Fireplace Mantle

A designer once told me that mantles should have only THREE items. If it is a big mantle in needs three large objects.

I googled that.
And I had a very hard time finding enough to inspire me.
There were a few, to be sure, a handful of sophisticated simplicity.
But most were stuffed with an array of well-blended details and textures and objects.

This was the fireplace room when we bought the house:

I did paint the insert black. With the idea in mind that if I really wanted to go back to brass one day, surely it couldn't be too difficult, right? I didn't want to paint the wood mantel though - this seemed too complex to undo. So I built a cheap shelf that just sits right on top. The shelf boards cost under $10 - though I did cut and measure incorrectly and it was an ordeal.

Decorating with random bottles and feathers and plants and ripped up old clothes is the current state of the mantel.

I wanted a rug that didn't have a defined edge to it - since it's a bit of an odd walkway when a square rug defines it. This one was on clearance and even though I preferred the look of the light silky gray ones, this was the one that was around $100 instead of $500. So. Bear it was. And it matches my floor and works just fine - though the gray ones would have been sweet.

Working around life and budget is what Mcquillyn Smith (The Nester) calls a "lovely limitation" and I agree wholeheartedly. My house wouldn't be very original or have much story to it if I had no lovely limitations. One of these is the wicker basket in the corner. Recycling wasn't happening in our family because it was too inconvenient to put items outside. And there was no good area in the kitchen. Under the sink needed emptying too often to be practical and our built in trash can didn't have a second area for recycling. Since it is important to be as a God-follower to fulfill our first command from Him and care for the earth - recycling did need a practical spot. This hamper is now our recycling bin. And that is why my livingroom décor has a big wicker basket in the corner.

These chairs were a trade - and then recovered in a labor of love by my nice mama. They're one of my favorite things about the fireplace room. They have charm and feminine curves and colors and pattern to help balance my manly rug and sofa. Aren't they sweet?

The last area is this little school desk niche that I created against the low wall between kitchen, diningroom and fireplace room. It was a strange space and wasted until I found this little desk for $9 at Salvation Army. The rug had been $11 at Goodwill and the chair $3 at a different thrift store at a different time.

I do love blending in family life - things for my boys, areas that are practical and used - into available space instead of just filling it with stuff for the sake of décor.

Kitchen

The kitchen is a wonderful one.
I'm utterly grateful for it.
I really enjoy the simple design - plenty of room and storage but not overdone or wasted. I love the dishwasher; it cleans so efficiently. I love the windows to see out while doing dishes. I love the size and the ease and convenience. I love the layout - and the layout of the kitchen within the house itself, off to the side but still open.

Some things I don't really like... the individual elements.

It's a very manly kitchen.
And it has little charm.
Great function - but not anything that speaks to me.

The backsplash = stainless steal and cold
The countertop = not a natural stone so it doesn't interest
The cupboards = well made and nice detail but dark, so the whole kitchen feels heavy and dark. I'm not totally against painting good wood... but I am a little against it. I think I'm actually against hard work to do something that's already beautiful. I find the natural wood beautiful but... totally not what I would pick for a kitchen.
The floor = the whole house has this strange, very functional floor that I've come to appreciate but not necessarily what I would choose.
The sink = certainly not a statement piece

The thing with kitchens is this. The beauty must be in the fixtures. Any added décor is simply clutter. So your faucet and sink and cupboards and backsplash and countertops - THOSE are what create everything. No amount of added fillers to the tops of the cupboards or stuff on the walls or rugs on the floor or magnets on the fridge will do anything to change the feel of the room.

I didn't touch the kitchen for a long time.
This is how it was when we bought the house:

I wanted to paint the tiny wall area white (more contemporary than golden yellow) but, this doorway area gets so dirty that white seemed impractical. So I didn't do anything for a while. Then just impulsively grabbed some tan-gray-offwhite that my friend loves. I don't really love it. I still want white. But, it's different. And maybe that satisfies me for now.

Eventually I would like an herb garden in the window.

I try to keep as little clutter as possible - countertops are always busy. I do, however, permit myself to stash my collection of oils and vinegars on top of the fridge. Delicious vinegars make me happy so I allow myself to store them as a collection out in the open, convenient to grab.

My stools I was lucky with.
The old owner was selling her 3 bar stools for $75? each. Maybe she said she'd go down to $50. I didn't like them though and that wasn't my price range. Here they are below - and an idea of our house layout.

I found these on Craigslist.
bonus 1 & 2 - one of our current neighbors was selling them so easy to get and he went down to $20 each for us
bonus 3 & 4 - they happened to match perfectly and be the right size, and they're SUCH GOOD QUALITY. I didn't know that I cared about bar stool quality. But for the constant use, I just love a solid stool.

And even if I can't change all the elements of my kitchen - the little things do add some magic and meaning after all.

My in-laws bought me this heavy iron teapot. I chose the one that was on clearance instead of the one that best suited my taste. Why? I don't know exactly, but because I was really happy with the delight of a heavy iron teapot and I decided the dragons were fun and I don't need everything to be all matchy-styled. Why not appreciate the one that was half price? Maybe that isn't a good call for everything, but sometimes it is fine and this was one of those. And I love it and use it regularly.

I also have a small collection of pottery bowls from a talented friend. When I first go shopping all three bowls are out on the countertop spilling with fruit. Today I'm down to one bowl. But these give a smile to the kitchen as well. I can't pick the sink that makes me feel artistically impressed, but I can choose the bowl that I put out for apples. And it makes me love my kitchen fully.

Bathroom Vanity

My bathroom vanity was chipped and needed touch up paint.

But why do maintenance when you can create something new?

Marriage Epiphany here:

This never ceases to shock our marriage. My husband would blink and say "Why reinvent the wheel? It's not efficient to start over," and I would blink and say, "What? You're spending time to continue as is when for the same effort you could have something new?"

In real life this is how it looks. The closet is a mess. So I empty it, clean it thouroughly and completely rearrange while doing so - same time but adding some interest to the work.

In real life for my husband, the closet is a mess, so he carefully remembers where things are, cleans it out and puts everything away as should be and is glad that no one is confused about where to find the toilet paper or light bulbs.

I have people hollering at me "WHERE DID YOU MOVE THE TOILET PAPER?!" as a result of my creative tendencies.

Aren't people interesting?
But I digress. Because my vanity was dingy and scuffed I did it in a new color. Voila. Much more fun than touch up paint.

 

Not the best quality photos - sorry. But it was about a 15-20 minute project. Touch up would have been 5. But this was a coat of white bonding primer so that I didn't have to sand, followed by a messy rub down of three grays that were squirted on a Styrofoam plate. The end.

Dining Room Again

I'm always working around something - sometimes I wonder what it would be like to create from scratch.

With my previously posted diningroom updates, I worked around the existing chairs that I had. And I bought a bench to match, and thus give me enough seating for my very large table project (Putting farmhouse planks on my existing table legs).

Unfortunately, the bench was wiggled to death by my boys in less than a year.

Conclusion: I do not like cool looking cheaply made furniture.

Action: Sold my chairs for $20 each. Hunted down chairs for $8 each.

Dilemma: I prefer mixing styles. It gives drama, and is currently in style. My exchange student pairs the craziest combinations of shirt, sweater, skirt and shoes, and always looks adorable. I like this look in my house as well - the contrast and drama from items that at one time wouldn't have been paired. However, my light fixture is already a country look. My farmhouse table is also rustic. I would need elegant glam chairs, retro plastic ones, or modern contemporary things equaling 8 chairs, and I had a hard time finding this for under $10 per chair (my goal) and also STURDY and well built. Due to these factors I went with quality over aesthetics and bought some Varagesale Very Country Chairs.

I have a very country diningroom.

The benches were a Craigslist find. For my kids who are bouncing on and off - I'd rather not have them knocking and scraping and pushing chairs every 4 minutes. So benches have been great. These were extra wide which I liked, and extra solid which I liked, and extra tall which confused me. But a friend chopped the legs off to fit at a table. I painted them and embraced the blue upholstery. Funny how I've become so lax on things because overall, the function is important, and next important is scale, and I can usually find a way to like or alter almost anything else but the less work the better these days.

Country is inviting and homey. It says, "Gather, stay, connect, get comfortable, open your heart, give, and love"

 

I don't mind that. I'm always at home with a slight country touch. Maybe it's my childhood memories, or maybe it's that there is something wholesome about the country and this type of decore seems to capture wholesomeness.

Anyway. Country diningroom it is. And we will gather and love and get comfortable here a lot. With friends and family. On solid seating.