Kitchen and other ramblings...

Last weekend, we my Mister, painted the kitchen floor.  That was a whole bunch of work, let me tell you!  Of course, we had to block off the doors into and out of the kitchen, and that was a huge pain in the...well, anyway!  There is only one way to get from the front part of the house, to the laundry room, the grand daughter's room, and the back door, and that is through the kitchen!  We had to go out the front door, all the way around the house, and in through the back door, to get to those rooms.  Our inside fur babies were so confused!  They sleep and eat in the laundry room, so they also had to go out the front door and around the house, every night at bedtime.  Bless their hearts.  I had to do the same to do laundry and then haul the clean laundry back around the house and in through the front door.  Did I mention the mud, yet?  No???!!!  Well, it rained and rained and rained...and rained...right after Christmas so there is still a lot of mud in our yard.  Can you imagine how my living room floor looked with all the coming and going through the front door???!!!  UGH!!!  Oh and I forgot to mention, my big ginormous farmtable is in my teeny tiny living room along with two chairs, couch, entertainment center, and assorted side tables!  Oh my goodness, that thing really is massive and I only realized it as I looked for a place to sit in the living room!  So anyway, the floor turned out pretty good and once I get an outdoor rug for under the "ginormous farmtable", I think it will be nice.  Right now every flaw, in those old wood floors, shows.  I'm calling it character.  We have a lot of "character" in this old house!

I do like the dark color even if it shows EVERYTHING!  Who knows, maybe it will inspire me to sweep more often!  

So...while my Mister was taking off the baseboards, I asked him to go ahead and remove all the trim from around the doors and windows, as well.  Of course, I got "The Look" but once he removed it, I think he was glad I had him do it.  
 

There was absolutely no insulation around those windows and this big window is on the north wall.  He used spray foam to fill in the spaces and immediately, we could tell the difference.  Even without trim.  So why did I ask him to remove all that trim work?  Because I didn't like it and I am designing my own trim and baseboards.  This old house is a combination Craftsman/Ranch but I want it to look more Craftsman/Farmhouse, so I am adding chunky trim around all the doors and windows(eventually) and wide baseboards, as well.  Of course, my Mister doesn't understand my thinking but that's what he gets for marrying a creative soul, who happens to be OCD and ADD!  God love him...He is good to me though sometimes I think he just goes along with my craziness so I don't try doing the work myself, which would probably end up a bigger chore than if he just did it!  You know, one thing lead to another and before you know it, everything changes!  

So...these ugly brown cabinets will be painted a nice, creamy, white as will the walls.  Lots more work but it will be totally worth it!  I removed some of the doors because I am trying to get a feel for what I want to do.  I think I like the open cabinet look.  It gives a brighter appearance.  The small cabinet to the right of the sink will also come down, probably tomorrow.  I just didn't have the "want to", to do it today.  So what do you think?  Remember it will all be white, before long.  Also, I am planning on building cubbies at the top of the cabinets so it will give the illusion the cabinets go all the way to the ceiling.  

See that ugly vent-a-hood?  The one that isn't vented outside or even into the attic?  The one that serves no purpose except to provide light for the stove?  Well, I am also designing something to house the light but do away with that horrible thing!  If it actually vented some place besides back into the kitchen, it wouldn't be so bad, maybe.  
 

 Pardon the ugly, filthy ceiling fan!  I didn't realize it had been so long since I cleaned it but once all the dust from sanding attached itself, I knew I had overlooked it for some time.  Well those two ceiling fans are going away, too, but one thing at a time.  So, I posted these last two pictures to ask your opinion.  See the other cabinet doors to the left and right of the ones that have already been removed?  Should I go ahead and remove these doors, as well, keeping with the open shelf look, or should I leave them?  Right now I think they look out of place but once everything is painted white, it might look a bit more cohesive.  What do you think?  Remove or leave?

Well, I guess I need to go figure out what I'm going to do about supper.  Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment letting me know you were here!  I love company!

Grace & Peace