planning

scale drawing. note: there is a third floor, but i didnt draw it cuz i ran out of room on the page, but besides that its just one big room with a stairwell leading up into it.

i've recently scored a CUTE dutch-made vintage modern sofa in good condition.. mentally picturing it in the front room, maybe with some anthropologie wallpaper... post to come.

kitchen & dining

we havent even moved in yet, and i cant stop thinking about the dining room and kitchen. i am a big fan of farmhouse kitchens and huge stoves. i love this one, especilly the stove and hoosier cabinet,

(sorry, i cant remember where i pulled this image from, if you recognize it please let me know, id love to give the proper credit where its due!)


... but our new kitchen is impossibly small!

our kitchen, looking towards the dining room


the "business end" of our kitchen, currently equipped with 2 pint-size refrigerators, a countertop stove and a microwave/toaster oven. clearly a design challenge the former occupants couldnt solve!



i'd love to see if one like this could fit into the existing nook (and put a handsome refrigerator in the dining room, but we'll have to chat about the fridge options later, mkay?) to alleviate some of the cramped feelings of such a small and poorly organized kitchen:
(image from goodtimestove.com)


but if the nook is too small, and i HAVE to put a stove in front of the window, i might go for something with sexier lines, ooh la la! isnt she a looker?:
(image from noreast1.com)


since my kitchen is so small, i'll definitely be using the adjacent dining room to enlarge the usable area. im *all about* a huge table between my fireplace and future large sideboard buffet & refrigerator wall. can you just see it?

i love this example, from lolmo.com:

a great starting point

the greek goddess hestia, goddess of home and hearth. image from wikipedia.


we just entered into agreement to buy our house, and my mind is racing! to say ive been obsessive about the house hunt is an understatement. we've just moved to utrecht, the netherlands, and are now not only trying to learn dutch, but buying our first home. the house we're buying has all these wonderful preserved period details. built in 1910, it has stained glass and pocket doors, and these marvelous little art nouveau placards in the entryway, too. today im showing the downstairs only.. you gotta start somewhere. i cant wait to move in.

entry hall


standing in the parlor, looking through to the dining room and kitchen


the dining room, and fireplace.

i guess its worth mentioning at this point that traditionally the dutch use the front room (what im calling that parlor) as a dining room, and the big central room between is called the living room, but i think the table and kitchen are the rightful epicenter of the home. so im putting it there.

kitchen cabinets, facing dining and parlor



i love the well preserved history in this house, i also love rustic and modern and ecclectic artsy stuffs.. so we'll see how it can all work together in this framework.

thinking about a big heavy natural wood dining table as an anchor for the hearth of the house, and reading up about the greek goddess hestia. ~bb

the song in my head, as we enter this new adventure

ARTIST: Madness
TITLE: Our House

Father wears his Sunday best
Mother's tired she needs a rest
The kids are playing up downstairs
Sister's sighing in her sleep
Brother's got a date to keep
He can't hang around

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our...

Our house it has a crowd
There's always something happening
And it's usually quite loud
Our mum, she's so house-proud
Nothing ever slows her down
And a mess is not allowed

I remember way back then when everything was true and when
We would have such a very good time
Such a fine time, such a happy time
And I remember how we'd play, simply waste the day away
Then we'd say nothing would come
Between us two dreamers

Our house, in the middle of our street (3X)
Our house, in the middle of our...

Our house, was our castle and our keep
Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, that was where we used to sleep
Our house, in the middle of our street (3X)