My Kitchen

I have one....I also have a Google Account, that insists I don't have a blog...I have one...so, being persistent has paid off, and a week later, here I am...but I digress.
Since I got my new, wonderful, does everything camera, my images are so much better, and I'm like a kid with a new toy...keep in mind, I was a professional photographer for 25 years (along with being an interior designer) and I used the old-fashioned, film cameras, and darkrooms...I did buy a state-of-the-art digital camera eight years ago, and paid a fortune for it...within a short time, it wasn't so state-of-the-art any longer...but I digress.

I live in Texas - I have a "Texas House". There are many interpretations of a "Texas House"..and thank goodness there are. I have lived in regions where I refer to their style(s) of architecture as "architorture"....very boring..Our house is "Rattlesnake Limestone", stained concrete floors, lots of arches, radius corners, high ceilings, lots of fans (yes, we have airconditioning, but it's HOT here, and moving the air around helps)....We have stone fireplaces, which we do use in the coldest days of windter, but not often. We have Live Oak trees off the deep, back porch, to shade us from the relentless Texas sun.

My kitchen is small, yet very functional, style-wise...there are just the two of us, but when we entertain, there's plenty of room for friends to have drinks and salsa and chips, chatting or helping with the cooking...we laugh alot in this house/kitchen.

This is my "Kitchen Angel"...when I purchased her, she was white resin, but I "rusted her, and then, did a coat of gold on her wings. She cradles a bird in her arms, that has seen better days (it was once in a Christmas tree years ago, and I don't have the heart to throw it away...She's a good angel, and she also hides outlets very nicely (I hate outlets, but they are necessary evils)... This is from the living room into the kitchen. The greenish cast on the backsplash is because I have the camera set for "tungsten", and these are flourescent...oh well...I do have plans for the tile backsplash behind the stove...I have clay...I am going to sculpt something...it is a surprise...wait for it..it may take awhile..

This is the view from the living room....In our last home, one couldn't have people in the living room and be able to participate in conversation...also, we can watch the tellie as we cook...

The appliances, we hate....but, they came with the house, and until they die, they stay...

Funny thing, our ice maker (after only three years) stopped working...I called Sears (it's a Kenmore, no, not a Sub Zero - which orginates in Madison, WI , where we were for twelve years, and one of my good friends is from the Sub Zero family...that's as close as I'll get to a Sub Zero)..but I digress...I called, and was told it would cost $300 to replace it...I decided that in todays' economy, I could buy alot of ice cube trays for that....six months later (last night), I heard it - the ssssssss sound of water through the pipe, and that comforting "clunk" (this was 2 am)..I jumped from the bed, ran into the kitchen and "glory be", we have ice! I am pretty sure "Our Lady of Perpetual Ice Cubes" decided to bless us....But, I digress.

We downsized considerably from our former home, and when I found this house, it was 2/3 finished....As a designer, I specialize in new construction, and when the economy was better, builders would buy my time and give it to their clients to start the process of building - which can be daunting - as in picking all the exteriors, all the surfaces, designing fireplaces, kitchens, baths, etc...so, when I saw that the builder was doing a spec house with custom features, such as granite countertops as opposed to laminate, oil rubbed bronze fixtures, etc., I held a gun to my husband's head and told him to make an offer (not really, we don't own a gun - which is unusal in Texas)....

The island is butcher-block as opposed to granite, which is fine with me...between dropping things on the floors, and the granite countertops, I don't need another hard surface.....Also, I enjoy the mixing of surfaces...and I like wood...(yes, these are floorcloths I painted.)

I found this round table in Target, when we moved here four years ago...it fits wonderfully in the little alcove - I suppose I should have photographed the tray ceiling over it...next time...

I love the stained concrete floors, which are cool to the touch (I used to go barefoot all the time, but there are scorpions in Texas...haven't seen many lately, as we have pest control, but one still never gets up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom without slippers - and one never slips into bed without checking the sheets first)..

There's plenty of cabinet space, and the tall cabinet is a built-in pantry...The wood is pecan, and we love the warmth of it...You may have noticed there is no hardware...I found exactly what I want..oil-rubbed bronze, but it's very expensive, and until the economy picks up, no hardware, sigh.

This is an all-electric house, with an electric burnerless stove top, which I've already managed to break. I was pulling a piece of cookware out of the upper cabinet, and dropped it...it's cracked, but there is no danger in using it - and until there is...(it's the economy thing again)..I've become very frugal these days.

I found this cabinet kit at Sears in Wisconsin...I bought two of them, and my husband put them together...one is in the dining room, and it has doors on it...it is decoupaged, and finished in a rustic red. When we moved, the doors to this one got lost, so I decided to use it any way..it has a wine rack, storage, and the top folds out as a server. I decided to crackle-glaze it, using a turquoise underbase, and a dark green paint...love it...

The inside-mount envelope shaped linen window treatments were so easy to make...I used spring-loaded hardware, and, "viola"...I had the trim, which I cheated by hot-gluing on, and I decided to set it off with real turquoise beads.. I am part Cherokee, and make a lot of my own jewelry, so I have plenty of turquoise in the house....

So, there's our little kitchen....I shot this at night, as the window treatments wouldn't show well during the day.....Now, I am going to eat breakfast...in my kitchen...enjoy your weekend!