In Our Spare Time: Kitchen Dreamin'

In Baton Rouge we had a 75 year old house, and one of the things I loved was my white kitchen - white cabinets, white counter tops, white kitchen table and chairs. The walls had a slight hue to them - I believe the paint was called brown sugar and came from Walmart (the previous owners picked it, but it was a great barely-there color). Now the kitchen needed some serious renovations - namely new counter tops and floors - but I loved the bright, airy feel that came from all the white.

When we were moving to Dallas and trying to find our new house online, I had all but given up on the idea of a renovated kitchen. We were looking in a neighborhood where the homes were 35 to 50 years old and many needed quite a bit of updating. But then we found our house - with a completely renovated kitchen. It was not at all what I would have chosen - dark stained cabinets, dark floors, modern cabinet pulls and modern lighting. The walls were white, but we decided they needed color. We chose a wasabi colored green (sorry - it's a custom color so I can't provide a name). I love it against the dark stain and stainless steel! We also replaced the cabinet pulls and pendants with more traditional pieces. So while the kitchen is not at all what I would have chosen, in the end I love it.

Here are a few peaks at our kitchen. If it wasn't so messy at the moment, I would provide more.

These are the pendant lights we chose for our bar area. I wish I had a picture to show you of the funky modern lights that were here before - the one word that comes to mind is tacky! And I like and can appreciate modern styles, but these were tacky. You can also catch a glimpse of the dark cabinets and wasabi green walls.

I love our stainless steel hood, and I absolutely cannot take credit for it! It was here before we bought the house. Again, you can see the wall color and also the granite counter tops.

Here you can see (sort of) the cabinet pulls that we added. I like the extra space between our cabinets and ceiling - it gives me a chance to display some of my favorite pottery and glass.

I've had this pot rack since the condo we bought in 2003. I bought it from Ballard Designs. I'm glad I have a space to use it here, and with our lack of good cabinet space, it serves a purpose as well. Here it is showcasing our Rachel Ray pots.

But I also want to share with you a few kitchens that might be similar to what I would design, if I had the space and an unlimited budget! These would fall under the "dream on" variety. Found these on one of our new favorite websites, Houzz.

You will notice that they are ALL white. Another thing that struck me is I kept finding (and loving) white subway tile backsplashes. I'm dying to use white subway tile in our downstairs bathroom whenever we get around to remodeling it, but I would never have thought of using it in a kitchen. Unfortunately it would not go well in our kitchen at all. But that brings me to another point...our kitchen is lacking a backsplash, and I go back and forth - tin squares, glass, tile. What would you choose?

For now, join me while I daydream...