Kitchen Reno

Over the summer my husband gave me a new kitchen. We didn't change much but wow, what a difference. The kitchen is your basic U-shape, quite small. On one long arm of the U, there were the standard upper cabinets and a counter with base cabinets dividing the kitchen from the breakfast table. I was always ducking my head to peer under the cabinets to talk to anyone who was sitting at the table. So Tim removed all those uppers. At the end he installed these open shelves which I love. I keep my everyday glasses there, my recipes boxes (also made by Tim), some pottery, and my beloved French-inspired clock sits above.

This is a detail of the metal brackets holding the shelves - I love their intricacy. There are still a few finishing touches Tim wants to put on, like painting the screws black so they are less noticeable.
On a random note, I was watching, on PBS the other day, an old Julia Child cooking show and noticed that she had the very same glass tumblers that are sitting on my shelf there. Mine are not very old, so it's a design that seems to have lasted for a long time. Anyway...back to the kitchen.

We replaced the old, stained, pale blue arborite (formica) with porcelain tiles that resemble slate. The back splash is composed of creamy ceramic square tiles with a border of black rectangular tiles with a scroll design in them. He finished the edge with strips of the same wood he used for the shelving.

This picture is over exposed, but shows the peninsula between the kitchen and the breakfast area. We widened the space by 12 inches which gives me a wonderful working space, and is also great for anyone wanting to help in the kitchen. Two people, on either side of the countertop can each have ample space.

 Then, on the other side of the counter he built cabinets, also finished in wood. There are two closed cabinets, one drawer, a book shelf where I keep my cookbooks (some of them), and a shallow top shelf where I keep my cloth napkins and placemats. Should someone, if we move away, want to have a bar here instead of these cabinets, Tim made them easily removable. But I really like, and need, the extra cabinet space and I'm not as fond of eating at a bar side by side as I am at our breakfast table where we can look at each other with ease.

I'm so proud of my husband and the work he does. Another thing we would like to do is replace the gold knobs. I think dark knobs would look much better, but everything just takes time (and money.) So I'll be patient and wait until the time is right.

Meanwhile, I am enjoying the open feeling of my kitchen! It's wonderful!