Blue + White Country Kitchen

I’m not entirely sure when it started, but over the last few years, I have developed a very serious obsession with blue and white things.

It took a few years and some courage, but I am finally past the newlywed kitchen stage. You know the one; mismatched bowls from the thrift store, a canvas print with random French words, a horrible encouraging cup about how I can do all things through Christ, and plates that were a ghastly wedding gift, but I kept due to guilt and sentimental value.

Like I said, it took courage and a slap from the Kondo lady, but now I finally have a blue and white country kitchen I love.

One of the best things Graeme has ever made is this dish rack. This is a ridiculous statement, seeing as he has built houses in several continents, but were they as pretty as this? I don’t think so.

I recently met a lady who got jealous when I told her I’m married to a carpenter. He is rather handy. He has built almost every piece of furniture in our house. I’ll give him a squiggly, Quentin Blake drawing and he’ll turn it into beautiful furniture.

He is so handy one of his projects for this coming year is building a tiny home on wheels!

It would be a lot easier to clean oatmeal off an IKEA high chair, but I usually sacrifice functionality for beauty, except when it comes to myself.

I am currently wearing a really long gray sweater, brown pants, a fluffy vest, fluffy hair, and I’ve wrapped my feet in an ancient blue blanket with a hole in the middle. Functionality. Graeme looked at me and smiled a little, but didn’t say anything because he is a wise man.

I try to be meaningful with my decor and the things I collect, so I make it a point to only own things with a story behind them.

The story behind this teapot with blue flowers is that it was on sale at Pier1 and I really liked it.

I’ve had my white dish rack for a few years and I haven’t gotten tired of it. We added it to our Etsy shop and now there are several of these throughout the country!

Graeme made some stained dish racks and they turned out so beautiful I’ve considered swapping mine for a stained one. It’s a tough choice.

Which one is better?

White or stained?

Like I said, tough choice.

Do you also collect dishes like an old lady? Do you love country kitchens? Do you have a soft spot for Swedish country decor? You might need one of these dish racks.

And if you’re wondering what I keep in the tiny drawers, I will tell you:

• A tiny LEGO horse
• Three marbles
• Some dice
• A yellow crayon
• A bit of shriveled dandelion

This would be really alarming if I didn’t live with a four-year-old.