The kitchen takes shape.

With all the 'winter preparedness' tasks completed outside, I've been able to spend more time working in the barn lately. The kitchen is the focus right now, although I always seem to have several big projects going at the same time. We purchased new appliances during the summer, so I would know exact sizes/locations before starting to build anything. I made the cabinets from 3/4" Skyblend particle board- an FSC-certified, formaldehyde-free material we got from Certified Wood Products. The cabinet fronts and timber posts were milled from our old barn beams. The horizontal paneling is 30 year-old material I found at an estate sale (this is the leftovers from the hayloft flooring project in July). With help from Lisa and my mom, we got everything painted and put back in place.

This paneled wall that hides the cabinet backs will support a pine bar top (still working on that, though). The opening on the left provides access to the utility lines that come up through the slab under the cabinets).

I also finished the ceiling by attaching drywall to the subfloor in each joist bay, leaving the timbers exposed from below. We painted it with Bioshield clay paint to match the walls. Time to build some countertops!