Anatomy of a {kitchen}

Redoing my kitchen has been a work in progress for many months.  It's still not where I want it to be, but it is getting closer.   

Here is the before shot from last fall.

A new coat of paint. 

A new stainless steel sink and faucet 

replacing the white chipped porcelain sink

Stainless steel accents from Ikea

I love the wooden spoon my brother carved for us for Christmas tucked in amongst the metal utensils. 

Black and white houndstooth valances 

Cheap Ikea silverware tucked in the stainless steel containers on the island.

So convenient for the kids to use, so easy to put away after washing.

I'm not sure if I like the black stars.  I may have to paint one white so it will stick out a bit more.

Silver flower plate is from Ikea.

These chickens totally don't match, but they came from my husband's grandma's kitchen.   She died 12 years ago and her kitchen was filled with them.  We snagged a couple of them to remember her by and they are tucked away in a small alcove above the cabinets.

I'm not a fan of pickles, but I let the husband buy the bulk ones from Sams Club just so I can have the jar when it's empty.    

I've been saving jars of every size and shape, you just never know what you can put in one.

Only a couple of things I still want to do...

Replace the white counter top and back splash with something darker 

(if I can ever afford it, I have a ton of counter space to replace)

Paint the island black 

(that's my spring break project)

And find a new rug to go in front of the sink.

(Easier said than done) 

Until next time...

{the kitchen}

White kitchens. 

They're everywhere. 

And people LOVE them.  

They love them so much, they are taking their beautiful wood cabinets and painting them WHITE.

It astounds me.  

Perhaps that is because I HAVE a white kitchen.  

And I hate it.

So, I have been looking at all these white kitchens, around the internet, on Pinterest, trying to figure out just what it is that people adore about white kitchens and why they so desperately want them.  

I don't know what it is.

A few weeks ago, I was visiting one of my most favorite decorating blogs and there it was again, those white kitchens.  I left a comment telling her how I had one and I hated it.  She emailed me back and said, I checked out your blog, I don't see your kitchen anywhere.  That's because ... I don't know why.  

SO... to make a long story short... just for you, Decorchick, here is my kitchen.

I actually do love the counterspace, all the cabinets, the 17 drawers, the big island, the bar, the hardware, the tile floor, the brightness of it.   I even love the paint color, the stars, and the maple leafs I have stamped on the wall.    

But... something just isn't working for me.  

The counter tops?  Blah.  

The backsplash?  Boring.  

My budget? Doesn't exist.

So, I'm kind of stuck with them. 

The view from the living room:  

(don't mind the leftover cupcakes on the counter)

The view from the front door:
(love our new silverware from Ikea?  Best thing we've ever done!)

The view from the dining room:
(the valances are so faded, they really need replaced)

The view from the corner into the living room:
(anything and everything collects on the bar... like snowcone machines)

The handstamped maple leafs:
(using maple leafs I collected from my own backyard!)

There you have it.  There is my white kitchen.  It will never be the kitchen you'll find people drooling over on Pinterest, like say, all of these... but who doesn't want a beautiful kitchen?  
I'm usually just happy if it's clean.  

What do you think?