kitchen inspiration | Beneath My Heart

Filed Under kitchen inspiration, My Kitchen, New Home, open shelves 25 Comments

Favorite “Pin” Friday {Kitchen Makeover from 1912 Home}

May 25, 2012 AT 6:00 am 6 Comments

May 25, 2012 By traci 6 Comments

I love when I stumble upon a new blog and find beautiful inspiration.

That’s what happened when I found today’s pin.

Check out this gorgeous kitchen from This Old Church House! The owners, Stephanie and Dustin, are renovating this 1912 church into their home.

Isn’t it amazing?!

Check out that wood floor…

I absolutely love the pattern they created on their floor.

I also love the open shelves and butcher block counter top. {wink}

Those high ceilings are amazing, and do you see that transom window in the upper right corner of the pictures? {Excuse me as I swipe the drool off my chin.}

I can honestly say there is nothing that I dislike about this “pin.”

If you would like to follow me on Pinterest, just click on the button below.

If you would like an invite to Pinterest, just leave your email address in the comments below, and I will send one to you.

Have a great Friday!

Filed Under kitchen inspiration, Uncategorized 6 Comments

11 Creative Ways to Store your Spices

May 3, 2012 AT 10:34 am 18 Comments

May 3, 2012 By traci 18 Comments

Last week, I shared a post with you on Simple Ways to Store Your Cook Books.

Mainly because I had “cook book storage” on the brain. My hubby just built me an under the cabinet shelf to store my own cook books on.

He accidentally called the shelf our “menu holder” in the video he took of it. Could it be because we eat out more than I cook? Hmmm…

Well, he is currently making me another shelf on the other side of our microwave for my spices. So I have been looking around the internet to find cute ways to store and display my spices.

I want to share the ideas I found with you today.

This first pictures is so beautiful to me. Aaaahhh, organization! (Something of which I have very little of at this point in my life!)

I am particularly loving those pull down bins beneath the spices. Aren’t they cool?! This is so DIY do-able!!

Spices in test tubes? Who would have thunk it? It’s not really my style, but a cool idea nevertheless. And I like how they have everything they need on one tray.

Every wander what to do with all those baby food jars? How about recycling them into spices jars.! The small size fits perfectly into a drawer, and a little chalkboard paint on the lids makes it easy to label and view.

Brilliant!

via FrugalDecorMom

If you have a little open space on a wall in your kitchen, maybe you could purchase a beautiful stainless steel spice rack? It’s functional and beautiful.

Another way to be “green” is to use upcylced etched glass spice bottles. Those colorful spices look amazing.

via Instructables

Here is a DIY idea for storing your spices on the wall.

via Shelterness

If you like to have your spices hidden and out of sight, why not store them in a drawer or a pull out spice rack?

via Shelterness

Open shelving in your kitchen is also a great way to store your spices. You can store them in all different size glass jars with labels.

via OurHomemadeHappy

And for fun, why not display your spices with a chalkboard background. It’s fresh and funky!

via Shelterness

Do you have a creative way to store your spices?

Feel free to stop by my facebook page and share the link!

And if you don’t already, click on the buttons below to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter! It’s a great way for us to “connect” beyond my blog! Smile

Filed Under kitchen inspiration, organization 18 Comments

Our DIY Under the Cabinet Cook Book Holder

April 30, 2012 AT 10:10 am 24 Comments

April 30, 2012 By traci 24 Comments

Last week, I wrote a post called Simple Ways to Store Your Cookbooks.

I shared that post because I knew I would be showing you how we created a DIY Cook Book Holder for our kitchen.

Before I show you my new Cook Book Holder, let’s take a quick look back at what this part of my kitchen looked like about 5 short months ago.

WOW! We’ve come a long way baby! Smile

Notice the soffit above our cabinets. We tore out the soffit and moved our cabinet boxes up to the ceiling.

We also tore out our old pantry to the left of our oven, and created new cabinet space and a new, bigger pantry.

This is what our finished kitchen looked like the day before Christmas…

Much better!

Since we moved our cabinets up to the ceiling, we created some space under our cabinets for additional storage.

I thought this would be a great place to store my cook books and spices.

So I told Cy what I was kind of thinking about doing, and while I was in Utah at the SNAP! Conference, he made me a new shelf for my cook books.

Here is a video he shot of the process while I was gone…

I love this new storage space!

And I cannot wait to make another one like it on the other side of the microwave for my spices!

So if you are thinking about remodeling your kitchen, maybe you could move your existing cabinets up higher to create some under cabinet shelving as well.

If you would like to view the before and after pictures of our kitchen makeover again, just click on the picture below.

Do you have under cabinet shelving in your kitchen?

Do you have a space you would like to add some under cabinet shelving?

See you tonight for my “Best DIY Projects of April” linky Party!

Filed Under kitchen inspiration, kitchen makeover, My Kitchen, New Home, New Kitchen Makover 24 Comments

Simple Ways to Store Your Cookbooks

April 25, 2012 AT 10:55 am 13 Comments

April 25, 2012 By traci 13 Comments

Hello,

While I was away at the SNAP! Conference, my husband built a new shelf for me to store my cookbooks on. I still have to paint it before I show it to you, so in the mean time I wanted to share with you some beautiful and simple ways to store your cookbooks.

The first simple way is to store you cookbooks in a cute basket right on your countertop.

via ABowlFullOfLemons

Or you can place your cookbooks in baskets before putting them on a shelf…

via HappilyHomeAfter

Here is a very functional way of storing your cookbooks…

Make a Wall o’ Cookbooks!

via TheKitchn

via IKEA

Of course, cookbooks store nicely in built-in cabinets on the wall…

via ContentInACottage

via Dunlap Design Group

Or they can make a beautiful display in your open cabinet shelves…

via Centsational Girl

If you do not have room for your cookbooks on a shelf, maybe you can store them on the bottom of a piece of furniture in your kitchen…

via TheKitchn

Or maybe make room for your cookbooks in your kitchen island…

All of these ideas make finding and using your cookbooks easy and convenient.

Where do you store your cookbooks?

Filed Under kitchen inspiration, organization 13 Comments

Fireclay Farmhouse Sinks {Durability and Quality}

January 19, 2012 AT 1:51 pm 23 Comments

January 19, 2012 By traci 23 Comments

Well, I said I wasn’t going to talk about my kitchen anymore.

Oops.

But I’m not really talking about my kitchen, just my kitchen sink!

I’ve had many of you ask about the durability and quality of my sink, so I thought I would share with you a few of the things that I found out. (After I made my purchase.) Smile

I will be honest that I often choose form over function.

Here are the two things I considered when looking for my sink online:

1. I wanted a pretty farmhouse sink.

2. I wanted an inexpensive, pretty farmhouse sink.

That’s it.

Here’s what I didn’t know before I started looking for a farmhouse sink:

Farmhouse sinks are NOT cheap!

Sheesh!

I about died when I started searching the web for a farmhouse sink! The prices are steep!

The best deal I found was the farmhouse sink from IKEA. It was only $313!

I bought it, brought it home, and it didn’t fit in our cabinets. By like half an inch! UGH!!

If our dishwasher wasn’t right beside our sink, Cy may have tried to rebuild some cabinets to make it fit. But he wasn’t able to do it with out some major changes to our lower cabinets, which would have ended up taking a lot of time and more money. Not good.

After looking online for hours, it seemed the cheapest farmhouse sinks were $600, and then they go WAY up from there.

I found my farmhouse sink at Signature Hardware. You can purchase items online or at their store. We needed our sink quickly, so I picked it up at the store since it was located in Northern Kentucky.

I LOVE my farmhouse sink! It is was the most expensive part of the budget for our kitchen makeover, but it was worth it.

Since buying our sink, I’ve done a little research online to find out more about fireclay sinks.

I wanted to share with you what I found out.

First of all, What is Fireclay?

Widely used in London, England, for their durability and style in the late 1800s, fireclay sinks finally have made a design comeback. Fireclay sinks are forged at extremely high temperatures, which cause the clay and glaze to unite. The result is a sink that is not only extremely durable, but also will look shiny and new for many years to come. (source)

(cast iron sink – source)

How durable is fireclay?

The modern fireclay apron sinks are commonly covered with a thick layer or glaze which is irrefutably acid, alkali, chip, scratches and impact resistant. (source)

I love the look of fireclay farmhouse sinks because they are classic, elegant, and a great focal point for you kitchen.

Fireclay sinks do not rust, discolor, or fade. Yay!!

(source for the two pictures above)

How is Fireclay different from Cast Iron?

A cast iron sink is beautiful as well, but here is the difference…

Cast iron is fired at a much less temperature than fireclay, and not as durable. The glaze is softer than the glaze on fireclay. Cast iron also chips easily, and when it does, rust appears under the glaze. Plus customers are specifically asked not to use abrasives or harsh cleaners. (source)

We had a cast iron sink in our last home, and I loved the look. But I accidentally chipped part of the white glaze off when a pot slip out of my hand. Sad smile

Cast iron sinks are usually more expensive than fireclay sinks, but some believe they are more durable. Here is a great link that discusses the pros and cons of fireclay vs. cast iron sinks: http://www.ehow.com/about_6672827_fireclay-vs_-cast-iron-sinks.html

As you can tell by what I found out about fireclay sinks, I am very happy with our purchase!

And after living with this sink for almost two months, I can honestly say that I am VERY pleased with our fireclay farmhouse sink.

It cleans up so easily and truly makes cleaning the kitchen more fun. I’m not kidding! Smile

So I hope that helps you out if you are looking to buy a farmhouse sink in the near future.

What is your favorite type of sink?

Filed Under kitchen inspiration, kitchen makeover, My Kitchen, New Home, New Kitchen Makover 23 Comments

A Light for my Kitchen Sink

January 5, 2012 AT 9:12 pm 57 Comments

January 5, 2012 By traci 57 Comments

I cannot write this post without first thanking you for the over 200 amazing comments on yesterday’s post.

I read every single one! I read them to my husband. I forwarded some to my sister. My dad and I were talking about them today. (He read every single one too.) Honestly, if you need encouragement, you may want to go read them too. They were amazing!

Your comments were heart-felt, loving, humbling, praise worthy, gracious, kind, heart-breaking, joyous, compassionate, empathetic, encouraging, and I could go on and on.

I cried as I read the comments too.

I wish I could write every single one of you back. I really, sincerely do. But I just don’t know if time will allow it. Please know that if I could, I would hug each of you. I would invite you to meet me at Panera, and we would talk for hours over soup and salad about life and blogs and everything in between! Wouldn’t that be the best thing ever?!

That post was hard for me to write. I cried as I wrote it. And it took me almost two hours to write.

But I am so glad I did.

God is using YOU and this blog to continue to grow beauty in my broken places.

I praise HIM!

Now let’s talk “kitchen”, want to? Smile

Many of you asked about the lighting in my kitchen.

Truth be told, there’s not much of it.

We have installed recess lighting above the shelves, but that is all the light we have in that room right now.

I do not want to hang lights in the middle of the room or above the table right now, because I am not sure how I want the room to look yet.

We may be creating a new space for the table, and I may or may not be putting an island in the center of the kitchen. Until I make those decisions, I do not want to install anymore lighting.

But I do want a light for above the kitchen sink. Doesn’t the window look bare without my Christmas wreath?

I took the wreath down to try and figure out what type of light I want to put there.

Of course, I could always put in a light above the sink like the one below. I call those “school house” lights, and they are very characteristic of older homes. (I like that island too, don’t you?)

Here are some more “school house” lights…

I also thought about putting a mini chandelier above the sink to give the kitchen a little “bling.” Isn’t this one gorgeous?…

Source

Here is the look of a lantern above the sink. I like it too!

These are probably my favorite. I would only want one over my sink, but oh my goodness! Aren’t they gorgeous?! I would love to wash dishes under those beauties!!

Source

And I love these mercury glass pendant lights! I found this picture on a site where it is just a list of emails talking about a subject, so I couldn’t find a source. Someone called this pendant light an Argento pendant light. I googled it, and these babies are hundreds of dollars!

But I think it would look AMAZING over my kitchen sink!! I’m wondering if I could find a cheaper version somewhere else?

This last picture is just a glass pendant light. It is simple and beautiful, so maybe I should go with something like this?

Decisions, decisions!

What type of light do you think

I should put above my kitchen sink?

(Inspiration pictures in the comments are welcome!)

Smile

Filed Under kitchen inspiration, kitchen makeover, laundry room, lighting, makeovers, My Kitchen, New Home, New Kitchen Makover 57 Comments

Kitchen Island Makeover by My Suite Bliss, PLUS a Word Art Giveaway!!!

August 26, 2011 AT 8:29 am 3 Comments

August 26, 2011 By traci 3 Comments

I am so happy to have Brittney guest posting for me today. She has some great little projects to share with you,

plus a GREAT word art giveaway!

Be sure to click over to her blog to enter her giveaway, and say, “hi!”

Hello! I am so excited and so lucky to be here today on Beneath My Heart!

My name is Brittney and you can find me at mysuitebliss.blogspot.com.

I love decorating. In fact, I often stay up for hours in bed dreaming about my next project. If you know me well, you know that I am always up to something around my house, and my blog is a journal where you can see all my projects. My favorite part about decorating is recreating a million dollar look for less!

I am here today to share with you my most recent project . .

Meet my old kitchen island:

Meet my NEW kitchen island:

Here you can take a peek at how the process went down:

All I did was trim out the ends (home depot $20), paint everything white (Sherwin Williams white duck), add new drawer pulls ($Lowes 4 each), add corbels for a bar addition, and then add the walnut butcher block stained in midnight (greyloch cabinets $460). I wish it took as long as it sounds. A project that takes patience but well worth it!

Here is a photo that gives me inspiration in many ways…white cabinets, black board paint in creative places, an amazing chandelier, and of course the large EAT letters.

Here is how I created the word art for only $15.

I hope you were inspired today with a few of my suitebliss creations.

Please stop over and say hello and enter to win my House Rules sign!

(click here)

Plus, you can follow me as I complete our kitchen makeover and more!

I hope to meet you all!

Thank you, Brittney!

Your island turned out gorgeous!

And I love your giveaway! Can I enter?!

Filed Under kitchen inspiration, makeover, makeovers 3 Comments

{darlene} from Fieldstone Hill “dittos” my favorite kitchen inspiration

July 12, 2011 AT 6:00 am 10 Comments

July 12, 2011 By traci 10 Comments

I am so excited to have Darlene here today!

I love this girl!

We met last year at Relevant, and we became instant friends.

While in my hotel room at Relevant, I checked out my new friend’s blog, Fieldstone Hill, and I fell in love. And I knew that moment that Darlene had amazing talent.

Guess who agrees with me?…

Yup. Edie from Life In Grace!

Darlene is designing some rooms for Edie in her new home. Just look at this design board that Darlene made for Edie’s Lake Room…

Amazing, Darlene!

You should see the other rooms she is designing for Edie!

But the best thing about Darlene is her heart of gold. She loves life, and you don’t have to be around her for long to notice it. I get to see her again at Relevant this year in October, and I cannot wait!

So take a second real quick to jump over to Fieldstone Hill and “follow” Darlene. Believe me, you will be glad you did. She has some great eye candy on her blog! (And I am not just saying that. I mean it.) Then come back and read Darlene’s “ditto” of my favorite kitchen inspiration!

Thank you, Darlene, for sharing your talents with my readers today. :)

Without further ado…here’s Darlene!

Y’all {I just had to say that on Traci’s blog}. Before I dive in, I must share that I had the privilege of meeting Traci last October at the Relevant 2010 blogging conference. From the moment I met Traci, I noticed that Light just shines from her eyes. Her genuine, loving spirit and warm nature is immediately evident. I am so glad to call her friend.

Thank you, Traci, for being such a dear. And thank you so much for having me over to your home here at Beneath My Heart.

My name is {darlene} and I blog over at Fieldstone Hill, where I get to gush on and on about my passion for interior design. It is also the hub of my business, Fieldstone Hill Design, where I offer eDesign services. I have only been blogging my dream since last October, but I feel blessed to be doing EXACTLY what I love to do. I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to encourage YOU to follow what YOU love… it really can happen if you are willing to work hard and take a leap.

One of the features at Fieldstone Hill is my collection of “ditto” posts. In these posts, I select a space that I believe to be a gorgeous example of fine interior design, and I “ditto” it; I break it down, element by element, sharing what I would, and you could, copy {or ditto!} from that space.

I thought it would be fun for me to ditto one of Traci’s favorite spaces! So she sent me this pristine and peaceful kitchen from Weddington Design. Here we go!

ditto :: {what I {and Traci} would steal from this space}:

1. white, white, everywhere. Layering white upon white gives this space a clean, crisp, and pure feel, as well as washing the room with a peaceful feeling. This space features white counters, countertops, appliances, mantle, walls, floor, and ceiling!

2. a stunning, family, farm table. I am a huge fan of farm tables; and large 8-10 seaters at that. What better way for the family to come together than in the hub of the home, the kitchen? In fact, I would go so far as to say that I prefer my homes with a huge eat-in kitchen, and without a dining room. I think that comes from my love of Little House on the Prairie: Everyone. Together.

3. silhouette effects. The rich and deep, lustrous wood of the ladder-back chairs and the wide planked table stand in stark contrast to all of the white. It makes the table the centerpiece of the room. And the black chandeliers are center-stage and dramatic as they are silhouetted amongst all the white.

4. carrara marble. Oh, how I love carrara marble! The beautiful, white, overall effect is softened ever-so-slightly by veins of pale gray. It is a fantastic design element to use ‘en masse.’ And this kitchen does just that. The floor is covered in rows of gorgeous, rectangle tiles. And, is it just me, but aren’t carrara marble countertops the most classic, enduring beauty for a kitchen?

5. bare windows. If you live in an area where you can get away with having bare windows in your kitchen, this is such simple way to add clean lines and a sunny disposition to your space. If you cannot keep your windows bare, and you need a touch of privacy, a good alternative for a simple, sunny space is to hang thin, white, 100% cotton curtains three quarters of the way up your window.

6. a fireplace in the kitchen. We may no longer use indoor fireplaces for cooking much these days, but a kitchen fireplace still has its place. For ambiance and a place to gather, nothing beats a fire. And if I had my druthers, I would have a wood burning fireplace in my kitchen… for the occasional indoors s’mores, of course.

7. a place to curl up with a book and your love. What makes for a perfect eat-in kitchen? A perfect place to sit! Can’t you imagine after-dinner drinks by this fire place? Or sitting down with a cookbook in the afternoon? I always love when company sits near me and chats as I prepare food in the kitchen. But, my favorite thing to do would be sitting there in the evening with my honey. Adding a sitting area to the kitchen always ends up being a useful and favorite spot.

What would you ditto from this space? I would love to know.

Thanks again, Traci. I have loved joining you here! Now when can we get together and have some Southern sweet tea?? You can sit in my kitchen, and I will sit in yours!

You’ve got it, Darlene! Thanks, sweet girl!