Grandmother and her mother and all of her sisters in their kitchen when my Grandmother was in her late teens!

I don't know if you can make out the picture but one is making a pie, one is doing dishes, one is doing the laundry......... how cool! All in the kitchen! Oh, I guess I do that now. hmmm

This is my pot rack that hangs above my laundry doorway. No, we do not hit our heads on it. Thank God for 10 foot ceilings!! It was the only wall space we had and since we have limited cabinet space this rack was a necessity......... See my toile curtains? When we have company over I can close them up and hide my mess!!

My kitchen does not have a window and under the cabinets seems really dark. I wanted to do something to lighten it up. I tried painting faux tiles but it ended up looking really country. So, I took these iron grates and painted them white. I like how they turned out. They definitely make the area feel brighter. My little canisters are from Wal-Mart!! I bought them because they look vintage and remind me of some my grandma used to have- the lids even make the same noise when you bump them against something!

So, that's my kitchen! I am so glad I finished it! I feel lighter and it feels cleaner! Speaking of clean................... I think I forgot to mop the floor.

I love my kitchen. I spend a lot of time in this room so it needed to be practical and pretty. I really would love to have white cabinets but these will work. They don't bug me too badly!! This is my favorite place in our home with my balcony being a close second place. I am sure I will fluff and tweak as I often do but for now it is done.

One more thing off the To Do list!

Have a great day everyone!!!

~Heather :)