Finally Finished

It took awhile, but finally our kitchen update is finished.

In August, I told Steve that I wanted to make some changes in "his" kitchen and showed him this picture as my inspiration.

I actually love this look of our "before" kitchen, but the shelves didn't hold much and the table wasn't a functional workspace.

Steve's only question was, "will it require a home loan?"

He jumped on the idea when I told him that most of the changes were small and it wouldn't cost much.

Our first step was to find pendant lights and we are quite happy with the Kichler Missoula pewter lights we found at Lamps Plus.

The lights required electrical work and our electrician suggested bartering - he did the kitchen lighting and lighting in our garden in exchange for one of Steve's paintings.

Steve and I bought these slatted wood shelves in 1978 when we bought our first house.

We stole the shelves from the bathroom (which required changes there too) and filled them with dishes that Steve can quickly grab when he's making dinner.

My grandmother's Kansas farm table is in the same spot, but a cutting board nearly the same size as the table top provides a better food prep surface for Steve.

Steve actually sits on the stool a lot while he makes salads or chops ingredients for his incredible sauces - those baskets beneath the table provide needed storage for big bowls and platters.

We needed an area for messages, paper, pens, etc.

and I found the perfect piece at Michael's to serve as a "desk".

Steve painted a chalkboard on the pantry door and he uses it every single day.

He takes a photo with his phone before he heads to the grocery store each day- notice he only allows cursive writing on the board!

We had the tile floor installed in 2004

and the granite counter tops installed in 2007 along with Steve's Viking range

so the only other major expense on this project was having the kitchen painted  - we no longer climb ladders!

Peeking into the dining room, you might notice another change - we had no plans to buy new dining room chairs, but when we found 1 white and 2 red metal cafe chairs half price at a local shop we couldn't resist.

Steve doesn't know it yet, but this week I have plans for a big change in the entry on Thanksgiving Day when our son is visiting and can lend his strong arms.

After that, all my effort is going to Christmas decorating because I am joining 2 different groups of wonderful ladies to show off Christmas decor.

I need to finish up a lot of little Christmas projects!