This is the Year...

...for a kitchen re-do!  We've certainly been dreaming, waiting, saving over the past year to finally give a little TLC to our functional, yet outdated kitchen.  I'm thinking of turning this....

[caption id="attachment_684" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Our Peach's Kitchen"][/caption]

...into this
[caption id="attachment_686" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Designed by Leslie Ezelle, Season 6 Design Star Contestant"][/caption]

Good idea? Tell me what you think!

Home List of To Dos

A lot on my mind today.  So much to do on our Peach, including:

1. Put up new back patio fence.
2. Renovate kitchen.
3. Paint a mural or place pretty decal on staircase wall.
4. Update living room decor.
5. Clean up and organize home office.
6. Organize all closets.
7. Replace light fixtures in entry and over staircase (kitchen too?)

Almost four years into our Peach, and this list is just the beginning....Other life necessities took precedence to updating our Peach.  And certainly #2 and #4 are going to take some time for more saving.  #2 in particular is a little bit of a dilemma.  It's quite possible that in 2 years, the Hubby and I will transition to a different home.  While we'd love to stay in our Peach for a long time, it just doesn't have the space for us to grow.  So what to do?  Do we shell out the dough and do the full redo shabang (i.e., new layout, new cabinets, new countertops, new appliances)?  Or do we take the minimal approach and simply upgrade countertops and appliances, keeping the cabinets and layout?  Where can we get the most bang for our buck?  Anyone out there with ideas?

For those also planning home renovations out there, I came across this thought-piece that may be of interest from MintLife.

The Kitchen Cure

I've just signed up on a for kitchen-clean-up one-month boot camp..."The Kitchen Cure." Hubby and I want to eat healthier, so I figure, if we organize our small kitchen in a way that makes healthier ingredients and foods accessible, we might just eat better. So---

What is the Kitchen Cure?

The site says, "The Kitchen Cure is a four-week program designed to help you get your kitchen in tip-top shape: Clean, healthy and organized. Naturally, your cooking will improve by becoming more nourishing and satisfying. There's something to learn here for every cook."

"The Kitchen Cure has four main assignments. Each is designed to motivate you to de-clutter, clean, and make your kitchen a more fun and healthy place to cook. You follow along at home, and [Kitchn.com] will give you tips, encouragement, and community support."

"This Kitchen Cure [kicked] off on Friday, February 26th, with [the] first assignment. Each Friday there will be an assignment and you'll have the weekend to get it started. During the week [Kitchn.com] will have tips, tricks, good ideas, and other pieces of inspiration to help you work on that week's Cure assignment."

Alright, I'm a little behind.  The first assignment for last weekend was to clean out the fridge and pantry.  As you know, I'm hoping to renovate our kitchen this year (hopefully)...so de-cluttering is definitely a good first step.  I intend on catching up this weekend!  Wish me luck!

Design Notebook: "Home Style" Kitchens

The Hubby and I have been dreaming of renovating our kitchen since we adopted Our Peach three years ago. As you may know, Our Peach is quite old -- built in 1890 and the most recent renovation was in the early 90s. So we're talking about almost 20 years old set of appliances and kitchen decor. It's not so bad, as you see.

[caption id="attachment_138" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The Heart and Soul of Our Peach"][/caption]

Everything is functioning as they should. But we are just counting down the months/days we have left on the life expectancy of our microwave, stove, refrigerator, etc. Add to the fact that the Hubby loves to cook, and we really need more counter space to accommodate all that he wants to be able to do in the kitchen. Three years into our slow updating of our home (we've done a great deal of minor renovations like painting, re-caulking, spackling, etc), I think this year might just be the time for us to take on a larger renovation -- that is our kitchen and really the heart and soul of our home. It's the place where we spend the most time together after work...catching up on the day's events, sharing a couple of glasses of wine, dancing while simmering, and just helping each other make a great meal for us to share. So, it's a special part of our home, and it needs a little more TLC.

[caption id="attachment_391" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="And Sometimes, Our Dance Floor"][/caption]


I'm doing some research on different ways for us to add more counter space, storage, and improve the overall aesthetics of our kitchen. I'm just at the beginning stages, so if you have any ideas for re-organizing appliances or the kitchen space generally...I'd greatly appreciate it. For those who are just starting off like me, I found this excellent resource for matching your kitchen to your home's architectural style. It's not necessary, of course. But may be helpful to you in brainstorming different looks to consider.

[caption id="attachment_392" align="aligncenter" width="446" caption="From Kitchens.com"][/caption]

Do you have a Federal style home? Queen Anne, perhaps? Or Art Deco, Modern? Cape Cod? Arts and Crafts? If you're interested in bringing the outside in, then check out this resource from Kitchens.com.