My Make Do Kitchen

Three months after I married Mr. Wonderful I gave him series of surprises.

1. I announced we were expecting. 

2. I caused a kitchen fire that destroyed the majority of our kitchen. 

3. I got fired from my job. 

The one good thing that came of this was that it cemented the fact that I'd married a great guy. He loved me through all of this.

Fast forward 16 years and we now have six children. And our kitchen? Well, it's still in basically the same state it was post fire. So now I have what's commonly referred to as an "unfitted", or what I like to call a "make do", kitchen.

The microwave is in a temporary location to conserve what little counter space we do have. The vintage Chambers model B gas range is a project and not working at this time. To the left of the fridge is a large pie safe we use for a pantry and to the left of the pantry is the electric range we currently cook on. With the current layout there is no space for a eating table.

The centerpiece of my kitchen is my beloved Seller's cabinet we found it at an estate auction in 2006. Mr. Wonderful was immediately drawn to it but I was not. What I really wanted was the 7 ft tall mahogany wardrobe I'd spied. I had visions of putting it in the master bedroom and tearing out the built in closet. (Yes I know how crazy this sounds) The bid on the wardrobe went higher than Mr. Wonderful was willing to pay so my dreams were dashed. I walked around the rest of the auction pouting, literally.

A little while later bidding on the Seller's cabinet began. I stood in the background, my eyes drilling holes into the back of my Mr. Not So Wonderful while he kept raising his bid higher and higher. Obviously he won the bid and while he grinned and gushed about his purchase I was looking at our new piece of furniture wondering where on earth would I put it. The barn and the fire pit were the first places that came to mind.

The main cupboard holds all of our everyday dishes

Love the built in flour sifter.

I'm not quite sure when I fell in love with the old cabinet. It just grew on me I guess you could say. Now it's my favorite piece in the kitchen. It holds all of our everyday dishes in the top cabinet, the bottom cabinet holds are baking pans, we keep bread in the bread drawer, flour and sugar on the counter top, and silver ware and often used utensils in the drawers. Over the years we've added to and subtracted from our collection of vintage pieces but this one item has never been for sale. I guess Mr. Wonderful was right all along.

The Main Bathroom

I am simply giddy with excitement because today we put the final touch on the main bath. The last project on the to-do list for this room was to install the barnwood shelf. I'm loving how it this room turned out! It makes me (just slightly) more confident moving ahead on our other home improvement projects.

Here's a better view of the shelf. This was before I decorated the shelf. And the paint color doesn't show true in this photo. The main photo (above) is a closer to the actual color. And speaking of paint color we used "Grandma's Linen" by Valspar.

This is the medicine cabinet we found years ago while antiquing. I honestly cannot remember where we found it or how much we paid. I love the patina on the wood.

This pedestal sink we found for under $100 at Lowes. 

Rug from Through the Country Door

This egg basket was another find. I thought of staging it for the photo with cream colored towels but I decided to be honest. This is what we use it for - to hold the bath toys.

And finally the curtains are from Country Curtains. I've wanted them for a few years so I was shocked when I didn't immediately love them when they arrived. Fortunately they've grown on me but the picture does not do them justice.

So here's what we used for this bathroom makeover:

• Walls - we installed a product called "ply bead". Lowes sells it under the name Plytanium Natural Sawn Plywood. It comes in 4' x 8' sheets and easy to install.
• Paint - Grandma's Linen by Valspar 
• Curtains - Macrame Medallion Tier and Valance in ecru by Country Curtains
• Bath mat - Crochet border bath mat in ivory by Through the Country Door
• An old medicine cabinet we found antiquing 
• Barnwood shelf - cut from a board we took from an old house, with permission :)
• A small claw foot tub - we found it for sale in the local classifieds and had it refinished
• The fixtures for the tub - ebay
• Knotty pine interior door - our local supplier is Southern Building Supply but they can also be special ordered at Lowe's. 

The budget for this makeover is just an estimate. This bathroom has been done a bit at a time over many years. My best guess would be about $2,000 which includes us hiring someone to install the walls and flooring.