I've been pretty sporadic lately, huh? For the past few months, my creative powers have been focused on my kitchen, so I haven't had a lot of mojo left for calendar making. Or anything else! But I am happy to report the kitchen is coming along quite nicely. I wanted the room to function like a modern kitchen, but to look and feel like it could have been my great aunt's dream kitchen when she added it to the turn-of-the-century farmhouse in the 1950's.
To reinforce the old-timey feel, we added beadboard to the ceiling and painted it white to match the two rooms from the original farmhouse, and had the old pine floors refinished. (We did them ourselves when we bought the place twenty years ago, but they needed some patching and TLC, so we called Terry The Floor Guy this time.)
My 1950-something O'Keefe & Merritt stove holds the place of honor, in an alcove that is lined with stainless steel, a great backdrop for the big white enamel stove with its chrome griddle and trim. When I get the timer/light combo that goes up on top I'll add an updated photo, but this is what the alcove looks like right now. I love this stove so much that I've used it for years with a defective thermostat. If the oven is on, it's on. Period! Not that big of a deal for roasting meats and veggies, but it makes baking a little challenging. Ok--a little MORE challenging. Baking requires too much precision and recipe-following for me. Anyway, on the rare occasion I do bake, I have to monitor the oven temp and turn the oven on and off to keep it from getting too hot. Is that true love or what?! I recently found a place that refurbishes these old thermostats, so I will have a properly functioning oven soon. :) No, I will not start baking more.
I do need to make a small adjustment. I'm going to ask the Dan The Cabinet Guy to paint the small cabinets on each side of the stove the same color as the island. They blend in to the stove too much now. Dan told me one of his co-workers asked if he was sure he had the right color for the island and another said he hadn't seen that shade of turquoise since the 50's! Perfect! When we pulled the stove away from the wall, I found three or four paint smears on the back that are THE EXACT SAME COLOR AS MY WALLS NOW! Crazy, huh?
There's one mor thing about the kitchen that I love as much as the stove. Those red doors to the right of the stove hide my pantry. Yes, it is basically a closet sticking out across the corner of the room. You got a problem with that? (The contractor we had twenty years ago--who doesn't get a cute builder guy name--said it would look stupid. That's why. :P ) The curtains on those doors come from a blanket my great grandma made me when I was only three or four years old. Said blanket had hung over the back of an old high chair in the corner for at least fifteen years. When I was packing everything away so we could get started, I realized it had all the colors of my new kitchen! So I scanned a section and uploaded it to a place that prints fabric. I ordered a yard of gauze for the doors and a yard of French twill for...napkins...table runner...placemats...who knows?
The last cool thing I'll tease you with is our concrete countertops. Robert The Contractor Guy had never done concrete countertops, but was eager to learn how, and we were quite willing to be his guinea pigs. They turned out great, but they don't photograph well. I'll find the right time of day and get some good pics to share once everything is done.
Ok. It's time for calendars. May's calendar is, of course, inspired by my kitchen! There's a little stainless in one of the frames, Grandma's blanket, white painted wood, a lot of turquoise, and a little red. Go back up there ^ and look. I'll wait....
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See what I mean? :)
Here is one for the iWhatevers that like the extra space:
And this one is for your desktop:
That's it for now. I hope to be back with a new calendar and updated kitchen pics in June, but you know how I am.... Heeheehee.... Thanks for stopping by!
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