Sunny Side Up - Kitchen Decor

It’s no revelation: The kitchen is the most important room in the house—the heart of the home.
 

Pumpkins

More than merely where the meals are cooked, it’s where coveted family recipes are passed down from one generation to the next, and the command center where we leave notes on the fridge regarding where we’ll be and what we need. It’s often where the homework is done and friends and family gravitate when they should be in the dining room or relaxing on the couch.

The kitchen plays a big role in our lives but also for the planet. Here, we become more in tune with how we interact with nature by choosing which foods we eat and what trash we throw away or hopefully recycle or, better yet, compost. It’s where the appliances we choose either save or spend energy. And, speaking of spending, the kitchen is one of the biggest selling points for the home and where we are most concerned about using our budgets wisely.

On our website, we have addressed the many facets of a kitchen: the practical side, where form must follow function; the flamboyant side, where professional cook top could make us drool more than a Death by Chocolate cake; and there’s the Eco-conscious side, where we prefer the sustainable bamboo flooring; and—perhaps the most fun—the artistic side, where vintage linens and a bold stroke of paint will always keep the cheer going and the sunny side up. 

With that in mind, I hope you find in our posts a wealth of ideas, information, resources and products that your kitchen deserves. After all, with the meals, notes, lessons and indulgences the kitchen affords us every day, it should be the brightest spot in the home.

Cottage Kitchens: A Great Starter

Cottages Kitchen

 In 1976, they were a young couple looking for a starter house. What Ginette and David Williams found was a 900-square-foot 1950s tract house. They figured it would be fine for a while. And 34 years later they’re still there.

“We have always loved it here. My husband and I grew up in this neighborhood, and my parents, who are now 88 and 90 years old, live four blocks away. I am so glad that we’re nearby,” Ginette says.
Located in a sun-drenched neighborhood, shaded by mature trees and just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean, there’s a lot to love about the house. “Originally, the houses around here all looked the same,” Ginette says. “But over the years people have added on and altered them so much that you can’t tell.”

Kitchen table

When they bought it, the Williams home had two bedrooms, a bath, a small kitchen and a living room. In a twist on typical ‘50s ranch architecture, the kitchen area was recessed, and the resulting roof extension created a front porch. It provided an outdoor living space that the family enjoyed. As their two sons were growing up, the couple thought about moving, but they couldn’t give up the convenient location, their garden, neighborhood and the schools, so they opted to stay and add on to the house.

Designing in Stages
Their first addition was a master bedroom and another bathroom at the back of the house. Next, they added a deck and a bay window, which enlarged the dining area in the kitchen. Finally, years later, they decided to expand the kitchen further to create more work space. Of course there was a lot of planning that needed to occur before any building could be done, but Ginette experienced a moment of realization that gave her a clear vision.

Sun pours through the kitchen’s bay window. Ginette has commemorated her love of the light with a motto from Wall Words.

 “I was visiting a friend who lives in a great big house in Georgia,” Ginette says. “It is so beautiful, but I thought to myself, ‘My house is a little cottage. It’s never going to grow up to be a big house like this.’ I remember that moment because I realized that all the things I liked are cottage style: white, pastels and lots of sunshine with sheer curtains. I’d always wanted a beach cottage, and even though we are five miles from the ocean, that was how I decided to decorate.”

Beach motifs lend the feeling of the seaside to Ginette’s kitchen.

A Kitchen Come to Life
Ginette and David knew they would need help in turning her vision into a functioning kitchen, so they attended a free kitchen-planning seminar. “It was the most expensive free seminar I ever went to,” David says with a laugh. There were a number of designers speaking, but Ginette sought out an assistant and asked which designer would be the right fit. After some conversation, the assistant recommended Monica Ledesma from Friedman’s Appliance Center. “Monica just ‘got’ me right away,” Ginette says.
 “When I visited David and Ginette’s home, I immediately knew that the bay window had to be the focal point of the kitchen,” Ledesma says. “Apparently, Ginette had met with a few other designers who wanted to rip out the window. We knew right away that we understood each other.” The space that Ledesma designed pushed the front of the house out four feet where it had been recessed before. “We brought the walls out to be even with the roof-line,” Ledesma says. Although it wasn’t a huge addition, the difference it made in the kitchen layout was enormous.

The bay window not only floods the space with sunlight but also provides a cozy seat and handy storage. The floors were finished with an engineered hardwood for easy care.

 “It was a galley kitchen before,” she says. “Now there is room for a center island and terrific traffic flow.” Although she didn’t alter the bay window, Ledesma replaced its cubby-hole doors and hardware. She added new windows on the side and over the sink, and replaced the back door, spreading even more sunshine through the room.

Cottages Room

Before: The William’s kitchen was much darker and smaller.

The kitchen now has room for a center island.

Ledesma designed the layout of the custom cabinets with white-stained beadboard lower doors, a double-stacked crown molding and ogee feet to lend a furniture-like feeling to the pieces. Upper cabinets are fitted with crackled-glass doors that help to maintain the airy feel of the room. Most of the countertops are made of Santa Cecelia granite in a soft oatmeal shade, except for the work island, which was finished with a walnut top created by David. He built the dining table too. “In a small house, space is everything,” Ginette says. “I wanted a table long enough for six people, but not too wide. David worked it out to fit our space.” David also crafted the stained glass panels for the transoms in the bay window.

Before: The kitchen nook was weighed down by darker wood shelves and furniture. Fresh paint and new windows brightened it up.

To finish the room, Ginette and Ledesma included beachy touches such as starfish, shells and even a little mermaid sculpture, to add visual interest to the soft butter-yellow, cream and light-blue color scheme.

Never Done
Where many people recall their home-renovation stories like tales of Gothic horror, Ginette’s sunny disposition relates only the bright side. “The project was so enjoyable. My builders were wonderful! They came in whistling every day and were so nice. I look back and say ‘that was fun,’” she says. So much fun, that the couple is presently working with Ledesma to renovate the master bathroom, which is 25 years old. It may have been a starter home, but Ginette and David aren’t finished yet.