Buttercup Farm Style
Kitchen Update
January 22, 2009
Recently, we have been working on updating our kitchen update from 9 years ago. We have loved the kitchen but were ready to add a little color and texture to the room. So we painted the kitchen and added some new tile.
We also wanted to find a way to get rid of the “stuff” living on the counter.
Including the “tree a day” coming home from school.
.
In order to do meet these needs we decided to add a few more cabinets.
I am excited about the additional storage space. In order to finish the installation, we need to order a few more “filler pieces” before we mount them (always a glitch) and then add the crown moulding to the top. So far, I “likey” what it does for the room.
A few more items to complete the “updated-update”:
-Move Electric
-New light over the island
-New countertop on the island
-Blue/White Pottery accessories
…in due time “Buttercup”, in due time.
Would love a few ideas for a lighting fixture for the space.
Dining Room Dissolved
January 21, 2009
My friends will sometimes joke with me that my home is different every time they visit. For me, it isn’t so much about change for change sake, but about asking these questions often—Does my home reflect HOW WE LIVE and WHAT WE LOVE?
As odd as some people might find this decision, we got rid of our family dining room a few months back.
Yep, we packed it up and moved it out. Why did we do this? Two reasons…during the summer we eat outside on the screen porch for breakfast, lunch and dinner so the dining room didn’t get used during warm weather months. And during the winter/cold months of the year, we keep a fire burning in our great room most evenings. When we ate dinner in the dining room, we weren’t enjoying the fire.
I absolutely hated having to leave this warm and cozy room to go sit in the dining room and often found myself “rushing” through dinner to get back to the fire. I love the idea of dining by “fire” too. It is so very colonial and rustic (and romantic at times…).
ADDITIONALLY….I was looking to create a special place in my house for THESE TREASURES…
AND THESE…
AND A FEW MORE PILES OF THESE…
So we made some “changes”. We put a dining table in the Great Room (table on the right)
And turned our country dining room into a wonderful LIBRARY.
Our family LOVES to read. We spend time here everyday. My oldest tulip, curls up in these chairs, and loses herself in her books.
.
Making this decision has been most fun. I LOVE the addition of the fireplace where I eat. I find that we are eating a little slower and talking a little longer each evening. We all love the library space and feel “enticed” to come read in our special place everyday.
I would love to know, if any of you have turned a “conventional” space into something “unconventional”.
Kitchen Progress
January 13, 2009
French Gray #18….Not so much. It makes the cabinets look VERY VERY orange.
Mr. Buttercup likes it, although, he has been medically diagnosed as SEVERELY color blind so we have to take that with a grain of salt.
I’m thinking cut my losses and try….Cloud White?????
History of Buttercup - The Kitchen
January 10, 2009
When we moved into the Buttercup, this was our kitchen. It had a lot of “interesting” qualities, including a faux brick facade behind the counter and matching red brick linoleum on the floor. The kitchen included a “cold pantry” (a door/room leading off the kitchen with no heat source or insulation..brrr…it was cold in the winter).
For four years, we worked in this kitchen. During that time we dreamed, sketched, and planned how we would want to enhance it down the road. When coming up with ideas here is what we kept in mind:
- We both love to cook
- We entertain a lot and like the feeling of having everyone be part of what we are doing.
- We wanted the kitchen to feel both a part of the great room and separate (this is a tough one).
- We wanted to build something that was timeless
- We eventually wanted to add-on to the house next to the kitchen so the design had to incorporate that idea
We decided to keep the kitchen in the current location in the house and in Y2K, we started the renovation.
I loved the cabinets but there was no way to salvage them.
The wood used to build this house is beautiful. It is so hard, you can barely drive a nail through it. (notice Super Tom on the ladder, he is the one finishing the kitchen now…9 years later…we love TOM!!!)
After 5 months, we finished our new kitchen which looked like this UNTIL 3 MONTHS AGO.
We have loved and enjoyed this kitchen but always felt it need a little “frosting”. For years, I looked at different tiles for a backsplash. Nothing ever did it for me.
EIGHT YEARS LATER, Clearly, I had forgotten about her.
She had been here all along. Before the sketches, dreams, and renovation. She was here, wrapped up in bubble wrap in a box. I had forgotten about her and the 12 other hand painted tiles that David and I purchased and hand carried from Portugal 1998. When I rediscovered her a few months back, I knew…this was why nothing had seemed right for the space. She was meant to be here all along.
To brighten up the kitchen a bit we thought white subway tiles would be a PERFECTcompliment to our Portuguese treasures.
Almost done…just a few finishing touches to go:
- Paint the walls, Furrow and Ball “French Grey” No. 18 (Monday January 12)
- Add two ceiling to countertop cabinets on the stove wall (Friday January 15)
- Replace island countertop with caesarstone “Blizzard” (To be scheduled)
- Hang blue and white plates on the wall (weekend of January 15)
I will post pictures next week when the paint and cabinets are in.
The inspired mantle
December 22, 2008
When designing our addition a few years ago, David and I had one requirement for the whole room…a fabulous fireplace. During the winter months, our fireplace is a gathering place. We entertain by fire, eat by fire, play games by fire, and talk by fire. One of my favorite things is to change the mantle decor seasonally.
When looking for inspiration this season, I found the“photo” above. I loved the glowing light of the candles. I thought the element of nature, introduced with the use of bark styled candles and the woodsy garland, was beautiful. The brass bells introduced an interesting heirloom quality I loved.
Here is the 2008 Christmas Mantle at Buttercup Farm. I found those beautiful round twig balls, twig candle holders and Christmas wreath at Home Goods. Then I added some of my favorite brass candle holders, threw in a few of my fruit ornaments, and lit the candles. Warm and cozy, just how I like it during the Holidays!
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