One of my favorite things about the Stayton move is the new kitchen! Not only do I get an island now but I also get ALL THESE drawers and cupboards! Our last house had a grand total of SIX drawers and two of them hardly counted. As I think everyone does when they move into a new house, the first thing I had to do was paint….


The original color was this very warm sienna brown which almost matched the tile floor exactly. Then with the cupboards being this gorgeous knotty alder (light) they were almost lost against the walls. Standing back, the kitchen appeared as one monochromatic cardboard box to me. It was overwhelmingly warm and almost anxiety causing to the eye without any color break up. It needed to be cooled down a touch…. So, racking my brain on how to fix this I decided (probably because I am such a green person) to jump the spectrum and jolt everything with a brighter emerald/Kelly hue.


I got the idea while unpacking and coming across my three tier ivy plate stand… I set that green against the wall by the refrigerator and the alder trim and thought, “That’s it!”
My overall vision for the kitchen then developed quickly when mentally cataloging all of our already rustic decor: Forest/Golf Course Club House/Rustic Lodge.
I know, sounds silly right…. not if you know my husband….
Yes, sometimes he doesn’t even golf! Just hangs out up there… any who…

We have this fantastic collection of Ken Scott metal art of The Golfer and some mountains that also mimic those of the golf course. My husband gets up super early every morning for work, so in my hopeless romantic antics I decided to fashion him a “clubhouse continental breakfast nook”so that he can “tee off” strong every day. I know, I crack myself up….
The first physical thing that was actually HUNG on a wall though after our move was in fact his metal Golfer sculpture! So I think he approves of the nook!

Back to the point: Kitchen Remodel- I wanted the overall feel to be like you were standing up the McKenzie river. We’ve got these reddish stone tiles on the floor for bedrock, beautiful alder cupboards for the trees and then I was missing the massive green impression of leaves… so I added it 🙂
There are then “splashes” of dark blue on the wall sculpture and some appliances. I love that hints of copper and metals come through for earth tones and mimic the reflections your eye might catch on the river. Then (from our previous kitchen) I was able to justify saving/keeping all of my chartreuse accessories to represent the “new growth leaves” ha ha! I certainly wasn’t going to toss them so I made it work!
There were a few more things that just needed to be “finished after our move in: Kitchen Island and Back splash
This is a wonderful unit that they were actually storing in the living room (?) so we moved it into the kitchen. The top was a loose (not attached) hallow ensemble which we at first though was a cheap door, but in reality was likely too long to have been. My Dad and Stepmom very generously decided to buy us some kitchen jewelry as a housewarming gift! Hooray!!!!!


Jerry’s Home Improvement Center and Keystone Granite installed the new piece which is called Black Galaxy. We couldn’t find the exact matching granite that was already in the kitchen so I decided to go more solid and dark. It has flecks of copper throughout so I love it!
Next came the DIY project of a back splash! Thankfully we had plenty of help. We went to 2 stores and brought home 5 sample tiles, then my husband and I both ordered them in our favorites from 1-5… we both had this design as #1 so it wins! It has both the slate green tiles, stainless steel and copper look which ties EVERYTHING together and luckily even goes with the counter top! Phew! We’re actually still finalizing the seal on the back splash so you’ll get a nice Project REVEAL soon!



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