Dining Room/Kitchen Plans... Oh, so much to do!

From the day we moved into our house I have been stalking people's blogs and websites looking for inspiration for our dining room/kitchen.  The space has a strange angled island separating the two as you can see here. (This is not what it looks like now.  When I get around to actually cleaning both areas at the same time, I will take pictures!)

I have decided to take down the cabinets above the island.  I have a pot rack I could hang, but I feel like it would be to cluttery between the spaces.  I am thinking of just leaving it open.  I have measured everything and can rearrange the cabinets we have and build a cabinet for the above the stove microwave for FREE!!  I am so excited to start working on it, but sometimes have to remind myself it isn't a race and Mr. TSL has a job and isn't as excited about undertaking such a huge project on his weekends off.  I can wait til summer.... maybe :) 

I need a new (to me) black stove, over the stove microwave, and dishwasher.  Here are a few pics of my inspiration for these spaces!

I have the hanging scale part, just not the basket....I can make it though!!  With stuff I already have ;)

The next few photos I found in HGTV.com, while searching for an attainable kitchen with minimal moolah. I am not going to lie Layla and Kevin at The Lettered Cottage are awesome!!  I found them with HGTV and have been blog-stalking them since!  She started out and her kitchen looked like this:

Then she magically turned it into this:
I found the herb boxes and now they live at my house too!!

She has since repainted it to a lighter color on bottom and a white cabinet on top.  Which also looks amazing, but I still heart the black cabinets.  Black is slimming ;) and it doesn't show dirty little hand prints as easily!  So we are painting ours black with Rustoleum's Cabinet Transformations you can look at some before and after pics HERE.  I love this system because there is NO SANDING!!!  I hate sanding, unless I am re-staining something....I still despise it then, but have to deal with it because it is what it is.  Some more inspirations for my kitchen/dining room.

The countertop is going to be granite tiles and the island will be marble tiles.  I SCORED these off craigslist for $1 per 12x12 tile.  Total for tile $65 :) CRAZY!!

It looks like this:

I am hoping it comes out as nice as this kitchen:

I painted the walls a light green color called OLIVE 3.  It's okay, but I am thinking of going with a more neutral color that matches the living room.  Ralph Lauren Cobblestone is my go-to color.  I love it! I try others but I just keep coming back.  Ralph and I have a thing, he makes beautiful paint and I paint things with it.  Okay, maybe it's not a 'thing' per say, but I do love me some Ralph Lauren.  

The long wall in the dining room is getting a rustic planked look with free pallet wood from Craigslist...Did I mention I heart Craigslist?  Well, I do!  They have everything!
I hope my planked wall comes out as beautifully as this one over at Mom and Her Drill:

It started out, she was going to imitate Layla @ The Lettered Cottage

Again, Layla is amazing and is a huge inspiration in blogworld! 

She planned to paint hers like Layla did, but she left it more rustic looking.  I would naturally want to paint mine too, but when revealing the stripes in our little bathroom, Mr. TSL said "it's nice, just not my style."  When I asked what his style was, he said more like a log cabin.  I am hoping to get 'er done with the pallet wall in the dining room.  He and I have dreamed of moving to Colorado for years and living in a log cabin!  To tell you the truth, my own style is a miss mash of cottage, old farm house, cabin and beach.  That's right...I am a little scatter brained, but if I could find a Beach-Front Farm Cottage Cabin we would be fine!

Now that my tangent on that is done, back to more inspiration! The door in the dining room leads to the sunporch and there is a ton of light from that, however I have only those 2 little windows in the dining room and NONE in the kitchen :(  So, I am thinking I need a big glass door leading to the sunporch to let in more light.  Like this one

Or this one:

I have a fabulous new table and 6 dining chairs in the garage awaiting a new coat of paint and some fabulous numbers....Oh spring, get here faster!!!!

Last, but not least.  I have already changed the lights in the dining room to my Pottery-Barn knock-off Bellora Chandeliers.  You can see them here .  Now my inspiration for the kitchen lights are these:

Kara over at Kara Pasley Designs made these Mason Jar Pendant Lights!!  Mr. TSL said he would help me with these!!  Oh how, I wish I had a huge window over my sink!

Okay, another last, but not least.  I love big farm sinks... always have always will.  I have been longing for one for-eva.  I found one on, you'll never guess, ...the suspense is killing you I know, wait for it.....CRAIGSLIST for $75.  Some rich snood picked then didn't like it...then I acquired it from said snood!   Woohoo!

She looks like this:

another pic

Of course mine isn't in quite yet, she is sitting in the garage with a towel saving the enamel from the radiator on top of her.


Make your life beautiful!
-Kari