THE LOVELY ORGANIZED CHAOS OF THE FARMHOUSE KITCHEN!!!

I live in a wonderful 238 year old farmhouse.  I am lucky enough to have 2 kitchens.  One is the original farmhouse kitchen and the other was the pantry but we extended it to be a "Cook's Kitchen".  It is just for cooking, no table or chairs just wonderful organized chaos.

The farmhouse kitchen is a wonderful thing.  Old blends with new and worn out pieces that have been loved by many over the years fit happily in the farmhouse kitchen.  Things used for putting other things into.  Anything goes in the farmhouse kitchen.  Shelves are a must, fill them up let it tumble out.  Old tables and grain bins can be used as islands.  An old kitchen cart, crates, old school tables anything fits in the farmhouse kitchen....there are no rules.

Eggs piled into an old crock bowl, a mountain of yellow ware mixing bowls and gorgoeous china, even chipped it does not matter, the cracked patina just enhances the warmth of the room.  I love the repurposed child's bed here,  that is the key to a true eclectic farmhouse kitchen...repurpose, use the unexpected, the quirkier the better.

Gorgeous old wooden floors always look fabulous.  I have maple floors in the original kitchen but I did tile the extended pantry.  New wooden floors can be easily made to look like they have been there over 100 years.

Cupboards of all shapes and sizes work well in the farmhouse kitchen.  And a chalkboard!  I love chalkboards not only are they very useful and look amazing but you can make them yourself out of any old frame or paint a whole wall.  Try it sometime.  You must have a battered frame you have been holding onto and don't know what to do with it.  Pop in a piece of painted pine, you can get spray paint or brush on chalkboard paint.  You will love it.

You can't have a true farmhouse kitchen without a fabulous old table and chairs.  Worn out beauties with mix and match chairs look amazing.  I have a thing for old chairs I never get rid of them it is embarrassing how many I actually have but I adore them.  I have found them in thrift shop for a couple of dollars, on the side of the road and I grabbed a pile that were going to be burned on my grandmother's farm, they proudly sit around her huge pine table in my studio now reborn for another 100 years.  And the tables, well they always look better  with the dents and scratches left from the previous families who loved them.

What can I say I love the look of things on top of other things, piles of old dishes, painted and worn wood.  They just say love to me in an old kitchen or a new kitchen that has some lovely old bits and pieces.

Now, I wish I was going out those beautiful French Doors to the garden but it is still freezing here so I think I am headed down to the kitchen for a nice hot cup of coffee and a ginger snap.

One last thing before I go.  I came across this picture today when I was searching for pics for this post.  My Great Grandmother Olive Booth looked just like this sweet lady but she had dark hair.  I will always remember her in her kitchen with one of those aprons ( I have one of hers) and wearing a dress ( a lady did not wear pants!) peeling, cutting and humming as she cooked.  These are the little memories that fill my heart and I am glad on this cold day I saw this picture and my heart has had it shot of love for the day.