Just think how much more you would enjoy cooking for your family if your kitchen was a place you love to be!
Emilie Barnes is one of my favorite authors and the first book of hers that I read is called "Welcome Home". My tips for today were inspired by the section in this book about the kitchen called, "A Place You Love to Be."
Your kitchen doesn't have to be the perfect kitchen. Even the smallest kitchen can be efficient, organized and inviting.
Do you have special memories that took place in the kitchen? I think most people do. I remember big family Sunday dinners at my Mama's and Grandparents' houses. I remember birthday cakes that were not that pretty, but tasted great and were made with love. I remember my daughter, who was very young, saying, "I HATE MEAF LOAF". I remember my son saying he wanted more "Maize" (mayonnaise). My husband remembers his daughter yelling for more "grice" (rice). I'll never eat any spaghetti as long as I live as good as My Mama's. And my children say the same thing about mine. Who could forget those spaghetti covered toddlers' faces?
Spend a little time organizing and planning in your kitchen. You don't have to spend any money or little at all to make it an inviting, pleasant and easy to work in place! You can set up a "baking center" or "beverage center" (coffee, etc.)
Add small touches that will help make your kitchen a place you love to be. Examples: 1. Light a small candle, 2. change your kitchen decor to go with the seasons, 3. keep counters free of clutter, 4. display foods in baskets or jars, 5. new, pretty dishtowels are an inexpensive way to brighten up the kitchen, 6. Place a small picture of loved ones or other item you love near your kitchen sink.
Your kitchen should be a welcoming place for your family and you. Its a place where we show our love through the foods we prepare for them. Its often the place everyone wants to gather. Its a place to spend time with our children and grandchildren teaching them to cook.
I think that if our kitchen is a place we love to be, that love will be passed on to our family and friends. Its not just another pot of spaghetti, its a pot filled with love and memories!
This is a stained glass sun catcher my husband bought me this past November. It hangs in my kitchen window. Every time I work at the kitchen sink I see it and remember the day he bought it for me. Its just one of the many things in my kitchen that I love and that bring back memories for me.
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For more kitchen tips, please visit Tammy's Recipes.
10 comments:
This is a great tip. I agree with everything you say, and I have already worked on many of those things. I have declared January the Month of the Kitchen in our home, and while it's still a work in progress, it's looking much better. Thanks for the encouragement!
Great tip! I love Emilie Barnes too! And that is one of my favorite books! If only I had time to just curl up on the couch with a cup of cocoa and a blanket to read it today. I'm not sure it would go so well with my one year old. :)
The kitchen is truly a favorite hangout place in our home. I like your tip about decorating it for the seasons and little special touches like candles. I hope to do more of that this year.
Debbie,
You are so wise. Thank you for a lovely post. This is something on my mind too. I want to add a few changes/touches to my home and will need to do it on a tight budget but it is possible as you mentioned. It doesn't take a lot to make an area feel warm and welcoming.
I'm a huge fan of Emilie Barnes also, and had the great pleasure of meeting her in person on 2 occasions and seeing her former home in Riverside, CA when I lived in CA. I drove a long way to get there but it was so worth it and she is just a gentle and lovely lady.
I love my kitchen, too. I truly believe the kitchen is the 'heart of the home.' My walls are a nice green, my lower curtains are black and white check and I have black appliances. Like you, I decorate for the seasons, including changing out my valances! (Right now, I have poinsettias for winter.) I have red accents and utensils everywhere possible--and roosters! I think every kitchen should have a rooster!
And the best part is...except for the appliances (which were bought on sale), none of it cost me much. A little here, and a little there, and you get your dream kitchen.
Thanks for stopping by! I sure know what you mean by 'more month left than money,' LOL!
Great tip! I love my kitchen...well when I have a kitchen. We are building right now and live with a lady from our church. If interested you can read about it at our blog in the category I believe says home building...but anyways. I've always loved Emilie Barnes as well. Can't wait to browse your blog some more.
Thanks for the great tips. I love Emily Barnes books too. Your kitchen window looks nice.
Blessings,
~Martie
As mom2fur said, decorating your kitchen does not have to be expensive. Shop your thrift stores, clearance sales and discount stores. Only buy what you truly love. Switch out the decorations by seasons or on a whim. Show the true you, whether it be shabby chic, modern or country. Have fun with it.
I just discovered your blog today on a google search for "Emilie Barnes." I love her books, too. I love your blog!!!!! I'll definitely be back. May the LORD bless you and your family.
-Rachel
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