Kitchen and Keeping Room

When we started planning for our kitchen and keeping room we knew we wanted it at the center of the house.  It's where we spend most of our time and where people gather when we have friends and family over.  After looking back through all of the photos I had pinned on Pinterest I found similar trends of things I liked and wanted for our kitchen.

We went with a mission style cabinet and added details like the corbels on the hood and island to dress it up a bit.  I also knew I wanted to do our island in a color a bit different from the rest of the cabinets and I really, really, really wanted a wood counter top for the island.

Another one of my favorites is the copper farm sink and the three windows that sit above it.  I was back and forth between doing a single basin sink or a divided sink, but after reading lots of reviews we went with the single.  After living with it for about 2 months I can say I totally love having a large single basin sink.  I can fit so many things down in there (from baking sheets, to large pots/pans, or even just lots and lots of dishes).  And, while the big bay of windows above it did take away from some of our upper cabinets, I do really enjoy having all of the natural light and the pretty view that I get to see when standing at the sink.  

We knew we would be using my great-grandmother's round kitchen table and decided to add a bench seat.  It has worked out perfectly and it's great the way the kids can pile in there and make the most of the space.  Eventually I plan to have a cushion made for the bench, but it will be a while...like years...because my kids are just too messy when they eat right now. :-)

The light over the table is from Ballard and it was the one light I didn't find at their outlet.  I had seen it hanging in their showroom though and knew it would be perfect over the round table so I waited for a sale before purchasing it.  Hanging in our breakfast nook area is our family portrait. It's the favorite family picture of the five of us that I have to date, and it just makes me so happy to see it there.

The keeping room sort of got thrown into our plans by default. I loved the idea of a keeping room and we kept the existing brick fireplace from the original house, so we knew that it wasn't moving.  It has become a great place for the kids to watch a show while I'm getting dinner ready and I envision football games playing in the fall when we have friends over.  We ended up painting the fireplace the same color as the interior trim and I was nervous about that decision because I knew when it was done there was no turning back.  I like the way it blends in with the rest of the house though and am very happy with the decision to keep and paint it.