My Country Kitchen–chapter 2

 

Now for another country kitchen post… next we’ll stroll through some gardens so you won’t get tired of my indoors! The dining area is connected right to the kitchen. I couldn’t find any old grainy “before” pics so we’ll go right to the after…

The table that was turning orange I stripped using a furniture stripper. I painted the legs & skirting black and the top I stained with a dark walnut color. I gave everything a few coats of varnish. Oh, I should mention that I did only strip the top. ( using furniture stripper is not my favorite thing to do & don’t use it unless absolutely necessary ) I felt with a tabletop getting all that wear I wanted to take that route. The chairs we bought years ago at JC Penney. Those were black so that saved me some painting.

The little jelly cupboard I made using sections of an old cupboard we used to store fishing rods in when I was a kid. I covered it with an 1/8 inch beaded plywood. We store our cereal & snacks in it.

        

The white vases are all spray painted old vases that I had in storage. Most of them were clear before I painted them. Jon made the bench for me. He’s made a number of them for others already and they’re very sturdy.

 

The wall paint color is called brick dust and I think it’s Sherwin Williams color sample. ( I always use Orme hardwares’ paint in Berlin – they’re reasonable priced, got good paint and great service! ) The wainscoating color is indian canoe – same as cabinets. I also mixed dark brown paint with conditioner to rub into the grooves. I still want to add curtains someday.

This area is where the pantry used to be. We took out the walls and added the old beams. It may sound simple but it wasn’t! I will never forget how Jon & I were working one night at one o’clock setting that top beam ( where the baskets are hanging from ) It was all I could do to get my end up on the post. ( I think I had to chant some motivating little line over & over ) Then when we had it there, we thought it didn’t look right turned that way so it was back down again… anyway I think it’s been worth it. We did move the fridge from where it used to be over in the dining area to the ex-pantry ( what we call it ) Of course we had to tear some cupboards out to fit it in. The cupboards in the ex-pantry I painted & crackled a couple of years ago already. I painted a door with chalk board paint to write on. The countertop is also painted black.

        

Of course I had to do something with the section we tore out to fit the fridge in.

Before…

        

 

After…

My dream hutch for basically free!! Far from perfect of course but it works for me. As you look closely you can see the seam where I had to add wood to raise the top part. I got Jon to help me saw in the grooves with the rip table saw. ( so it looks beaded ) I added large wooden knobs to give it that old look.

Lastly, the stairway that bothered me for so many years… The skirting & step fronts I had painted for a while already. Just this summer I got the nerve to paint the steps. I was always afraid the paint would come off with so much use. So far it’s held out nicely, I did give it a coat of varnish over the paint. ( I’m a believer in that ) One warning with black steps though is you see every dust particle!

 

The walls around the stairway area are a neutral, tannish color. I just mixed some leftover paint I had around here so I don’t have a name for it. I thought with a kitchen this size it would be nice to break up the red walls with a second color.

Hope you enjoyed the kitchen tour… see-ya!