Grand *Beach Cottage Kitchen* Before and After!

Went to the beach in Michigan this weekend with Mr. Grand 

while darling daughter was away on a school trip. 

I have written about our little cottage there in previous posts - 

you can read about it here and here and here.

Today I thought I would share the Before and After pictures of the kitchen.

The weather was actually pretty darn nice for February in Michigan!  

I wish it had been a little sunnier, because then my pictures would have been a little better, 

but again, February.  Michigan.  

Happy to get there at all.

Here's a picture of the renovated kitchen.  It is very, very small, 

so it's hard to get far enough away to take decent pictures...

This is a Before picture of the kitchen.

Tiny space but still a big job.

We loved the charming little window and wanted to save it

but it had to move, to make way for a closet

for desperately needed storage.

 Here is the same wall, after.  

 Mr. Grand stripped and refinished the little window and we relocated it to our bedroom.

It is the only original window we were able to keep.  

 It's here now, up in the eave of our bedroom:

 All of the original window were casement style, with the most charming little screen doors- 

totally charming and completely impractical. 

The screens opened in and the casements opened out.  

So that meant no furniture could be placed in front of the windows inside, 

and the casements, when open outside, took up too much space on the deck. 

Not insulated either.  

Initially, our intention was to refinish and reuse them 

but after Mr. Grand spent an entire weekend stripping and refinishing just this one little window, 

we knew we had to spring for new windows.

I really didn't want the old windows to end up in the dumpster, 

so I headed to the Kane County Flea Market and searched until I found 

a wonderfully talented couple who buy up old barn wood and windows and other things 

for salvage and then they make fabulous furniture using the salvaged wood. 

They came and took all of the old windows, reserving one for me for some future project. 

We have several pieces of furniture in our cottage that they made for us, 

using salvaged barn wood.  That's a great topic for another day...

Here is another Before picture of the old kitchen.  

I loved the old arched entry to the kitchen, 

but it was another casualty of the redo.

Mr. Grand has promised to recreate an arch for me just outside of the kitchen.

It's on the "some day" list.

Another Before picture- just plain nasty.

I love the new cabinets, below... They were made for me by the one and only Ed Dolan.

Faithful readers will recognize Ed from earlier projects, here and here and here.

Ed made each of these cabinets by hand 

and we brought them up to the cottage, one at a time and set them in place,

 just waiting for the day when Ed would come and install them.

This center cabinet over the sink is my absolute favorite.  

I had torn a picture out of an English Home Magazine many years ago

 of a kitchen with scalloppy cabinets like this 

and I knew just what I wanted to do when it came time to design this little kitchen.

This kitchen may be short on space, but it's packed with plenty of the little details that I love-

 scallops and pegs and bead board.  What could be better in a cottage?

And working with Ed made it all sing.  Good Karma kitchen!

Love the apron style farm sink, from IKEA! 

Very reasonable, and I really enjoy having one great big sink.

The wine glasses are kept handy for a reason...

Same for the coffee mugs!

There is a nice big open top shelf-  

a great place for display since I can't reach it anyway!

I couldn't resist this little Beach sign, in my cottage colors...

More scalloppy trim and a little shelf for display, right above what my brother Paul calls

the Easy Bake Oven - it's so tiny, but it works!

We roasted a 14 pound turkey in this oven and it turned out very well.

This sweet little print hung in my mother's kitchen for years...

The light in the photo is bad, but the colors really all do work together- please believe me.

I must come by my love for all things cottage from her... 

I've given it a place of honor.

 

These little creamers are just the right size to fill the space on this shelf over the stove.  

I suppose real cooks might put spices there, but I had more fun hunting for these than cooking...

Here you can see the vintage chandelier that I bought years ago- 

 I had no idea where it would go at the time (Mr. Grand just loves it when I do that...) 

but it was a bargain and I loved it.

I'm going to toot my own horn here (Toot!) 

and brag about how I was ahead of the lantern style chandelier trend 

way before there was a lantern style chandelier trend.

I am rarely ahead of any trends, so I 'm just going to be a little smug here.

All it needed was a little dusting (and rewiring) and it was ready to hang.

It seemed like a grand idea to have a chandelier in a cottage kitchen...

Oh, and one more thing-

this was the sunset on Saturday night... 

Absolutely Glorious.

Hope you enjoyed this *Before and After* tour...

Linking to
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

DebbieDoo's Newbie Party

Between Naps on the Porch - Metamorphosis Monday
Miss Mustard Seed - Furniture Feature Friday 
 White Wednesday at Faded Charm Cottage

  Talent Scout Party at WhisperWood Cottage

*Flowers* For You

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Today I thought I'd share some of my flowers with you. 

 I am just a little bit obsessed with flowers 

and have amassed thousands of digital photographs that I play with in Photoshop. 

I'll take you on a little tour of pink flowers 

from other seasons, warmer places and brighter, longer days....

This was taken at the edge of the lake at the Chicago Botanic Gardens, in the late spring.

 This gorgeous, glowing-from-within Dahlia was taken at Ball Gardens on a sunny, July day.

Can't you just feel the warmth? 

Deep red Quickfire hydrangeas from our garden in Michigan.

These Purple Coneflowers used to grow at the edge of Lake Ellyn.

Zealous mowing did them in, but I managed to get this shot on a muggy, overcast summer day. 

Remember muggy?

 Time now for a reality check - here is what Lake Ellyn looks like in February- it's cold and snowy.

Those coneflowers, above, grew right here at the edge of the lake.

Seasonal changes are so miraculous in the garden.

 

This was a container garden at a home in Hinsdale, Illinois on a House Walk.

The Pussy Willows and Pansies with the Ranunculus were ever so sweet together.

 

Bleeding Hearts - so romantic, at Lilacia Park in Lombard, Illinois.

Every spring, this little park is absolutely glorious with acres of lilacs, tulips and perennials.

 

 Here's a pink lilac from Lilacia Park...  

They grow old fashioned lilacs there and their fragrances are heavenly.

 These perfect pink hydrangeas were taken in my garden here in Northern Illinois.  

Amazing because between the harsh winters here and the deep shade in our yard, 

I am thrilled when anything blooms!

This trio of gorgeous crab trees, bursting with flowers, 

was taken in spring at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois.

 Hope you enjoyed this little tour of pink flowers.... 

 I'm soooo looking forward to spring.