January 11, 2017, posted by Gina – It has been written time and time again that the kitchen is the heart of the home, a place where everyone inevitably gathers. This is certainly true in my home and since many floral arrangements and recipes are created in this room, I thought it would be fun for you to see the whole space and get a little history on it. This post is longer than my typical post so grab a cup of coffee and join me on a tour of my kitchen.
Keeping Room | When our realtor took us through our house when we were house hunting, the keeping room had already been stripped of furniture and decor by the previous owners. As my family and I walked the space we had no idea how we would use it. We were coming from an older, traditional home. It seemed that perhaps only a table would fit in the middle of the space with maybe a buffet on the larger wall. I tossed and turned many nights after we purchased this home wondering just how we would use this space. Upon moving in we found that once furniture was actually in the space it was much larger than it appeared than when it was empty. This has become our absolute favorite spot in our home. It has great light and is very cozy.
Antique Welsh Cabinet | While this wall was very large, we did not have much depth to work with. I found this Welsh cabinet at an antique shop close to our house and knew without a doubt it was the perfect piece for this space. By now you’ve probably guessed I have a love of blue and white and this piece is the perfect host for my collection.
Family Heirloom Chest | This blue chest has quite a history. My mother-in-law purchased this in the 1940’s. It was one of those orange hued, maple chests. After many years passed, she gave it to her sister who antiqued it a nice harvest gold in the 1970’s. When her sister passed away, her daughter felt it belonged to us since it had originally been my mother-in-laws. The yellow really did not work in our house and so we had it painted this wonderful distressed blue. I love the blue against the neutral walls.
The TV | I fought having a television above the fireplace. I envisioned a lovely painting and stood firm in that decision until boys eventually won the battle and up the tv went. Now I can’t imagine the room without it. It keeps me company while cooking. I decided to place the Majolica plates above the television to give it some kind of decorative interest and pretty color. This collection makes me happy everytime I look at it.
Main Kitchen | Here you see the heart of the kitchen. When I first saw the wooden island I thought I would need to replace it as I cook so much and surely I would tear it up. Well, it is very tough and looks exactly the same as it did on the day we purchased the house. I treat it with mineral oil to keep it looking nice.
Cookbooks | This is one spot in the kitchen dedicated to my cookbooks These are the ones I use most frequently. As you can see, I am an Ina Garten fan!
Granite Counters | Here you see our granite counters and more Blue & White with these ginger jars.
Sink | This is our sink and my least favorite part of the kitchen. If I could start over I would choose one deep single sink and I would have a lower, larger window. I have this in the back of my mind for the day when it is time to remodel the kitchen. I do really like the window treatment and the pendant lighting. We added the pendant because previously there was only a recessed light.
Stove | Here is our vent hood and stovetop. Lots of cooking goes on in this area.
Bar | We have enjoyed the wine cooler, love the double ovens and I am so happy to have a bar area that works perfectly when entertaining.
Keeping Room | A view of the keeping room from the kitchen.
Hallway, Pantries and Locker | While this area seems like just a hallway, it holds two large pantries and a locker which, as you can see, I have taken over with my bags.
ACCESSORIES
Hand Imprints | Each family member at some point had a permanent imprint of their hand made. Mine is the copper one and I remember doing it when I was five years old. Mr. GDFC’s is the green one and he was also five years old. I wonder if it had been a right of passage to have these made at five years old or if it is just a coincidence. The larger colorful one belongs to Son 1 and the smaller one belongs to Son 2. Son 1 was taking an art class and little brother joined in. Son 1 was 8 years old and little brother was 2. I love that we each have one of these.
Local Art |
Double Drum Chandelier | We replaced the previous chandelier with this one which is perfect for the length of the island.
Majolica and Blue and White | This Majolica and Blue & White transfer-ware are two of my favorites. I love this Blue & White footbath and keep it filled with something green all year long
Rabbits | I have a love of rabbits. I am not sure where this comes from but nonetheless, I love them. Here they are nestled under pottery filled with ivy.
Plate Collection | These plates were collected over a period of years. Some of them are very nice and some of them are them are from inexpensive sets. I love that they all exist beautifully together.
Toile | This toile fabric was the starting point for all the other materials chosen in this space. It has been around for a while.
Curtains | These linen curtains softly frame the room.
Paintings and Prints |Both of these paintings (left) came from people we know and that makes them very special to us. The colors are fun and the subject of mushrooms and lemons seems to fit perfectly in a kitchen. These prints (right) are from David Lynch who specializes in scenes from Memphis as well as the ever popular 30A. His distorted perspective and bright colors set these apart from typical city scenes. Take a look at his work on his website David Lynch Art.
FURNITURE
Table | This kitchen table and chairs came from somewhere in Europe and were in pretty bad shape when I purchased them but I could see the original beauty underneath. After much scrubbing, cleaning, staining and new seat cushions I was so happy with the end result. The table is narrow enough to fit our space perfectly and I can add an additional chair on each side if we have a large group.
Lamp | This lamp is a true story of “one man’s trash is another ones treasure” . A friend of mine moved into a new house and found this beautiful porcelain lamp in the attic. Knowing my love of Blue & White she reluctantly asked if I wanted it. I could not get it out of her hands fast enough. The shade was torn and dated. I cleaned the lamp base up and found this burlap lamp shade which is a fun contrast to the porcelain.
Candlesticks | These distressed candlesticks may look old but in fact they are new. They add a nice pop of color to the mantle.
Chairs | We call this wing chair (left) the “reading” chair mostly because it is beside the fireplace and does not face the TV. This chair (right) had lived a long hard life when I found it. I think it was ready to be sent to pasture but the wood details on this chair were far superior to anything you would find today so basically we had this chair reworked with new fabric, stain and had an ottoman custom made to fit perfectly with it.
I hope you enjoyed this tour and plan to share more rooms with you in the future.
