Show Off Your Kitchen
Decorating By Letmebeurdesignr Updated 31 Oct 2007 , 4:18am by Letmebeurdesignr
Ohara,
Actually I don't have a place. I have VERY little counter space and will have to remove something. Not sure what I'll do.
Susie
Built our house in 2003, absolutely love my kitchen, didn't think about the supplies and stuff!! My laundry room closet, is filled with plastic drawer sets of cake stuff, bins in the basement with more cake pans. I will be having cupboards and a "decorating" kitchen built downstairs. I have lots of light, a daylight, walk out basement, I am thinking of just a fridge, microwave, and a big sink, cupboards and countertops for the rest. Baking can be done upstairs, decorating down. I was wondering what the best/economical countertop would be good for downstairs?? I will make the countertop possibly six feet long, by ? as wide as I can get it. Then I can play downstairs with the cakes instead of taking over the kitchen...any ideas ??
Boy was it stressful to figure out to add photo's!!!
OMG kettlevalleygirl i love your kitchen and the views you have of the mountains. That is soooooo pretty... i would loooove to have that view w/that kitchen.
kettlevalleygirl, Your kitchen is inspiring with the views, space, and light. I'm house-shopping now and would love that much light...something I don't have at this house. I'll share pictures when I get a new house...
I actually overlook Lake Okanagan, in BC, and then some mountains.
We are very lucky!!! We pinch ourselves every day, even though we moved from Vancouver area, which is unbelievably beautiful!! We just are in a recreational community! Boating(don't have one yet, too many other bills), skiing, and our community holds the Ironman every year. I just want to retire and do my cakes in my house!!
Lorene
omg such beautiful views!!!!! i told my husband i wanna move to canada..he said yea and you better have plenty of money..lol..said a pack of cigarettes cost 7-8 dollars..i said i dont care i dont smoke anyway..i wanna move to canada..lmao
Letmebeurdesignr - funny, we always think how expensive it is in "the States", but now our dollar is equal, so things are actually more affordable, and it is awfully fun to shop there.
My daughter is going to San Jose (near San Fran) in November and I am going to find out where the cake decorating shops are, so she can load up on supplies for me!!
I don't know how much cigarettes are now, but they may be 6$ now. aren't they expensive everywhere??
Our area is known as Napa of the North, wine country of Western Canada. We bought our property 5 years ago, and it was very affordable. No way could we afford to live or buy here now!!
OK girls, let's get down to brass tacks, and see some lousy kitchens too.
I've posted a couple pictures of my new kitchen awhile back. Lousy kitchens or more correctly a cramped kitchen was what I had. My home is an 1847 vintage farm house - a venacular gable and wing- with a series of additions tacked on over the years. My mother rehabbed it in the early sixties, muttering about wishing she had blown out the wall between the kitchen and the mudroom/laundry. But on a farm you have to be nuts to give up a mudroom and first floor laundry. The reason the kitchen was so small is that mom walled off the trap door area to the Michigan basement. Having a gaping hole in the kitchen floor any time you wanted to go into basement was not a particularly safe idea.
I am almost finished rehabing the house for the 21st century, just a bit more and I'll be finished. I expanded the kitchen slightly by moving the wall to the right over two foot and reduced the size of the mudroom/ laundry and also managed to get a compact but comfortable 3/4 bath out of the old mudroom/laundry area while still keeping the mudroom/laundry and added a pantry too. My contractor just shook his head trying to figure out how to pack every thing I wanted into the original footprint of the kitchen/mudroom ell. But with 2 years of planning I finally came up with a design that worked. I only had to give up the pocket door for the bathroom and the lift cabinet for the mixer- small sacrifices in my opinion. And I know my mother would be pleased with the way it looks now. Even the computer station- she didn't live long enough to see the internet come into our world, but she would have loved it.
OK, here's what used to look like- and one new version picture.
kettlevalley, what kind of countertops do you have? I looove how they look!
Lorene and Narie,
Loved seeing your kitchens. Great how the light comes into both of them so well.
Really enjoying this thread,
Susie
illini89,
Great kitchen. Thanks for showing us. Wish I wasn't a plant killer. Love yours.
Susie
illini89 Is that a large Lazysusan at the end of your countertop ?
How cool is that ! i know i'm gonna like this thread. I have a small kitchen. I't's 5:45 am.When my hubbies up ( shortly ). i'll get my camera. Your kitchens are all great. This is wonderful for ideas.
Cassie1686 - I have a butcher block island top, but it is finished with a varothane??spelling finish. It is easy to clean.
The other countertops are just regular countertop material, with a granitel like design...Wish we could have afforded them.....
I was thinking of a stainless countertop for my basement?? anybody have any ideas?? I can't spend a fortune, this has been an expensive hobby up until now, have to start making it pay for itself.
My microwave blew out (only 3 yrs old) the weekend before, used my first paid cake profits to buy a new microwave, of course it didn't fit my upstairs kitchen, will have to do for now.
Isn't it amazing how all these wonderful treats come from all these kitchens!! Love this thread too.
kcjc - my husband works out of town so when I wake up early, I get on the computer and find out what's new on CC!! Plus late at night....I just wish I didn't have to leave the house to go to work!!
Lorene
Would have posted pictures yesterday, but I had a few projects I needed to put away first. 
(Some people think my kitchen actually looks like this all the time!) Anyway, here are a couple pics of my kitchen. I love the peninsula, plenty of work space! There isn't good lighting over that area though when it gets dark. We bought the pendulum type task lights on clearance from Lowes but we haven't gotten around to installing them over the counter yet. (It would require us to swap out our other light fixtures too because they are a different finish, not that I mind getting rid of the "brass" ones.) This is our second house, so I don't have a whole lot for comparison. I do have more efficient workspace as far as counter tops go, however I did lose a lot of over heard cabinet space from our other house. I do like the open feel of the kitchen though, so I don't mind the trade off of storing things in closets or the basement (most of the time.) I know there are smaller kitchens, and there are obviously larger ones, but as long as there is room for my four little sous chefs (2, 4, 6, and 11) in my kitchen I will be happy with it. (Of course I'm only human, so I have to remind myself of how fortunate I am quite often.) 
Oh, I am in serious kitchen envy right now! We just moved into this house in Feb, I love my cabinets but I have less storage and counter space than my last house! DH is going to have to build me a pantry in the laundry room (next to the kitchen) to house all of my 'toys'. I will have to post a picture after I tidy up...
AuntieElle I love your backsplash!
KettleValleyGirl, I just can't even say how I love your kitchen and the blue paint, but mostly the view. I've been to Prince George BC to visit a friend, the mountains are beautiful!
chovest,
Love your cabinets and your electrical plug at the end of the island.
What is that under your range hood?
Susie
It's a stainless steel back splash. All of my spices are in watch makers cases with magnets on the back so I can stick them right there by the stove. It also allows me to place a recipe card (or note from one of my daughters) in easy view when cooking. I needed to free up counter space and this was an easy way to get the spice rack off the counter, and others out of a drawer.
Thank you about the cabinets, they are pretty easy to keep clean, and I don't know what I'd do without that outlet on the end!
susies1955, where in northern NY are you? I spent 3 1/2 years in Syracuse after getting married before moving back to Ohio.
THanks for letting me know what was under your range hood. What a neat idea.
I'm two hours north of Syracuse in a tiny town. My son lives in Homer and works in north Syracuse.
Susie
2nd attempt to show off my kitchen!! Let me know what you all think of it!!
ok, why doesn't my kitchen pictures show up? 
Are you clicking on the add attachment button?
It has to be under a certain size too.
Susie
ok, attempt #3!! Hope the pictures show up this time!
Tell me the steps you are taking to add a photo and we will figure out what's up OR email them to me and I'll post them for you.
Susie
Tell me the steps you are taking to add a photo and we will figure out what's up OR email them to me and I'll post them for you.
ok, attempt #3!! Hope the pictures show up this time!
Oh Susies1955 where were you when I spend hours trying to resize, CakesbyBabycakes I feel your pain....sometimes I just have to step away from the computer.
Thank goodness I have a "child" (24) moving back home, she can reset my clocks, and help me with the computer!!
Lorene
Lorene,
I was RIGHT Here. Why didn't you holler to me?
I love this little program. It's called "Image Resizer" once downloaded and installed right click on the photo you want to resize and pick what size you want to make it. Don't forget to click on the "Advanced" tab and choose to resize original and not save a copy or you will end up with doubles of the pictures. That is unless you want to save the original size.
It is on the right down towards the bottom.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx
or you can go to these sites:
www.shrinkpictures.com
http://www.resize2mail.com/
Have a great day,
Susie
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