Kitchen Ideas

Lately I been feeling the desire to change up our home.  We have lived here for about 9 years.  We have made several changes, cosmetic. Like most of us who like to decorate I LOVE to change up our home. I am constantly moving furniture, changing out vignettes.  I think I drive my family, mostly my husband crazy. 

I am contemplating changing the color of the kitchen.  It was a horrible wallpaper when we bought.  We "temporarily" painted it yellow until we had time to do it the way we wanted.  Temporarily has lasted us about 8 years.  We painted OVER the wallpaper to save time.  NOW it is time to painstakingly remove the wallpaper and repaint.  FEAR sets in.  What will we find beneath the wallpaper.  Are the walls in good condition or is that why there was wallpaper.  This is what has stopped me from changing it sooner and $$, but mostly the fear of the unknown.  In the past, at our other houses I would have jumped in with both feet and not thought twice. I was also younger then and worked part time.  Which meant there was more time for dealing with the messes that I uncovered.

 My kitchen is very small and little to no natural light.  The one window it has is under a covered side porch, facing South.  Not much light comes in here.  I am a bug in the dark....I am drawn to natural light and I fear..yep there it is again FEAR my kitchen being to dark.  At the same time you will see I am drawn to dark colors at the moment.

Here is the window.

I have always wanted white cabinets.  And now I have them and a son who is in the tire business......well get where I am going.....dirty finger prints EVERYWHERE. Currently the kitchen is painted a cheery yellow. The cabinets have the "original" hardware from when we purchased the house....mismatched.  I would be changing the hardware and moving it down where I can comfortably open the cabinets.

We have thought about painting the counter tops.  There are so many options for that.  You can buy a kit or simply paint the tops from directions on the web.  I would like a darker top. Leaning towards brown or black tops.

I really like the grey/blue of this kitchen with the white cabinets and brown tops. VIA Nina's Nest

I am then found drawn to the black AND white cabinets.  I love this look.  I even like the original floor.  Would love to find wood under my beautiful vinyl. VIA Goodbye House Hello Home

Still keeping the white cabinets and incorporating blue.  I do have blue in the adjoining den.  LOVE this kitchen from Modern Cottage. Love the black floors and the crisp white cabinets.  I also like the partial open cabinets and the baskets.  I have asked the hubs to remove the drawers from four of our cabinets and create open shelving. 

Then here is the bomb.  I am drawn to BLACK distressed cabinets.

Would I like the distressed part?  Does it feel "abused" and in need or repair?  Or does it feel homey and current? It would hide fingerprints and such....

HELP.  I am sending out a cry for help.  What is your opinion?  Please post a comment.

Thanks for stopping by.

Peace.

An AMAZING Give Away at .......

You must check out this amazing etsy shop and all the creativity there. I have been an unofficial follower of this site for several months.  Now with her recent give away I must log in officially and so should you.  Go to http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/.

She is amazing, but so are all of the blog that I stalk view on a daily basis.  Here is a little tease.

I absolutely love the silver treasures!!!

The AMAZING give away!

Go check it out.  Maybe someday I will figure out how to do advance posting and have a give away from Amish Country.  Would you participate?

Light Bulb Moment

Simple and fun.

Light

Mechanic's funnel

Candle wreath

Nifty lamp with awesome shade.

Sadly, not my idea.  I bought this at a local primitive store.  Just Enough Antiques in Smithville, OH.  She has some awesome ideas.  A second trip or more is in the works.

Thanks for stopping by.  What unique ideas do you have?  Please share.

Peace,

Stephanie

A change is brewing.....

Just like the season change so does my decorating mood.  So with this past week being more like late Fall/early Winter, I thought I better get in gear and decorate for Fall before I miss the occasion.

This is how the entrance to our home looks for this season.

The hubs and I purchased pumpkins and mums today at a local market.  I opted for cheap thrifty pumpkins.  All were $1.00 a piece.  I tried my hand at a white pumpkin and put our last name initial on it.  I rather like it. 

We added a little charm to the plain, plastic, black pots the mums came in. Hubs wanted the fun pumpkin/gourds on the steps.  The little orange one is bumpy and fun.

A little vignette that changes with the seasons.  A friend of mine gave me the "acorn" that she found while thrifting a few years back.  Still works for me.

With the help of the hubs, this is our first attempt at a topiary of pumpkins.  I must say I do like the smaller pumpkins.  I also must confess, we cheated.  All the other posts about topiary's have been somewhat messy, clean the pumpkin, cover the inside with Vaseline or cooking oil to keep it from drying out......blah, blah, blah.  We Hubs simply cut off the stem of the lower two and ran a dowel rod through the center making sure to not come all the way through the top pumpkin.  No mess, no sealing, easy peasy.  We will see if it holds up to the weather.

Well simple and thrifty.  That is the way we roll at this house.  I hope you enjoyed the new look of the entrance.  Please share by posting a comment on how you decorate your abode for the Fall/Autumn season.

Thanks for stopping by.

Peace,

Stephanie

Wow, 1981.  This Friday night is my 30th class reunion.  Where did the time go? Sadly I will not be attending the events.  So I thought a little tribute to the 1981 was appropriate. 

Ronald Reagan became the 40th President of the USA

Camero's and Trans Ams were the HOT cars

Most "guys" in my area either drove a HOT car or choose to drive a truck.

Do you remember some of the shoes?  I LOVED Candies. Remember the "plastic" soles? Remember how those cool shoes did NOT bend....EVER?

Designers jeans were the thing to be seen in.  My choice was Gloria Vanderbildt.  While most of my friends spoted Jordache

In my neck of the woods it was COOL to be cruising around the town on the weekend with your car stereo LOUD.  Remember the songs were on cassettes.  Some of the top songs were Kim Carnes "Bette Davis Eyes", Diana Ross and Lionel Richie "Endless Love" and Kenny Rogers hits was "Lady". When you read those titles did you hear the song in your head?

Lady Diana Spencer wedded Prince Charles.

Leg warmers were for some reason cool to.  Really?  Did we wear those things?

The 3M corporation launched Post-It Notes.  Is there anyone out there who does not use a Post-It note at least one time a day?

Movies of 1981 Nine to Five.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Spiderman II and Any Which Way But Loose.

Another little look at the awesome shoes we wore.  Oh yes, the socks with dressy sandals and wedge soles.  Do you remember crepe soles?

1981 was the birth of the first Test Tube Baby. 

The term Internet was first mentioned in 1981.

The US and Iran signed an agreement to release 52 hostages held in Teheran since 1979.

An average house cost $78,200.00

The average income was $21,050.00

Rent was around $315.00

Gas was...... are you ready?  Gas was $1.25 per gallon.  Yep a gallon was a whopping $1.25.

My school Mascot was and still is the Charging Knights.

West Holmes High School.

30 years.

Where did it go?

What year of reunion are you about to celebrate?  Do share.

Peace,

Stephanie

Peaceful

                                                                 
                                                                        Warm

                                                                           Restoring

                                                                          Peaceful

                                                                           Solace

                                                                          Tranquil

                                                                        Relaxing

                                                                     Comforting

                                                                       Celebratory

                                                                            Fun

                                                                       Chic

Inviting, hopeful, everlasting........

Lately, I have been drawn to rustic barns.  I have always had a "thing" for barns with copula's.  Shhhh, it has been a deep secret of mine.

God Bless Each and Everyone....

We shall never forget.
"All gave some, Some gave All"
"Let's Roll"
Etched in our hearts and minds forever. 
God Bless the USA.