Monday, March 17, 2008

Peek Week

~~~all images are "clickable" if you want to get a closer look~~~


Ok, I love it when y'all give us a little peek into your homes, your rooms, your lives ~ so that's what I'm going to do this week. Peek Week!! Here's a peek into our home, our rooms, our niches, and our lives.


Granted, we've only been here three weeks (remember, it's the church parsonage, which is actually a duplex we share with the jr. high youth pastor on the other side), so we're hardly settled in yet - but hey! that's where we are, how we are living and that's real life.



So today, it's the kitchen. I would say we are fairly settled into this room, so here we go:


#1. The main part of my kitchen. Going from left to right you can just barely see the fridge, then the stove, the microwave, the sink and finally the dishwasher. That is the extent of my cabinets - hey, better than the previous place!!






#2. Just a quick glance at one of my favorite spots. This area is where I listen to my music or talk radio while I work in the kitchen (unless the kids are helping me, then I don't need any extra noise!!). There is usually some chocolates or some sweet in the basket, but I am trying to be "good" this week, so it is currently empty - perhaps when I get better will power....This area also has all my personal fridge photos from friends and family.


#3. Here we are looking into the front room from the kitchen. You can see the door of my pantry on the right and our chore/schedule cork board there on the left.
Right under the cork board, where the two stools are currently? That's where I would love to have a small, comfy chair ~ just something to take a break on, to rest my feet while baking for hours, to read my Bible with my coffee, etc. There's really no good sittin' place upstairs, except for on the beds. I'm thinking something like this:

but I'm gonna have to get mine CHEAP 2nd hand - it's a desire that I have, but not a necessity.

#4. And here's the inside of my pantry. It's huge in my opinion - definately big enough for my family of 6. I *love* having the built in spice racks on the inside of the door.

#5. Here is the opposite side of the kitchen (pic taken while standing in fron of the microwave). There's my baker's rack, the kitchen butler and one of our IKEA shelves. Come on....aren't you just diggin' my window treatment??! I totally came up with that on my own, using different swags/valances I've had for years. Neither one worked well on it's own - but I liked the way it looked together.

#6. And yes, here is one set of the infamous IKEA shelves. In our previous apartment, I used these shelves purely as FUNCTIONAL decoration. I had very limited pantry space and needed these shelves! In this home, I was searching for items to place on the shelves - amazing!! Notice the pic of Eli, his sissy and their Grammy....

I tried to get my family in the decoration as much as possible. I am trying to reinforce God & family in our home, even in what I place on the walls, on the shelves. I am going for an overall effect, not just a scripture on the wall (not that a scripture on the wall is bad - it's a nice touch, actually).
So if you look closely, you'll be able to see things like small family photos tucked onto bookshelves (or kitchen shelves), crosses, different versions of Bibles (we have everything from kid's Bibles, devotional Bibles, numerous translations, even an old Catholic Bible to bible dictionaries and commentaries) - all mixed in and becoming a very part of our home and it's decoration.


So there ya go - the kitchen. I have the pics ready for tomorrow as well, I can't wait to show you - it's my favorite room thus far: the front room (dining/piano/sewing/school). Thanks for stopping by and check back often for updates!!

*Michigan Momma*

7 comments:

Tereza said...

I think you have PLENTY of cabinets! Very comfortable. Where your stools are....my first thought was a narrow counter ehere the kids could eat snacks. Just an idea. Not that a chair there isn't good. But wouldn't you relax in the living room?

Anonymous said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the blue in the kitchen!!! And the pantry.

You are very talented in arranging your living spaces. I bet you could make a shoebox beautiful!

Mary in TN

Unknown said...

My butler has a drop down piece - we use that sometimes for the kiddos to eat snacks.

I was just thinking this morning, after I had made breakfast, emptied the dishwasher, swept the floors, helped the kids with chores, etc.etc.etc.....how nice it would be to simply sit down with a cup of coffee. Our living space is downstairs, with the tv & computer. They tend to suck away my time, so I'd love a spot upstairs just to sit down & relax.

And yes, PLENTY of cabinets! It is really nice - I actually have empty space in some of the upper cabinet - WOW!
~Lori

Unknown said...

Mary - you're too sweet - I'm usually the person who ends up rearranging the furniture a million times. My dh will come home to a completely different home! FUN!!
~Lori

Kate said...

Wow, I love your kitchen! Beautiful job. Those IKEA shelves are great, we may have to get some for our house.

Tess said...

Lori,

This is nothing less than I have come to expect from you. You have a definite talent to make a house a *home*.

Love,
Mom

p.s. I'm definitely taking some credit for that one!!!

Anonymous said...

Lovely!