Refridgerator Doors Gone Country

When Mr. Right and I first got married our home was blessed with family hand me downs. We had a sofa from my parents, a kitchen table from his Grandmother and a chair from my Grandmother. When it came time to buy our first piece of furniture (A side table to hold a fish tank) Mr. Right asked, "What kind of wood do you like" I quickly replied, "Oak" He wasn't quite sure if his favorite was oak, but before long we had a little round oak table underneath a hexigon fish tank. A year later, we moved from our apartment into our first home. We now had a "living room" and Mr. Right had gone from working at a feed store, his uncle owned, to starting his career. It was now time to buy "real furniture". The first thing Mr. Right said was, "I'm not sure I'm all that into the look of oak." I thought about that and realized I wasn't really into the look of Oak either- my parents were into Oak. Is that why I so quickly selected Oak as my first furniture purchase? After Mr. Right and I visited numerous furniture stores, trying to figure out OUR style, it became clear that we were both drawn to Victorian furniture. We purchased two wingback chairs and a camelback sofa with carved queen anne legs. Over the next 8 years or so, we collected antiques and added to our decor. However, with the addition of a few children I found my decorating style changing. I wanted a kid friendly, warm, comfortable look. So, before I knew it my kitchen and family room became Country. Over the years I feel I have fine tuned my style- it ranges from primitive country to Old World. A few years ago we were remodeling our kitchen. I knew I wanted it to reflect a primitive country feel, so I got out the graph paper and began my design. When remodeling, I chose to redo my cabinets myself so I could save enough money to afford amazing appliances- a Sub Zero Refridgerator and Freezer to be exact. I knew I wanted separate units that were built in and could be covered with a panel to match my cupboards. After lots of differnt designs, I decided I wanted to make my sub zeros look like barn doors. I had a designer friend go over my plans to see what she thought, "Barn Doors? I thinks that's a little much. And wood flooring in the kitchen? Not a good idea" As you can see, I didn't follow any of her advice. Here's my barn doors, proudly resting upon my wood floors (and the floors, by the way, are OAK- you can't completely change the way you were brought up)

These were actually built by a handyman we had doing some of our work. They're just plywood panels, trimmed out. I found the hardware online for less than $50 (wish I could remember the company)
I guess my point in posting this long winded, barn door, show and tell, is to encourage you to follow your heart with your decorating. Though styles will change, if you always go with what you love, your home will reflect a warm, inviting atmosphere. Don't let someone else tell you what does or doesn't look good- You're the one who lives with it. My other advice... buy things cheap. When you tire of your current decor, you won't feel stuck. You can just sell it on craigslist and move to your new style. Hope you've enjoyed my refridgerator doors as much as I have. Love, Kelly

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