My Shabby Chic Kitchen

The first project in my new home was the kitchen.  A product of the 70's, the chocolate brown and harvest gold dominated the palette. Across the entire length of one side, my in-laws installed a wood feature wall. It was just wood fence posts painted brown.

 Here's the wall as I began using wood filler to fill in most of the large gaps between the planks. 

Notice my cat, Umberto, supervising. Also, notice the harvest gold linoleum flooring.

My mother in-law (a beautiful, fabulous lady BTW), collected antiques.  Not antique plates or paintings, but sharp, rusted, frightening objects that, for a long time, cemented an image in my mind of the kitchen being a torture shed. Wanting to give the kitchen a new, less murder-y feel, I started planning for a fresh look.

My kitchen at the old house was dark greens and reds, so I was looking forward to start with a clean slate and go LIGHT, SOFT, and FEMININE.

The farmhouse table/ bench and windsor chairs I got from Walmart. It's as sturdy as it is gorgeous.

My Mother in-law gave me this vintage kitchen stool. I love it! My Nana used to have one in pale green.

My Mom got us this stunning yellow vintage 1950's hutch from an estate sale.

On the top shelf is the English china we got for our wedding. The second shelf is my mom's Japanese china she got from my dad when he was stationed in Okinawa. The bottom shelf is all of my crystal. Yes, I realize when my kids come along, I may have to move that somewhere else...

From left to right:

Portrait of orange and pink peonies that Randy's grandmother painted. I found a white frame from Michael's and painted it a pale pink;  2 saucers I picked up at an antique salvage - I like the lime green; The two large square pictures are from Craigslist, $15 for both; The shelf in the middle is from my MIL, but the teapots are from my grandmother's collection that she gave me for Christmas; 

The pink plate on the wall is 1/2 of my collection, shown here

My aunt Sarah gave me a pink depression glass cake plate for my last birthday. I decided to try and start a collection, and a second plate came into my life on my most recent antique excursion.
The black and white apron courtesy of my
sister in-law Natalie.

So, here are a couple of highlights!

At my recent trip to QCumbers, I stumbled upon this treasure. The need for a breadbox at my house is great. I have a chocolate lab who learned how to open the pantry and help herself to our bready goodness. Although we've already fortified the pantry with child-safe locks, having the extra shelf space is handy.

I added a crystal knob I found at Paris Envy.

The bright pink runner is a guilty pleasure of mine. While the brightness of it doesn't quite seem to fit the scheme of the room, I just can't resist hot pink peonies and robin's egg blue hydrangea. I'll keep it for the sake of the term "shabby chic". Got it at Savers, BTW.  The mirror was purchased at Figs, and might actually be a vanity mirror - but I don't care, it has a charming little bird perched on top that screams, "Put me in your kitchen!" The fruit bowl belonged to my Nana Virgie, and the awesome green bud vase belonged to my MIL, as I found it with the house.

My last little touch I'd like to share with you was my inspiration for this whole project. Everything was berthed from this:

My cupcake Scentsy.
It's no surprise really, given my public love for the tiny treats.

So there you have it. My kitchen so far.  The business end will be undergoing a makeover as well, with painted cabinets and a creative backsplash. Maybe when the whole project is done, I'll have some real photos taken of it all.  I love to hang out in here, cook, eat, and imagine my husband and kids sitting around the table. 

I'll post more projects as they're completed! Thanks for visiting!