The Old Kitchen and Some Inspiration

When we first moved to our little adobe house in the Mesilla Valley, the kitchen looked like this.

Because we had just done up our last kitchen in New Hampshire with beautiful countertops and an undermounted sink that I really liked, I wasn't thrilled with the stainless steel sink and formica countertops. But, hey, we are lucky enough to live in a first world country and have indoor plumbing and running water. So we lived with the kitchen as it was for quite a few years.

 We replaced the old appliances that you see in these photos one by one.

I painted the cabinets a couple of times, but not very well and with the wrong paint that wore off easily. We got to know the local electricians, and I added lamps for extra lighting and atmosphere. We made do with what we had.

But my sister and I used to picnic in a little park across from a house with a Frida Kahlo self-portrait tile mural on the side. That mural really sparked my imagination. 

Then one day, years later, Bill and I came across a single Frida tile in a little shop in Mesilla. We bought it, and eventually realized we had a theme. All we needed was a new kitchen for Frida.