Welcome to my kitchen! At this counter is where I sit and blog :) It looks a little different today, there is dishes in the sink and clutter on the countertops or I would take a more recent pic to show you...I'll get around to that maybe tonight. This is the photo I snapped when we did our initial walkthru of the house back in Feb 2007...and the reason we bought the house. No other house in Grand Forks had a decent kitchen. I LOVE the maple cabinets. I also loved the "wood" flooring but since found out that its just a very inexpensive laminate that was used and it is not holding up well. We would like to replace it with real wood planks....still trying to decide on a color. The walls are now a dark chocolate and there is a new swanstone sink but other than that it is pretty much the same. What would you do to decorate this space? I am looking for some inexpensive ideas. I have about 12 inches of space above the cabinets and the ceiling to put something but I can't figure out what since there is a bit of a dip there...there is molding around the cabinets too. It needs "something" but I can't figure out just what....oh the lights are quite a hodgepodge too don't you think? 3 different types of lighting in one small area can't be good....my doityourself husband would love to take on a new project ;) All ideas are welcome!
The decor right now is a bit of a traditional hodgepodge...I love old world feeling furniture, antiques, worn and comfortable...easy to relax in but interesting to look at. The colors are dark chocolate (of course) red, golden yellow (butterscotch) and taupe (coffee w/cream) I prefer a look of comfortable welcome over modern elegance.
10 comments:
Oh yay! I'm so glad you decided to share your kitchen. Dark chocolate walls!!! I can just imagine how gorgeous it looks... I could give tons of ideas, but I need to know what your style is first. What do you like, dislike? Country, French Country, Mediterranean, Traditional, Modern (I'm guessing more traditional) It appears to be open to other rooms, how are those decorated? In my last house I had open space above the cabinets and I had much more of a French Country feel with lots of copper pieces. Do you have any pottery collections or gorgeous platters that could be showcased there? Or even a small collection of all cream or white pieces would pop against the chocolate walls. With only 12" you don't want too much going on up there or it will look cluttered rather than done purposefully. I think knowing a bit more about you and your likes would be the starting point. :)
How funny....I was just telling Ryan the other day I want to paint our kitchen walls a dark chocolate color!! We have about the same cabinets (mine are oak), so if you come up with something fantastic for above them PLEASE let me know!!
Oh - we have hard wood flooring in our kitchen area, and I'm not a huge fan. Drop a thing and you have a dent (I guess real hardwood is very soft). Just an FYI.
Nicole, I do hope you check back here, what kind of hardwood did you use? I'm looking at switching out to hardwood as well and am a clutz, so now I'm wondering.
I would love to offer a suggestion, but I'm almost as hopeless at decorating as I am at dressing myself. (To any who have visited my house, my aunt is a professional decorator. It wasn't me.)
that's a lovely kitchen u have there. i like country style kitchen and still dreaming of owning one. sorry cant offer much help here, am hopeless in decorating. goodluck.
I agree that a collection of something would be great up there. I like the copper or pottery ideas.
First, the kids and the kitty are the PERFECT decorating element! Because that's all I can seem to look at it the pics... Jaiden is so adorable. Ok, ok... decorating...
I just love the color, the dark chocolate color seems so refined and rich and delicious which is a good thing in a kitchen! You already have quite a start. I LOVE the kettle! Do you have more items like the kettle?
With red being an accent in the adjoining rooms, some red and buttercup colored pottery would look great up there. Rather than spreading the items out you could cluster them to give bigger impact. It looks like you have some ivy above the cabinet on the left as you look in the kitchen, am I right? What's in the corner by the kettle?
Also, I love the corner shelves by the sink, but I think the scale of the items on the shelf is off a bit. Either collections of 3 smaller but tallish items would work better, or 1 bigger item per shelf would make them stand out better as a decorating element. Plants would do well up there by the window, it might be the perfect place to find 6 pots that go with the red or yellow and get an herb garden going.
I have to ask, is that a Pampered Chef trivet? You're lucky that you can keep your countertops clear. Ok I've rambled enough for now. I hope this helps.
Barbara - You have a great eye! Yes that is a Pampered Chef Trivet, I LOVE Pampered Chef products. The tea kettle I picked up at a yard sale, I don't have anything similar but I have a collection of polish pottery tea cups in various patterns, next to the teapot in the corner is a basket of geranium ivy and in the far corner is where the teacup collection is hiding. The cabinet is a pretty deep alcove on top so I would have to get blocks to raise the displayed items in order to be able to see them from below...that is why the teapot is so low. I like your idea of an herb garden in the window with the red and buttercup colors I have thought of that but where do you find the pots? I guess I could get clay pots and mix the paint myself...hmmm that is a thought. I love to do craft projects.
I couldn't agree more that the pets and the kids are my favorite "decorations" of all :) My home would be empty and void if not for them and no amount of decor could ever make it feel like home...I am truly blessed!
Barbara - You have a great eye! Yes that is a Pampered Chef Trivet, I LOVE Pampered Chef products. The tea kettle I picked up at a yard sale, I don't have anything similar but I have a collection of polish pottery tea cups in various patterns, next to the teapot in the corner is a basket of geranium ivy and in the far corner is where the teacup collection is hiding. The cabinet is a pretty deep alcove on top so I would have to get blocks to raise the displayed items in order to be able to see them from below...that is why the teapot is so low. I like your idea of an herb garden in the window with the red and buttercup colors I have thought of that but where do you find the pots? I guess I could get clay pots and mix the paint myself...hmmm that is a thought. I love to do craft projects.
I couldn't agree more that the pets and the kids are my favorite "decorations" of all :) My home would be empty and void if not for them and no amount of decor could ever make it feel like home...I am truly blessed!
The paint would work, I'd check Michael's and KMart for pots. Especially as it's the end of the season, I've gotten some great deals at KMart on pots for work... If you pull the items closer to the front edge of the cabinets you don't have to raise them as much. Oh if you do terracotta, Martha Stewart has a cute idea... Chalkboard Pots, the funny thing is I put a note on this when I saved it that says "Do this for herbs in the kitchen!"
I think it was the tea cup collection I was seeing. And I love Pampered Chef items too. I'm practically a walking advertisement for them! I'd love to see the pottery :)
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