Tour de Kitchen

Recently, there was a thread about kitchen on WTM. I wanted to share our little spot here with y'all.
So grab a mug of coffee and settle in for the tour. Lunch will be ready soon and then we'll have some fresh bread.

First of all, our house was built in 1984. So it's got some dated issues but we've done some things to try to drag the house into at least the 90's without breaking our budget.

Here's the green thing, formerly known as the yellow thing. I painted it to match our green cabinets. But it just didn't look right. So I painted the top of the buffet and the hinges black then replaced the white knobs with black ones. I really like the effect and it was cheap. Those curtains are also low budget. I bought the rods on sale and then spray painted them black. I bought the ring clips to match. I made the curtains myself with fabric I got on an end of bolt discount and then 40 % off that price. I think I paid about 5 dollars per yard for the heavy canvas fabric. The whole look took no time and I can easily change it out if I want to.

Here's my buffet. On top: the baskets that ZD sent me from Bosnia. Top shelf: My green glass that I adore so much, plates that my MIL painted just for me, and a few of my favorite frogs. My goal is to hang these plates on the back of the hutch instead of having them lean on the plate rail. Second shelf: More baskets, my tart warmer of the day, an aluminum bowl I bought at an auction, my cake plate (sans cake at the moment) and a set of nesting bowls that are the most used dishware in the whole house.
Back door and the first glimpse of the cabinets that we painted. These used to be baaaaaaad 80's brown. You know the brown I'm talking about. A a few coats of paint and new hardware and they look a lot better. In fact, the new paint makes my ugly laminate fake butcher block counter tops look almost good. Our future plans include adding new moulding on the cabinets, adding bead board to the ends of the cabinets, and putting in under cabinet lights. I'd love to also cover the back splash with inexpensive tile or the metal sheets. And maybe one day....maybe...replace the counter tops. I don't see that happening any time soon. But look how good my new floor looks with everything else! I love my floor. I could not have picked a better material for our life.

That door way leads to a wide hallway that is our utility/laundry space. There is also another closet right around that corner where my baking supplies are kept. And you can see my other homeschool mom accoutrement's: a bread machine (in the process of making bread) and my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Ok, standing at the back door and you can see that lunch is almost ready. We're having burgers today. I wish I had more counter space in this kitchen. I have so much that has to stay out. Everything gets used almost daily. You can also see the one cabinet that makes no sense. See the bottom one on the right side of the stove? Notice how it opens.....I have no idea why it opens that way. Oh...that glass on the counter holds some flowers that Sam picked for me. I have a little bid vase that my MIL painted just for little boy flowers, but Sam thought these needed something bigger.
Ok, facing out the way you came in. Here's the fridge, the cabinet that I cannot access without a step stool, my calendar, the Leap Frog letters and a couple of doors. The door to the right is our pantry and that hall leads to our dining room/school room. (Which is painted the same color as our kitchen cabinets.) The other door is the infamous under-the-stairs-closet that holds school supplies and doubles as our tornado hidey-hole.

So that's it. That's the place. I hope you've enjoyed the tour.