Lakehouse kitchen cabinets

Merrilat

Our lake house plan is finally at the finish line!

 The process of building a modular home is very different than 

building a custom home with an onsite construction crew.

With modular builds, you select almost every single thing in the house, from

the kitchen and bathroom cabinet style and color, the countertops, door styles,

trim for the baseboard and ceilings, the staircase elements, lighting and windows.

This home has been completely customized and will arrive on flat bed trailers,

then put together like giant building blocks with all of the cabinets

 and sinks and lights already installed! 

The kitchen cabinet style and color is shown above in an image

taken from Merrilat Cabinet's website.  Because we are having taller ceilings

than the "standard" ceiling height of 8', we will have most of the cabinets stacked

to ceiling height.   Below you can see my notes with the kitchen I designed 

for the lake where I added the top row of cabinets on one side of the kitchen.

Merrilat has a great kitchen cabinet design feature where you can put together your

dream kitchen.  A Swedish style plate display rack was on my list among other things.

On the opposite side of the kitchen there is a bank of cabinets that will function as a secondary

station for microwave, food storage, coffee making, trash cabinet, pots and pans cabinet 

and a bookcase for cookbooks. All the cabinets are maple in a painted white finish. 

A kitchen by East Hill Cabinetry shows some double stacked cabinets with some glass front cabinets.

Our kitchen will be open to the main room overlooking the lake similar to this, but we will have a peninsula with the sink and bar stools creating a separation while still affording the view of the lake.

A kitchen by Julie Williams Design shows white painted cabinets to the ceiling but the ceilings

are lower so no room for stacking.  My cabinets will be 42" with another 12" cabinet stacked 

to take advantage of extra storage space.  I am only having one large glass front cabinet for putting

some of my transferware on display. The others will all be solid front cabinets so I can stuff them 

with my various random collections for holiday dinners etc. I know some people have lots of

glass fronts, but I know mine need to be more for utilitarian storage than for beauty storage. 

And while I have been designing the house I also have been imagining the details of the various spaces.

 I saw a mirror at a local auction house and thought it would be perfect for the powder room bathroom. 

It has an elegant cottage look to it as if it once lived in a grand lake house. 

This antique AntebellumVictorian mirror with its painted floral crest and

 faux bois finish with gilded morning glories was just the ticket to give our new house some soul. 

Flanked  with modern golden bronze sconces, its the mix of old and new that I find super appealing.

That is why I love antiques and decorating with them. You won't see this mirror anywhere else...

Our lake house will be a blend of new and old and I can't wait to see it all 

come together and share it with you on my blog.  

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A true French Farmhouse Kitchen

This gloriously pretty French Farmhouse captured my attention, but truth be told, the 

charming cottage style kitchen is how I found this beautiful home.

 This enchanting kitchen was custom built by the homeowner to imitate the kitchen in 

a favorite French hotel restaurant, La Mirande, which has a Chef's Table kitchen.

The open shelving with the decorative trim work, painted blue, is incredibly charming!

 Here is a wider view of the kitchen, with the oak Chef's table in the center surrounded by ladder back chairs in French blue.  Loads of copper hang from the walls, pot rack and over the Lacanche range.
Its just so charming!! Read more about this French Farmhouse and the beautiful renovation on the The Glam Pad blog here.  I fell in love with the kitchen, and then the rest of the house!
 Follow on Instagram with updates on the property @provencepoiriers for more images of this dream French farmhouse in Provence.

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Copper in the Kitchen

Copper cookware and accents used in kitchens is nothing new in design, but as trends come and go, this is one that has stuck around.  My first kitchen in my very first apartment was outfitted with copper accents.  I had a big copper pot rack and it hung above a second hand copper colored Tappan range. Copper canisters and a copper colander and a few other copper accents made my kitchen the country kitchen of my young dreams.

Fast forward through a series of house moves and over time the copper disappeared from my kitchen decor.  Maybe I just switched my attention and copper lost its fascination for me.  Well, I am here to say I have fallen in love with copper all over again!  It seems as if I am not alone, as it is appearing in kitchens of some of my favorite designers and bloggers.

Martha Stewart has led the way in setting trends and making certain antiques popular once again when she uses them in her own kitchens and on her baking show.  I spy two (!!) copper Kitchen Aid mixers and measuring spoons and copper molds on the wall.  The copper looks beautiful with the marble and the breadboards and the rustic potted herbs.  I developed a fixation on Martha's copper Kitchen Aid mixer, and the next thing I knew, I was researching the models, the color finishes, and am happy to say I found one at a very good price. My next blog post will be about my mixer and all that I discovered, as soon as I take some pictures of it in my kitchen. Until then I am sharing some amazing copper in amazing kitchens that hopefully inspire you as much as they did me.

Martha Stewart's Bedford, NY  Kitchen

In Martha's  New York kitchen she has a wealth of copper molds and pots and pans displayed on the walls in this huge industrial space.  I also did a lot of research on copper cookware, and was surprised to learn what I found out...you might be interested in learning that good copper cookware is expensive, and the copper will discolor when used on the stove.  Reading the reviews that are posted about different manufacturers will tell a lot about a product line. Copper cookware from different manufacturers vary in quality. I love the look of copper pans hanging in a kitchen, it is very French, so that adds to the appeal for me. (More on that in my next post, as I share the cookware I did purchase and the reasoning behind my decision.)

Martha Stewart's Turkey Hill Farm, CT Kitchen

In her former Connecticut kitchen, an oversized pot rack matches the equally oversized island

and holds a shameful amount of copper pans. It is both obscene and inspiring! If you look closely you will see a stainless pot sitting on the cooktop, making one wonder if this collection is purely decorative.  Even so,  I have to say the copper looks amazing!

French Country Cottage 
This cottage kitchen belonging to Courtney Allison of the French Country Cottage blog, is
just beautiful!  The copper pots appear to be new and hang from a rod suspended inside
the range hood positioned over her blue French LaCanche range.  

French Country Cottage Blog

Another peek at Courtney's kitchen....just a few well placed copper accents give this kitchen the French cottage charm I love.  Her kitchen also gave my obsession over copper fuel that I was on the right path.  My collection has grown after searching online antique listings, antique shops, thrift shops,  Marshalls and HomeGoods, which are all great places to find copper.  Target and Kohls carry copper accents, so if you are like me, once you start looking for it, you can be certain you will find it.

Switching over to copper has me taking out things and playing around with some of my "new" pieces, like this tin lined copper mold of a pineapple.  I brought it home from the thrift shop and hung it up above a ceramic mold and loved the shiny coppery color.  Now I have a big collection of old and new copper including mixing bowls, shovel scoops, measuring cups, colanders, pans and molds of many shapes and sizes....

and that fabulous copper Kitchen Aid mixer!

I promise I will be back soon with some photos as soon as I finish hanging things where I want them.

Having a lot of fun with my on again off again obsession...can you tell?

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My Cottage Kitchen

 Welcome to my cottage kitchen, I am excited to show you around!

 Its a very tiny space and so "Cottage Style" works best.
I love French style, and so let's say its French Cottage Style!

I am joining some French Country bloggers in a one room home tour,
which is such great fun. Check the links at the end of the post!
My kitchen is the room I rarely share, and so 
I hope you enjoy getting a peek at it today.

It is in the center at the back of our home and is connected by three

hallways which makes it a busy place. 

 From our front door you can see our kitchen at the end of the hall 

where I recently hung up some vintage botanical prints.

The butcher block island by John Boos company is the workhorse of the kitchen,

and its where we do most of our meal prep and also where I like to display things,

like fruit and vegetables in pretty dishes, like this purple transferware.

Part of my transfer ware collection is in an open cabinet space above the kitchen stove.

Various collections are found in our kitchen, like these vintage fruit 

and vegetable molds that I bought at the Brimfield Antique Fair last year.

By the way, I will be a vendor at the Brimfield Fair this year with my son, 

Justin Power, and I hope you come see us at the New England Motel Field #40

 if you plan to be headed there this May10-15, 2016!

You can find all kinds of awesome things to decorate your own home with,

like I have done over the years. Although our home is newer, I switched out

our sink for an old drain board style porcelain sink, and I think it is one of

my favorite improvements that Mr. Maison Decor and I ever did.

Our countertops are the Formica FX brand that looks like marble, but isn't,

although I wish they were....

And lastly, my kitchen cabinets are maple, and I painted them 5 years ago 

with Annie Sloan's Old White Chalk Paint and then I clear waxed them

and they have held up very well indeed.

Our dining room is on one side of the kitchen, and that doorway you see

leads to our basement where we have an apartment that our various kids

have lived in over the years.  There is one unpainted section of wall next

to the door that has all of our son's heights and names with dates.

I cannot paint over it...its too meaningful of course, and its fun to see how

 much our youngest in particular is growing these days!

Then to the right you can see the front hallway again and the room to the right

of the photo is our family room, which is really "man town".  A room filled

with leather couches, a giant tv, burlap curtains, a dog kennel and 

lots and lots of cowboy hats hanging on the walls.

Its a hop and maybe a skip, but not a jump to come into the kitchen 

to cook popcorn on family movie nights!

 Our newest addition to the kitchen area is this fantastic farmhouse style mirror.

  I am in love!  Its called the Reproduction Louisville Mirror
 and I got it from AntiqueFarmhouse.com.  
They have home decor accessories 
with so many things for your pretty cottage or rustic farmhouse look. 

 I have a thing for mirrors and use them for wall art, more than any other kind of item.

Big statement mirrors are so versatile, and while I first thought I would put it in the dining room

I decided it looked perfect with my white kitchen cabinets and its rustic distressed finish.
Statement pieces are usually large items that denote a decided style to a space.

I can see putting seasonal wreaths on the mirror during holidays,

or just tiny accents, like this cute burlap and moss bird.

See how our kitchen is tucked into the connecting hallways?

You can see into the dining room from here, where we just added our French doors.

And my fun new addition, the old French day bed that is waiting to

be put out into the courtyard....but that is for another day!

I hope you enjoyed this tour of our tiny but charm filled kitchen.
When you don't have grand rooms, makeup for it with charming
and personality filled accessories.  That's what I do!

To visit the Antique Farmhouse online shop, click here.

It was so much fun to join with my design blogger friends for this 

French Country Blogger's House Tour.  
I am off to see what rooms they are highlighting today,

and you can visit them as well by clicking on the links below.

Cedar Hill Farmhouse

 Confessions Of A Plate Addict

 Designthusiasm

Dixie Delights

Edith And Evelyn

Eleven Gables

Housepitality Designs

Maison de Pax

Savvy Southern Style

Shabbyfufu

Slightly Coastal

Note: This post is partially sponsored by the AntiqueFarmhouse.com however all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

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A kitchen update with apple green paint

A makeover using green paint and fabric!

I painted my kitchen and did a minor facelift on it three years ago.

The cabinets were maple and thats when I discovered 

Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint and used that to make a drastic improvement.

The photo above is the one I use on my blog to show off the painted 

cabinet results.  It really was quite remarkable, the before and after!

Before

Last week I made another change to the kitchen using

paint, but this time, not on the cabinets. As you may know I am working

on a few projects around the house because Matthew Mead will be 

photographing the house for a feature in one of his new magazines due 

on new stands this spring!  Anyway, back to the kitchen.

Its been a fun way to add a little spark into a space that I love

but was looking to add a bit more personality.  Paint is the best

way to do just that.  Gina, my sales girl at Maison Decor

has been coming over and helping me knock off some of the 

projects on my list.   

Colin watched as I stepped back to take a pic of the action.  You can

see that I am painting my backsplash and display areas apple green.

Gina and I worked on either side of the kitchen and met in the middle.

The color is Folk Art by Ben Moore, but mixed up at

 Lowes Home Improvement using their paint, Valspar Signature.

 At the time I had originally painted my cabinets white

there was an inspiration photo of a kitchen that drove me to use 

purple transferware in the kitchen.  That kitchen photo had a lime green

backsplash and purple transferware.  I have never forgotten that photo and

this was the perfect time to see how it would turn out.  Repainting the 

backsplash would not be out of the question if I decided it fell short.

 This kitchen is in Carolyn Westbrook's book,

The French Inspired Home.

The mix of purple and green, the beadboard and white cabinetry,

 interesting lighting all added up to fabulousness!

Look at all that transferware!! 

There was a butcher block with white legs too, very similar to 

what we had in our kitchen. The only thing I was leaving out was

the antler collection, although I love the look.  My kitchen is just

too small to have all of that going on.

 My transferware collection continues to grow, and most

recently I purchased two pieces from Matthew Mead.

The platter over the stove is one of them, the other a serving

bowl that I keep napkins in on the butcher block island.

 The green paint reads more electric than it actually does

 in person, because of the interior lighting. 

 This kitchen is very dark and only has one window, 

so natural light is limited.  At the windows I decided to 

change out the lace panels for buffalo check in green and white. 

 The apple wreath I made at a Matthew Mead workshop looks

perfect hanging in the kitchen window.

 A vintage drain board sink was the easy and inexpensive way

to get the Farmhouse sink look.  At $75 on Craigslist, it is one

of my favorite improvements in our home and it was affordable too.

Still tweaking things in here, but for the most part I love how

fresh and fun it feels in here. And it all started with seeing an 

image in a book several years ago that I never forgot.  Use

magazine, book or online images to inspire decorating changes in 

your home.  It won't look the same as your inspiration photo,

nor should it.  But it will inspire design changes that are all 

about what make you happy.  And isn't that the point of decorating?

 On the other side of our tiny kitchen there is a dedicated coffee bar station.

This is being worked on as we speak...and speaking of inspiration

photos, check out this bookcase decorated with brown transferware.

 My passion for transferware has infected others as well. 

 Gina has starting a collection as has my sister Ellen.   I snapped

an iphone pic of this bookcase to show Ellen this week how she could

do the same thing in her house.  The next thing I know, she says she

wants to start a collection and would I help?  Of course!  

 Packages of brown transferware are on their way to her home right now.

We bargain shopped online and found some incredible deals on Etsy.

J&G Meakins Americana collection include this charming

sugar bowl featuring Martha Washington.  This transferware

is ironstone, not china.  It will be great for display or everyday

use.  Its more affordable than china, but still vintage and very

decorative!  Ellen's home will be getting a room or two made

over with my help soon, and you will see how this transferware

will play a big part in the makeover.  

Winter time is a great time to do indoor projects in New England.

So dig out those inspiration photos and get to work interpreting

them to fit your home, and watch how fun and fabulous your 

rooms become!  

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