• Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Collaborate
  • Blog
  • Parties
    • Children’s Parties Ideas
    • Holiday Parties
    • Adult Party Ideas
  • Holiday Ideas
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fourth of July
    • Spring
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s Day
  • Seasons
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Project Gallery
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY
    • Good Ideas
    • Tutorials
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

  • Book
  • Speaking
  • Meet Vanessa
    • Featured

September 5, 2015

Kitchen and Family Room Makeover

Happy Saturday friends! On behalf of my friend Kara (who is the one who gets to live in the gorgeous new spaces I’ve been showing you!) and myself we’d like to say a big huge THANK YOU for all of your lovely comments the past two days!

This was such a long process for Kara and her husband Caleb but he got to go to work each day while she, on the other hand, was living in the midst of chaos while their home was being remodeled. Oh and they have 5 kids. She deserves a trophy don’t you think? 😉

rooster pillow atthepicketfence.com

Today we’re sharing with you the changes made to the rest of the kitchen along with the family room.

After coming through the front door and through the entry you would have to turn right and then go through another door to get to the kitchen and family room.

Here is how it looked BEFORE

kitchen and family room entry before

and AFTER

built in kitchen cabinet to look like furniture atthepicketfence.com

BEFORE

farmhouse kitchen before4

AFTER

kitchen cabinets built to look like furniture atthepicketfence.com

At the last minute Kara decided to have this cabinet built to like a free-standing piece. And then on a whim she decided to have it painted this gorgeous shade of blue instead of the white used in the rest of the kitchen.

Isn’t it AMAZING?!! It is seriously my most favorite part of the kitchen!

blue kitchen cabinets atthepicketfence.com

chalkboard canisters on shelf in kitchen

This is a homeschooling family so the addition of workspace was a MUST and having two desks means an easier school day for kids and mama both.

double desk workspace in kitchen atthepicketfence.com

There was great debate about whether or not to paint the brick surrounding the fireplace.

Williams family room before

But ultimately they decided to not to paint it but to have a beautiful custom mantel made instead.

wood mantel on brick fireplace

The backs of the bookcases were painted white which completely lightened up this wall.

family room with built in bookcases atthepicketfence.com

The rooster pillow is the perfect nod to this family’s new life in this home.

patterned chair and rooster pillow

And everywhere you look you see signs of how much they have embraced a reality that is far better than any of their dreams.

red scale with fabric carrots on top atthepicketfence.com

So what do you think so far? Did you get a chance to see the kitchen makeover?

Farmhouse Cottage Style Kitchen makeover atthepicketfence.com

How about the front door and entry transformation?

farmhouse entry with red front door atthepicketfence.com

Be sure to come back next week when we’ll share the final room in this home renovation.

Have a fantastic weekend friends!

Vanessa signature

15 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, Parade of Homes Tagged With: decor, decorating, home tour, kitchen

Subscribe

Get the latest goodness straight to your inbox!

Previous Post: « Farmhouse Kitchen Makeover Reveal
Next Post: Before and After Dining Room Makeover »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rosemary says

    September 5, 2015 at 3:57 AM

    Beautiful counter tops. They look like wood. If so what type of wood? This is exactly what I am looking for!

    Reply
    • Kara says

      September 5, 2015 at 10:34 AM

      Thank you, Rosemary! The blue hutch countertop is wood, but the desk/kitchen countertops are granite with a leathered (matte) finish.

      Reply
  2. Laura says

    September 5, 2015 at 4:32 AM

    This looks so warm and welcoming! A happy place to come home too!

    Reply
  3. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    September 5, 2015 at 6:15 AM

    What a gorgeous makeover!….I so love the warmth of this home….so beautifully done and did not compromise the comfort factor… definitely defines beauty and function….love the dual work station. Must say that cabinet is my fav too!…Have a great weekend!

    Reply
  4. Anita Ward says

    September 5, 2015 at 7:34 AM

    Love, love, love it all!!!!!!!! Yes, she most definitely deserves it all!!!! God bless her!!

    Reply
  5. Lynn Richards says

    September 5, 2015 at 8:32 AM

    Oh my goodness. This is lovely!!! I am debating on some open shelving in our renovation and this just tipped me into the “heck yeah!” position. Love the blue cabinet. Makes me so impatient for the city to give us the go ahead on all our plans!
    xo

    Reply
  6. Lynn Richards says

    September 5, 2015 at 8:33 AM

    p.s. what did she use for her floors?

    Reply
    • Kara says

      September 5, 2015 at 10:36 AM

      Thank you, Lynn! I’m glad I tipped the scale to open shelving, as I’m a huge fan! The floors are a pre-finished wide plank, distressed oak. Good luck on your own remodel!

      Reply
  7. Hope Williams says

    September 5, 2015 at 10:29 AM

    Wow, this is so gorgeous! And it is my colors too!
    Can you tell me if her cabinets are a light yellow, walls white, black counters? This is just absolute perfection to me as well!
    LOVE!!!
    Hope

    Reply
    • Kara says

      September 5, 2015 at 10:41 AM

      Thank you so much, Hope! It sounds like we have similar taste. The cabinets and the plank wall in the kitchen, as well as the trim throughout are cream (Sherwin Williams Summer White) and the opposite wall with the blue hutch and desk is yellow (Behr Charismatic). The counters are actually a dark brown granite, though without light shining directly on them, they do look more black. Thank you for asking!

      Reply
  8. Gwen says

    September 5, 2015 at 11:05 AM

    Love it all as I’m sure the family will too. It’s home and school so it looks organized and ready to use

    Reply
  9. Donnamae says

    September 5, 2015 at 11:19 AM

    It’s a very warm and welcoming home. I’m sure they must love living there! 😉

    Reply
  10. Rose L. says

    September 5, 2015 at 12:24 PM

    It all looks so lovely and expensive. They must have saved up for a long time for this!

    Reply
  11. Carol Reddin says

    September 5, 2015 at 4:21 PM

    Love your home Kara! So beautiful!

    Reply
  12. Design Chic says

    September 7, 2015 at 6:25 PM

    What a transformation – love the addition of the hardwoods and the bookcase is gorgeous…great color!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search This Blog

Take the Quiz

Stay updated!

Get all the latest goodness straight to your inbox!

Get the book!

Invite Vanessa to speak at your event!

Must Reads

Recent Posts

  • A New French Country Dining Table February 3, 2021
  • Open Now December 17, 2020
  • Tradition and a Christmas Home Tour December 9, 2020
  • Tabletop Hot Cocoa Station November 29, 2020
  • A New Front Door November 10, 2020

Get all the latest straight to your inbox

Footer

Instagram

I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 y I've been watching our cherry trees bloom for 12 years now and every year I ohhhh and ahhhh over the blossoms like it's the first time I've ever seen them. I gush and I take photos (that look exactly like the ones I took the year before and the year before that) and I make my family come outside and look at them with me which you know they just LOVE to do. 😉 I think that is one of the main reasons why I love spring so much. On the one hand, it's predictable and yet, on the other hand, it still feels like such a surprise after the long months of barren branches.

And yesterday, as I was staring at the gorgeous blossoms for the umpteenth time, I couldn't help but think that I hope this is how I feel when our lives return to some semblance of normalcy.

I hope that the predictable feels special and that the typical feels anything but. I hope that I ohhh and ahhh over the simple things I've realized I've taken for granted. And, most of all, I hope that feeling doesn't go away for a very, very long time! 💗
Are you living with great expectation friends? Bec Are you living with great expectation friends? Because He is risen!

Happy Easter from my home to yours!
Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to Lemon bars all ready for tomorrow! It’s going to be a different kind of Easter for sure but some things don’t change. Have you been baking and getting ready for tomorrow? What’s one thing on your menu that you have to have every year?
If this is Good Friday, why doesn’t it feel so “good”? It all seems backward doesn’t it?

What could be good about the unspeakable pain he suffered? What could be good about the shame and betrayal?

Easter Sunday is so joyful, bright and cheery. Shouldn’t that be the day we call “good”? It just feels so much better!

But, I don’t know how to rejoice over His resurrection, unless I have felt the pain of His death. I have realized that in life the sweetest victories are the ones which were realized after a pain-filled journey.

And, so it is with Good Friday. I know there will be victory over death, but I can’t skip ahead in the story.

Jesus knew what was coming. He knew what he would experience. And he knew why he would go through it. He did it for me. He did it for you.

Do you know that? Have you felt it down in the very core of your soul? 
Sometimes it makes me squirm a bit. Why would anyone do that for me?

Well, because, I can’t do it for myself!

There is nothing I can do to earn that kind of love and mercy.

That is why it is called GRACE.

His grace is freely given. We don’t have to pay for it. He paid the price for us already.

Do you remember that movie from years ago called “Ransom”? A couple’s young son was kidnapped and the parents went to hell and back trying to find him and pay the “ransom” demanded by the kidnappers.

Well, Jesus is our “ransom”. (1 Timothy 2:6) His life was the payment.

Why is it called “Good Friday”? Because that wasn’t the end of the story….
.
…It was just the beginning!
Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house Raise your hand if there’s a table in your house that’s become the landing zone for ALL THE THINGS! 🙋🏻‍♀️🤪 I’ve never been more thankful for our rarely used dining room table as it’s become command central for school books and laptops and games.

Where are things collecting in your house right now?
“Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every si “Sighing, tears, frustration, anger.” Every single one of these emotions has made their way through our home in recent days and, my guess is, they have in your home too.

I SO needed this reminder today from the new book ‘Adore’ by @sarahagertywrites.

Adoration isn’t just sitting at His feet gazing longingly with stars in my eyes. It’s bringing my fears and my sorrows and gray roots in my hair that desperately needs to be colored and my messy house and all of the things that threaten to send me over the edge right now and laying them down before Him, soaking up His word and His presence so that when I stand back up, I am changed for having spent the time adoring the ONE who is... Healer, comforter, peace-giver, deliverer, redeemer.

What do you need to bring to Him today? I’ll share mine in the comments and I’d love to hear from you too!
I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole I’ve always loved evenings, but since this whole lockdown thing began, I’ve come to appreciate this time of day even more.

It feels the most...normal. Daytime is strange and foreign right now. My husband has taken over our home office, I’m suddenly taking over the responsibility of managing my kids’ distance learning and let me just say that teaching 7th grade algebra to my daughter is hugely ironic since I struggled with math all the way through school. I’m trying to do my own work but it feels utterly futile with the constant interruptions which take precedence right now. In the daytime, I’m constantly reminded of how upside down life feels.

But, in the evening, I cook dinner like I’ve always done and we gather around the table like we’ve always done and we laugh and tell stories and then clean up and play games or go on a walk or watch a show. And that feels SO gloriously normal.

So now I love evenings even more than I ever did before and I’m so grateful for this little chunk of time where the rhythms we established years ago are helping to sustain us now when so much of life feels outside of our control.

What feels ‘normal’ to you right now? Whatever it is, keep doing it. 🌿
When I was in college I would frequently call home When I was in college I would frequently call home and pour my heart out to my mom, sharing with her all that was happening in my life in that completely unfiltered way that you can talk with the person who potty trained you. These phone calls usually took place at night and my mom would patiently listen as I vented frustrations about professors, roommates, boyfriends and the food in the cafeteria. And, inevitably, they would end with my mom saying, “Everything seems worse when you’re tired. Try not to overthink things or make any major decisions tonight, especially when you are feeling emotional.” Dear friends, may I pass along this advice to you today?

If you don’t absolutely HAVE to make a decision right now, I want to encourage you to wait until life gets back to normal. If you are finding yourself over-analyzing relationships and family dynamics, I want to encourage you to remember that everything seems more dramatic when looked at under a microscope. And, let’s face it, being homebound with our loved ones non-stop makes us all feel like lab rats in an experiment.

If you are tempted to quit a job, start a business, start homeschooling permanently, stop homeschooling permanently, move to a new city, buy a farm, quit pursuing your dream, join a commune or make any other major life decision just…wait. Because, if it is in fact the right decision, it will be made even clearer once our lives return to their ‘regularly scheduled programming’. Instead, in this strange season, let’s all just take a deep, collective breath and let it out slowly, releasing the anxiety that threatens to overtake us. Let’s help each other maintain some perspective and not slip into a posture of over-thinking every little thing in our lives. Let’s remember that the enemy of our souls would love nothing more than to use this time when things feel dark to manipulate us into thinking that aspects of our lives are worse than they actually are.

My prayer for you in these days is that you will have the clarity to know what is true and that you will be filled with peace even while we live in this season of so many unknowns.
Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking thes Raise your hand if you’re doing more baking these days! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m trying to avoid gaining the #corona15 but my daughter and I LOVE baking together and it does help to pass the time plus it counts as a science lesson right?

If you’re able to find flour in the stores (for the love people please stop overbuying!) and you’re doing more baking at your house too you need to add this apricot bread to your list of new recipes to try!

Normally I’d point you to my blog for the directions but I’m going to do you a solid and leave the full recipe in the comments.

What have you baked so far during this time of social distancing? I’d love some new ideas!
There are a LOT of people out walking in our neigh There are a LOT of people out walking in our neighborhood right now (but still social distancing!) and she decided that she wanted to bring them some joy and put a smile on their face when they pass by our house. Also, the square with ‘say no to coronavirus’ is priceless. 😂 I just love her so much!
Follow
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2021 At The Picket Fence