Once upon a time...

This was our kitchen.

I'm not a very colorful person. I lean toward solids and neutrals. So when Outdoorman and I bought our 1950 rancher, and I began cooking in this orange, yellow, and chartreuse kitchen, I knew that one day it would be different. But different came slowly.

There were days we accomplished a little...a section or two of the most durable vinyl striped wallpaper was removed. There were days we accomplished a lot...like when Outdoorman and bff Ross covered our orange (I'm not kidding) vinyl flooring with oak hardwood. (thanks again, Ross)

We painted our cabinets (White Dove by Benjamin Moore) which was blessed relief from chartreuse and stripes. Neutral was definitely better. Then babies and ballgames got in the way for years so we lived with what we had. (I like to call it our transitional period) But I always had a dream.

In my dream there was a range nook instead of a kitchen desk nook. The desk was pretty swell though, when baby girls were playing Zoombini's on our egg shaped iMac (remember those?) There's a Mac for every season...

Finally, we entered our dream kitchen phase. It was slow, mind you, but progress came. The desk demo came first.

I've mentioned how very visual I am...so you know a drawing was a'comin.

I chose a beveled white subway tile for the backsplash of my range nook. Subway tile has been around forever so there's no chance it will look trendy. (thank ya John Beretta Tile on Sutherland in Knoxville) I stewed a bit over whether to tile just the back of the nook or come around on the sides. In the end I decided just the back so as not to remind me of our bathtub.

Woodworker magician who can also tile, Mike, did an amazing job, and I'm forever gonna love his work.

Here is old stove poorly warming the seat for new stove. Oh, she was good while she lasted but I was never a fan of her cast iron burners.

Staley's Granite in Maryville came through again for stone countertops. Since I just needed a couple of small pieces of honed Absolute Black granite, the remnant pile was the perfect place to hunt. Found 'em!

My favorite rummaging spot in town, "Farmhouse Antiques", came through with an old wooden box that was just waiting for spices. And Lowe's plumbing department has just the stuff for the makings of pot racks and towel rods.

I chose polished nickel cabinet hardware from Restoration Hardware. And I mixed it up a bit with styles and sizes because, you know, I just like things mixed up a bit.

When we demo'd the wall of upper and lower cabinets in our former stove area I had to get the picture out of my head and onto paper for what I hoped this area would become. Here's my dream for this stretch of kitchen.

If I can draw it, Outdoorman can make it happen. And happen it did.

Oh, if he had a nickel for everytime I asked him to "move it just a tad to the right"... but y'all, the devil's in the details.

My favorite runner is this one from Pottery Barn. It's indestructible (knock on wood) and can be hosed off outside if it gets nasty.

Woodworker magician Mike built my Shaker style cabinets exactly how they looked in my head. And please admire my pot drawers that open to the range area. Super fabulously convenient, yes, they are. Thank you, Mike.

And those old barn wood shelves? They were a gift from bff Mary Ellen salvaged out of the old chicken coop on her family farm. Each time I look at them I am grateful for giving friends.

Some of my favorite things...a pendant light that reminds me of a fun trip to NYC, an old meat grinder from the family homeplace in Appalachia (I imagine my grandmother cranking the handle every now and then), shelves from a friend's farm, and a little oil painting of shimmering water. What's not to love?

Thank you Outdoorman for not rolling your eyes when I told you I wanted a thick walnut countertop for this stretch of cabinets. Outdoorman found a source for a walnut tree that had been rescued from Cherokee Lake just before it became a lake and he crafted my countertop. Yippee!