The Kitchen: How to Make it Look Like Old

What I love about our home is that it still has the old-fashioned character of the era it was built in.  I love the wood floors, the super-cool fireplaces, the antique knobs and hinges, and the tile flooring.  So many places like this have had their insides virtually erased and covered over with really blah walls, floors and built-ins.  While our kitchen has my ideal flooring (terracotta tile) and some original windows, it has been updated quite a bit.  I'm sure that the changes helped with its functionality, but I have to say I am not a big fan of all the fake wood veneer, cream cabinets and tile and modern fixtures.  Overall, it is not bad (I saw much worse!) but the effect is kind of modern, boring and masculine.  So my challenge in this room has been to soften and brighten the room, and hopefully give it more of the nostalgic feel of the rest of the house.  As a renter, I can't do anything major like changing cabinets or fixtures, so it has to be accomplished just with decor.  I guess we could paint, but we haven't gotten there yet.  Here it is with the owner's stuff in it.  Nice enough, but do you get what I mean?

 Just moving our things in helped.  In the kitchen, I want to see a lot of nature and food.  I want to think about eating when I am in there, and be inspired by the ingredients.  Most of what we eat is perishable, and I always love seeing an ever-changing display of produce out on the counter. Today was a market day, so there is plenty! What could be more beautiful?
 

One of my personal quirks is that I really don't like to see lots of words everywhere.  In the kitchen, especially, everything tends to come with labels and visually irritating packaging.  I try to buy in bulk or fresh, and then the things that do come home in packages I usually put into clear jars.  Once again, what could be more attractive than actual food?  I love seeing the spices like this.
  My other kitchen quirk is that I really, really hate seeing appliances in the kitchen!  There are some cool looking ones out there, but in general, I'd just rather keep them hidden.  We can't quite do that, but I have gathered our espresso machine, electric kettle, and water filter over into one isolated station-- which is super convenient, since we use all three when we make our morning coffee.

One big improvement we made was to put up this little shelf and the rack on an otherwise blank and unused wall.  This really warmed things up, and I love displaying little objects there-- so cheery!

The wooden cheese boards were our souvenir from Bellagio last year, the painted plate was a gift from my sister, and the vintage copper kettle is a flohmarkt find that I use to water plants with.

 I painted these strawberries one afternoon when I was pregnant, and when Jeff came home I lied and told him they were from a friend, since I really wanted him to be honest about whether or not he liked them! (Yes, I have some issues with sharing what I have made!!)  He did like them, and ever since then, they have been tacked onto my kitchen walls.

 There are these funny cubbies here, perfect for displaying dishes and teapots...
And this is the last thing I did to try to cover up the washing machine.  I actually did this just now, while I was looking at pictures of the kitchen.  Hopefully it won't be super inconvenient.

The kitchen is always the first room that I get to work on, since I like to cook in a cheerful, orderly space.  This one is very, very functional, with plenty of cupboard space and room to work.  I absolutely love all of the light that comes in, and I look forward to cooking many, many meals here!  

If you would like to see a couple of my previous kitchens (I can't seem to hold one down for long!) you can have a look here and here.  Once again, thanks for the visit-- and thanks for letting me chat with you about this!