Kitchen

The kitchen is a wonderful one.
I'm utterly grateful for it.
I really enjoy the simple design - plenty of room and storage but not overdone or wasted. I love the dishwasher; it cleans so efficiently. I love the windows to see out while doing dishes. I love the size and the ease and convenience. I love the layout - and the layout of the kitchen within the house itself, off to the side but still open.

Some things I don't really like... the individual elements.

It's a very manly kitchen.
And it has little charm.
Great function - but not anything that speaks to me.

The backsplash = stainless steal and cold
The countertop = not a natural stone so it doesn't interest
The cupboards = well made and nice detail but dark, so the whole kitchen feels heavy and dark. I'm not totally against painting good wood... but I am a little against it. I think I'm actually against hard work to do something that's already beautiful. I find the natural wood beautiful but... totally not what I would pick for a kitchen.
The floor = the whole house has this strange, very functional floor that I've come to appreciate but not necessarily what I would choose.
The sink = certainly not a statement piece

The thing with kitchens is this. The beauty must be in the fixtures. Any added décor is simply clutter. So your faucet and sink and cupboards and backsplash and countertops - THOSE are what create everything. No amount of added fillers to the tops of the cupboards or stuff on the walls or rugs on the floor or magnets on the fridge will do anything to change the feel of the room.

I didn't touch the kitchen for a long time.
This is how it was when we bought the house:

I wanted to paint the tiny wall area white (more contemporary than golden yellow) but, this doorway area gets so dirty that white seemed impractical. So I didn't do anything for a while. Then just impulsively grabbed some tan-gray-offwhite that my friend loves. I don't really love it. I still want white. But, it's different. And maybe that satisfies me for now.

Eventually I would like an herb garden in the window.

I try to keep as little clutter as possible - countertops are always busy. I do, however, permit myself to stash my collection of oils and vinegars on top of the fridge. Delicious vinegars make me happy so I allow myself to store them as a collection out in the open, convenient to grab.

My stools I was lucky with.
The old owner was selling her 3 bar stools for $75? each. Maybe she said she'd go down to $50. I didn't like them though and that wasn't my price range. Here they are below - and an idea of our house layout.

I found these on Craigslist.
bonus 1 & 2 - one of our current neighbors was selling them so easy to get and he went down to $20 each for us
bonus 3 & 4 - they happened to match perfectly and be the right size, and they're SUCH GOOD QUALITY. I didn't know that I cared about bar stool quality. But for the constant use, I just love a solid stool.

And even if I can't change all the elements of my kitchen - the little things do add some magic and meaning after all.

My in-laws bought me this heavy iron teapot. I chose the one that was on clearance instead of the one that best suited my taste. Why? I don't know exactly, but because I was really happy with the delight of a heavy iron teapot and I decided the dragons were fun and I don't need everything to be all matchy-styled. Why not appreciate the one that was half price? Maybe that isn't a good call for everything, but sometimes it is fine and this was one of those. And I love it and use it regularly.

I also have a small collection of pottery bowls from a talented friend. When I first go shopping all three bowls are out on the countertop spilling with fruit. Today I'm down to one bowl. But these give a smile to the kitchen as well. I can't pick the sink that makes me feel artistically impressed, but I can choose the bowl that I put out for apples. And it makes me love my kitchen fully.