4 Moms, 35 kids is doing a fun open house. I thought I would join in this week with their dining room/kitchen addition. Since I missed last week's addition, which was front yard/entryway, I thought I would add it in the photo below.
My kitchen drives me a little bit crazy. It is not laid out well and has this tiny nook which is not really large enough to be a breakfast room. (Don't even get me started on the yucky tiles which are sooo hard to keep clean. My Mom and I replaced all the tiles a few years back, thinking that would help, but the grout still gets dirty easily.) In my attempts to make the nook work for me, I have used it as many things over the years. It has been a giant gated-off playpen, a seating area, a teenager's school/computer area, toy storage, and is currently our "Coat Closet". Our 1931 home only has closets in the bedrooms, and oddly shaped ones at that. But, I digress -- we are very blessed to have a home in good working order, which it certainly was not when we purchased it 9 1/2 years ago.
You can just see my professional Kitchenaid mixer, which my Mom amazingly got in working condition off Freecycle. It was missing the bowl and beater, but my Stepmother bought me a new bowl and beater for my birthday. I am having so much fun with it. Baking is a breeze now!
The closet area. I am pretty happy with this small space, FINALY!
We re-purposed our living areas about 8 months ago, and it is working so much better for us. We turned our dining room into a small living room and turned our living room into a dining room/library. In the "library" we eat and homeschool.
What you see from our front door...Yes, there is a bird on the table and a dog off in the distance. My dd was giving her bird free play time. Our dog gets along well with all of our pets (including Snowflake, the gerbil, and a tropical fish aquarium, although Lady is afraid of Tim's fancy rat, Lucy). We clear the books and schoolwork off the table before meals.
Well, that concludes our tour for now.
Blessings,
Dawn
I like how you made the space work for you! We had a house where we switched the living and dining room spaces too. It just worked better for us at the time. I look forward to reading more of your blog!
ReplyDeleteYour home is lovely Dawn!!! I love all the repurposing of spaces. We live in an old home as well ( 1895) and the closets are unique! Cubby spaces abound. I think its all part of the fun. Like you I am thankful for such a well build home.
ReplyDeleteLove your kitchen nook. Its charming. And I am wishing I had a place like that to hang coats and deposit shoes!!!
Your dinning rm is the same color as one of our rooms. Love that color!!!
Our birds fly too! Our dog did not like the rats either. Interesting.
I sure wish I could decorate our mantle like you did with the lace. Our cats just cause all kinds of probles with stuff like that. Its very pretty! I love how creative you are.
Our house is just a few years older than yours. I love it, but it takes a lot of effort to keep it working for a large, homeschooling family. We have also switched our dining& living areas several times. We've gotta do what works, right? I love how you use the breakfast area for different functions.....I would do the same thing! Lisa~
ReplyDeleteI really love older homes but they can be a challenge to get to work in todays times. Looks like you've made some great adjustments. I love all the hardwood in your house...wish we had more in ours and what we do have is fake. Thanks for the tour! :)
ReplyDeleteJust came by to catch up. You've had a lot going on :)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have a coat space like that. Everything looks so organized.
What a nice home! We also have a 'closet area' and ours gets so messy. I'm going to tell my husband about the cupboard you have up there. That might work for us, too.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Annie Kate