Ryan and Ashley's House

The kitchen...

Ryan has painted his oak cabinets 2 times, that I know of. First, a glossy black and now a light khaki green with a brownish glaze.

(see my own glazing technique HERE)

The kitchen is right off of the family room where Ryan removed the standard carpet and replaced it with pine wood slat nailed right into the floor boards.

They were once stained a dark color but now have a beautiful paint that brings out the random sizes in the wood planks and I like that the nails show. It's a casual and lived in look that goes great with the painted kitchen cabinets.

Some details in the kitchen that I want to share are in the collage above that feature the top cabinet sides by the sink which have board and batten trim added to them. The door and drawer pulls are installed at the top or bottom horizontally on some cabinets and vertical on others. Ryan made the concrete counter tops all by himself. They are rough and chunky - adding so much rustic character to this sweet little kitchen.

Ryan and I have very similar taste in that we like to turn stock kitchen islands into a statement piece. The corbels and arched counter top provide an over hang for the stools and creates a more customized detail. The board and batten trim is an easy upgrade that I show you how to do in THIS POST. I like that Ryan's vertical slats are close together.

Decorating is only one of my cute brother's talents. He makes his own wine and cans all sorts of delicious foods. Some are jams, pickles and infused oils and vinegar's.

(you can see a yummy jam recipe HERE).

Above the cabinets is a creative way to display his work in the kitchen and it brings in fun color and it contributes to the "we live here" look that I love so much about this space. I feel like I am in a funky vegetarian restaurant sitting at this snack bar.

Ryan made me a vegetarian lunch with samples of his different wines that are so delicious. Each bottle of wine has a label on the back, in Ryan's own handwriting, explaining any special events that inspired the creation of the wine or life happenings in that year. A very creative way to journal and celebrate later. I shared one idea in THIS POST of how I reused one of his bottles as a dish soap dispenser.