The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home

I have spent most of the day in the kitchen, cleaning the cabinets, appliances, baseboards, floors...pretty much everything! After several hours of work, I can finally open a drawer without feeling like I need to immediately wash my hands. I don't know how the nasty gunk from the previous tenants got all over the place (or why it didn't bother them enough to wipe it off?) but I sure am glad it's gone! And I was extra thankful to have a cute new pair of cleaning gloves to wear today (most people wouldn't be excited to receive those as a bday present, but my sister-in-law knew I would love them!).

We worked really hard to improve the kitchen in our San Angelo house, and had a nice walk-in pantry and plenty of cabinet storage. I was a bit apprehensive about trying to squeeze our stuff into a new kitchen, but was pleasantly surprised to find plenty of cabinet space, a small pantry, and a computer area. As a bonus, the green paint is very similar to the color of our old master bedroom, and I love it! After working in it for a few days, I think it is a great space that will work perfectly for us.

Now that the kitchen is mostly in order, I wanted to share a few pictures. Here is the view if you are coming through the entrance near the front of the house. The pantry is to the left, and we moved a red hutch up to the right for extra storage. The breakfast table originally belonged to Rob's mom, and was given to us when we were married. I have to laugh when I think back to our first tiny unit on Ft. Meade-this little table filled the entire dining area! We have used it in several different rooms since then, and had it as a craft table in the computer room in San Angelo. This little computer area is fabulous! Rob and I both use our laptops, so the girls have inherited our old desktop computer, and I am so glad it was able to go in a room we spend a lot of time in. I don't think I'd like them down in the basement with free access to the internet, so this is a perfect spot for supervised computer time. They have spent the last two evenings playing games while I've cooked dinner.This is the view from the garage entrance, which is beside the computer area. The red hutch that we moved into the kitchen originally belonged to my sister, and I snatched it up when she was redoing her bedroom. A coat of barn paint later, and it was the perfect home for craft supplies. In this house, the hutch functions better as storage for random small appliances and party supplies. The cabinets and backsplash in this kitchen have red accents, so I am hoping the red hutch helps tie those in a bit. This is the view from the computer area, facing towards the dining room. The double doors open to a small pantry. I'm not too sure about the backsplash and red paint, they obviously were not put in at the same time the green paint went up.
And here is the opposite side of cabinets, with the garage door to the right.
Someone got creative, and added a hidden drawer in the baseboards. Not sure how useful it really is (there is no knob, so you either have to get down on your knees to pull it out or kick it out with your shoe), but it is an interesting surprise!
One thing that I really like is the sliding drawers inside the larger cabinet. I have our pots and pans stored there, and it is so nice to be able to pull the drawers out instead of digging through the cabinet to find the right pot and matching lid.And one thing I am still getting used to-having one large sink. I've always had a divided sink, and used one side to soak pots, bottles, etc. so this has been an adjustment. Twice now I have filled the sink with soapy water, only to realize I had dishes that needed to be emptied and rinsed before I could add them to the water. I filled the sink with bleach water this evening, gave it a good scrub and shined it up-now it is feeling like home!
And finally, the view from the dining room entrance. There are three large windows across the front of the kitchen, and sunlight fills this room during the day. I want to put a window covering of some sort on that wall, I'm thinking a valance with red in it to coordinate with the paint, backsplash and hutch. That requires digging out my sewing machine, and I'm hoping the basement will be in order soon so I can start experimenting!