Thank you for stopping by Tumbleweed Tidings today! I know it is a crazy busy time of the year for many of us, so I appreciate you making time for my little blog.

This stop on the Christmas home tour for 2017 is the kitchen. I took all of the pictures and had planned to have this out a couple of weeks ago, but between shopping, wrapping, hosting an Open House, and doing the table centerpieces for a church dinner the other night, let’s just say that life got in the way of my best intentions!

(And speaking of pictures, I apologize in advance for all of the shadows that appear in the kitchen photos.  Between it being a dark north facing room and the cabinet overhang, it never works very well for me.  One of my New Year’s resolutions is to give you some better photography in 2018, so bear with me please!)

They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, and in our house, that is definitely the case. I spend a good portion of my day there, not just in the preparation and cleanup of meals, but I make most of my phone calls there, use the table to write out correspondence and the peninsula as my computer station and “office.”  I have a desk in our office where I could work comfortably with my husband each day, but no, I prefer my perch in the kitchen.  From there, I can see out the front window through the dining room, and out the back slider, to the yard, pool and patio.  It is, literally, the heart of the home and my command central.

Because the rooms in our home are separated by more walls than what is in style right now, the kitchen can stand alone in its color scheme, and has always had a more traditional red, white and green Christmas décor. I love polka dots, stripes, and this year I added plaid, which gave it a whole new dimension.  I also have some cute ceramic cardinals spread all around that make me happy at Christmastime.

This year, I added some wall fans, similar to what I did in the dining room, but in the red and white palette. There are stripes, zig zags, polka dots and solids.  This large room has a lot going on, but it is tempered by a fair amount of white and the wooden cabinet color, so it can handle the various patterns.

The green Asian ladder was moved from another room to accomodate a couple of plaid blankets in the corner.

My amazing husband built the wooden trough, a knock off of a very expensive one I’ve seen in stores, for less than $10. For Christmas, I filled it with greenery, berries, pinecones, and two communion candles in red. There is also a “Cookies for Santa” plate propped in the back.  I just love it, and can see endless possibilities as the seasons change to use this trough with pumpkins, Mason jars with lights inside, and leaves for fall, as well as spring greenery, bunnies, and candles for Easter.  This trough may never leave the kitchen table!

The pew that sits behind the kitchen table is from the older sanctuary at our church that they converted to a chair format  When they offered them up, I jumped at the chance to own a piece of our history.  These are the pews that we grew up sitting on.  Our friends and family sat on them for our wedding and the children’s baptisms.  To say that this pew it is a cherished new possession would be an understatement. And as an added bonus, it can hold about 10 pillows if need be:)

I hope you have enjoyed the Tumbleweed Tidings kitchen Christmas tour during this most wonderful time of the year!

Good tidings,

Diane