gone with the green.

Welcome....

...to my kitchen.

It was green when we moved in 4 and a half years ago.  And it's still green.  I didn't hate the color badly enough to change it immediately.  But I have definitely never loved it.

That's all going to change.  Soon.  Hopefully this spring.

My kitchen is going to get a makeover.   New countertops.  Cupboard overhaul.  Backsplash.  Paint throughout.  Replacing the ceiling fan with a fun light fixture, and more.  And this is going to be done all on a budget.

I'm so excited!

Remember this?...

....and how it was going to be a smaller component of a much larger project?

Well, it's going to be a part of the kitchen overhaul.  We completed this particular project this weekend.  And the best part about it, is we spent less than 10 bucks to do it.

Our goal was to add some interest and character to this space:

My sister-in-law Laura noticed how high that cupboard was and how much space was being wasted here.

So after a lot of thought, this is what we came up with:

We used recycled wood from our old deck and - get this - the metal hooks are from the plastic swivel top hangers that you get from department stores.  Bill's epiphany.  Some of our mugs had really wide handles and the cup hooks at the hardware store weren't even coming close to holding them.   (Thanks for helping out with our need for more hangers, Katie!)

We have a hodgepodge of a mug collection.  But that's ok, matching mugs can be boring.  And our family is hodgepodge, so it's perfect.  My favorite part about this though, is whenever we go down to Las Vegas to visit my husband's mother's ancestral home, the only thing they have to drink out of is mugs.  Tons and tons of mugs; none of them matching.  We love it!!  Bill has great childhood memories of this.  It's an adventure just to get a drink of water..."hmmmm, which mug am I going to choose...?"  

I love, not only that this new piece is a functioning contribution to our kitchen space, but that it makes getting a drink and having meals interesting and exciting, AND that we are carrying on an old family tradition.

My favorite mug?  This light brown crackly one.  I'm drinking orange juice on the rocks from it as I type this.  I love that it feels so right in my hand and the fact that the inside is so shiny that I can see my reflection when I look down in it.

I'm hoping to take pictures and document my kitchen transformation on this blog.

But until then, come enjoy some ice cold orange juice out of a mug, in the green kitchen!