The Saga Of The Never Ending Kitchen Curtains

Full disclosure:

I’ve made + remade Dutch colonial kitchen curtains

so many times I’ve lost count.

‘Cause that’s how I roll.

This makes G.O. very unhappy,

as he doesn’t grasp the concept of the re-do.

How unfortunate!

Because I can’t seem to do anything

unless there are multiple redo’s!

Let’s think about something more pleasant, though,

+ view the (I think!) final curtains:

P e r f e c t i o n !

I made these from an old, full-length pair**

of Rachel Ashwell’s Simply Shabby Chic at Target,

**which you can still buy.

They were in a bedroom at our last house,

so they’re basically “free”, right?

But wait.

It took me three tries to even get these right!

Here’s attempt number one:

So what’s wrong with those?

Well, I thought they were too full

+ looked like something from the Palace of Versailles!

My solution was to remove 2 of the 4 panels,

+ here’s what that looked like:

In my mind, this was a little better,

but the more I looked at them,

the cheapier they seemed to appear.

They looked like I got them from the dime store!!!

Ha!  That’s right!

I just said dime store!

I’M ANCIENT!!!

But wait — it gets better!

When I had my very first house

when I was probably 19 years old,

I actually did buy bedroom curtains at the dime store!!!

They were called CAPE CODS,

+ I loved them!!!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Trust me, the rest of my decor

was pretty hilarious,

but that’s a subject for yet another blog post.

Back to today’s triumph:

I had to get the folds between the rings just right,

+ trust me, as per usual, it wasn’t easy.

Here’s what I did to “train” them:

After carefully folding them,

individually, by hand,

I clipped them in place with chip bag clips

+ let them settle in for about a half hour or so.

Genius!

Whew!

Feeling exhausted, just by reading about it?

Imagine going through it!

And yes, there were other, earlier versions —

 all equally grueling + frustrating for poor G.O.

Here were some red gingham cuties

that I sewed, using an old twin bed skirt

from back in the day when Martha was still at K-Mart:

I don’t recall why these went away,

because I do love that red gingham.

Oh, wait — yes, I remember.

I decided I needed full-length curtains instead of tiers,

so these longer gingham checked curtains

took their place:

Once again, adorable, if I do say so,

but the material was wrong.

I’d ordered fade-resistant indoor-outdoor fabric

from fabric.com,

+ it turned out to be just too heavy + stiff

to make good curtains.

They eventually became upholstery projects,

so they ended well, at least.

Finally — in conclusion,

I still want some red gingham check

in that kitchen of ours,

because I love it so.

This — again from fabric.com:

But how – what – where – when?!?

Stay tuned!

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!

My Kitchen Design, The Sequel

Today’s the day when I finally spill the beans

+ share why our house has two front doors.

I mean, you were wondering, weren’t you?

Prior to our owning it,

the Dutch colonial had been divided into two apartments,

One up:

UP

+ one down, where we live:

DOWN

We were on the fence, re: converting the house back to a single family

versus keeping it as a duplex.

Some of our friends + one of our spousal equivalents

were/are naysayers about the apartment thing,

for obvious reasons which I shan’t list.

You can probably figure it out yourselves.

Turns out I have my own reasons for the apartment thing.

This guy:

Scott McGillivray

+ his HGTV show:

And ultimately, (fingers crossed), lots of these:

Believe it or not, neither G.O. nor I are getting any younger,

+ it would be nice to have a whipper snapper tenant nearby, if/when I fall.

Because this is pretty much me now:

 Pass me the Boniva!

I jest, but seriously.

Another excellent reason to have a tenant on the premises is this:

I suffer from a very strong case of wanderlust,

+ my plans involve seeing the US of A in our canned ham camper.

Perhaps you read about it, here + here!

If we are gone for extended periods

— let’s say between October 31st + May 1st, ideally —

 our tenant could oversee the place,

 mow + shovel snow at the appropriate times + cat-sit for the duration.

• Anyway.

We’ve started the upstairs re-do finally, which is plenty exciting!

The bathroom was completed weeks ago:

A hallway’s been repainted:

A living room, too:

And, for the most exciting part, we’ve begun to work on the kitchen!

A couple of years ago, we bought an entire display

of discontinued kitchen cupboards from IKEA.

Just as I did downstairs, I’ve sketched the cabinet + appliances layout.

The sink cab is in its position, which is in the L to the right, here:

Yesterday, because I’m a team player, I went with G.O. to look at appliances.

OMIGOSH!  I DON’T CARE!

The only way I’d whip up some enthusiasm

is if we were springing for the red Smeg appliances of my dreams!

And NO, I did not know that Smeg makes ranges.  Swoon!

 

I mean, really.  Who cares if we get a Maytag or a Frigidaire or whatever?!

Am I right?

Anyway, I have sent G.O. to shop again, on his own this afternoon,

so stay tuned!

ACHIEVING THE SUCCESSFUL OPEN CONCEPT

Earlier this week, I posted my musings about this week’s Fixer Upper episode

on my biz Facebook page.

I’m happy to report that it garnered a lot of interest, which I love!

Fans of the show recognize this project

as what I named the retro / West Elm re-do for Joanna’s sister + family.

Nailed it!

That couch can be found at West Elm.

Same.  Exact.  Couch.

HAMILTON

I could fling aside  those back cushions + spoon with my Dachshund.

And, that color of leather is such a favorite that I named it.

Baseball glove brown.

Please.  Why do you think my business is called Red Bird Vintage Home?

Anyway, yes, I do love West Elm,

although some of my FB besties said they thought it was too modern.

Oops.

Never fear, though — even I had a slight issue (imagine that),

+ proclaimed that this particular open concept, while stunning,

skews a tad too “gymnasium” for me.

Don’t get me wrong — I embrace an open concept as much as the next person,

but this had me pondering how one achieves one more to my liking.

Off to Pinterest I dashed, as one does,

+ I saw some awesome photos of beautiful, open plans.

LARGE ARCH

This is nearly as open as the errant gym plan,

but the small wing walls + beautiful arch visually create some separation.

Next method — CASE OPENINGS

Here

Once again, this is very open, but the woodwork says,

“I am a separate room!“

Here’s my  fave version:

Here

Isn’t it amazing what a little molding can do?

  Next version:  ISLAND COLUMNS

Is it just me, or does every homeowner on HGTV desire the open concept?

Seems like 99% of them end up spending $1,000’s on a huge beam

to keep the second story from crashing down.

I gotta ask why? — when a couple of columns on one’s island do the trick,

+ looking FABULOUS while doing so!

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Surprise!  Here’s a pair of columns in a kitchen designed by Joanna Gaines!

The decorative brackets add a lot of  charm, don’t they?

And in conclusion, what on earth did we do before Pinterest?

 

 

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!

A Waterfront Saltbox House For Sale

Our late, great mom used to hop up + do household chores

during the commercials on Wheel of Fortune.

Talk about multi-tasking!

Anyway, here she is, with our dad,

sitting on the deck of the riverfront farmhouse

that we built in or around the year 2000.

So.  I honor her multi-tasking legacy by looking at houses on the bozoputer

while watching Cardinals baseball games on TV!

Sadly, all the local houses on realtor.com were a tad boring,

so I looked in Wilmington, IL, (where our riverfront house was located.)

You might not think I would dig this house (below), but I do.

I’ve always loved a house with the chimney in front.

Is that weird?

The asking price’s been lowered to $149,900.

That garage door needs to be more plain Jane

+ painted a color instead of white,

+ you just know Joanna Gaines would remove the 80’s arch window topper.

How about adding a more “now” transom, instead?

https://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/

Omigosh, the pastels in that room!

Pass me the white paint + get out of my way!

But back to the porch.

I also want those posts to be fatter — + maybe in pairs on either side, like here.

Yes, of course I’d also love a standing seam metal roof, too!

• * * * * *

Now let’s discuss the interior, starting with this 2-story living room:

Okay.  I really like that stone, + the hardwood floor is good, too.

I super love the vaulted ceiling.

Can we put some wood planks up there + say goodbye to the track lighting?

 We really need to beef up the mantel + add tons of woodwork, too.

Most importantly, though — that bad (more 80’s!) deck stair railing must go!

I think I’m in the mood for something in wood + iron, instead.

Check out the wainscoting surrounding this beautiful staircase!

Back to my house.  Here’s a view from the second story.

Now let’s look at a house with a similar 2-story living room.

I’m loving the wood + iron stair railing combination again,

+ speaking of Joanna Gaines — look at that shiplap!

The kitchen looks about like what you’d expect.

I don’t hate the cabinets, + there are plenty of them.

Let’s say goodbye to the soffit, though, + move the refrigerator elsewhere.

Maybe here?

As far as the stove is concerned,

I want to make it more of a design focal point.

Exhibit A:

Man oh Manichewitz, do I love that custom range hood!

Also, I’m saying yes to the glass uppers flanking the hood,

+ I will never grow tired of subway tile back splashes

(although I think I said that once about early Americana*

+ eagle decor*, back in the 70’s!  HA!)

*Go ask your grandmother.

The bathrooms are, again, what I would expect.

What the heck — let’s just go straight to some Fixer Upper bathrooms for ideas.

Since the vanity cabinet is perfectly fine, let’s slap a coat of gray paint on it

+ add a pretty gray + white marble vanity top, too.

Don’t forget the crown molding!!!

Since I couldn’t possibly have a fiberglass shower surround in my dream world,

let’s choose white subway tiles — again.

Ix-nay on the frilly shower curtain, but I never have been much of a girlie girl.

Out back, we have a nice, spacious deck, + look at all the trees!

  Just say no to mold in a real estate photo, though!

Somebody needs some Clorox + a scrubby brush!

Anyway, surprise!

It looks as though there’s a pretty wonderful balcony upstairs!

Let’s give the 80’s deck rails the heave-ho, shall we?

And look!

My new house is located right next to a body of water!

From the looks of that H20,

I think I’m going to need to stock up on the citronella candles,

but it is waterfront, which is usually a plus.

I did some research re: which waterfront we’re discussing,

+ I think that my house is located in a community called Shadow Lakes.

The “lakes” are actually former strip mines, believe it or not.

In southern Illinois, there are still operational, underground coal mines,

but up north, they opted to just go in from the surface + dig out the coal.

Interesting.

Here’s one more photo of my house.

That roof line makes it look a little like a modern salt box house.

+ I’ve always liked fences like that, too!

 

 

 

 

$3 Garage Sale Happiness

It’s Thursday, which means one thing in my little world:

GARAGE SALES!

You never know what treasure you’ll find!

Just last week I enthusiastically bought this homemade magazine rack:

SURPRISE!

 As you can no doubt tell, I shan’t be using it to hold mags.

Instead, I plan to use it to display some of my beloved platters.

Exhibit A:

 4 of my ironstone platters on our most recent past kitchen wall:

For our current kitchen, I wanted to do something like this,

on the end of our island:

atticmag.com

eclecticallyvintage.com

Normally, I would just ask G.O. to make me something.

He’s so talented!  But he’s just so busy!

Instead, I have been searching for one to buy, for months.

I liked this from an etsy seller,

Apple Tree Woodcrafts:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/232695125/walI

$146

Since I hoped to find something more affordable,

my plate rack project was put on the back burner for a while.

Then, last Thursday — this:

HA!  Yes!  $3!

When I spied it, I knew it would be perfect for my plate rack hopes + dreams!

I couldn’t buy it FAST enough!

The bottom portion will have to go away so that it fits our island like a glove.

No worries, though — I know that super talented G.O. will be able to do that.

The dowels have to go, as well, but that’s not much of a problem (not for Greg!)

So.  Other than those few tweaks to make it perfect,

I must also decide what color to paint it.

The color must complement + contrast

with both the dark wood island + my light-colored platters.

Right now, I’m thinking this blue:

Chambray by Pittsburgh Paints

 I think I shall distress said blue,

as our kitchen is skewing a tad too “new”.

Stay tuned!

Dueling Tile + Artwork On Fixer Upper

It’s Wednesday, which means I must be mulling over last night’s Fixer Upper.

AND . . . yes, I AM!

(These photos are from Joanna’s blog: https://magnoliamarket.com/blog/)

We’re all on board with this charming house’s being awesome, no?

They don’t focus too much attention on their landscaping on the show,

but they always knock it out of the park, + I always love it.

The curves!

 Going to have curves out front

when we finally get to landscaping here at the Dutch colonial.

But I digress.

Let’s go inside:

And . . . welcome to what I am going to call DUELING TILES!

Yes or no?

First, let’s look at the kitchen’s back splash — painted tiles.

Since it’s (my favorite color) blue + vintage looking, I vote yes,

but not a very enthusiastic yes.

I fear they will be out of style sooner or later or I will tire of them.

I prefer the 2nd dueling painted tiles  — those on the bathroom floor:

I really love the painted tiles they chose for here.

I think it looks a little like a quilt pattern.

Thumbs up!

But wait.  There’s more.

I wonder how well were you paying attention last night.

Did anyone else notice these stunning botanical prints in the dining room?

(These photos were taken by me, off the TV screen.)

The prints were shown during the evening

when Joanna was finishing the staging of the house.

I was instantly smitten, + not just with the botanicals.

They were framed in such an unusual + interesting way!

Looks like each print was sandwiched between 2 panes of glass.

Any-hoo, at the end of the show, I noticed the prints had gone missing.

In their place, Joanna chose some galvanized metal containers,

with what looks like faux greenery “planted” inside them.

I wonder what she was thinking.

Were the prints too attention grabbing?

Would they have strayed too far from her go-to neutral design?

Maybe that rug might be the only strong item she wanted to use.

(Oh, + of course, that is a gorgeous herringbone brick floor!)

I wish to have said herringbone brick in our front sidewalk!

But I digress, once again.

So, anyway, did anybody else notice those prints?

Am I the only one who prefers the botanicals to the metal containers?

Vote early, vote often!

a. botanical prints

or b. tin containers of faux greenery?

Yes or no: painted tile kitchen back splash?

Yes or no: painted tile bathroom floor?

Thank you for voting,

+ as always, see you next Wednesday for more Fixer Upper chit chat!

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.

 

 

Old Red V.S. New Red

Since my last blog post, BIG things have happened!

 We’ve moved into the Dutch colonial!

I am SO happy!

Right now, my own pet project has been making myself a sewing studio.

I’m squeezing it inside an odd, L-shaped closet,

the space for which came from the large front staircase foyer of our house.

To amuse myself, I call my room

My Tribute To Where Women Create Magazine.

If you don’t know what that means, it’s using old stuff, + lots of it!

I started with this groovy cupboard,

which used to be our house’s laundry chute.

Of course, I’ll blog about all this in greater detail (stay tuned!)

Today’s obsession, however, involves our new kitchen light fixtures.

At long last — we’ll have lighting over our sink!

I say at long last because, as is my way, I couldn’t decide!

Until this:

It’s the Logan Goose Neck outdoor wall sconce from Ballard Designs.

I loved everything about it, but the red was off.

The catalog photo didn’t look like MY red,

but after a few months, I went ahead + took the plunge.

Oh, dear.

It wasn’t the red that’s happening now.

It has an antique glaze brushed on it.

See for yourself:

Back in the day, during my primitive country phase,

I would have been head over heels!

My taste has evolved since then,

+ I am currently digging a more bright + clear red.

Let’s compare + contrast:

My new red is the brighter red of that spatter ware plate.

Here ’tis again in our kitchen clock:

+ yet more on these kitchen design choices:

Soon, I’ll sew something,

using 1 or more of these awesome vintage fabrics:

Yum, amIright?  Definitely stay tuned!

But back to the light fixtures’ getting their bright red makeover.

Of course, when one is me, one already has a can of red spray paint.

Rustoleum Gloss Apple Red!

When one is me, one also asks G.O. to please spray paint

our brand, new light fixtures.

Oops.

As we speak, he is now doing this latest project for me,

+ digits crossed he’ll be able to hang those lights for me, TO–day!

Stay tuned!