Kitchen Love!

This beautiful kitchen is from Southern Accents.

OK – I will admit it, I love kitchens!  I don’t mean that I like kitchens; I mean I truly LOVE kitchens.  Now I should tell you right up front that this does not mean that I am an accomplished cook.  It means exactly what it says – I love kitchens.  I love kitchen magazines and I have been keeping clippings of pictures of kitchens (and to be truthful, pictures of other rooms too) for years!  This “idea” folder was so important to me that I grabbed it when we were evacuating before Hurricane Katrina.  In light of the important things that I forgot when we evacuated (or just sentimental things that I will miss forever), in retrospect, taking the decorating file seems somewhat goofy; however, when you are evacuating for a category 5 storm, one doesn’t always make the most logical decisions! 

My love of all things related to houses began early.  I remember feeling like such a “goob” (this word will certainly date me….) in college because I loved Southern Living, County Living, and Good Housekeeping magazines!  I read Glamour, Cosmo and other magazines as well, but I secretly adored house magazines. 

When I graduated from college and started teaching school I got my first apartment.  It was so much fun to decorate!   I lived in apartments for the first three years of my teaching career before I bought my first home.   I decided to buy a small, older home when I was twenty-five.  I was not married, nor was I dating anyone, but I still longed for a home, not an apartment, a HOME!  As luck would have it, I found the perfect older home in my home town in Mississippi.  It was located on the same street as the elementary school that I taught.  I felt so “grown-up” on the day I closed on my first place. 

Then the fun began!  My wonderful, talented mother and my father helped me create such a darling home!  My mother, who could do anything, helped transform a worn, outdated kitchen (picture white gold-flecked Formica countertops) into a totally cool kitchen!  Now, I should tell you that this was around 1989 and the “country” craze had seized the nation!  We replaced the floors, removed the old paneling, added a chair rail, stripped and repainted the cabinets, and created the perfect country kitchen.  I look back on the pink (yes, pink) chair rail and laugh!  At the time though, it was perfect!

I have lived in several houses since that time.  Each time I move I am most concerned with the kitchen as we look at houses.   It still ranks as the most important room in the house to me.   Each house, and consequently, each kitchen has each offered unique features that make them stand out.  When I moved to Hattiesburg, MS I bought a precious (there is no other word to describe this house) home, actually more of a cottage that had been built in the early forties.  I fell in love with the tall ceilings and hardwood floors.  While the kitchen was not perfect, it had creamy white cabinets that reached to the ceiling and it also had a dishwasher, something that had been lacking in my first home. 

The next home was the first one that my husband and I purchased together.  This kitchen had stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors in the kitchen.  The cabinets were not my favorite, but I loved the appliances so much I could live with the cabinets.  A relocation landed us in our next house and this kitchen had granite countertops!  Woo Hoo!  I was so happy!  (I once had a friend who told me her husband told her she could choose between granite countertops and breast implants and she (smart girl!) chose the granite!!! )  In my opinion, that was a no brainer! 

Sadly, this house was destroyed in Katrina (more on this later).  When we rebuilt, I was able to redo the kitchen the exactly the way I wanted – within certain parameters, of course.  My husband, Jon, said no to the Viking stove!  Someday, he said, maybe (I think he thinks I would have to be a gourmet cook to warrant purchasing a Viking), but this was not the house for it!  I did, however, have the most beautiful cabinets (maple with a cream stain and a coffee colored glaze). 

Our current home has a great kitchen, not perfect, but great!  I finally have double ovens!!  They are side-by-side which really makes me feel like a chef!  The cabinets have a cherry stain.  I would rather have a cream with a glaze or possibly a distressed black.  I have been hinting to Jon that we should “rough them up” and add a black glaze to make them more in line with the Traditional with a French County touch that I long for in my dream kitchen!  Hmmmm…. Maybe that will be my first “how-to” blog!  Stay tuned!!!

 This picture shows the breakfast room as well as the kitchen.

What do you think?  Should I try adding a black glaze?