Start with the first installment of My Parent’s House: The Front Yard.  

The second installment is My Parent’s House: The Living Room.

The third installment is My Parent’s House: The Dining Room.

The fourth installment is My Parent’s House: The Sun Room and Breakfast Room.

The kitchen was the room that required the most renovation in my parent’s house. Cabinets were replaced, some were refaced, new appliances were bought, the counters and sink were replaced.  The kitchen had five doors and by removing some of those doors, the flow in and out of that room was greatly improved.  

A glass front cabinet displays my mom's extensive iron collection and poppy dishes.

The upper cabinets were refaced and the cabinets were painted with an antique glaze.

Granite counters replaced worn beige counters.

A ledge for displaying irons under the cabinets.

The tile backspash is a beautiful tumbled stone. The appliances are sleek and stainless.

The fridge is tucked away into a corner. My mom plans on hanging a pretty and useful bulletin board on the magnetic side of the fridge.

This curvy, tall faucet has a detachable hose with shower nozzle.

A fluorescent light box was replaced with in-set lighting and skylights.

This narrow door hides an ironing board, another feature not likely found in modern homes.

As I write about my parent’s home, I realize that I took all the architectural details for granted when I lived in their home.  The homes in our neighborhood had incredible details, so I didn’t realize how special these qualities were in a home.  I’m glad I have to opportunity as an adult to enjoy the house in its renovated glory.  

Have a great day!

I bought this great cloche at Savers for $2 this April.  I’ve used it as a food centerpiece which is both pretty and useful.

A fruit platter for a girls’ lunch: 

Mr. Petrie’s birthday cake:

Brownies:

Spring cookies:

And in my kitchen, I keep dishwasher packets in this pretty glass container from Hobby Lobby:

Check out all the other cloche posts at A Stroll Thru Life.  Have a fun Friday!

Thanks to We ARE THAT Family for hosting Works for Me Wednesday!

When we moved into our house, our kitchen looked like this:

The kitchen is small, but the main problem was that I needed to prioritize what we use every day.  We’ve lived in this house for three years, so I’ve been able to fine-tune our organization and storage within this limited space.

A view of the kitchen today:

We’ve done a lot of cosmetic work, but organizing the space really makes it work for our family.

The previous fixture was a bare bulb.  Now we are able to light all the important spaces.  And let’s face it, this fixture is awesome.

I use the space above the fridge to hold the cookbooks I use most often.  The leather box holds our chips.

The coffee station keeps all our supplies together and off of valuable counter space.

Over time, I have weeded out kitchen gadgets that we don’t use or that we had several copies of.  Our cabinets are neatly organized so it’s easy for me to get to what I use most often.

I keep all the spices in these funky wall-mount containers.  I also keep cloth napkins in this area.  And, just to be super obvious, I label the spices.

Magnetic strips keep the most important instruments at hand.

I use containers for easy access.

Eventually, I want to have herbs where we have these plants.

I put meaningful objects throughout Casa Petrie.  My mom collects antique irons.  She let me choose an iron for my kitchen when we bought our first home.

We love to eat at home.  This basket of oil keeps our options close to the stove when we are cooking.

What storage solutions work well in your kitchen?  Thanks for stopping by Casa Petrie.

Welcome to Casa Petrie.  Perhaps you are visiting from here:

But, if you haven’t stopped by Sanctuary Arts at Home, go check out all the fabulous make-overs (after you read my post, of course)!

We’ve lived at Casa Petrie for over three years.  We moved into our home three days before Miss Petrie was born.  After we returned from the hospital with our little bundle, I was generally pretty happy to move stuff out of boxes and into the kitchen cabinets.  I didn’t replace the contact paper in the cabinets.  Yes, I am ashamed.

The act of changing out the paper lining your cabinets is a way to claim your new space as your own.  I know this.  I have done it at other houses.  But, I hadn’t done it at Casa Petrie.  Well, I finally got some lovely shelf liner at the Dollar Tree when I went back to get more Ikea dishes.

I think this shelf liner looks fairly Scandinavian. Mr. Petrie thinks it looks kind of Christmas-y.

The kitchen cabinets had an 1980s pastel contact paper.  It looked dingy and I’m sure the frat boys that lived in our house before we bought it didn’t clean the cabinets that often!

Before

Now I smile when I look in these drawers.

After

The table utensil drawer:

I found a tiny plastic skeleton in the back of this drawer.

Our kitchen is done in shades of blue, dark brown, silver, and sand.  This red really gives the cabinet interior a splash of color.  It also spiffies up an area that is generally utilitarian and drab.  I have more ideas for the kitchen cabinets and will post pictures in the coming weeks.  Thanks for stopping by Casa Petrie.

Thanks to Chari at Happy To Design for hosting Sunday Favorites.  

(And when you are finished reading, leave a comment on my giveaway post!  Click here.)

For the past four years, we’ve enjoyed using these Italian dishes.  Unfortunately, they are not microwave safe and we have lost a few over time.  I had begun to feel like we were always burning our hands and running out of dishes!

Bye-bye blue and white Italian dishes.

Over time I had supplemented this set with dishes from Target and dollar stores, but that was only a bandage solution.

I’d seen a great selection of dishes at the Dollar Tree and thought I’d give them a chance, since they are dishwasher and microwave safe.  I liked the clean, modern shape of the dishes and of course, the price was right.  I got 10 sets of plates, bowls, salad plates, and mugs for $40.  You really can’t beat that.  I couldn’t even get stuff at Goodwill for that price.  

New dishes from the Dollar Tree.

I got home and began to remove the tags from the dishes and lo and behold, what did I find under those tags?

Oh, Dollar Tree, you sneaky old girl!

I checked the price of these dishes on the Ikea website and found them to run from $2-3 each.  I am quite pleased with this find.

The new dishes go nicely with my tea glasses.

Aren't they gorgeous?!?

We enjoyed our corned beef, salad, and smashed cauliflower on our new dishes.  I think everything tastes better on pretty, new dishes. 

Miss Petrie said the dinner was "delicioso".

So, if you need dishes, check out the Dollar Tree!  I am so glad I did.