Hard at Work in the Kitchen

As you all know - I have been hard at work in the kitchen, but not only with cooking!!  Last week we finished the new table, and I spent the weekend painting (by myself I might add).  Hubby flat out told me he didn't want to paint, so I gave new meaning to the phrase "Do it Yourself".  It's not perfect, and I got some paint on the ceiling, but oh well.  It's done, and I am soooo happy!  Everytime I walk in there I get a HUGE smile on my face.  It is so Cottage-y - just the look I was going for - and well, I feel so relaxed and at home in there now.  It's me, totally me. There is a lot more to be done - I have no window treatments over the sink, of which I am looking around now trying to figure out what I want to do.  I also have a sign that I want to paint for over the pantry door, add a chandelier where the builder-grade (ugh!) fixture is now over the table, and start organizing and using my mail center for what it is there for - uh, MAIL!

Here, again, is the kitchen before:

With a few new coats of pretty blue paint (Offshore Mist by Behr), here it is now - Cottage-fied (like my new word?)

See the white vase in the basket??  That was one of my Goodwill finds.

And the fun bronze tray thingy is also from Goodwill!!  Love it!

The Piece de Resistance was the chalkboard I added to a small wall between the kitchen and great room.  I have been so scared to do this, but am SO glad I did.  I am in love with it!

And for those of you who think I might be a neat freak - HA!  Here proves the contrary!!  I moved all of my piles to the mail center to take these pics. This area tends to be a collection of all of our junk.  I am working on some organization ideas for this space, and also need a day to toss all of the junk that collects here.  I would like to actually use it for mail!

I hope you enjoyed the pics!  I will keep you up to date on the progress of this space - I have so many ideas floating around my head, now I just need to make a decision!

Linking Up To:

Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party