mamagoose --

That hood and its creation are so cool that the prevailing cool crowd have to be demoted. And they will have to stay that way even if you do paint everything pink.

Cheers and congrats.

Love the herbs and spice collection display! Must be nice to have them so handy, plus they do add to the vintage farmhouse thing you are aiming for :)

If I was half as clever and handy as you I would be much better off!
Looks great!!

Mama-goose, When I go back to the beginning or your album and remember all the discussions shared on everything. I am stunned on how far you have come. I feel like I remember all of it. The comments and light bulb moments of "I can do this or that with what I have here".

I am now collecting pantry jars seeing how pretty your jars look on your new shelves. Vlasic pickles has come out with a giant jar that it narrow and tall. Hoping I can gather half a dozen of them. They fit my shelves two deep where the gallon ones do not.

Your kitchen has really opened my eyes and brain to use and reuse what I have. I have always done this in some ways. but you have made it all look so professional.

Not sure on the Cool crowd. Over my head on that one.

Chris

honorbiltkit, Thank you, it's nice to be thought cool, for once, although I've come to appreciate being nerdy!

amielynn, Thank you, I plan to build an open shelf for spices, underneath the cabinet next to the stove. The spices will be even more convenient.

rexroat, Thanks for your encouragement!

Oh, shades, Thank you, my friend, for everything. Your jars sound perfect--will you paint the lids? You might check with local restaurants, to see if they have empty glass condiment jars--that's where most of mine came from.

The 'cool crowd comment' was one I made to commiserate with amielynn on this thread:

Here is a link that might be useful: message to lurkers and quiet people

Even though you have seen my appreciation for your kitchen and all the projects associated with it on the "Smaller Homes Forum", I just had to chime in and express it again over here.

You are AMAZING, Mama Goose! I have gone through your album several times and still find something new. Now I see you have added your vintage stove, and it is just adorable!

I love your kitchen--it is so homey and comfortable--like a favorite pair of jeans and sneakers! Your grandbabies are going to have such fond memories of Grandma's kitchen.

I don't have a lot of advice about backsplash ideas, but I thought of either using ceiling tins--probably painted-- or wide panel bead board. Either of those choices would be really perfect for your space, I think.

In any case, keep the photos coming!

Mama goose, what a beautiful kitchen. I would like to just sit and look around and help peel carrots or something in that kitchen!

I confess I was exhausted just looking through your album :) I am so impressed by your energy, DIY talent, and resourcefulness -- and just as much by the results. So warm and charming. Thanks so much for sharing.

thx for posting over here mama G - yours is one of those treasures that most here would miss out on. I'm still boggled by the hood you made! yikes lady - you are awesome!

oh, and those great, great cabinets you found for a steal!

I am awed!

What a mama! I am just amazed. All this and a little kid too? I use having-kids as an excuse for not doing stuff myself but quite clearly this is nonsense. I don't want 'inspiration pics' of kitchens, it's you, working, that I want to put in my file. Your photo album was gripping viewing. So impressive.

You are simply amazing.

PS. I have now looked at your entire slideshow, mama goose, and I am prostrate in awe.

I fancy myself a fairly resourceful recycler and re-user, both on principle and because this approach can often produce something that individualizes a space (or a garden). But I am SO not in your league, on the grounds of imagination as well as manual dexterity.

Thanks for setting such a high bar in this realm. I suspect that your achievements will inspire lots of other forum members to look at the material world with a new eye, although perhaps with less stunning results.

all I can say is wow. looking through your album was an adventure. love it.

Thank you all so much--it's gratifying to know that my 'out of the box' quirkiness is appreciated by others. LOL, with all the praise, I'm afraid that the second half of the remodel may not measure up, although I have a few more tricks up my sleeve!

shelayne, I had a scrap of painted beadboard left over from the upper cabinet. It's exactly the width of the hood, so I tacked it up above the stove--I really like it there, so beadboard is the top contender. I can always tile over it, later.

Thank you, sallysue, my extended family gathers here for a monthly meal, so we'd find something for you to do. :)

MCMesprit, thank you. LOL, maybe I should start an album of 'highlights' but I wouldn't know which ones to choose!

Thank you, steph, the cabinets have lived up to my expectations. My father plans to help with the trim next week, and I'll be painting the doors soon.

plllog, thank you for all your help and encouragement.

aliris, that little one is my grandson, 3 yrs old. I've babysat since he was born, but he and my daughter are now living here. She and her ex-husband share custody, so I save the really difficult projects until he's gone. I recently 'borrowed' one of his boards to temporarily prop up a cabinet, and he was very happy to get it back! Thank you for the compliments.

remodelfla, thank you. I remember your 'possum-belly' baker's cabinet--what a great find!

honorbilt, that is high praise indeed! I come from a long line of folks who can 'make do.' Thank you!

Thank you, lawjedi!

This is testimony to the idea that someone with vision and cleverness can do well in life. There is so much here that it takes real study to take it all in.

I'm especially remembering that bifold door treatment. Distinction despite a scrounger's restrictions and budget.

Mama goose- As always, your kitchen is amazing and such an inspiration! While I have always loved the range hood, I am equally impressed by the marble table project. That's just beautiful...and while I can see that the black paint would show more construction dust...it just looks so good with the rest of the kitchen.

Those little open shelves, at the end of the cabinets are exactly what I was trying to find a picture of on the internet, a few months ago. Everything is so vintage and pretty and functional. It's going to be so wonderful to get it all finished, but I'm guessing you'll find another project or two, once the kitchen is done :)

You are the queen of repurpose/reuse, in my book!

Triple Kudos for constructing your own Modernaire-Style hood!

Fascinating pantry shots. I too use jars, but don't have quite so many. Restaurants, huh? Hmmm.

LOVE your vintage bakeware. Have a few pieces myself. Anything that says "FireKing" on the bottom has to be good. Always wonder though if people think I'm just randomly picking up kitchenware at garage sales, LOL.

Please continue to post your renovation here, if it's not too much trouble.

Biochem- I'd love to find kitchenware at garage sales! My grandmother always found wonderful things at yard sales...in fact, you've given me a good idea for this weekend :)

Thank you so much for posting your kitchen. It's exactly the kind of kitchen I would love to have. What a find those cabinets are! And that hood is just amazing.

I wish we had time to DIY, but with DH's job, two little kids, and my not being very handy despite having tons of ideas, it's not in the cards right now. We were contemplating professionally remodeling the kitchen, but have likely decided against it in favor of some other renovations...partly because I am sure that most contractors will think I'm crazy for wanting some of the things I'd like to ensure a homey, vintage-y, gently worn vibe for our kitchen.

I sort of regret that post because as usual I have foot'n'mouth disease and managed to come off way more hostile than I actually feel.

I admire you and your vision for your space, I actually wish I had an old house to work with! I have loved the older homes since I was little and never EVER planned on owning a new build.

It's ok not to be in the cool crowd, cause everyone knows that the head cheerleader ends up looking like 3 miles of a bad road at the 20th reunion! (just a joke people no offense to any head cheerleaders out there!)

Oh, amielynn, I'm sorry for calling attention to your post, but I can certainly identify with the sentiment. I didn't sense hostility--if I had I wouldn't have used it, even though it does help illustrate my 'Pretty in Pink' analogy. And, I'm sorry if I breached forum etiquette by using your name when linking plllog's inspirational thread. Thank you for your encouragement.

Thank you, florantha, when I use the RED KA mixer, I think of one of your posts that I read when I first found GW!

lavender, thank you for all the kind words. Since our projects are very similar, I always enjoy hearing from you. I still have a guest room to conquer!

biochem, some of those jars smelled of pickled banana peppers for a long time! I think I'm trying to recreate my grandmother's kitchen--I remember her FireKing cereal bowls, and remember when Pyrex was the latest rage. Triple thanks!

hlove, I've reached a time in my life where I can give my home some much-needed attention. Keep reading here, and when you are ready, you'll be far better prepared than I was. Thank you!

Oh Mama don't waste a minute feeling bad about a silly breach in etiquette cause it does not bother me a bit! When I wrote the original "cool crowd" post I violated my write a post then come back and reread it and make sure my tendency to be blunt doesn't come off badly. So in hindsight I think I could have put my feeling a bit better.

Pretty in Pink is one of my all time favorite movies, I so loved the character of Andy (sp?) and her struggle with fitting in and finding herself. Thankfully I figured out pretty young who I am and stopped worrying what others think! It also doesn't help that my sense of humor can be totally mistaken when devoid of tone :^)

amielynn, thank you for your graciousness. My favorite part is Duckie's rendition of 'Try a Little Tenderness.'

Here is a link that might be useful: Duckie gettin' down

OMG! I so loved Duckie! I would have been the like 1% that preferred the original ending of her with Duckie instead of Blaine. And the "airhead" Steff really pissed me off.

Truth be told Pretty in Pink was always a second to The Breakfast Club which IMO was *the* best brat pack movie and ties evenly with the other much loved Molly Ringwald movie Sixteen Candles, cause really who doesn't love Long Duck Dong? And Jake Ryan? Was such a hottie. I couldn't choose between those two movies if my life depended on it.

Wait aren't we supposed to be talking about kitchens? lol :^)

Mama sez: "I think I'm trying to recreate my grandmother's kitchen--

Not a bad objective, conscious or not. I remember my grandma's country kitchen too. I churned the butter, got the milk out of the spring where it was kept cool, sat beside my grandpa at the really long board table, was fascinated by the Hoosier cabinet she had with a pull out enamelled counter surface and a sifter built into a bin that held her 100 pound bag of flour. And she made dresses from the flour sacks too. Grandpa bragged that Tiny could always make 500 pounds of gravy out of 100 pounds of flour. He was a Scotsman. I loved that old farmhouse.

Replicating such a kitchen is a respectable goal, Mama. You go girl.

Breakfast = food = prepared in KITCHEN. OK, that's a stretch, even for me. :)

moccasinlanding, I love your descriptions of your grandparents' kitchen and farmhouse. I remember feed sacks, too. Thank you!

OMG. That is seriously one of the most resourceful, clever and imaginative kitchens I have ever seen. Now THAT is a GardenWeb kitchen. I am amazed and impressed.

Moccasinlanding - I loved that little vignette too. That is a way of life loong gone - not meaning to be impolite by noting this! It's just that I have really no connection with this sort of life so it's pretty amazing to hear a first-hand account of it, even brief. My, life does change. It's a long way from hand-churned butter cooled in the spring to boxed butter sticks cooled in a french-door fridge. Thanks for the snippet.

I havent had a chance to see all the album pics yet as its late here, but wanted to say: That hood is amazing!!!

anna_chosak and rockybird, thank you very much!

I am overwhelmed with the praise and encouragement offered by everyone. Thank you all.

Mama Goose, you have blown me away! I love so many elements of your kitchen and am completely amazed by your inventiveness and ability to repurpose so beautifully. Your cabs, hutch, vintage stove, and so many great details! And I can't wait to see that hood installed! I can't wait to see more!

And I have to add that I so wish you would start a blog! I (and many others) could learn so much from you! I'd love to find out not only the steps of doing your projects but your thought process on repurposing objects.

Thank you so much for posting your lovely kitchen. You are indeed an inspiration!

flwrs_n_co, Thank you--I've linked a pic from my hood album. I didn't realize I haven't added a finished pic to the kitchen album.

LOL, if I had a blog I wouldn't have time for the kitchen!

Here is a link that might be useful: Hood install

Posted on the original thread:

Since I put the old stove in the DR side of the kitchen, I thought I'd add a couple of pics of that area. The cabinets that are lined up against the far wall were in other locations before we added the new back door, and took out part of the dividing wall. I guess I'll have to find a new location for them (probably the bedroom--everything else seems to end up in there), because that wall will house the second school cabinet.

The oak pedestal table is an heirloom, but it seems really dark--maybe I can paint the chairs several light colors, and throw on a vintage-style table cloth. They aren't original--what do you think?

Here is a link that might be useful: how the other half lives

Thank you for posting the pic of the hood installed. It looks fantastic! You must smile ear-to-ear everytime you stand in front of your stove. :)

"Where I could, I've re-used materials, used scraps and other materials that we'd stockpiled, and shopped ebay, craigslist, and thrift stores."

These are what I call pre-loved items. They have the most character. Momagoose, please don't ever feel shamed to show off that kitchen. I know that your kitchen is one of the types that I dream about. A family oriented, character filled, purposeful space. I love what you are creating there and the talent you and your DH have is truly inspirational.

Keep the pics coming!

flwrs, thank you, I am thrilled with the hood, especially since it vents to the outside. And when I think of it sitting neglected, in the barn for all those years, I'm happy to give it a new lease on life.

louisianapurchase, thank you so much for the kind words. I've always loved old houses and old furniture, and I'm truly happy with mine. I've added pics of the trash pull-out--you can click on the last link and scroll forward.

Since I've followed this from the beginning and it was months back, can't remember if I tattled on momma. She created the stove hood from a chicken feeder. And even has her small grandson helping shine the top of island with an electric polisher...learning from the best. Also she alone cut the edge to an ornate trim. I'd love to get inside her head. Even though I use a lot of power tools, she shames me with her skills.

Thank you, emagineer! I think this thread has dropped off the radar, never to return, but within a few weeks I should have a finished kitchen to reveal.

I'd love to get inside her head. LOL, that would work--there's plenty of room in here!