My kitchen

Meredith over at Sweetness and Light is hosting a "tour of homes" for the 4Real Learning forum, and the theme is "elegant simplicity" in the kitchen.

If you will humor me for a few minutes, I'd love to show you around the kitchen here at Chez Ouiz.



I must first tell you that when we moved into our home (typical 1950s ranch) the kitchen was divided into two rooms, had that white linoleum flooring (with little grey squares) and painted institutional grey. We knew the people who had lived here before us and while the kitchen worked great for them, it just didn't work for us.

However, as is usually the case, my dh and I made wonderous plans for "someday" remodeling the kitchen.

Until that fateful day... [cue music... dum dum!]

The last bulb in the light fixture (think big, glass, flat-circle fixture from the 50s) in the kitchen burned out. No biggie. I hauled my very pregnant self onto the counter and got ready to pull down the fixture. My dh "encouraged" me to remove the glass fixture a different way. I disagreed, but went with it anyway. Big mistake. The huge glass dome dropped to the counter and shattered into a gazillion pieces.

As I recall, the conversation went as follows:

me: Well, there's no way we're buying another one of those fixtures.
dh: Nope.

[pause]
me: I suppose we'll have to paint the ceiling.
dh: Yep. And since we're already doing that, I might as well remove the wall.
me: Yep.

[pause]
dh: You know, we'll have to replace the floor too, because they cut the vinyl to go around the wall.
me: Yep.

[pause]
dh: I'll go get the sledgehammer.

And so, utter distruction of the kitchen ensued.

A month or so later, our kitchen was reborn!



To me, our kitchen represents everything we wanted as a family. It is warm, inviting, and feels like home. Every part of it now says "us," from the island and breakfast nook that my dh designed and made (first time EVER attempting something like this!)... to the "dumpster dive" cabinet my mother-in-law found for us... the basket on top filled with (dried) flowers my dh has given me over the years... the seasonal changes we make to the decor... and the walls painted and sponged by me while pregnant with Thomas.


(please note that my kitchen is NOT really this yellow!)




It is the place where I cook for my family... where we homeschool... where the children tell me their hopes, dreams, heartaches, and stories... where my dh feels "welcomed" after a hard day's work... and where I sit, after homeschooling is done and everything is put away, fix myself a cup of tea, and spend some time with the Lord.


It truly is the heart of our home, and I am so thankful!