I teamed up with Ace Hardware to create this dream kitchen post. A not so secret to my closest friends: I LOVE hardware stores. Seriously, I love them.There’s just something thrilling about the endless possibilities for home improvement projects. Rows and rows of tiny gadgets and things— most I’m not eve sure what they are, but they give me ideas of more things to make.

Since starting thisΒ cookbookΒ thing, I’ve basically lived in my kitchen. And all that extra one on one time has brought to light (or in this case, the lack there of) the things that I just don’t love about the space. Sure, it’s a great little space and so far, it has served our family well. But, I often find myself in the kitchen, wishing for the natural light that fills the rest of the house. I don’t see any skylight additions in our near future, so what’s the next best thing? Bright, vibrant colors in a cleaner, whiter (not vintage beige) space.
One day, when we can, I’d love white clean tiles, a sleeker floor….. and I don’t think it’s structurally possible, but I would totally add a window over the sink— every kitchen needs one, in my opinion. I asked Emily to sketch out a space for me. I told her the few things I could potentially change now (you know, without gutting the place and knocking down walls)— like a fun paint to contrast the growing blue colors in my living room. (Emily is all about contrasting colors in case youΒ didn’t know.). I’ve been craving and looking for more pops of yellow in this space,Β probablyΒ since the yellow couch will be parting ways soon (tear).Β I love how thisΒ yellowΒ instantly makes the space more cheerful. Emily had the idea of a fun hand-painted border usingΒ thisΒ blueΒ andΒ thisΒ blue. (I obviously loved it).

And voila, a lively kitchen! (Literally, there’s a plant in it now).

Happy monday, friends! Only 17-ish working days left until the cookbook is due— and our fridge is empty and broken. More on that later. Today is hard. Now where’s the coffee?
Introducing the New Paint Studio at Ace. Featuring brilliant colors from Clark + Kensington, ranked #1 by a leading consumer magazine in interior semi-gloss. So stop by your neighborhood Ace today to get top color expertise and to find your perfect color with mixable, pint-sized color samples for $4.99 at the hottest boutique, the new Paint studio at Ace, where helpful is beautiful.
Illustration by Emily De Nicolais exclusively for Ohdeardrea.

13 Comments

  1. Cute, but believe me when I say if you like to cook at all, you will rue the day you go with white countertops. I speak from experience.

  2. I'm sad to hear the couch will be gone soon! πŸ™ you should make a couple throw pillows out of the material for sentimental reasons πŸ™‚

  3. Oh, yeah… those yellow cabinets and that handpainted border are lovely together! My kitchen needs a plant… alas, I have even less light in there than you do! Seriously… (check out my kitchen in the "our condo" section of our blog) I love that stained glass in your kitchen; glad you will keep it!

  4. Right now, you currently have my dream kitchen, haha. Honestly, any kitchen larger than 3 feet by 6 feet with plenty of cabinet sounds heavenly. One day I won't live in a closet, and until then, I'm dreaming too πŸ™‚

    Personally, I don't really understand the obsession with yellow in kitchens, although I can understand why it'd be nice to have one that's bright and welcoming!

    Cat
    http://oddlylovely.com

  5. Lovely. I'd happily let her design me a new kitchen too. Good luck with the countdown to your book deadline, and with the fridge situation. CJ xx

  6. I love the yellow cabinets! that dream kitchen would be amazing.
    x
    staygoldrebecca.com