Last month, Miss S (my college girl) and I drove to Roxboro, NC, and we got to stay
in our friend Becky's charming old farm house for three whole days!
When we turned off the main highway and drove up her 3-acre long gravel driveway
(you know, the kind where the grass grows between where the tires meet the ground?)
the first thing we noticed is her beautiful wraparound porch and welcoming blue front door.
Her dogs shuffled out to meet us, their bodies wagging in rhythm with their tails.
And when Becky rushed out to greet us with her elated smile and open arms,
we knew that instant that we was going to have a relaxing, fun weekend.
I should have taken a picture that afternoon while we were driving up the driveway.
But, I didn't, so I stole these outside pictures from her FaceBook albums!
This is last Winter.
The original home, built in the late 1700's, consisted of one room, and the kitchen
was in another building, separate from the main house.
Disclaimer: They bought this home with remodeling in mind, so here and there,
you can see their supplies waiting to be used in projects to be finished or started, just like my house.
(I added that for Becky, who, like most of us when there are areas in our home that are undone,
kept apologizing for the project areas. I don't even see them! I only see hope and love.)
This is Becky's home this past Spring. With new porch rails.
In the 1800's the main house was connected to the kitchen with more rooms.
Her kitchen is the original one made in the late 1700's.
In the picture below, the main house was the left side of the house.
Her husband, Rob, is a builder, architect, plumber, craftsman, electrician, and carpenter,
and he (with Becky's help) has raised and leveled floors, dug out an enormous basement,
made an in-ground pool, added several bathrooms, taken out walls and ceilings,
added new wiring, plumbing, flooring. (Lucky girl!)
Her home is an ever-evolving, labor-of-love work-in-progress
and Miss S and I loved every inch of it!
Today, Becky is sharing her kitchen with us.
The next post will be some other spaces in her home that Miss S and I adored.
What I love the most about Becky's kitchen is that it is functional!
The open cabinets keep everything handy!
Her flooring is the original crooked, wonky, knobby pine that she just painted over in a pale gray.
She finds her ironstone at estate sales and thrift stores.
I love her "pantry" below!
In the side file pockets, she keeps coupons and stuff related to baking and cooking.
Original fireplace! 300 years old!
Ikea pendant lighting.
I gave her the chalkboard pitcher art for her birthday.
It came from Hobby Lobby.
And Becky, who knows me well, took me to her favorite downtown thrift store.
I bought some steak knives, and she bought the china below.
Becky uses the broiler/baking oven often to keep the heat out of the kitchen in the summer.
The picture is of her grandson, Evan, and her rescued pug, Lucy.
I love Lucy.
A sweet love note from her hubby of 25 years!
Through the doorway is her entrance hall.
Her backsplash wall was in sad shape before Rob installed the real wood wainscoting,
Miss S in the reflection of the mirror.
Rob brought the yellow roses home for Becky that day.
No special reason, except that he loves her.
Rob built the island with a lower counter, and Becky found the set of chairs in a dumpster!
My kind of gal!
She gave her sink faucet a makeover. It used to look like this, bronze.
Now it looks like this. Brushed nickel spray paint, y'all!
She madeover the counters, too. They had been covered in contact paper.
(See Rob in the picture all the way to the left? He is a most-excellent pizza chef!)
She peeled the contact paper off. Primed the counters.
Then started marbling with whites and grays with a sponge.
Tada!
Everything got painted. Paint covers a multitude of sins, you know.
Or in my case, makeup covers a multitude of sins.
So, concludes the kitchen tour.
Wasn't that fun?
Scones and tea, anyone?
Thank you, Rob, Becky, Evan, and Lucy for the memories.
(And the pictures.)
