this is the fourth post in a series: Lovely Limitations, check out all the posts here.

I was obsessed with this kitchen in the July issue of Southern Living.

At first I though the before photo wasn’t that bad, but that’s plywood on the floor to the right there, not a rug.

I still sometimes find myself wrongly assuming that those pretty kitchens that we see in magazines were created from the ground up by architect husbands and funded generously from an unlimited bank account.  Even though I know that’s rarely the case.

Look closely.  The footprint of the room is the same. The appliances are in the same place. And much to my surprise, the homeowner used the old cabinets–they just got a coat of paint and the uppers were raised to touch the ceiling. Which alloted for my favorite part of the kitchen…drumroll please….the undercabinet open shelving.

Homeowner Lindsey Ellis had to come up with a solution to a space problem.  She wanted her cabinets to touch the ceiling but that created way too much space above the counters.  Solution:: open shelves.  We mere mortals just see those shelves and think, WOW, I want to do that too, both doored cabs and open shelves~a perfect combination. But for Lindsey, it was an elegant solution to a problem.  I’m so glad that she didn’t just give in and charge up new, tall upper cabinets, aren’t you?

Thank God for Lovely Limitations.

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