It’s difficult to keep our tiny kitchen clean enough to photograph most days. If there’s one space that’s really lacking in our rental, it’s this room. There’s no dishwasher, which I can deal with, but the lack of counter space can make it difficult to tackle basic kitchen tasks and previous tenants have added an odd assortment of hooks, nails, and pins to the walls and ripped a hole in the linoleum. We’ve had to get creative with counter top appliance placement, facing the microwave out to the great room to take advantage of the open counter design.

The room theme is a bit rustic on accident. Daniel’s mother made the needle art early on in her marriage and gave it to her parents-in-law. They gave it to us as a wedding present and it has shaped the overall feel of our kitchen ever since. I purchased the “Equal but different” tea towel on Fab and stretched it over canvas stretcher bars when I still worked as a framer. I made the unfinished clothes line frame to hold post cards, but decided to feature favorite photos of loved ones and travel destinations this time around. I love looking at beautiful faces and places and getting nostalgic. Nostalgia is particularly suited to the kitchen, I think.

Custom cutting board, wedding gift; Swedish pot pad from my parents; Candles and holder, wedding gifts; Ceramic vases handmade by my sister.

There you have it. This is the cleanest the kitchen will ever be, so I hope you enjoy it.