Farmhouse Kitchen Wall Update

I thought I’d change gears this week, from Christmas projects, to the changes we made to the wall behind our stove in our farmhouse kitchen.  I really hadn’t intended to overhaul the look of this wall, but one project leads to another…and often another, and that was definitely the case with my kitchen wall, as you’ll see.

It all started when we got a new oven range hood from Westside Wholesale.

Obviously, it’s a modern appliance, so once we got it installed, the challenge was to make it blend it with the rest of our farmhouse kitchen.  My husband built a custom cover for it, made from an antique door.  It turned out fabulous, but since I didn’t want the shiny stainless steel from the range hood peeking out from under the wooden cover, that lead to another project….

I had already created an “antique” sign with Fusion Mineral Paints (tutorial here), and wasn’t quite sure where I would hang it, when it dawned on me that it would look perfect hanging below the front edge of the range hood cover!

The only problem was, it wasn’t long enough to go from one end of the range cover to the other, but I had another salvaged wood plank, so I cut the plank to the correct width, painted it the same color as my sign, and mounted the sign onto the plank.

It was exactly what the range hood needed, and I think it now looks like an awning on the front of an old store.

The problem that remained, was what to do with all my spices that had been in small, old wooden crates that I used as spice racks.  They looked off-center under the range hood, and the steam rising from boiling pots right below the spice tins was causing the spices to clump together, so they needed to be moved.

I had 2 other shelves on the wall to the side of the stove, so I moved the spice tins there, and moved most of the glass canisters that had previously been on the shelves into my pantry.  They aren’t so close to the burners now, so hopefully the steam from boiling pots won’t be a problem now.

Underneath these shelves, sits my enamelware pot that I put a remnant from an antique grain sack around.  It holds all my kitchen utensils.  It is still my favorite grain sack that I’ve ever found, because of the “Amen” last name on it, the little sewn patched area.

Now it was time to redecorate where the spices had been.  I moved my old kraut cutter above the stove, and added a few old kitchen baking items onto it.

I love the patina all these utensils have.

I did some rearranging on the wall where the kraut cutter had previously been as well.  I hung a few of my old potato mashers there, and moved my  vintage pie tin below them.

In the corner of the wall, hangs a little shelf with more of my vintage kitchen gadgets on it.  The egg timer inside an old wooden spool was a gift from my in-laws a few months ago, which I love.  The flour sifter is often used as a prop when I’m shooting other photos, like my Mrs. Claus Cookie Co. sign.

Under the shelf, hangs a little rack with my measuring cups, an old galvanized tote that holds our silverware, and my favorite antique ironstone pitcher.

It was hard to get a good shot of, but I wanted to show you what my husband used on the side of the range hood cover.  He installed corrugated metal that was leftover from our guest house remodel.  It’s a small detail, but I love it, and I think it adds to the uniqueness of the range hood cover.

I’m so glad that one project led to another, because I love the new look of the wall now.  The only problem is, these changes have made my mental wheels start turning on other changes I’d like to make in my kitchen!  I’m going to have to do some arm-twisting to get my husband to work on them, so wish me luck!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!