Kitchen Tour

Today I am featuring my entire kitchen and several kitchen vignettes for Table Top Tuesday @ http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ .  Please be sure and visit Marty for more beautiful and creative vignettes.

This is a very heavily narrated post with multiple photos.  Please feel free to skip the read if your in a hurry or not as curious as to the layout of my kitchen.  However, by all means enjoy the photos!

My kitchen has several angles and entry points.  There are doors everywhere!

  I am going to do a walking tour looking at this room from many angles, hope you follow along!

This is looking in from the den.  To the right is our home office and to the immediate left is a glass door that leads down to our garage basement.  Next to it the foyer hallway with half bath that leads to the front door.

Next to the office is this little space which is our mudroom drop zone, so to speak!  This is where we hang our coats in the winter leave our shoes, purse and book bags, along w/everything else.  I cleaned it up today just for you!

Okay we are standing in the office door looking into the kitchen again.  Here is the desk area I converted into a bar, and yes, I've been reworking that vignette too! Again!

I moved a few of things on the wall around, and rearranged the set up some on the tabletop.  I think I like this a little bit better.  It's not as busy in the background as it was before. Now let's move further into the kitchen looking at the same area from a further distance for a better perspective of space.

If you look towards the bar in this photo you can see the glass door to the basement but there is a hall right before the door that leads to the foyer and front door.

This was great wool rug I found at Sam's Club one year! Love the colors and florals!

Back in the kitchen right next to my bar area are two doors that lead into my laundry room.  Today is laundry day, sorry the doors are staying closed for now.  I will have to do a feature on it one day as I have done some minor decorating in there too!  Right above the doors is one of my favorite baskets.

This beautiful and large black wrought iron basket.  It was a great find at T.J. Maxx.

Next to the laundry room and next to my oven and warming drawers is a cute little cabinet for my baking sheets, cutting boards, trays, etc.  Love it! It also holds my utensil caddy.

And right above I have my favorite decorative fruit plate and Carolina wheat blessing.

  This is wheat woven into a symbol that is supposed bring prosperity and good health to the house that it is hung in. My mother gave this to me so long ago I have no idea where it came from!

To the right of my oven is an entry into the dining room.

On the left side is my pantry door and this cute little chalk board that we keep track of what needs to be purchased from the grocery store.  We couldn't live without this!

On the right is my paper pantry and more cabinet space.  I really like to keep my most used appliances out where I am can easily use them.  Thus this is the crock pots home!

Speaking of the crock pot, right above it have hung a very old slate tile from Charleston that a friend gave me.  She painted this on here because she and I were both addicted to playing Cafe World on Facebook at the time.  That was before my blogging days began, she is still playing and I'm now blogging!

Below is a little purple lamp I made from a glass candle jar and I also made the lampshade using fabric and a shade that already had adhesive.  Very easy!  And my most favorite wall decor, the precious hand print tiles my sons made for me in their preschool years.  I love these and have always hung them in the kitchen!

Now I am standing in the dining room look into the kitchen.

Now let's go back in the kitchen next towards the refrigerator. 

On my stove I keep this cute toile enamel coffee pot I found at Ross.

And hanging above my stove is one my favorite paintings.  Have I ever told you I dabble in acrylics?  Well I do!  As you can see I'm not an artist but I do enjoy painting from time to time when I get inspired.  I have several other paintings I will share with you along the way.  I love this one mostly because of the basket I painted.  In case you haven't figured it out I have a thing for baskets too!

To the right of this area is my coffee pot and sugar bowls! 

 I also have recently added this cake dish to hold bagels but I'm leaving it empty to show you how pretty the dish is.  It is Spode, bought last summer when I wanted something that wasn't on a stand! Love it!

Next to this area along the same wall is another door that leads to the Master bedroom!  Beside that door is where I put this painted table another Ross find.

Loved the fruit basket on it!

Above it is one of two florals inherited from my in laws.

And my recent yard sale find made it's way here too.  I put these lemons in and can't get them out.  LOL!

From this angle you can see our two sets of french doors but we only use the one on the right.

And below is another shot that shows my baskets above the doors, I've always used baskets to decorate in the kitchen and just can't get away from it.

I love my chandelier.  It is bubble glass and copper with a greenish patina.

Next to this area is the wall that has my built in china hutch.  Love, love, love it!

Here's my other inherited floral picture and also my final counter top vignette.

I apologize for the less then appetizing fruit but we as you can see we do use this to keep our fruit on hand.

And looking at this same vignette from the opposite side, here's the view!

Well, there's my kitchen, did you catch the theme?  A little fruity huh?

I love it and have enjoyed this room more then words can say! Thank you for coming along with me and viewing my space and multiple vignettes.  Like most of you I make changes often and it's sure to happen again soon.  If you've made it through this,now you have a better feel for how my kitchen is laid out.

   I hope you enjoyed the tour and as always I love hearing from you, leave me a comment!

Bar Stools Revamped

Awhile back I posted pictures or our kitchen Island redo.  We added bead board and really updated the look, see that post here.  Like most redo's one thing ALWAYS leads to another.  I couldn't help but notice how dated my bar stools  looked in contrast to the new updated Island.

While I would love to go out and purchase new modern bar stools to fit our space, it's just not a priority in my budget right now!  You see,  I am limited to bar stool choices due to the space behind these stools.   What you cannot see is that there is a wall behind the stools that prohibits using larger and more comfortable style stools that would take up to much space to walk behind them comfortably.    So,  I did the next best thing!

 I updated the look with a little help from a can!  A light  sanding, some painters tape, newspaper and some Krylon and my bar stools are looking much better!

 I am loving how much contrast they have against the island now.  It's fantastic!

I left the tops of the stools as they were before, unpainted but with a stained finish on the top.

It's  a simple fix and look but really works much better in this space!  For now, anyways!

Linking up with Susan today @

http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

for Met Monday!  Check out more amazing transformations at the link above.

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you were here, love hearing from you!

Today I went Yard Sailing!

Today was a great day for yard sailing!  I am so glad I made the effort to get up and get going this morning.  I went to  a multi-family neighborhood yard sale in very large upscale neighborhood that is divided into (3) different subdivisions.   They advertised in the paper and by signs everywhere! 

 This was one well organized sale!   There were arrow signs all through the neighborhood pointing you towards the streets that were having sales.  Each family participating was also required to have balloons flying as well.  Trust me, the balloons weren't necessary as all you really had to do was look for all the cars.

On my first few stops in the largest subdivision I was feeling quite disappointed.  Seemed to me there wasn't much available at all!  I got excited when I saw one lady walking away with a big beautiful glass and wrought iron terrarium shaped like a house.  But again, I was disappointed to see there wasn't hardly anything else to be had.    I am of the if your going to have a garage sale wait until you can make it worth your while and have plenty to sell attitude.  Apparently, not everyone feels that way and do not mind setting up a small sale for the day.  

 Anyway, I wasn't giving up and kept on sailing!  This was too easy and convenient not to keep going.  Finally I hit the right place!  Immediately I found something interesting.  A bit dirty and in need of cleaning but way to cute to pass by at $4.00 for the box of four...four what you say?

Here it is, four copper lanterns! 

They are in relatively great shape despite the fact they need a good cleaning.  They are electric too!  Though I really had no idea they were electric until I brought them home.  Funny how I just didn't realize that!  The Mr. pointed that out to me and that they will need an additional box to make them work.  I liked the way they looked and thought they were copper candle holders, since they have candles in them.  However, those are not the real candles I thought they were.  LOL!

Then, at the same place I found the deal of the day!  I had already told them I was taking the lights when I started looking at this item.  It had a sticker for $15.00 which had me quite excited.  I have never seen these anywhere in any condition for $15.00.  I started shaking it some to see how sturdy it was when the man came over and asked me if I liked it.  When I said, Oh yes, I do!  He said, if you want it, it's yours for $8.00.  My jaw must have hit the floor before I could say I'll take!  He even help me load it up in my car although it did hang slightly out the back and tie it all down good.  Amazing what all you can fit in a Mazda Tribute!  Okay, okay, I'll get on with it, here it is!

Yes, that's it...a baker rack!  I finally have a bakers rack!

It's definitely going to require a little TLC but is pretty sturdy despite the rusty condition.  The Mr. immediately came up with an idea for the first shelf that is missing. I'm saving that for the big reveal!  I have wanted one of these for awhile but have not been willing to pay the prices for what people expect for bakers racks.  The cheapest I have seen one like this was a few weeks ago at a consignment store for $59.00 in this same condition.  They usually run around $100.00 or more and are not nearly as cute as this one will be!

I am so excited I can hardly wait to get started on this project.  Woohoo!  I was almost ready to call it a day at that point, but decided to trudge along and see what else I could find.  Here is the rest of my lute!

This fantastic plant basket was only $5.00!  More than I wanted to pay after getting the Bakers Rack for $8.00 but then I reminded myself I could not buy this basket for that, let alone all the greenery to go in it.

Looks kinda cute on top of the Bakers Rack doesn't it!

These last (3) items were pretty good deals too!

This lantern is very heavy wrought iron, needs a little rust cleaning but will sit nicely on my porch! Not a bad deal at all for $1.00

And this cute little hand painted apothecary jar was a steal at .25 cents!  I'm not crazy about the painted bird on the top but I may be able to remove that easy enough.  What a deal!

And lastly this cute hurricane

candle holder was another find I just couldn't pass up for $1.00

So there you have it!  All in all,I spent $19.25 total!  What a great day sailing!

I  am also so excited to be linking up Debbie today for her very first linky party!  Thank you my friend, for hosting this party, especially now!  You inspired me to get going and look what I found, something I have been waiting on for quite awhile!  Please check out more fantastic finds here;

http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/ for Garage Salen Sunday

Hope you'll come back again after all the dust and dirt has been cleared away and my new finds have found there way into our home!  Be sure and leave me a comment if you stop by and let me know what you think of the deals I got today.  I love hearing from you!

Have a great weekend Everyone, I am already there!

 

Unwinding on the Porch

Enjoying the screen porch is one of my favorite pastimes on a summer evening.  There is nothing like winding down with the glow of candlelight.  Although it's not quite Summer yet, the temps are starting to rise, and the evenings are feeling quite lovely. 

Hope you'll join me for a relaxing evening.  How would you like to have a swing on the hammock?

It's a Pawleys Island Original.  I purchased it from Pawleys myself.  It's a single size hammock.  That means it's built for one person and smaller then the average size, and so it tucks in nicely on most porches.  That's a South Carolina thing yall!

I've been working on this table today, and added a few things.  I have a bit more to complete but let me show you what I've done.  First I brought this lamp from indoors outside.  It's always nice to have a softer lamp lighting a night, don't you think?

Did you notice the little black birds?  I just purchased these recently from Hobby Lobby.  I moved them outside because for some reason the Mr. was really having trouble with them inside.  He didn't like the black birds in the kitchen.  LOL!

I like to keep my magazines nearby for those times when I get to truly escape!  I converted this old potato bin some time ago to a magazine holder.  It's rustic but I love it!

So how do you like the other side of the my porch this evening!  There's my lovely chandelier feet !  Oh goodness, where are my manners? 

That's better!  Now, there's my lovely candle chandelier.  Isn't is so pretty all lit up this evening!  I think  it has just the right amount of candles to give my porch a nice warm glow!

And finally for total relaxation bring your scented candles right on outside too!  This one is Yankee Candles Lilac Blossoms.  It is very strong inside, but much more tolerable outside!  For me, scented candles are the crowing touch for a perfect evening of relaxation.

Well, I'm pretty mellow now, how about you?  That's great!

Come back again next time you need a unwind,  K?

I am linking up with the following party today.  Please be sure and visit this site for more inspiration!

http://romantichome.blogspot.com/ for Show and Tell Friday

Name that bush... Please!

 Every spring my side yard is awash in white blooms!  I thought this shrub was a Weigela!  Now I am not so sure.  I was researching this after another blogger posted pictures of her Beauty Bush, it was absolutely beautiful!  Although hers is pink,  it reminded me of my shrubs!   Please check out Decorating Tennis Girls post here; http://decoratingtennisgirl.blogspot.com/2010/05/pink-saturday.html

After researching these shrubs online I had a hard time finding any Weigelas with blooms like mine.
I saw white, pink and red varieties, but all the flowers I have found thus far do not resemble what I have.  Here's a closer look.

Please feel free to leave me a comment if you recognize this bush.  It is another gift from the previous owner.  I know she told me the names but I am at a complete loss.

 Too bad these blooms don't last all summer long, they are just so pretty!  Don't you think so?

I am joining Susan today @ http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com for Outdoor Wednesday!  Please click on the link above for more beautiful outdoor visions!

Thanks for stopping by!  Please be sure and leave me a comment if you do.  Love to hear from you!