Walnut Cheeks: Room by Room: The Kitchen

The kitchen was the first room that was "done" when the big move happened. We had some overlap with our lease, so we spent a week cleaning the empty house and ferrying over a carload of boxes at a time. I made the kitchen my main focus and I'm glad I did - having it all ready to go made the rest of the move a breeze (well, better anyway). For me, being able to get up and make breakfast without having to dig through or work around boxes was an absolute joy.

Here's the south wall, and where all the action happens. This is all of the counter space we have, so the things that made the countertop cut are all considered daily essentials. And here are the answers to the three most frequently asked questions (as I know you're wondering): No, we don't have a dishwasher. I thought it would be one of our first purchases, but after living here for a few months, we don't really mind doing the dishes every night, so we don't plan to get one any time soon. No, we don't have a microwave, we haven't had one for over a year and we haven't ever missed not having it. And no, the coffee maker didn't make the cut - there are a couple of french presses in the cupboards and a kettle on the stove. We're not daily coffee drinkers and pressed coffee tastes better anyway.

See that radiator on the right? There's a window over it that looks out to the yard, and this radiator multi-tasks all the time: it's the perfect height for sitting on and warming up, I often set hot things from the oven right on it, and I like to warm up plates and bowls on it before I serve - they come out of the cupboards so cold. The other morning, I set a bottle of maple syrup on it when I started planning pancakes and by the time we ate, the syrup was perfectly warm and runny.

The north wall and backdoor. Not much to tell here, but want to see what's out my back door?

My beloved Yankee Tipper. I got really sick of watching a couple of big fat grey squirrels clean out my regular tube feeder, so I cashed in some gift cards for this big momma. The tray is spring-loaded, so if you're heaver than a bird, it will fall out from under you - and there are no posts to hang on to, sorry. I watched those squirrels come back and give this thing a long hard look before they gave up and moved on. Haven't seen them since. When I got this, I thought the five pound capacity was a bit excessive, but birds are on it constantly, and I only have to fill it every few weeks, and the cats and dog are so thrilled, that it's a win all around. I love it.

Back to the kitchen. If I sit on my radiator and can tear myself away from bird watching, here's what I see:

First, my charming little pantry. The stairs to the basement are on the right. I'd like to find some nifty knobs for these doors. Having this space makes me so happy - all of my big kitchen toys fit in the bottom: the cuisinart, the mixer, the pressure cooker.... And all of my foody staples fit up above: flour, sugar, coffee.... (Here's a secret - I keep chocolate in that pretty copper pot next to the cookbooks!)

And here's what I see if I look east:

This lovely, framed view through my dining and living room. Don't you love how the amaryllis is framed by the doorway? That little cupboard on the right had an ironing board it it, but I took it out and I'd like to add some shelves and store spices in there. I'd like to change out that pendant lamp in my dining room also.

So, as it is, the kitchen is really quite functional and pleasant, but there are some things I'd like to change. In the short term, I'd like a new faucet with a sprayer hose, some shelves in my ironing board cupboard, new knobs in the pantry, better lighting, and fresh paint. I know, the green is really fresh and cheerful when you're IN the kitchen, but check out the view from the rest of the house:

That green just screams at you, "I have no logical relationship to the rest of this space!" Every wall in this house needs paint anyway, it's just a matter of where and when we start. Until I can wrap my head around the colors I DO want, the screaming green stays.

In the long term, I think it would be possible to get more counter space in there, but not without a major overhaul and that's tough to envision right now. One thing I do like: Heath tiles (ah, but we all knew that was coming). In the kitchen though, they'd be the perfect compliment to my Heath dishes. Here's a bit of inspiration from the Heath site, I love the combo of wood and watery blue here: