A Happy Kitchen: White Kitchen with a Coastal Vibe

I’m not sure there is any more appropriately named blog than that of my sweet friend Krista, The Happy Housie. It’s like her house smiles at you… and invites you to smile in return. I’m so thankful that she is here today to share her incredible white kitchen with its glorious coastal vibe. Welcome, Krista!

Tell me a bit about yourself and your blog.

Hello readers of Maison de Pax! My name is Krista and I blog over at The Happy Housie. I’m super excited to be here today sharing a favourite space in our home. I’ve known Rachel through her blog since my very early years in blogging, and totally adore her beautiful home and sweet, down-to-earth nature! I live with my husband and two elementary school aged boys on a lovely lake just outside of a small town in the middle of Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. I also work as an elementary school teacher, but I love to spend my free time decorating, organizing, crafting, and DIYing. I’ve been sharing these kinds of projects and more on my blog, The Happy Housie, for the past five-ish years. We’ve lived in our current home for six years now and have gradually been working our way through our entire home; adding as much character and interest as we can.

A Happy Kitchen: such a gorgeous aqua and white kitchen with beautiful, white counters and many diy elements

What is your favorite space and what is its function?

Choosing just one space in our home that is a favourite is definitely a challenge since we’ve spent the past few years transforming most rooms in our home into spaces that reflect our families needs as well as my cozy coastal-cottage-chic style. But I would say that our most loved space is probably our kitchen.

A Happy Kitchen: such a gorgeous aqua and white kitchen with beautiful, white counters and many diy elements

We have very few upper cabinets and a wall of windows that face our directly on our view of the lake we live on. It is a super light, bright, and welcoming space and one that we completely transformed through a huge kitchen makeover a few years back. We use our kitchen the most of almost any room in our house; and in addition to acting as a place for food prep or family time, it is also the central spot where I work to try to keep our family life organized. Just off the kitchen is a closet that I turned into a family command centre; and we also DIYed a giant chalkboard weekly organizer that hangs on the side of our pantry.

Organizing posts are a big part of what I share on my blog and I recently undertook a super successful ten week organizing challenge and worked my way through almost every room in our home. If you are interested in getting your home completely organized, I encourage you to check out the challenge!

How would you describe the style of your space?

In keeping with our lakefront location, I designed our kitchen to reflect the colours of the water and wanted to create a coastal cottage-chic feel. While the majority of our space is white, it is full of bluish green accents.

A Happy Kitchen: such a gorgeous aqua and white kitchen with beautiful, white counters and many diy elements

I painted out the hood fan and planked peninsula base with a Benjamin Moore colour called Wedgewood Gray, and love the pop of colour against the sea of white in our kitchen. You can take our summer living room tour to see the way that blues and greens are carried through our entire home.

Are there any DIY projects or elements in the space?

While we hired help for some of the more structural projects, such as installing new windows, cabinets, and stone counters; we also did several DIYs in our kitchen space. We built our own DIY hood fan to act as a feature over our gas stove; and also added planking and corbels to the builder-basic kitchen peninsula to give the whole room a unique and custom feel.

A Happy Kitchen: such a gorgeous aqua and white kitchen with beautiful, white counters and many diy elements

Do you have any favorite memories or fun stories that have happened in this space?

Our kitchen is definitely the center of our busy family lives. My two boys spend a ton of time at the peninsula working on homework, doing projects, or eating snacks.

A Happy Kitchen: such a gorgeous aqua and white kitchen with beautiful, white counters and many diy elements

We even often end up eating casual family meals at our peninsula despite the fact that our dining room table is only a few feet away! It’s truly the room where our lives play out before us. We prepare and share meals, tell stories, share our days, and even play games, do crafts, or tackle homework at our peninsula bar.

Do you have any future plans for the space?

I don’t have any plans for big changes to our kitchen! I recently brought in a new vintage-style over-dyed rug and switched out our old basic china cabinet for an etagere shelf for dish storage, and with these changes I feel our kitchen is exactly where we want it to be!

A Happy Kitchen: such a gorgeous aqua and white kitchen with beautiful, white counters and many diy elements

What advice would you give a reader who was interested in creating a similar feel in his or her home?

If you love the coastal, cottage, beachy feel of this space it is pretty easily to replicate and recreate in your own home. Start with white or neutral walls and furniture mixed with beachy blue and green accents in your dishes, fabrics, decor accents and art. Paint old pieces to give them new life and mix these old finds with new. Add in some natural greenery along with lots of baskets, wicker, and jute or twine rugs to create that classic beach-chic feel. I think it’s one of the most affordable looks to style your home in.

A Happy Kitchen: such a gorgeous aqua and white kitchen with beautiful, white counters and many diy elements

Thank you again for having me here today, Rachel! I’d be thrilled if you wanted to pop over and visit me at The Happy Housie. Take my most recent summer living room or summer kitchen tour, or check out our newly renovated deck!

Similar Posts

6 Comments

  1. A happier, more refreshing kitchen than Krista’s I’ve never seen! I was instantly delighted. The fresh aqua and crisp white play off one another in such a bright, fun way. If her kitchen were mine, I might be tempted to spend the entire day right there!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *