Vintage Botanical Artwork Love

I spend a lot of quality time on the couch,

as one does in winter.

When (+ if) I look away from my TV, phone or bozoputer,

I see this:

Disclaimer:

G.O. is preparing his signature Calico Beans dish to pass

for a Super Bowl party later today,

which explains the slight mess

+ the reason my utensils are askew.

Omigosh!  Those plastic ones don’t go there!  BAD Kay!

This explains why I’ll never be one of the popular kids

on Instagram (@redbirdkay52 – please follow me),

but I digress.

He is also throwing away all our non-stick pots + pans

after watching this documentary

on the horrors of DuPont + Teflon,

The Devil We Know.

Yikes!  Sorry I missed it.

Back to the pressing issue at hand,

which is the artwork in our kitchen.

We recently hung those bowl prints,

which I ordered from a forgotten catalog, years ago.

They’re great, but me being me,

I already wish to hang them elsewhere**

+ to replace them with my dream artwork,

the botanical print.

**Which, need I say it, drives G.O. crazy.

Oops.

  Since that’s not as important as my happiness is,

off I dashed to shop for said botanical prints on etsy,

where I was immediately attracted to these vintage pull-down charts

from the shop, Mighty Vintage in Berlin.

Violets – $414.59

How much do we love the way the vibrant colors

POP against the black backgrounds?

Sunflowers – $272.45

Cherries – $355.37

Since we live in Illinois,

something corn-related might be kind of fun,

like this chart from the shop Wild Strawberry Retro from the UK.

Maize – $162.27

Okay.  Ouch.

Hundreds of dollars is a tad more than I wished to spend,

so I continued to shop – this time for reproductions.

I think I found it!

What’s not to love!? – via OlgaBegakArt from Austria.

Tomatoes – 13″ x 19″ $56.86

The illustration style is deliciously vintage,

+ the colors are fantastic!

What do you think?

Stay tuned!

Pesky Problem Solved By The Internet!

It’s fairly commonplace

to ask new-build + new-rehab homeowners:

“Is there anything you would do differently?”

My reply would be parts of our kitchen.  Here’s one:

That sliver of space between our stove/range hood + wall is troublesome.

Here are some photos of  how I dealt with the lower cabinets.

My galvanized storage bins are from World Market:

I like the bins, but it’s above that bothers me

— on either side of the range hood.

I considered my go-to wall decor — hanging plates.

I’m fond of the blue + white plates in our main bathroom, downstairs:

Disclaimer: that wreath needs to be hung higher, like here:

(Yes, I have already shared this with G.O.!)

But wait.  There’s more.  Check out those shelves!

They, too, are mere slivers of space, + yet.

How awesome!

They’ve been tricked out very tastefully!

I wonder if  very narrow shelves would work in our kitchen.

I shan’t lie.  I am on the fence.

All that means is that I shall continue to stew about it,

until the day arrives that I go for it or just  leave it.

Meanwhile, I am going to copy something from that blogger’s kitchen.

My small collections of wood bread boards will move . . .

. . . + will relocate to this spot:

. . . at the back of the stove top, like here:

I love being inspired so early in the morning!

Have you been inspired by a blog post or a Pinterest photo?

And no, I don’t know what we did before the internet!

Santas Under Glass

One of the best things about all the red in our kitchen

is how festive it looks at Christmas time!

I love our red Bella coffee maker,

the buffalo check candle is from Marshalls,

+ I used to sell Hoosier glass jars like this in my old store.

Our kitchen window sill is quite deep,

so I have lots of fun displaying my collectibles on it.

Right now it’s filled with my Santas,

+ this year I opted to display them under glass cloches.

Only one is a genuine cloche, though,

while the others are various repurposed glass containers.

My cast iron Santa from the Sundance catalog

is under a glass globe from an old industrial light fixture.

This small hand-carved Santa

is from a fellow vendor at one of my mid-90’s markets.

His cloche is actually a small glass item

for which I paid $3 just the other day, at a local antique shop*.

We’re not sure what it was originally, but it’s the perfect small size!

* I found a box of 12 red Shiny Brite ornaments

at the same store + on the same day.

My blue + gray salt-glaze pottery Santa

is from Rowe Pottery Works in Cambridge, Wisconsin.

I used to carry their wares in my old store, too.

Look closely at his cloche —

it is actually a small glass measuring beaker that I found at Walmart.

I think it looks vintage + industrial, don’t you?

A similar set of beakers is available online from Walmart.

I call this Hallmark ornament the Paula Deen’s husband Santa.

Seriously.  Separated at birth, or what?

Do you recognize his cloche?

It is a preserves jar from the French company, Bonne Maman.

Notice that Santa’s standing on the darling red check jar lid!

We love the cherry preserves at our house.

And finally, we have the only real cloche of my collection.

I bought it years ago at the late, great Smith + Hawken store.

I’m guessing that Santa probably came from my old shop, too.

Doesn’t the tall, slender beaker look great, with the sun shining through it?

Meanwhile, that’s about it for my Santas collection.

In the olden days, I had dozens more of them,

but sold or gave away most when I entered my less-is-more phase.

Let’s take a quick look at some other (mostly red) things in our kitchen.

 We can discuss said red accents at a later date.

Stay tuned.

 

RANGE HOOD, PLAN B

Many, if not all, of our Dutch colonial projects

start at Plan A but end up at Plan B, or Plan C, or beyond . . .

Take our range hood.  Please.

The tape marks the size + location of our Plan A,

which we carefully planned + about which I recently blogged.

G.O. was going to build ours with wood, painted white.

Here is our inspiration:

We soon realized that this was a way more complicated

+ time-consuming project than we had anticipated.

Our Plan A quickly switched to Plan B!

Here it is — the Datid range hood from IKEA:

I love those decorative rails very much

+ have long wanted this hood for my own kitchen.

Its cost, $679, was more than we wanted to spend,

but sometimes, these things can’t be helped.

Yes, even though it’s quite perfect,

I still wished to tweak the design just a bit.

Since our kitchen appliances are white with stainless accents,

I asked G.O. to spray paint the body of our new hood white,

leaving the decorative apron + rails stainless.

(Please notice our white + stainless dishwasher in the background.)

  Here is the painting, in progress:

G.O. is using Rust-oleum Appliance Spray Epoxy

from the home center:

I am very anxious to see this final bit of kitchen FINISHED,

at long last.

I’ll keep you all posted, so stay tuned!

Galvanized Metal Baskets

This just in:

I finally hemmed the curtains I started last November!

(Please forgive me for these bad + dark photos.)

You may very well be asking,

“YAWN, Kay!  Curtain hems!?  Who cares?” . . .

 . . . but we procrastinators know that completing one’s projects is a big deal!

I want to sew a tartan plaid bed skirt (stay tuned!), you see . . .

. . . but I forced myself to finish the curtains first.

+ + + + +

Anyway, speaking of completing tasks, our kitchen re-do is back ON!

This has happened:

Galvanized baskets!

The cabinet that G.O. had installed beside the range was too narrow + deep,

+ thus, a tad too dysfunctional.

This had me thinking of baskets in cubbies, instead!

Initially, I wanted woven baskets, like these:

However, when my online search for baskets took me to these

from World Market, I was totally smitten!

Only $14.99 for the small?  I’m in!

 The website sez that these are NEW,

but that they are sold out online + available in stores only.

We had to drive to 2 different World Markets to find our 3,

but it was worth it, in my opinion!

I feared that, in person, they might look cheapie + bad,

but they don’t, + I love them!

Disclaimer: we still need a toe kick here.

+ + + + +

Suddenly, the blank wall next to our stove is calling out for open shelving.

Funny how that happens.

I am thinking galvanized metal, + here’s why:

Notice how our new galvanized baskets play so nicely

with the handles of our stove + the Kitchen Aide mixing bowl:

I’m loving the continuity,

so off, I go, on yet another online search, for metal shelving!

Turns out, my 3 finalists are all from Pottery Barn.

These:

These:

 Or these, with painted metal:

I think I will wait to decide,

once our range hood is (finally) installed.

Stay tuned!

OMiGosh! Range Hood!

Since I’ve been doing so much nesting this winter,

things are looking better + better inside the Dutch colonial.

Yay!

However, the more we do in all those other rooms,

the more I dislike our unfinished kitchen!

I can’t stand it!

Calm down.  We’re finally on our way.

We’re finally getting a range hood!

First thing I do is head to Pinterest to find something that I really love.

Found it!

HA!  So funny!

Maybe I should have said “something that both G.O. + I like!”

Perhaps this one?

Oops!

It may be a tad more mainstream, but those pesky scallops!

I fear G.O. would snap, + we can’t have that.

Now, this is more like it!

I love the chunky design, but not in stainless.  I want white.

This next one is similar:

We both agree that the wood is too rustic for our kitchen.

Could this be the one?

YES IT COULD!  (With a little tweaking, that is!)

Anyway, once the design was finally chosen,

it was time for us to break out our trusty blue masking tape

+ start marking out the hood’s location on the wall:

OMiGosh, you guys!

Just having the tape up there makes our kitchen look better!

I immediately barked out instructions for G.O. to find + order

the actual range hood machine thing, or whatever it’s called.

Just a sec.  Let me check on that.

He sez he hasn’t yet.

Maybe tomorrow, if I bark more instructions?

Stay tuned!

Fixer Upper + Me + Scallops

I’m going to assume that if you read my blog,

you also watch HGTV’s Fixer Upper show.

You also love just about everything that they do,

especially the transformation of the exterior of this house:

Wouldn’t you know it,

there are so many before houses  in our town’s new-house neighborhood.

No offense, homeowners, but it’s kind of a buzz kill

when we’re riding around, looking at houses, as one does.

But let’s turn our frowns upside-down!

Let’s go inside this beautiful home , for another major LIKE by me.

Look at that darling white children’s table.

Can you guess?

Here’s a hint:

S C A L L O P S !

Bunny Williams baskets for Ballard Design — 3 / $199

I mean, who cares how granny they are?

They’re adorable!

Ditto for this charming ottoman:

 Sew A Fine Seam

Guess what!

We have an ottoman that’s just like this, so stay tuned!

Meanwhile, check out this charmer (ha — a pun — “check out”!)

The Budget Decorator

And now, for those who are sewing-challenged, this fun project:

Every.Day.Is.A.Holiday

But people.  Look at this:

Midwest Living magazine

Our own kitchen awaits its range hood:

I know that G.O. could make us one of these!

Here ’tis again:

Wonderful!

And now, for some full-blown granny:

I rest my case.

 

 

Kitchen Tile — Up + Running!

Look at our kitchen back splash!

We love it!

If you read my recent post about the view from our kitchen window,

here ’tis:

Hi, nice neighbors!

Meanwhile, it’s time to order the light fixtures

for the wall above those windows.

Here’s my choice — the Logan sconce from Ballard Designs:

Red, please!

* * *

But back to the tile.

I chose it because the glaze looks like it was done by hand — so pretty!

Best of all, it’s crackled, which I couldn’t love more!

This adds a lot of vintage style, in my opinion,

+ makes those tiles look as if they could have been original to our house!

Oh, + that pretty but pesky grout left a few traces on the tiles, but no worries.

These can + will be removed later today.

Meanwhile, one more look:

Next up: a DIY range hood project!

Stay tuned!

Tricking Out Our Kitchen Window

One of the first improvements to our Dutch colonial

was replacing the kitchen’s original single window . . .

. . . with a beautiful, new double window:

This change has been one of my favorites,

of all of the improvements we’ve added to our Dutch colonial!

The fabulous light!

The way it makes the room seem more spacious!

What’s not to love?

 Well, there is one down side.

The houses in our old neighborhood are pretty close to each other,

 + sadly, the view of our neighbor’s house isn’t that great.

No offense to the nice family who lives there,

but I don’t want to stare at the side of your house!

So.  What to do?

Here’s an idea from Pinterest:

bhg.com

How about tricking out that window of ours,

so that the eye stops at it, instead of traveling beyond?

Here’s how it was done in this photo:

1. Shelf  with pretty stuff on it (can do!)

+  2. Pretty vintage window sash

I love the vintage window sash (I’ve done it!)

Check it out — this groovy stained glass sash in our kitchen

of the bungalow where we’re currently living:

Since I really would like to repeat this design feature

in our Dutch colonial kitchen,

I am on the hunt for a matching pair of old sashes.

I’m headed to the flea market today, in fact!

Fingers crossed!

Meanwhile, here’s another kitchen window treatment that I love!

At this moment, this is totally what I wish to do in our new kitchen!

There’s privacy galore,

plus a cool spot to display some of my collections!

WINNING!

Adding Age With Vintage Fabric

I recently complained that our kitchen’s looking too ‘new’,

+ I mused that a reclaimed lumber box beam might help with that:

So.  What else could I do to add some instant age?

Enter vintage fabric!

I bought this very pretty table cloth today;

it started out as a flour sack in the 30’s.

Look at the sweet hand stitching at the hem!

Darling, right?

Very!

 And the red goes with our glass cabinet pulls:

And that cheerful blue is nearly identical to our ceiling!

Since I love vintage fabric,

I already had this gingham check tablecloth:

Don’t they look great together?

My plans for them include sewing short tiers for here:

And here:

And possibly on the glass doors of this upper cabinet:

I know!  That’s a lot of curtains in just 1 room!

But wait!

I’m even toying with the idea of this:

Country Living magazine

A skirt for our farmhouse sink!

Stay tuned!