A Cabin Kitchen Remodel

We are finally finishing up or winding down our summer projects at the cabin and studio.  Actually my studio has been commandeered for storage and work space until hubby’s workshop/barn is completed. Fortunately not having my studio hasn’t been too much of an issue, as I’ve been so busy with house and yard projects over the last few months that I haven’t needed it; come fall however, it will be a different story. But now, as promised, is one of the projects that we have completed.

My kitchen started out last summer like this.

Now, as it should be, it is my favorite room in the cabin.

Our first step was painting the bead-board ceiling a creamy white to help light reflect around the room. We then rearranged the appliances and added some old heart-pine cabinets that hubby had made almost thirty years ago for another house.  Because the cabinets were not designed for this space, we created open shelving, with painted bead-board backing (a wonderful green), to fill in the empty spaces. I loaded the shelves with lovely things – all mice proof of course, as this is an old cabin in the country.

I love that all the textiles in the space are mismatched; my sister donated light airy curtains for the windows; vintage embroidered pillowcases cover the chair cushions; instead of doors under the counter we used French inspired table clothes as curtains; different patterned tablecloths also flank the sliding door which leads out to the new deck with twisted vine rails, which leads to the new patio…but all that will be in another post.

The counter top and back-splash is walnut from an old tree that fell on the home place years ago and has been stored in my sister’s barn; Hubby roughed up the surface and rounded the edges to give it an aged look, then sealed it with food safe oil.  The sink was in the structure when we found it and was moved along with the logs to the current location. A few years ago hubby built the sink cabinet and I painted and finished it to look like an old piece of furniture (what a team we make)

The island was constructed from the very first piece of woodworking hubby made for the cabin, all those years ago; a pine cabinet with punched tin doors perched high on tall legs.  We removed the legs; painted and distressed the whole thing; added reclaimed porch posts and a couple of salvaged angle brackets from an old farm-house to support the new shelving and bar height counter. Finally we topped it off with a beautiful piece of marble given to us by a friend.  I finished the bar shelf with a primitive painting of the houses along the ridge. Hubby even put power in the island so at this Christmas’s tree trimming party I won’t be crowded in the corner with my back to the revelers while preparing the grilled cheese sandwiches.

The lighting is the final project; I’m just waiting for the perfect fixture to find its way to me.