Kitchen Progress

I was supposed to be making progress on some of the projects that were already under way but one thing sometimes leads to another.  When I was finishing up painting in the kitchen, I got sidetracked and started a new one.

The kitchen has gone through a few different stages.  This is what it looked like when I bought the house, the scrambled eggs and band-aids color combo.  It's been painted a few times including the hideous tile that was primed and painted BM Decorator's White.

To make room a new bathroom, I gave up about 2-1/2 feet out of the kitchen.

That ended up looking like this.  I had a 1960s dishwasher (used only for storage) on one side of the stove, and a microwave cart on the other.  The old table in the middle of the kitchen that used for prep space was too big for the smaller kitchen.

I tried the green antique console table which looked great but was too low and too small to be practical.

I was lucky to find an old, paint spattered lab table with slate top that was the perfect size and height for an island.  A real bargain found in Maine.  So, as I was painting, I thought this dishwasher and microwave cart solution was just a little too pitiful.  So I scoured the house for Home Depot gift cards and cashed them in for a few adult kitchen cabinets. 

I primed and painted them with Benjamin Moore Rockport Gray.  It was great luck that the top to the old dishwasher and microwave cart fit the cabinets so I didn't have to buy countertop although I have my eye on a butcher block slab at IKEA.

Yes, I've decided to go without a microwave.  Totally old school.

I thought this looked so much better although not a great deal more efficient.  As much I loved my vintage cow print above the stove, I thought open shelving would let me keep things I use everyday (and a few snazzy decorative items) right at hand and open up a little room in the cramped pantry.

Back to Home Depot.

And voila, new kitchen shelves.  The brackets are a 10" wood bracket that I painted Benjamin Moore White River.  The walls are Sweet Spring.  The shelf is 1x8-inch pine to which I tacked a 1x2-inch board on the front to make the shelves look chunkier.  You can see what I mean on the end of the shelf (above).

But from the front, it looks just like thick slab of wood.

I'm still working on where everything goes, but I love having everything at hand.  I also added a vintage metal clipboard that's perfect to keep a recipe at eye height.

I painted the sink cabinet to same Rockport Gray as the new cabinets. The old upper cabinets match the open shelves for a consistent look.

A few weeks ago when I met Carol from House and Home Defined, she mentioned that she liked going antiquing so we made a play date and went to the Cambridge Antiques Market today to look for a few things I wanted for the dining room and kitchen shelves.  

The Cambridge Antiques Market is a multi-dealer store and has a little something for everyone.  This was one of my favorite booths.

I have real weakness for pottery and this stuff was beautiful.

As luck usually has it, you never find what you're looking for but you find a few things you didn't know you needed.

I came home with these old mezzalunas and some weird pair of clippers.  I think they're great as sculpture.

And those have found a home on the wall as you walk into the kitchen.

Carol and I had a great time.  I can't tell how nice it was for me to walk around such a place with someone who shares my excitement and vision for things.  What until you see the little project she talked me into!

I'll add it to the list.