August Fields

the pantry has been cleared.

this pantry cleanup cleared out a lot of stuff!  i found myself using the pantry as a catch-all.  in doing so, the food storage area was becoming messy and disorganized.
phone station before:
phone station after:
– threw away several outdated papers
– hid the cords to the sound system
– moved all the appliance manuals to a basket
– donated 1 vase
three drawers after:
– top drawer is aprons.  donated one.
– middle drawer is the snack basket.  emptied all the crumbs.
– bottom drawer is reusable grocery bags.  got rid of 6.  i now have 8 plus 2 thermal bags.

 pantry before:  woa nelly!

it was getting out of hand.  just setting stuff wherever when i was in a hurry.

when in doubt, shove it on the floor.

okay.  get the picture?  very ‘stackish, hodgepodge, whatever mess’.

so here is what your kitchen may look like if you too decide to clean out your pantry. notice, i cleaned mine out at night. daddy played with the children before bedtime and put them to bed so i could finish once i started without too many interupptions.  i did NOT want this mess in the morning!

oh yes.  soak it all in.

after:
– wiped down the shelves
– vacuumed the crumbs
– discarded old food.
– realized we had 3 syrups.  

as much as i would love a cutesy pantry with labeled baskets, it just isn’t practical for how often we’re in and out of here during the day.

food and dishes must be easily accessible.

i do keep popcorn supplies in a basket only because we eat microwave popcorn like twice a year 🙂

f.a.q. the kitchen

**these posts are part of FAQ series that will include answers and further details to the questions i receive about the house.  if you have questions please use the email me button over on the sidebar and i’ll include them in this series**  click here for more FAQ.

q:  where did you get your chandelier?
a:  the chandelier is the madison twelve light legacy chandelier purchased online from  lampsplus.com.  here is a post about that purchase.

q:  what color are your kitchen cabinets and island?
a:  benjamin moore fieldstone

q:  what kind of hardware to you have on your cabinets?
a:  gilmore pulls from restoration hardware in polished chrome.  

q:  what kind of countertops do you have?
a:  marble.  white italian ice. 

q:  do you like your white marble countertops?  do they stain or leave marks?
a:  i LOVE our countertops.  the builder and countertop store guys advised against it.  ðŸ™‚  glad i went with what i wanted 🙂  i am very honest though….you WILL get spotting.  i wipe my counters daily with a washcloth.  and dry them.  but we live here!  and its marble!  so spotting will happen.  we knew this though and it does not bother me.  when guests come to visit you can not notice it UNLESS they specifically start to ask about the countertops and we angle our heads just right to see them.  its a water spot on white so it blends in.  if this bothers you then don’t go with marble 🙂  if not….go for it!

q:  what is that little door under the microwave?
a:  this is a peek through door to the school room.  it is GREAT!  its open most of the time, so when i am preparing lunch or dinner or loading the dish washer…i glance over and can see what is going on in the schoolroom.  ðŸ™‚

q:  what kind of faucet do you have and where is your faucet from?
a:  the faucet is from efaucets.com online.  it is rohl perrin & rowe bridge kitchen faucet and sidespray.  the model # is U.4764L-APC.  ours was purchased in polished chrome.  the prep sink is from there too….the matching one to the main.  

q:  do you like having one large, undivided sink?
a:  yes. yes. yes.  fits large pots and pans and i can stack lots of dishes for quick clearing during entertaining. 

q:  what kind of sink is it?
a:  shaw

q:  what kind of tile is your backsplash?
a:  we purchased all of our tile through a local tile/carpet store.  the kitchen backsplash is a 3×6 white, beveled subway tile.

q:  where did you get your pendant lights?
a:  the pendant lights were purchased through a local lighting store.  they are the chrome pendant by quorum.  #801-15-14

q:  what kind of wood is your island?
a:  walnut.  we ordered it from blockhead blocktops

q:  what color are the walls?
a:  benjamin moore vapor trails

q:  what kind of wood floor do you have?
a:  5 inch oak flooring.  finished and stained on sight.

q:  are your beams solid wood?
a:  no.  they are hollow.  our builders made them, hand hewn and stained.

fall mantle, tablescape and barstools

i love fall.  a lot.  i love that the sun is shining but the air is crisp.
the fragrance of mulling spices and yummy candles filling the house.
jeans, sweaters and boots….i could go on and on 🙂
we recently had our Bible study group over for dinner so i snapped a couple of quick pictures.
since you’ve last seen the kitchen we have added some new seating.
we went with slipcovered chairs from ikea.  they wash up great and are comfy 🙂
the barstools are from overstock and add the 
perfect industrial look i was going for up against the brick kickwall
the easy centerpieces were a couple of bundles of dried wheat from michaels.

i keep my fall decor fairly simple.  some fresh mums on the coffee table.
a cozy throw.  can you see the color on the trees starting to change?  
 a few willow branches and a wreath up on the mantle.  
hop on over to julia at hoooked on houses for more fall decorating
and to the nester for more fall mantles!

The Kitchen – Inspired by Sally Wheat

i am so so excited to be able to share our kitchen!  after living here for 3 1/2 weeks and really using the kitchen i must say that i am super pleased with the layout and the choices we made.  phewsh! 🙂
when we first started planning the kitchen i really wanted black soapstone countertops and white cabinets.  (by the way i still really love that look!) 
but when i was scrolling through cote de texas one day i stopped and stared at a post joni did on sally wheat’s kitchen.
gray cabinets?  marble countertops?  i. loved. it. !!!!  so back to the drawing board we went 🙂
i was already planning on a gray paint throughout the house (Benjamin Moore Vapor Trails) so switching to a gray kitchen wasn’t so hard.  thankfully i was able to use the exact color sally did (Benjamin Moore Fieldstone) and it compliments the walls so well!  
this picture is out of order so we’ll talk food for a second.  we decided on the kenmore pro refrigerator and freezer pair pushed next to each other finished with a stock trim kit to make it look like one unit.
real quick for all my organizing gurus….the freezer drawers have dividers in them!  ahhhh… i was so excited 🙂
the center island top is made out of walnut.  i have been doing most of the food prep on the island and serving off of the peninsula behind it.

now, i am just an ordinary, everyday mama.  so my open shelves have the dishes that we use!  it may not look the most magazine worthy but man is this concept practical.  reach and grab.  love it.  highly recommend it.
so what i did when i saw sally’s open shelves was print off a picture and bring it to our cabinet maker.  one thing that makes these shelves unique are the thick stiles and shelves.  we made the backer v-groove panelling.
the picture below is sally wheat’s kitchen from cote de texas
this is a picture of our shelf.  SO pleased!
“peek a boo!”  this little passage door opens into the schoolroom 🙂  
you can see the painted brick wall here.  it is actual brick sliced about 1/2″ inch.  we painted it the same color as the walls ( Benjamin Moore Vapor Trails).  which is lighter than the cabinets (Benjamin Moore Fieldstone).

the chandelier is from lamps plus.  you can read about it here.

the beams were stained the same color as the floor.  the floors are 5″inch oak and the beams are poplar so the color is slightly different.  The beams were made by clamping three pieces of poplar together and having them hand hewn.  here is a picture of the beams being clamped by a ton of clamps 🙂
okay…back to the kitchen!  we had a table made by a local wood worker.  i really like it!  it is a trestle table that can seat 12 or more if chairs are at the corners.  speaking of chairs…yeah, well these are the chairs we have for now.  i would LOVE some suggestions for seating here.  
anyways…these chairs work and we have so enjoyed having lots of people gathered around talking, eating and laughing!
the table is made from ash wood, hand distressed to perfection and stained to compliment the floors.
the complimentary brick “kick wall” under the bar counter area.  this brick is painted vapor trails too.
the counter tops are white italian marble.  we looked at several carrera marble slabs but they were too gray.  interestingly one “marble guy” told us that the mountain they cut carrera from in italy is getting cut into further and further and the carrera is “grayer” towards the center of the mountain.  
well since i wanted the white carrera look and there was only gray carrera available we went with a marble called “White Italian”.  i really like it 🙂  i am NOT picky though about water spots.  if you are i would not recommend this marble.  i am fine with the natural patina and spotting that may and does happen 🙂

the hardware is from restoration hardware.  i looked at several sources for chrome bin pulls but found that restoration offered them in various lengths.  this is nice so that the longer drawers that require a longer bin pull can match the other ones.

these little lovebird salt and pepper shakers were given to me from a friend.  are they not so sweet? 🙂
we are still waiting on our second pendant globe.  ðŸ™‚  this shot gives a good overview of the layout though.

the back splash was always going to be white subway tile.  but since we have white subway tile in other places of the house we decided to put a beveled white subway tile in the kitchen to set it apart a bit.
do you see the drinking fountain?

best. thing. ever.  
today was 85 degrees outside and i think the kids used this fountain 25 times.  think of all the cups saved! 🙂