IS IT MY BUTLER'S PANTRY OR MY LAUNDRY OR MY OFFICE?

There's a room off our kitchen that serves many purposes.  When we purchased our home, it was my least favorite space.  Now, it's the room I like best.  I've written about this space before.  I'm not sure what to call it----my laundry room, my pantry, or my office.  It serves all those purposes in one small space.   I wish I had some before pictures, but just let me say that it had red indoor/outdoor carpeting on the floor, yellow and orange floral vinyl wallpaper and a utility tub hanging from the wall, flanked by a washer and dryer.  It was the first room we tackled. We pretty much gutted it.

Here it is today, recently updated to add a stacking washer and dryer.  Originally I had an under-the-counter washer and dryer.  It's demise prompted this update.  I do love the capacity of the new appliances, but I miss the long counter.  I had to give up a section of the long counter that served me well as a place to fold laundry or as a spot for a dessert buffet during the holidays.

If you've been a long-time reader of my blog, you know that I asked the carpenter to cut a vintage corner cabinet in half.  I got a strange look from him, but he did it.  The top half holds my collection of transferware and the bottom half became the cabinet under the counter.  I store all my laundry and cleaning supplies in the under-the-sink cupboard.  If you know me, you could guess that I would paint the cupboard pieces black.  I think this was the beginning of a pop of black in every room of my home.  Since the counter space was so deep, I opted for a wood counter.  I like the contrast of the painted and stained pieces.  To tie the two finishes together,  I added stained rope trim on the drawers and on the cupboard.

 My vintage hamper fits perfectly into the gap left by the previous appliance.  I encourage dirty baseball uniforms to go inside the hamper instead of onto the floor.  Sometimes it works.

VINTAGE CORNER CABINET ON THE COUNTER AND UNDER THE SINK

One of the best design decisions I made for the space was the addition of two file drawers in the remaining under-the-counter space.  It's so convenient to have it nearby and so accessible.  I like to think that it helps me be a LITTLE better organized.

PULL OUT DRAWERS WITH HANGING FILE FOLDERS

Another design decision was to add a butler's sink with a gooseneck copper faucet.  

It's been a lifesaver more times than I can count.

BUTLER'S SINK ABOVE THE CUPBOARD

The china cupboard is the star of the room.  I'm always a sucker for a palladium window.  Let me show it off with a few close-ups.

CUPBOARD TOP AND FORNASETTI PRINT

LOVE PALLADIUM WINDOWS

Every knob needs a tassel.

KNOB WITH TASSEL

Have you noticed that I like brown and black transferware?

I needed something on the wall against the washer and dryer.  My Anthropologie elephant volunteered to leave the kitchen and be part of this space.  The containers below him hold laundry soaps.

ELEPHANT IN PROFILE

That elephant is just too cute.  He's one of my favorites.

MY ANTHRO ELEPHANT

No room of mine is complete unless I have a chandelier.  This room is no exception.  I did a verdigris finish on this vintage acanthus leaf pendant light and I also changed some of the crystals to black ones to pick up the black in the room.  

MY VINTAGE CHANDELIER

  You haven't seen the pantry side of the room yet.  Here's a sneak peek.
To see the full post, click here or on the image below.

SNEAKY PEEK OF THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM

                                                              ENJOYED THIS POST? 
                             Sign up to receive a notification every time I publish by clicking here.

Store Display Ideas to Steal for Your Home

In my opinion, no one does store display better than Anthropologie.  Their merchandising is unique, creative, and always out-of-the-box.  I'm inspired and awed by their presentations.  I don't know about you, but I always take something away from their displays that I can use in my own home.

Not that I can even come close to Anthro's creativity, but I thought I'd share some ideas from this month's sale at our store, Buckeystown Design Co-op, that you could steal and use in your home.

We all have books on our shelves.  Did you ever think about using candlesticks as bookends instead?  These candleholders are made from porch balustraudes and perfectly support the books as well as adding interest to this dresser top.  Just for fun I added a crown instead of a candle to the candlestick and draped a beaded garland over the books.

CANDLESTICK BOOK ENDS

When vintage books have uneven ruffled pages, or even marbleized edges, I turn the spine to the back and let the decorative pages show instead.

BOOKS WITH SPINES FACING BACKWARDS

I always use architectural fragments in my displays.  One of my favorite fragments are large chippy corbels.  I used this fabulous piece as an easel.  It supports another book, but it could just as easily support a piece of art, a small mirror, a picture frame, or an interesting find.

CORBEL AS AN EASEL

Multiples always work.  I think groupings of threes or another odd numbered multiple works the best.  I even wrote about my fascination with threes in a previous blog post.  Click on this link to read it. 

You can also view my blog post about threes in my home here.

THREES ALWAYS WORK---OR ANY ODD NUMBERED MULTIPLE

Trays aren't just for food.  They can hold treasures or be changed up seasonally for holidays.   Note:  my metal tray is filled with a mix of sizes and textures.  What pulls it all together is the repeat of the colors gold, silver, and metallics.  Repetition is another of my go to display ideas.

REPEAT COLOR AND TEXTURE

Post office cubbies can hold your wine stash too.

See how I used post office boxes in my home here.

REPURPOSED POST OFFICE CUBBIES FOR WINE BOTTLES

Another idea for repurposing is to use the drawers in an apothecary cabinet as a jewelry box.

DRAWERS IN AN APOTHECARY CHEST FOR JEWELRY

So, in a nutshell:

Repeated Color

Layering

Out-of-the-Box Uses of Accessories

Mix of New and Vintage

Groupings of Like Items

Mix of Textures

Mix of Sizes and Heights

Books as Risers/Pedestals

( I've written about this in more detail before here.)

I'm looking forward to seeing all you Washington DC locals this weekend at the coop.

Un Art

Art doesn't always have to be an oil stretched onto canvas or a print matted, framed and hung on a wall.  For me, ordinary objects can be art as well.

A large garden gate is art layered behind a framed map in my living room.

A Garden Gate as Art and as a Back Drop

In my sun room, a pull-down classroom sea life map is my over-sized art.

Pull-Down Classroom Map As Art

An iron window grate is art on my mantel.

An Iron Window Grill as Art in Family Room

I filled a container with a collection of shed antlers.

Shed Antlers in a Glass Container as Art

The cloche on my porch has a mercury glass bird and coral.

A Bird and Coral Fill a Cloche

More shells fill a large faux shell on my mirrored table.

More Shells as Art

A large garden gate is art layered behind a framed map in my living room.

I placed a remnant of my Trina Turk fabric into a frame for some modern art.

Framed Fabric Remnant as Art

I applied architectural book plates to book spines.

Architectural Book Plates Applied to Book Spines in My Pantry

An architectural fragment, urns, and globes are "art" in our bedroom.

A Column Fragment, Globes and Urn "Art" in Our Bedroom

Faux taxidermy is art too.  My Anthropologie elephant trophy is a fave.

Anthropologie Elephant Trophy as Art

On my screened porch, a large metal ceiling tile is my art.

Antique Metal Ceiling Tile on My Screened Porch

A wall sconce, leather books and an architectural fragment are my foyer art.

Foyer Art:  Wall Sconce, Architectural Fragment, and Leather Books

I've had a pair of these wonderfully weathered farm machinery gears for a while.

They need to find a home in my home soon.

I'd love to know what you have as "un art" in your home.

A Soft Spot for Elephants

Whenever my kids and I are in a very silly mood, they beg me to tell my elephant jokes. I have quite a repertoire of jokes and can go on for several minutes.  Yes, one of my talents is the ability to do elephant joke stand up.  The jokes really are pretty lame, but my delivery has them laughing hard with tears rolling down our cheeks.  So, let me just say that I have a soft spot for elephants.  Enjoy my elephants in my designs.   And, at the end of this post, if you're even interested, I'll tell a few jokes.

I made a copy of a vintage cardboard elephant that was part of a child's circus play set.  I covered books with wrapping paper and decoupaged the divided elephant image onto the spines of the books.  To see exactly how I did it, go here.

Elephant Decoupaged onto Book Spines

I also have this elephant side table in my screened porch.



I found this vintage ceramic elephant for my daughter.  I also found wrapping paper with elephants and applied it to a gold tray for her.  This is her apartment.

I recently purchased this purse with a heavy brass elephant clasp.

I also have this vintage brass elephant, an elephant hook, and two elephant creamers.  The hook and the small creamer were gifts from my sweet friend,Cassie, who writes the fabulous blog, Primitive and Proper.  She knows I'm an elephant fan.

My son enjoys using the larger creamer to pour milk over his cereal.  The smaller creamer is perfect for my morning coffee, the brass hook now holds a guest towel, and the brass elephant became part of my holiday mantel. He happily trumpets atop my animal print books.

My Holiday Mantel

I found this tote at Home Goods.  It's perfect for packing for a short visit.

 This vintage English fabric is from an antiques shop and I plan on making some pillows and covering some chair seats with it.  I bought all they had.

On my wish list is this elephant hook from Anthropologie.

I thought this elephant door knob was so cute.  I saw it on Pinterest.

I love the color of this elephant lamp from World Market.  I wish I had a spot for it since it's on sale.

Etsy

TA DA!  My elephant jokes.
You really have to be in the right frame of mind to read these.

Why did the elephant paint his toenails different colors?
So he could hide in a bag of M and M's.

How did the elephant fall out of the tree?
 The hippo pushed him.

Why can't an elephant ride a bicycle?
He has no thumb to ring the bell.

How can you tell if there's an elephant in your bed?
He has a big E on his pajamas.

How can you tell if there is an elephant in your refrigerator?
You'll see footprints in your jello.

How can you tell if there is an elephant in your bathtub?
There are peanut shells in the water.

Don't give up on this one.
What did Tarzan say when he saw the grapes?
Here come the grapes.
 What did Jane say when she saw the elephants?
Here come the grapes.  She was color blind.

Do I have you rolling in the aisles?


Do you have elephants trumpeting around your house?  I'd love to see what you've done.

Also, if you have some elephant jokes, please share.
 I think my family would be very happy if I updated my act.

Thanks,

Kathy

Gallery Wall

Gallery walls are a design element that I'm seeing everywhere.  So of course I was very excited to create one on the expanse of wall above my daughter's sofa.  Initially I wanted to do a mix of objects and prints like this wall by John Derian.

  I went in another direction when I remembered a calendar I had purchased from Anthropologie  several years ago.  I decided to do something more symmetrical like this.

Via

You know I love to incorporate sea life inspiration into my decor.  The images I used for the gallery wall came from the calendar.  Each month was illustrated with an image of sea life from my favorite book, Cabinet of Natural Curiosities by Albertus Sebus.  Of course I had to purchase the calendar, but I couldn't bring myself to use it or write on it.  I just saved it and savored the images.  I'm very excited to be able to use it on the wall.

Calendar Published by Cavallini Papers

My Favorite Book, Cabinet of Natural Curiosities by Albertus Seba on a Table in My Sun Room

I decided to have color copies made of the twelve images.  Did you know that you can have the copies made to fit your frame?  I took the measurements of my frame to the copy center and they reproduced them to fit into my frames.  I assembled the frames and was ready for installation.
Usually I hang prints with what my husband calls my Italian Eye.  Translation of that is that I have this uncanny skill to eye ball where to hang something without measuring and get it right.  This time though my husband was with me and I decided to use his two skills--patience and the ability to measure.  You see, I have not mastered the ruler beyond 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, and 1/8.  For any measurement  between those fractions, I have to trust my "eye".

He did an amazing job.  I placed the framed images on the floor in the order I wanted them and he did the rest.  Initially I was going to do two rows of six, but I decided that three rows of four would be better.

Here they are in place above her sofa.  She has a charcoal sofa from Ikea, some coral pillows from Pier One,  a houndstooth throw, a clock coffee table, and a Suzani dhurrie rug.

Next to the sofa is a small vintage cabinet that I painted citrine.
 On top of the cabinet is a vintage brass lamp with a Target shade.

Have you done a gallery wall?  I'd love to see it.
You know I love it when you share and comment.

Kathy

To see what else I've done in her apartment:

Her bookcase:  here

Her Bohemian bedroom here.

The bench at the foot of her bed:  here 

Her small entry way:  here 

Her vintage furniture bar:  here 

Her chinoiserie night stand:  here

Huh????? 

ENJOYED THIS POST? 
 Sign up to receive a notification every time I publish by clicking here.