Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Kitchen, Part One

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I write this from Charlotte, NC. Nothing but rain since I arrived, courtesy of Tropical Storm Ida. I saw South Pacific last night – what a spectacular production! It is the National Tour of the recent Lincoln Center revival and I have to tell you it is superb. They just don’t write gorgeous musicals like this one anymore. I am here to work with an opera singer who will be replacing the lead for 5 weeks. He is Welsh and he has to have a French dialect. In the small world category, I ran into a cast member who is a friend of both my husband and I. I love when that happens!

You asked for photos of the kitchen – so here goes. It is very hard to get a good shot in that room because there are so many windows. Don’t get me wrong, we love the windows. The sunlight that pours into the kitchen is one of the things we fell in love with when we saw the cottage. I’ve given it a go and we’ll see how you like them.

Our kitchen and living room are one big open space. We don’t have a dining room, but we have an eating area in the kitchen. The photo at the top of this post looks into the kitchen from the living room. Because there are so many windows, there isn’t a lot of wall space for cupboards – hence my kitchen island.

You may have noticed that the stove and dishwasher are black and the refrigerator is white. The kitchen came that way. I am not especially fond of black appliances (my husband likes them), but we are not about to buy new ones at this point. We also have tile countertops – I don’t like them, either. Some day…

We bought this hutch several years ago when we first moved out East. It had metal 50’s handles on the doors and I replaced them with glass handles. There is a lot of pottery inside those glass doors and I will share it with you on another post. If you look at the top shelf on the right, you will see the McCoy pottery that was in my old header (now on my awards page.) I used to have a large collection of Fiesta that I sold but I kept a few things, like the mixing bowls on top of the hutch – next to our cow, Monty. Say hello to Monty!

This bench is next to the hutch (and right below the new chalkboard.) I love its hinged top, which allows storage for all sorts of hammers, staple guns, and containers of spackle. The cushions on either end are by Martha Stewart for Kmart – I’ve had them a long time. The center cushion is one of a set of two that I got in San Diego. I like the mix of fabrics. (Those are ‘dog towels’ under the bench – we have to wipe dirty, muddy paws quite frequently!)


I was standing right next to the island when I took this photo. You can see the door, our handy-dandy pantry and the table and chairs.

A different view – you see all the windows? Lots of light, thank goodness, but they don’t make for the best photos. You can see our paper towel holder behind the table. It is a industrial chain display that we bought at auction and repurposed with some dowels. I know it is funky, but that’s why we love it!

Here is a closer look. You’d think we’d always have plenty of paper towels on hand…you’d be wrong!

Back to the table. Those legs are the reason I fell in love with it. We wanted a round table. Heidi found this at auction for her store. There is a post somewhere in this blog about how I hounded her until she finally gave up and let me have it. It is perfect and it even has two leaves!

My husband loves this kitchen because the ceilings are so high! Our cottage was built in 1891, so most of the ceilings are quite low and Don is over 6’4″. As you look toward the living room, you see this sign. It is a reproduction (originals were so expensive) and we love it. I’ll give you a close-up:

And here is the view from the kitchen to the living room – complete with furry creatures.


In Part 2, I plan on sharing some of the pottery, china and little treasures that live in the kitchen. Hope you liked the tour – it certainly isn’t high tech, but it is bright, cheery and cozy and we love it.

Comments

  1. Your kitchen and living room are so pretty and charming. Love the white! You have so many great touches here and there that make a house a home!
    Blessings!
    Gwen

  2. I LOVE your kitchen and living room. It is so inviting, cozy and I think having items that have a story make a home.Love your blog!
    Kathleen

  3. CLAUDIA!!!! I am so excited for this post!!!!! I LOVE your kitchen! It is huge! Your cabinets are so cottage perfect! I love the bench too and of course I am SO JEALOUS of that fabulous island!! Thank you so much for showing your home, more more more!!! :):)
    Hugs,
    Amy

  4. I adore that kitchen, honey! Ours is a small kitchen but then I don’t cook—well, try not to anyway—so it’s fine. I’d love having one like that. Just darling!
    xoxo,
    Connie
    6’4″?!?! Whooooaaaaa, chickee!

  5. Love your kitchen. It is so wonderful to see all the light coming through. I want to thank you for your prayers for my daughter. You are always faithful with prayers. It is appreciated and needed. Blessings to you, Martha

  6. Your kitchen, living and dining area are wonderful. I love all that you have done to the areas to make them inviting and cozy! If I lived in your beautiful home, I would probably never want to leave.

    I am so glad that you enjoyed South Pacific.

  7. Claudia, you have such a wonderful, cozy, warm kitchen! I’d give up cabinets any day for TONS of light like your kitchen!!! And your island is just beautiful!!! I think the tile goes well with your kitchen (we have tile countertops too) :)

    Thank you so much for your comment today!

    Big ((HUG))
    Marsha

  8. I love your kitchen, it’s a real cottage! I understand about the windows, I had the same problem, and washing dishes with the sun in your face not fun. Have you also notice all American kitchen seem to have the sink under the window. Well when we remodeled I made sure not to have a sink under the window. It’s great I will send you a photo or 2, maybe that will give you an idea. Ciao Rita

  10. Claudia…Your kitchen is just darling!!!! I especially like the different cushions on your bench, great look! And your paper towel holder…cool, love the happiness of it all, xoxo~Kathy @ sweet Up-North Mornings…

  12. Claudia! This is all so lovely, and IMHO, the light in the photos was perfect.

    Thanks so much for sharing – it was a delight to be invited inside your beautiful home!

    Zuzu

  13. GORGEOUS… i love your island, is it an old buffet, sooooo pretty. your chalkboard looks good where you put it. i know what you mean on “having to wait” i like my counters okay, but my floor…aghhhhh, someday, i think i will go buy a lottery ticket..lol

  14. Oh Claudia…

    Wow. The sideboard-turned-island is genius.

    If only there were enough room in my kitchen as it is laid out now, to put one. (Because I have almost that exact same piece in my house already). Perhaps after the major kitchen gutting, I’ll have room to consider a nice island like that.

    Then… I scrolled down to see that paper towel holder. NO WAY! That is incredible! Never in a million years would I have been able to see “paper towel holder” in that piece. What a visionary you are! ;)

    Thanks for sharing your home!!

    Ruth

  15. Love your sunny Kitchen!!! I have one window in the back door in mine and it is not much! You can see my silly kitchen a few posts back it is in a redo. Mom thinks it is lighter now and I’m not wild on the balance of the room but it is more usable. SO it’s good my Hoosier was really really really hard to move (of course I was too lazy to empty it, I was flipping it to the next wall for goodness sakes!) Any way you are in my neck of the woods! I would love to go to charlotte to see SP but won’t have time soon to do it. Have fun. The rain is keeping me from finishing my house redo! And it’s through Saturday!! YUCK! We need it though!
    Hugs, Lisa

  18. What a beautiful space…and I covet your windows!!! Someday I will have a farmhouse/cottage kitchen like yours….divine. BTW, the first musical I ever performed in was South Pacific. I was a vocal performance major in college until I dropped out and got hitched :o) My hubby and I travel around during the winter to nearby cities to see the musicals making their rounds. I converted him to them after we got married. He is a die-hard Judy Garland fan nowdays…

  20. Thanks for the tour of your kitchen and living room. They look so inviting. I love all the do it yourself projects and auction finds.
    Claudia

  21. Claudia, what a wonderful kitchen! It’s so warm and cozy and I can just imagine spending hours there at the table with a nice glass of wine and some good conversation!

    What a great idea for a paper towel holder! I’m not on the lookout for one. With three birds and a puppy-in-training we go through tons of paper towels. How handy would it be to set it up like that! I love it!

    Thank you so much for sharing your home with us!

    I’ve also been through some of your older posts, you’ve been a busy girl! Love the chalkboard idea . . . my head is swimming! LOL!

    Hugs,
    Teresa

  23. Oh Claudia I love it. Very cozy and inviting. The windows are terrific and I love the glass fronted cabinets! It doesn’t look like a small space the way you’ve photographed it.

    Can’t wait to see the next post!

    Leann

  25. Oh Claudia!
    I was so happy to see Monty sitting in his place of honor. He looks so happy sitting up there watching over everything. You have watchcow instead of a watchdog. Love it. I love those McCoy bowls too. They are spectacular.

    The table is so exquisite. I can see why you kept asking about it. It fits your dining area to a “T”.
    That paper towel holder you have with the dowels is so wonderful. I am not sure it would be enough for us either. We sure do go through alot of paper towels. So cute.

    Love the bench with the cushions. What a beautiful place to sit and read a book or enjoy the outdoors.

    Thanks for sharing Claudia. I am sorry you have gone into rainy weather. Glad you are enjoying your time there though.

    Stop by soon sweetie.
    Country hugs, Sherry

  27. Hello darling Claudia! I LOVE your kitchen! It is so warm, cozy and full of brightness! It is so fun to see where you cook and bring the family together! I LOVE your buffet table as an island! So clever! A couple months ago I bought one almost exactly like yours at Simply Friends here in Murritea! It is white already but needs refreshing. I will put it in my living room. Don’t you love the legs and the wood work?! I love the beading on yours.

    Thinking of you!

    Love,
    Maryjane

  28. WOWZA! Your home is absolutely stunning. So charming and inviting! I adore all the detail you have throughout! You know how much I love repurposing and your paper towel holder is super fabulous!

    Thanks for sharing your lovely photos with us!

  31. Your kitchen is so bright and cheery. Your new island looks so pretty too. It was fun to see all the pictures of Mockingbird Hill Cottage, I can’t wait to see more!

  32. Hello Claudia, I’m still making my Pink Saturday visits. Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a sweet comment. Love your pink post this week, I have that same china pattern. Looking for more pieces to it. Your kitchen is so pretty on this post here. Such a cozy cottage look!
    Have a great week.
    Blessings, Shirl
    Shirls Rose Cottage

  33. Hi Claudia,
    What a fun tour. Thank you for showing us all your kitchen and living room. I always love to see people’s front rooms that are like ours with the door opening right up into it because it gives me ideas of what to do with our little entry. Your house is truly a home and so cozy with your two dogs. How lucky you and Don were to find an old home so nice! Can’t wait to see your pottery next time.
    xo~Tracie

  35. SWOON!

    oh claudia, your home is so cool and so cozy and so cool! i clicked-to-enlarge almost every photo to catch the details. i am loving the paper towel holder. how cool is that?

    lovely, cozy, warm!

    xo

  36. Hello Claudia,

    I enjoyed the tour of what I call the great room..hehe..that’s what I have now..one big room with kitchen, sitting, small desk area and dining table. I’ve got the cathedral ceiling and LOTS of glass.

    I love old cottages…the energy attached to these old dwellings is always so comforting and the large and small rooms, high and low ceilings make them even more charming…you’ve done a great job with your arrangement.

    I so totally love that paper towel holder!!

    I, too, have seen nothing but rain for the past two days!

    Speaking of whimsical repurposing you must come take a look at my vintage “Queen of Light”…she’s a scream!! I so love anything Mixed Media and she so fits into that category.

    See ya,
    Stephanie

  40. HI there! I love your Kitchen!!!! Thank you for adding me to your friends list. Claudia,would you do me another favor please. Would you go to your reader and see if I am there with my new post or am I there with the Christmas ornaments in the box still. This will tell me if it is updateing or not. This would help me out sooooo much! If your reader still has me with My name is Susie I am….post I will just have to start from scratch…yiles! Thanks so much for your help~ Susie

  42. And here I thought you were my friend, Claudia!! Rubbing it in that you have sooooo many windows when you know that my kitchen has not one… single… little… window!!!

    Seriously though, that is the most perfect kitchen I have ever seen! I love everything about it and I would have fallen in love with the house after seeing it as well – it oozes charm and personality, which doesn’t surprise me one bit after getting to know you!!

    It sounds like you’re having a great time despite Ida, and how wonderful to have run into an old friend unexpectedly!!! Enjoy your time!

    Donna

  44. Oh my Claudia…Your kitchen looks like the kitchen of my dreams!
    I love what you have done with yours,the white cupboards,black hinges,hits of red.
    The island you’ve been working on has turned out so lovely,it looks great in the space!

    With your permission I would like to use your kitchen as a reference to decorate the kitchen I and my hubby hope to buy.
    Gracie

  45. Oh, I love it! I absolutely love it! How did I miss this post??? I must have been asleep at the switch, but I’m awake now!

    Where do I begin… the cabinets? Love those! The chain display thingy… love that, too! The chairs, the table, the signs, the collectibles… check, check, check… love them ALL! Neat place, Claudia, and with the animals, it is HOME! Love it!

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

  46. Its all so welcoming and homey!
    I love the splashes of red!

    {I too hate my tiled counter tops can’t wait to change those asap}

    And that island is perfect…..May I suggest a picture or plates for the back side to dress it up a bit!
    Oh La La!!!!

    Hugz, Dolly

  47. Your home is just precious! It looks like it is filled with all the things you love. I especially like your paper towel holder! I’d love to have one to put foil, plastic wrap, wax paper etc…I’ll have to start looking for something like that. You’ve given me a great idea! Thanks!

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