Repurposed: Old Phone Booth into Pantry Door

These are my old pantry doors, at the end of the counter on the right.

They're okay, they match the cupboards and blend in very nicely,
 but they're nothing to write home about.

So when Husband brought home three doors from an old phone booth,
I thought, why not try one of those to add some interest?

The width was perfect, like it was meant to be.
The height was a little short, so we added a board to the bottom and voila!

I chose a door that didn't have glass in it and we added some very thin plywood to make chalkboards

I painted it to match my "new" kitchen island, which I love!

A basket underneath holds trays.

After living with it a few weeks,

I decided to lighten it up with some dry-brushed white paint.
I like the lighter look!

Finished Kitchen Island

The kitchen island is finally complete. It's almost the last piece of the puzzle that is my kitchen.

This is the original look of the island, found in an empty apartment and needing some love.

I let the grandkids start the painting process.

Then I added chicken wire to the open doors. It originally had some screen, but it was all torn and ripped up when I found it.

It took months to find the right knobs, but I finally found ones I loved at Hobby Lobby. We don't have Hobby Lobby in California, but every once in a while, I remember to check them out online and I usually find what I am looking for. I need to remember them more often!

It is a great place to store my oversize bowls.

I think it looks really cute!

Once I get a new light fixture, the kitchen will be complete (at least for a while!) and I will give you a look at the whole package!

http://www.thestylesisters.blogspot.com/2013/04/centerpiece-wednesday-and-wrap-up_24.html

Kitchen Island Leads To So Much More!

Did you ever start one project and it lead to others? Happens all the time, right?

My helpers were visiting last week and I let them pick the color to put on the kitchen island (my plan was to paint over it later in a different color).

Turns out I really like it. I had been thinking something safe, like grey or white. Something that would actually match the kitchen.

And there's the problem.

 It doesn't match. My kitchen is black and white and yellow with pops of red, just like my old kitchen. But this is a different space, so maybe I should take this as a sign to make a change.

 So I lived with it for a few days and decided I liked it well enough to redo the cabinets.


I really like the black and white toile, but I have begun to notice that when you walk into the kitchen, the first thing you notice is the black and white pattern, not the dishes.

 

 I painted some cardboard pieces and put them on some of the shelves. The dishes became the stars instead of the toile. You actually notice them because the background becomes just that: background.

So, now I have a board that looks like this, to make sure I get the perfect shade, and soon I will be painting...again.

That Old House: A Walk Down Memory Lane

 I was looking through the pictures on my computer the other day and came across a file labeled "Old House", so of course I opened it, even though it wasn't at all what I was looking for. We sold that house 3 1/2 years ago, and I had almost forgotten what it looked like.

So this week I am taking a walk down Memory Lane.

I loved the kitchen in this house!
There was so much space and that huge island was great to work on. I miss that!


But I need to remind myself that the kitchen looked nothing like this when we moved in. There was no island, nor was the pantry/open shelves on that back wall. It was just a big space with ugly wood cabinets and really ugly old laminate countertops and vinyl floor. It took time and work to get it like this!

Here's a shot of my bedroom. It wasn't that large, but my room now is so small that I can't use the footboard of my four-poster bed. However, that gives me a good opportunity to do something I have wanted to do for a long time, make a new headboard from a door.

I loved this hall bath, too. It all started with some black and white toile boxes my daughter gave me.
Next came the toile shower curtain and the other black and white accessories. The walls are covered with paintable wallpaper that looks like old tiles. I am thinking of using this wallpaper on the kitchen ceiling and make it look like a tin ceiling.

When my oldest son moved out, I made myself a little office/library with robin's egg blue on the walls and so many favorite things in one place!

hmmm, I seem to have a lot of pictures of this room.

I really, really liked it!

I painted my bedroom in this house the same robin's egg blue.

And all these favorite things are still here, just in different places, so I can still enjoy them!

 

On The Lookout For Just The Right Kitchen Island

Ever since we ripped out the kitchen peninsula, I have been on the lookout for just the right piece of furniture to use as a kitchen island. My criteria was counter height (35-36"), narrow enough to get around the kitchen easily (about 16-18") and not too long so it wouldn't jut out into the dining room (about 36"). 

I was also hoping for wheels to make it more flexible and some type of storage, a drawer, open shelves, anything like that.

I began by trying out tables I already had and living with them for a while.

I started with this antique oak draw leaf table.

I loved the look of it, and I could get 2 stools underneath which made it convenient, but it lacked any storage and was just a little too wide and short to be really comfortable. The other problem with this table was that I was always worried about ruining the finish, and that just would not do in the kitchen.

Next, I tried a table I had painted with chalkboard paint for the grandkids.

.

It was a little better in that it had a drawer and was  slightly narrower. It still needed to be taller, so I considered adding a shelf to the bottom and then putting wheels on it. This would not only make it taller, it would also add storage and the flexibility I was looking for. But I thought I could do better, and it was still a tiny bit too wide and a hair too long.

So I moved it outside and traded places with a little red table that was sitting on the back porch.

The size was perfect and I LOVED the red color. There was no storage, but I could add a shelf on the bottom and wheels, so I though this might be the one. The problem, however, was that this little table had sat outside for so long, I couldn't get it really clean, thus the large cutting board on top. I was going to have to paint it to be comfortable with the cleanliness, but so far it was my best option.

Then, on one of our painting weekends in Ashland, I found this:

It had been left behind by a tenant, so I brought it home to give it some love and maybe put it in my booth at the Antique Mall.

But first, I tried it out for size in my kitchen.

size:  "16 x 35 "...check

counter height: 36"...check

storage...check and check

wheels...check again

It was meant to be.

Now to make it beautiful!