New Kitchen Tour

Here are a few shots of our new kitchen.  I photographed it on a (rare) quiet day, when all the kids were out playing and the baby was napping...the only time the house is ever clean for more than five minutes. ;)  I'm still arranging and figuring out just the right place for everything, but I am pretty much in love with it all.  It amazes me how a few changes to a space can make it feel so different!  It's hard to tell by my (not so great) pictures, but the kitchen seems so much more spacious now.  Go here and here to see more 'before' pics.  

Here's one: 

And during:

This was a scary sight.  I may have cried the first time I saw it like this.  House guts...slightly shocking.

Pretty blonde raw hickory floors.  I almost left them like this...

Progress.

We gutted the place and reworked the cabinetry and appliance layout, creating more counter area and work space.  (Countertops are soapstone.  Completely in love with them.)  We extended the size of the window over the sink, which brings in much more light for a more open feel.  I'm obsessed with light, especially in the kitchen.

Now after:

We enclosed the former patio and now have a gorgeous step-down mudroom with six lockers and a drinking fountain.  Plus a laundry/craft room with an apron sink, white caesarstone countertops, and shelving up to the high ceilings.  Photos to come.  When I can get it clean enough to take them.  ;)

  

Also, between the tall hutches, in that doorway from kitchen to mudroom, there are pocket doors with windows.  They are something, I tell you.  Hide mess, but let in light.  Bummer that I forgot to photograph them.  They'll make a smashing appearance in the next house post.  Just you wait.  (Obsessed.)

We opted for Thermador appliances, and my new oven has a warming drawer and a steamer oven.  Love!  The fridge and freezer have big-handled paneled doors.  And I use my reverse osmosis pot-filler faucet above the stove almost every day.  Handy-dandy.  

I had to have a sliding barn door somewhere in the house, so in the kitchen it went.  It encloses my new pantry, but stays open most of the time...lots of hungry people in this house.  ;)  Pantry has an automatic sensor light that flips on whenever anyone goes in.  And it's the only light in the house that gets turned off regularly...because it turns itself off.  Sheesh...if anyone knows the secret to teaching kids to turn lights off, please reveal yourself...  This walk-in pantry was the former (too small) mudroom, and entry from the garage.  It makes a way better pantry than mudroom.  Oh, and I'm considering painting the barn door a fun bright color, or covering the wall it hangs on with dark chalkboard paint.  What do you think?  Always a work in progress...that's how we roll!  

Pardon the blurry iphone pantry pics.  And the fact that it rarely looks this tidy.  Ahem.

Single basin Rohl apron sinks are rad.

So are pop-up mixer shelves.  And tin flour drawers.  Love them.  And tiny babies in bumbo seats, with crazy picture-taking mommas.

Blurry iphone again.  Pardon.

Distinguished vintage GW dines with us.  Because we love him.

Extra counter space at that corner versus these old (before) bulky cabinets:

Changed my life.

Open shelving.  Yes.

Before = crowded.  

You should've seen it full of people.  All eight of us (now nine remember) could hardly fit in there at once!

After?  Spacious.  But cozy.  Love.  

Before before is below.  Like before we moved in.  Wow...what a difference, huh?!

I almost passed up this great house five years ago when I saw this kitchen.  Its galley style and small size were not what I had had in mind for our family.  And when we met with the architect and started drawing up renovation plans last year, we began with the plan to push out the back wall of the house, in order to expand the kitchen.  Now, I am so glad we scaled back and kept the original walls in place.  I have really come to love the galley style for cooking and baking, with quick access from sink to stove, and counter to counter.  And we love the size of the kitchen and its quaint character.  With the new storage and pantry space, everything fits perfectly, but we don't keep a lot of extra junk around in little-used nooks and crannies.

There you have it, friends.  A peek into our kitchen.  Hope you enjoyed it!

(Quick sources, because I know you'll ask:  Table, hutches, and light fixtures from Restoration Hardware.  Tolix chairs from DWR and Sundance Catalog.  Black windsor end chairs from IKEA.  Aprons are handmade and vintage, star child apron from IKEA.  Pantry jars and woven baskets from IKEA, metal baskets from Home Depot and thrifted.  Raw wood cutting boards with handle (large above and small hanging) from West Elm.  George Washington and other print thrifted.)   

I'll be back with more house pictures soon.  I'm anxious to share what we've done with this place, because everyone loves a good before and after story, am I right?  We are still getting settled...yes, all these months and months later.  I have a constant stream of house projects as we get organized and make this new space work for our big, busy family.  And they are not being completed at my usual mock speed ;) because I am trying to enjoy this baby of mine, who happens to be growing up way too fast for my liking...mock speed.  But we really are loving the results of the renovation, and feel so blessed that we could make it happen.  It really is a dream come true for me.  So stay tuned!!

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @homemadehappy, where I documented the remodel and have been more actively posting lately.

Oh, and pop over to Eclectically Vintage, where our home is being featured today.  Lots of old pics of the house...can't wait to show you some new ones too!

yogurt face

Just a little hello from Little Sister and her yogurt face.  And her double chin.  Where we tend to park our lips for the best kind of warm, smushy kisses.  We are all head over heels!  

(These photos have been sitting patiently in my iPhoto library, along with many others, unshared and wasted!  They were taken about a month ago.  Isn't she getting big?!)    

Also, we are praying for the many people affected by tragedy this past week.  Wow.  So much heartache for so many!  But I truly believe that God is aware of each of his children, and will comfort those who need Him.  Somehow these types of horrible events tend to wake us all up just a little.  I feel more grateful for my many blessings...for safety, health, and comfort.  For family and friendships and freedom.  While at the same time, I am acutely aware of how fleeting this mortal life is...

I feel a renewed determination to enjoy the present, and to live with gratitude and purpose.  I want to be a better mother to these little people around me.  To be a better wife, daughter, sister, and friend.  And to draw nearer to the God who gave me life...for he is the only true source of peace and happiness.

   

Easter and Spring and being really tired because I have lots of kids

Spring is here!  And she is dishing out a mixture of rain, sun, and cold.  But oh, those bright, sunny days are filling us with energy and hope as we look forward to warmer months to come.  And I have to admit, the intermittent cold days are making us feel blue, leaving us pining for the hot days of summer.

Easter was such a special day of hope and renewal.  What a beautiful holiday weekend we had.  We played in the sun, picnicked in the shade, hunted for eggs, ate delicious food and treats...but most importantly we worshipped, pondered, and discussed the great resurrection of Jesus Christ.  And we felt such gratitude.

And speaking of gratitude...Mary.  Our angel.  She is almost eight months old!  Just can't believe it.  She is rolling around on the floor, moving like a magician from the spot we lay her in, to say, half-way under the coffee table or couch.  Funny little thing.  But she is still working on the basic skill of sitting up by herself!  Yes, this baby is held most of the day, by one set of baby-loving hands or another.  So we are practicing sitting up like a big girl.  Which is fun and entertaining.  As is every new little thing with a baby.  Oh how we adore her!

Also in the news, I didn't sew Easter dresses for the three big girls for the first time in years.  Which was a little sad....okay, depressing.  So Easter morning, I took an hour and whipped up a little pillowcase dress (inspired by Molly's adorable triangle dress on the lovely Purl Bee blog), in my favorite Liberty of London fabric.  Mary was darling in it on her first Easter.  And I felt fulfilled.  ;)  Easter just isn't Easter to me without sewing.  Mini Boden skirts and a Johnnie B dress were good substitutes this year for the big girl Easter best handmades. ;)

Well, it's way past my bedtime, but I just can't seem to eek out a simple post during the day.  Did I mention that I have seven kids?!!!  I seriously have to pinch myself sometimes.  How in the world do I have seven kids?  (Asks she, who still feels like a kid herself most of the time.)  I am still waking up with Mary at night, getting up early with the other kids, and feeling so busy all day long, every day of the week.  I'm busy doing things I choose to do, so it's a good kind of busy.  I really do love being with these (7!!!!) kids of mine.  They are such great people.  But I am exhausted.  And happy.  And e-xhausted.

Okay, I just had to get up and plug in my laptop, which is annoying, and I mindlessly reached for a square of dark chocolate on the way back to my writing spot.  Which is very handy for staying awake this late at night, but most definitely not conducive to losing the postpartum weight that is camping out on my mid-section.  And now I hear that sweet babe fussing for me from her crib upstairs.  Sweet, sleepy girl, calling for some milk and hugs from Momma.  

So, off I go.  Nighty-night!

P.S.  I am not here on the blog much right now...trying to pick up the momentum, but so so busy!  So if you want to see what we're up to between posts, you can find me on Instagram @homemadehappy, where I usually post at least once daily.  And where I unapologetically gush about my baby girl.  And my new house.  And my great kids.

P.P.S.  Our hens started laying again, after a long, cold winter.  Yay!!  Just in time for Easter. 

  

teefees

Somebody's teething.  Or getting her teefees, as I say.  And of course there have to be pictures.  Lots of them.  Because this has never happened in our house before.  ;)  Really, you would think new teeth were a monumental first for all of us, the way we go on about them.  Every single member of this family is gawking over the new little white additions to this adorable smile.

Baby Mary, however, doesn't think they are anyone's business but her own.  We perform all kinds of antics in order to get a big smile from her that will expose that lower gum.  We try to pull down her bottom lip for a peek inside her mouth.  We beg.  But nope.  She protests.

However, when we aren't trying so hard, she puts on a giant, happy face, and we get a glimpse of those little white numbers, beaming with cuteness.  Taylor, almost 16, even came up to me the other day and said, "Mom, I just saw Mary's teefees!"  Then rolled his eyes and giggled at the ridiculousness.  (My baby terminology is catching, you see.)

Yes, this is very serious family business, indeed.  Mary's teefees.  

There they are...just peeking through her gums.  See them?  Cuteness.