Golden

Still to finish in the kitchen is this one upper cabinet next to the fridge.

When I started planning the kitchen renovation, a few of the things high on

my list were hiding the microwave and adding a TV.  Having this little space

tucked next to the fridge seemed to provide the golden opportunity to get both.

I think I mentioned earlier that I was painting the back of the cabinet

a dark color called Ben Moore Deep Creek.  I learned in my art

training that your eye goes to the area of highest contrast so the

idea behind the dark color is to "hide" the microwave and the TV.

And then I'll use white pieces of pottery to further draw your eye

away from these things.  An interesting experiment if nothing else.

I've quickly staged it with a few things so you see what I mean.

But this little area has also proven to be a challenge.

The original plan was to have a full-sized microwave but my ductwork

guys thought this would be the best location for the heating duct to the

upstairs bedroom which left me only 16 inches for a microwave.

I know they make tiny microwaves that will hold a mug but imagine

how psyched I was when I found a 15-1/2-inch model (Whirlpool)

that still holds a full-sized dinner plate.  It's perfect actually.

And deciding what paint colors to put where is driving me crazy...

this side panel on the fridge especially.

It starts out at the floor where I feel it should be the same gray as the cabinets...

...up to the top where white feels right.

If I start with dark gray at the bottom, I'd have to carry that all around

the fridge...

...and quite possibly around the corner on to the wall.  Nothing feels perfect.

How would you feel about an ombre treatment?

Anyway, while I mull that over, I'm thinking about staining

the wood of the upper cabinet to match (as closely as possible)

the bin drawers.  The two sets of bin drawers are pretty close

to each other so having that upper cabinet match those

would really help balance things out.

It looks like it's somewhere between Golden Pecan and Golden Oak.

If I can make it match, I'll be golden.

Kitchen Goings-On

Hey, long time, no see!

I made it though my big project.  It was a lot of hard work but we really rocked it.

It seems like so long ago, but I really enjoyed reading all of your comments

about the in-the-ground garbage pails.  It seems to have brought back a lot

of memories for people and it was fun reading about them.

I've moved my dining room table into the kitchen and it fits perfectly!

The chairs are Ligne Roset Calin chairs that I've had for a long time.

The room needed something modern to keep it from getting too stuffy

and I think these work well.  They also have slipcovers that come off

and can be machine washed which I love.  So they're not only practical,

they're as comfortable as any upholstered  living room chair I've ever had.

I'm missing one of the slipcovers, though, and it's driving me crazy!

Even with the chairs pulled out, there's plenty of room for me to

get around the table to the sink and stove, dishwasher and armoire.

I've finished painting the cabinets and I'm still liking the drawers unpainted.

The drawers look a lot more orange in the photos than they do in person;

I'm not sure why that's happening.  Still need to paint the windows but it

needs to be a little warmer so I can leave them open while the paint drys.

It's been so cold here!

I bought these stemware racks from The Container Store.  They're made for

under-cabinet mounting and I've mounted them up in the top of the armoire.

Their design isn't the best I've ever seen.  I didn't feel they were very

secure so I added a washer to the screw which will work much better. 

I used two triple racks, one on each end for champagne and wine glasses and two single racks

in the center to give more room for the martini glasses.  The thing I love most is when the armoire

doors are closed, you can't see the glasses at all.  

I bought new baskets for the lower two shelves.  Also from The Container Store, these are their

large Hogla baskets.  All or most of my cookbooks will eventually be moved to an upper

cabinet next to the refrigerator, but for now, they're out of the way.  I'll still have lots of

storage space in here once they find their new home.

Since I'm storing some food items in the baskets, and I wanted to keep the

bottom of the baskets clean, I found two plastic trays (also Container

Store) that fit perfectly in the bottom of each basket.  These will easily

come out for washing whenever necessary.

I still have a few cabinets and drawers to organize but I'm loving

my baking drawer.  Everything I need  for the task all in one place.

The maiden voyage of my new stove was to whip up some blueberry scones

for an Easter brunch.  I loved having marble countertops to roll out the dough.

These scones are from the America's Test Kitchen recipe...and they're killer!

You, too, can make these and won't believe how awesome you are!

Here's the video on how to do it.