THE HEART OF OUR HOME - THE KITCHEN

Since our kitchen is my favorite room in the house, truly the heart of our home, I thought I would share it with you.  As I have mentioned before, we purchased a Connecticut style stone and white painted brick farmhouse about nine years ago.  The previous owner had lived here for 26 years and had put tremendous amount of time, energy, and passion to make renovations and add on to the original house so that it appeared that it was all original. We were very fortunate because we had little to do other than remove wallpaper and change light fixtures.   If we were not moving and I were to design this room right now, I would select different style cabinet doors, different hardware and countertops.  But with that said, I love my white kitchen, its charm, display cabinets, space and how it overlooks the breakfast room with all of it's beautiful Marvin divided light windows and French doors.    I will show you around. 

The kitchen sink sits in the center of these hanging glass cabinets and looks over the breakfast room and our garden.  These glass display cabinets are wonderful to store all of my antique glass plates, and other antique clear glass pieces I have collected over the years.    While we have under counter lights, you can see I have a small antique Italian gilt lamp on the left of the counter.  If you don't have a lamp in your kitchen, I suggest you get one.  The lighting really adds to the atmosphere in the room.

Along with the small lamp, is an antique glass jar with home made granola (that my husband insists is on hand at all times), along with five of my antique pepper mills.

This photo shows another wall of glass display cabinets only these were original to the house and I love that the previous owner kept them.   I am very fortunate that this home has so many display areas as I do not like clutter and these display areas provide me a space to show off my collections without our home appearing cluttered. In addition to the cabinets, the countertop is also original.  It is cherry and has a wonderful warm color.

So, what do I display in those cabinets?   Some of my antique baskets, bowls, jugs, ironstone, and a wonderful art deco German canister set as you can see in this photo.

One of the nicest features about this kitchen is it has an opening to other areas of the house on all four corners.  What I love about this - is no horrible corner cabinets that are impossible to work with.  As you can see, there is a small desk to the right.   We purchased this wonderful antique desk organizer on a trip to Nantucket and it worked perfectly in this space.

 You can see how it gets challenging to take photos when the light starts to come in.  If anyone has some good tips on how to deal with this, I would love to hear from you.

As you know, I love baskets.   This is one of my favorites - an English cutlery basket which has a wood base which works perfectly for storing, oils, vinegar, salad dressings, etc.

 I couldn't resist sharing a photo of this little guy with so much character and great expression.   He is actually a corkscrew and often is displayed on the shelf with all my antique pepper mills.  I tell my husband this little guy is the boss of all the pepper mills.  My husband replies "I would like to be the boss of something!"  Hmmm .... I don't think so.

This coffee and tea bar area has always been a popular spot in the kitchen with our three girls, my husband and I.   This corner has a wonderful window and a small brass sink.  To the right of this area is an opening into our family room which is two steps down.  When we purchased our house, this area was enclosed and there was a pantry in this space.  We opened this up and not only did it improve the  traffic pattern, but when I'm standing at the sink I can look into the family room to a wood burning fire.

 While we were living in England, I purchased Emma Bridgewater's Toast & Marmalade pottery which is displayed on the bottom two shelves.  We are also fond of Anthropoligy's white mugs with initials which are stored on the top shelf.

This is one of my favorite antiques.  I was so excited when I found this antique hand blown glass confectionary shop jar that has a footed copper base.  With pieces like this I'm always paranoid that they are going to break, but I want to leave them out on the counter so we can enjoy seeing it.  

This is another view from our kitchen sink overlooking the breakfast room.

This breakfast room is usually a favorite for anyone who visits.   This bay shaped area is very charming with its authentic divided light windows and two sets of French doors.  While I prefer a wood burning fireplace, I must admit it is nice to have a fire at the push of a button.   As you can see to the right of the fireplace, there are two curved steps down into this area.  This is one of our favorite features in our home as several rooms are done this way with a step or two down.  I can't explain it, but it just feels more like a separate room.

While I would like to replace the country French chairs with upholstered chairs, I have decided to wait until we move.  As you can see, there is too much brown wood furniture in our home.   While I have enjoyed having a chandelier that holds a plant, I have been looking for a replacement when I am out antique shopping. There are so many wonderful antique chandeliers - its just finding the right one for your space.

 Did you notice our golden retriever, Riley, laying in front of the fireplace.  You would think that a dog with a fur coat would not want to lay near a fireplace.  Our dog gets as close as she can to any fireplace she possibly can.  If I am sitting on the floor next to the fireplace, she will squeeze between me and the fire screen.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.  This is a shelf on the wall in the breakfast room (opposite wall to the fireplace) that holds some of my beloved pepper mill collection.  As you can see, this kitchen and breakfast area is really the heart of our home.  The room was well designed, has so much charm and it will definitely be hard to replace when we move someday.    I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Kitchens and the eating area are the most important spaces for me when we search for a home.    Do you love your kitchen?  What are your favorite features in your kitchen?   I would love to hear from you.