The story of my kitchen...

When Jason and I first purchased this home there were two things I knew I HAD to do. The floors had to be stripped and returned to their former glory, and the kitchen had to have a "band aid" makeover.

The cabinets, the counter tops, the backsplash, the floors...and on and on...kept me up at night. I would lay in bed and dream of painting these cabinets white. Thoughts of sledge hammers were dancing through my head.

This wall color was indescribably ugly. It was not meant for a kitchen, in my opinion. It all had to go. Unfortunately, the money tree had not sprouted yet (still waiting on that thing to pull through). This is why I knew it would have to be a "band aid" makeover.

I began by literally taking a hammer to the backsplash....you know just to see how hard it would be to get it off. Cut to three hours later and I was in full demo. Without telling the husband. The previous owners had mortared and sometimes glued the tile straight to the wall. That was not fun.

I wish I had taken more photos during the process, but as I said....I was a slacker! It took us about 3 weeks to get the kitchen almost complete. I had to wait for Jason to take the upper cabinets down, build my hood and make shelves. After about 6 weeks it was done it was time for the fun part...decorating!

I had collected quite a bit of my antique and vintage finds before we moved in. In fact I was collecting long before I knew one day I would have my little antique farmhouse. Pulling them out of their packaging was literally a dream come true. It doesn't take much for me folks!

Fortunately for me Jason is a welder, so he was able to make the brackets out of metal he had on hand. The wood for the shelves were scraps he took from huge pallets a couple radiators for his shop had come in. After staining them and adding the brackets...voila free shelves!

The chalkboard in the breakfast nook was an old dresser mirror. I simply removed the mirror and used the board that was holding it in to paint with chalkboard paint. I searched for a few of these plates to add to my already ridiculous collection. I layer the chalk board on the floor and moved the plates a thousand times until I found a set up I loved! Snapped a pic...then went to hammering the walls.

The light fixture is probably one of my favorites! It is an old siren off of a firehouse that was repurposed. I found itatvthe Lucketts Antoque festival. If you have never been, you must go!

The rug was found on the home shopping network. It is a Nate Berkus rug. This bench is one of my favorite finds because it was from an old prison. The side reads "State Group Laborers".

Some of my finds that have been stashed away for years, finally have a home. I am addicted to old linens, enamel, and anything silver! I love having pieces in my home that have lived a long life before me, and hopefully after me!

This is my little bar set up. I tried to use the things I had on hand to outfit it. With the addition of a little color in the paint by number, the tea cup and bottles...this space came to life!

This was an exhausting process, but so worth it. I can absolutely live with this kitchen until I have the funds to really do a complete overhaul. Jason and I have been toying with the idea of doing it ourselves. When we start talking about knocking out walls though, I get a little nervous!

Thank you for taking a tour of the kitchen with me. Now it's back to the barn I go. Another labor of love continues!! Good night.

Trinity