The kitchen was what clinched the deal for Don. Not that it has a lot of bells and whistles. Not that it is full of stainless steel appliances and cupboards galore and granite or butcher block countertops. Nope. It has too few cupboards and mismatched appliances. It has tile countertops that I’d love to replace.

But because it was added on to this little cottage many, many years ago, it has a slanted ceiling that is much higher than the ceiling in the living room. It slopes down from the wall it shares with the living room to the wall that faces the back forty. Since Don does a lot of the cooking and he’s over 6′4″ tall, he fell in love with the space. And we both fell for the windows that are on all three sides of the room.

I’ll try to note things you might want to know below each photo, because there are a lot of photos.

The view from the living room. The island was made from an old sideboard. McCoy Pottery is scattered throughout the room. That’s Scout’s dog food under the island. The lampshade was recovered in some of the fabric from my stash. The Vernor’s crate is one of my very favorite things.

As Is. A well organized message center? Decidedly not. Photos of family on the refrigerator.

The table was originally finished in a very dark stain, so I painted it. I got it from my friend Heidi’s shop for $75. It has two leaves, as well, though I think we’ve only used them once. The chairs have been gathered here and there. The one with its back to the camera was found for $5. It’s vintage and was made by Thonet.

Pretty cups. Bottle rack from World Market. The little tray was decoupaged by my friend Tina. She also gave us that beautiful aqua pitcher.

Riley’s Dish Garden, in honor of our dearly missed boy.

The pantry. I bought that canister (part of a set) when we were driving across the country on the way to our new home in the Northeast. The horseshoe is Don’s.

The kitchen cabinet was found in a little shop on the other side of the river – we had a very, very, very small kitchen in our rental and we desperately needed the storage space. I changed out the stainless steel knobs to some pretty glass pulls. It’s full of McCoy, Fiesta, vintage china, Emma Bridgewater, transferware. I made the light hanging over the table from an old lamp shade base which I covered with old doilies. The red cloth-covered cord came as part of a kit. I also made the chalkboard and the hanger for Don’s Jumping Jack collection. You’re welcome to pull on one as you come in or out the door.

Fiesta and McCoy.

The sign is one of my favorite things – made by Paula of Castle and Cottage Signs. Isn’t it lovely? More McCoy, as well.

I found this sign, which is not vintage, through my friend Heidi. I loved the colors and it was the perfect size to hang over the entrance to the living room.

The funky paper towel holder made from an old chain display rack.

The bench by the kitchen door. We bought it right after we moved in here. We store a lot of tools inside the bench. Dog towels; both on and under the bench. In the winter, hats and gloves.

And the view from the kitchen into the living room and den:

There you have it. As Is. The way we live. There’s always clutter on the kitchen table, notes and lists on the island, pottery everywhere (I don’t know what I’d do without it.)

Cheerful clutter, I call it. A sleek kitchen is clearly not for us. I admire them. I marvel at the space and the counters free of clutter. I dream of matching appliances and butcher block countertops. And a dishwasher that works.

But cheerful, funky, and colorful is really our style. The pottery has been gathered and collected over the years. The table and chairs pieced together over the last almost ten years. The chalkboard was made from part of the trim that originally came on the sideboard (which I found at auction for $60). The lamp was a solution to a kitchen with recessed lighting, which I like, but let’s face it, there are times when some mood lighting is in order. We came up with the paper towel holder not long after we moved here and bid on the chain display at a local auction. We brought it home and soon I had a vision of dowels and paper towels. (Hey, that rhymes.) It’s one of our favorite things. The island was something I dreamed up to give us more storage and counter space. We can’t imagine life in the kitchen without it.

If you’re interested, there are more photos of the island and the chalkboard and the hanging light and information as to how I made them elsewhere on the blog.

Any questions? Ask away in the comments!

Happy Wednesday.