Chef's Delight

I'm so tired and sore this morning from work on "Project Curb Appeal" updating the shutters and trim around our house. I have pictures and stories for tomorrow on that. I was too tired to upload the pictures from my camera. I also have pictures from our Saturday morning trip the the St.Louis Botanical Gardens so stay tuned!

For today, here is another collection of beautiful kitchens to drool over, bookmark, or just steal color and ideas from. (Images from Remodeling Center and This Old House.)

Shutter Shenanigans

Ok everyone, I need your help again. Our front door was warped so we replaced it. The orignal door was green like everything else. We are going to replace the shutters because they are so faded and the trim around the garage is rotting so that has to go also. So I have the opportunity to change the colors of everything if I want. I just need help figuring out which colors. My hubby likes it all with the green, but I kinda like the red or the red/black combo.

The door can be pretty much any color but black because it bakes in the afternoon sun and I don't want anything too dark. Shutters are limited to stock colors or black, white, blue, dark red, burgundy, or dark green.

Here's our house now: (Please ignore the overgrown bushes, that's on hubby's honey-do list to trim them back. I sooo wish the previous owners hadn't planted these huge bushes that block the windows and overtake the walkway.)



Here it is how it would look with newer, brighter green shutters and door:(The green rectangle to the left of the garage is where our ugly green house numbers are, they are also on the list to be replaced.)



Or red shutters, door, and garage trim(trim is black is this picture, but would match the shutters)



Or black shutters and red door:



In the last two pictures, I also changed the color of the lights on either side of the garage from white to black. I may try to paint them or else they are getting changed out as well.

Here's a few other close up pictures if that helps:

Five Years in a Flash

Today is my 5th wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's already been 5 years, it went by so fast. We've had our ups and downs, but it's been a blast spending everyday with my best friend. God has blessed us in so many ways. Here's a few pictures looking back on that special day 5 years ago when we became man and wife.

Simple Sprucing Up

Over the weekend I completed a few little projects to help spiff things up a bit around the house. First of all, I replaced a couple of these dated brass switchplate covers that we have in a few rooms of our house. I'm trying to get rid of all the traces of brass we have that were so popular in the 90s when our house was built 15 years ago. I still have a long way to go with doorknobs and light fixtures, but it's a place to start.



I found these covers at Target for $7.99 and $5.99.



I made quick work of taking off the old ones and popping on the new ones using hubby's cordless Dewalt drill.(And living dangerously by not following the safety instructions to wear eye goggles and turn off the power.)

I added the silver toned plate in the kitchen.



I used the bronze plate in the bedroom to go with the greens and browns of the room.



My other weekend project involved painting my nightstand. My nightstand is actually an old end table that belonged to my great-grandmother. It's probably from the 50s or 60s. The finish was really bad on it, but I forgot to take a picture of the table before I primed it. Here is what the drawer looked like:



I sanded down the table and drawer and applied a coat of oil-based Kilz primer.



Then I applied two coats of Behr semi-gloss laytex paint. However, I wanted the color to be darker and it ended up looking quite a bit lighter than the paint chip. So now I'm not sure what to do. Should I leave it alone, paint it darker, or go the opposite and paint it white? I also changed out the handle for this one I found at Home Depot for $4.99. Here it is in my bedroom. (Ignore the ugly cords and random cat toys please.)





I guess it is cat approved though:



I'm also not sure what to do with the rest of the furniture. Paint it the same color or a darker, deeper brown? Paint it white or a lighter cream/tan color? Leave it alone? (My hubby likes this option, I'm not so crazy about it!) I know I'm going to change the hardware either way. What do you think? Not to mention the unattractive headboard. That needs to be painted or replaced also.









So please help with your opinions!

White Delights

I just can't help it. I loooove white kitchen cabinets! I just think they look so bright and fresh. Plus pretty much any color goes with white, so you can paint the walls and add accessories in whatever fun colors you enjoy. While I'm working up the courage to paint my builder grade oak cabinets to a perky, happy white finish, I like to browse around to see other kitchens with white cabinetry. Since our cabinets are also knobless, I also like to look at the different colors and styles of hardware or "cabinet jewelry." Here are some beautiful spaces I have found.

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More kitchens can be seen in my gallery collections. Follow the links on the left side of the page.

The Great Outdoors

I came across some lovely outdoor dining areas, gardens, and decks to share. Some of these are just amazing and look so cozy. The perfect spot for dining outdoors or just curling up with a good book.

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