Show us your kitchens... link party

I joined the party over at Thrifty Decor Chick, everyone is showing off their kitchens!  Link is at the bottom, go check it out!!

Here is my kitchen:

The breakfast bar we built.  Well, my husband and my father-in-law built it, I just supervised ;-)

*note to self, need to add pull on fake drawer

The brick wall that is in serious need of some love...I'm thinking a clock, a chalkboard, and maybe some shelving.

Command Central.

I love these canisters.  I have found so many at thrift stores and I am just storing them until I can get my pantry in order.  One day.

We removed laminate countertops and installed 24 x 24 granite tiles from The Tile Shop.

A thrift store find, it's dated 1968!  We also installed beadboard and crown on the soffit to add some extra character to the kitchen.

Go check out the rest of the party at

http://www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/

Updated Kitchen

  We are working with what we've got in the kitchen and have done some tweaking on the layout to make it work better for us. 

Before (main kitchen space, the L shape starting with the fridge on the left, the sink, stove, and ending with the pantry):

This is the opposite wall

Same wall, going into the dining area

Original laminate countertop

Here are the pictures of the work in progress:

Installing 24" x 24" granite tiles

We lived with the opposite wall like this for a long time.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with this space.  My DH has created a pass through window which opened up the kitchen to the dining area.

Then we decided to tear it all out

I love having a brick wall in the kitchen, but the brick was DARK and depressing.

Under the original cabinets, the hardwood floor needed to be patched

After pictures:  (this is one of those instances where I would like to point out all of the things that are wrong... like the chalkboard wall paint that was compromised during the removal of the trim, and the lovely pipe coming from the brick wall that leads to the gas firpeplace.  On the happy side though, my DH and father-in-law rocked at patching the hardwood floors!!!)

The After as it looks now in the daylight:

...and at night.  I really hate all the hodgepodge on the fridge but it is a necessity to enjoy seeing all of the pictures of our wonderful friends and their children.  So it stays.

I realized that I left out the enire area around the stove and the pantry.  Maybe one day when I actually finish painting the cabinets and changing out the hinges.  (remember I have DIY A.A.D.D.)