Thursday, December 22, 2011

My Old Cottage Kitchen

Today I'm going to start down memory lane and show you guys the house I used to live in, in Watertown Ma. I LOVED THAT HOUSE!!!! But because I was going to be away 1/2 of the year in Florida (yay), I moved to a townhouse condo in a neighboring town. I still think about my old cottage, and miss it (even though it had NO closet space to speak of).
I will start with the kitchen, 'cuz that's were the ice cream is stored.

Yeah, yeah, I know, I like dogs. Most people would use extra shelving in their kitchens to store stupid stuff like plates, glasses, pots........NOT ME!!!!!! I LIKE DOGS!!!.
When I bought this little house, the kitchen just had a free standing apartment size electric stove standing next to the frig. So, I reworked the wall to accommodate all this stuff in the picture. I had the tile put up when I first bought the house in 1977, (I was 5 years old at the time). Mexican tile was very cool in 1977. Actually, I still like it, so there. Later, when I updated the kitchen to what is shown in this fabulous shot, I didn't feel like dealing with new tile, so I found a granite that would match. I felt very clever and frugal, until I was informed that this blue stone is THE MOST EXPENSIVE  granite in the universe. Too late, I had seen it, and I had to have it.
I had found the wooden carved dog bracket in some antique store (who can remember???? This was before the last ice age), soooooo...., I did what any rational person would do.......
I DESIGNED A WHOLE SELF AROUND IT.

The picture is blurry, 'cuz I had to blow it up to a larger size. I'm trying to show how brilliant I was in designing this shelf.












I had a stainless steel rod installed along the bottom for pot storage....

Oy, another blurry picture, due to blowing
up the image......












I designed the shelving to fit around my old school clock and dog lamp....... ( get ready for some more blurry images)

Eric Roth took all these pictures when my house was published in House Beautiful Magazine. He's a great photographer and started around the same time I did, which means I've known him for a very long long long long time.
















I love this lamp, and still use it in my present kitchen.......

This shot was in the design magazine in the Boston Globe Newspaper. If I could get something published once, I didn't see any reason not to do it again, and again, and again.....
Here's another shot that was in The Globe

It's kind of blurry because I scanned it from old shiny newsprint paper.



The chopping block to the left of the stove I brought up with me when I moved from Atlanta in 1976. It was a gazillion pounds, and the movers charged by the weight of the load, but I was young and stupid, and I loved this old butcher's block. Talk about your unsanitary surfaces...... I used it to dump all my stuff on when I came in the door. Every kitchen needs a unload/dump area.
O.K. campers, I will resume this story in two days time, so hang on and come on back.
Betsy

Joining the party at: Favorites on the first/The Polohouse

5 comments:

Amy Chalmers said...

Hm, I hope you will show us the wallpaper and tell us what it is...is it dogs? Or just a little design? I love the shelf design you created. I think the kitchen is darling.

Katie @ Wildwood Creek said...

Love the custom shelf and the tile. It's fun to take a look back.

Courtney ~ French Country Cottage said...

So charming Betsy! That shelf is fantastic and love so many of the details you shared!! Looking forward to seeing more! Thanks for linking up at Feathered Nest Friday this week! :)

A Few Pennies said...

Love that big shelf in your kitchen; your blue tiles are beautiful!

Alison @ The Polohouse said...

LOVE your kitchen!
The dog bracket that created your shelving design is stupendous!
Love it all and that you care more about the doggies than the glasses or dishes!
My kind of girl!

Do you have any pets?
If so, please be sure to come back for next month's linky party on February 1st when we will share our favorite pet(s)!!!

Thanks so much for linking up!
Your newest follower,
Alison

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