MY KITCHEN'S LAST GASP

For as long as I've been blogging, I've talked about updating my knotty pine kitchen.  Well, I'm doing it.  I'm so excited that all the "orange" cedar trim and the cooktop island that divides the room in half are leaving for good.  We're knocking down the wall between the dining room and kitchen and creating a large open space.  There is a link at the end of this post to the before of my 1970's kitchen.

I'm going to miss my Duralee faux snakeskin fabric back splash.  I outlined it with nailhead trim.  I really loved that feature.  It will be missed.  It was a true labor of love.

DURALEE FAUX SNAKESKIN BACKSPLASH WITH NAILHEAD

Of course the kitchen will be black and white.  Right before the demolition started, I added some Dorothy Draper chairs to the eat-in area.  You had some sneak peeks of the space in a post about the chairs. I wanted to share some of the other black and white details before they're gone.  Make sure to notice all the rough cedar trim.

BLACK AND WHITE EAT-IN KITCHEN

I changed out the Chinoiserie chairs that matched the table for these Dorothy Draper ones.   The table really didn't match style-wise, so I covered it with a black and white buffalo check cloth.

BUFFALO CHECK TABLECLOTH

You haven't seen this wonderful black beaded chandelier.  I know that I'm going to find a place for it in another room.  That's the advantage of having black everywhere in your house.  Decor can move around. The centerpiece is a white cachepot with preserved boxwood orbs.

BLACK BEADED CHANDELIER AND CACHEPOT WITH BOXWOOD SPHERES

SIDE VIEW OF THE BEADED CHANDELIER

This curvy vintage black and gold chest has been mine for a very long time.  The lamp made from an old coffee urn is also a long-time possession.  They both move around the house frequently.

VINTAGE CHEST AND COFFEE URN LAMP

The framed Fornasetti wallpaper hopped in from the pantry.

FRAMED FORNASETTI WALLPAPER

I borrowed the vintage books with marbleized covers and the architectural fragment bookends from book shelves in the family room.

VINTAGE BOOKS AND BOOKENDS

I always purchase books with marbleized covers when I see them.

BOOKS WITH MARBLEIZED COVERS

These architectural building fragments have become my favorite bookends.

BUILDING FRAGMENT BOOKENDS

I'll make sure to keep you posted on the new kitchen project.  I'm so excited!!

Link to the kitchen BEFORE here.

Link to the post about the Dorothy Draper chairs here.

It's A Fern Explosion In My Garden

One of my favorites---and the easiest to care for----plants in my garden are my ferns.  

I have both perennial ferns and annual ones that I purchase each year and 

place in different containers scattered all around the yard.  They all thrive.

These perennial ferns along my patio wall started out as four small plants. 

 In only a few years they spread out into an explosion along the wall.

Perennial Ferns Along My Patio Wall

They're a wonderful border for my garden path.

Perennial Ferns Line the Garden Path

Recently I divided them and added them to the garden bed on the opposite patio wall.

I always use architectural salvage to add interest to the beds.  

In the foreground is a piece from an old fountain.

Perennial Ferns in Another Bed and a Fountain Fragment in the Foreground

My annual ferns are pretty easy to plant and to maintain.  I don't even remove them from their pots.  

I just plop them into my containers.  No digging involved.

This one ended up in one of a pair of large urns at the foot of the path to the patio.

Annual Fern in an Urn

This other fern ended up inside a chimney pot.

At its base are perennial begonias.  Another of my favorite blooming ground covers.

Annual Fern in My Chimney Pot Surrounded by Perennial Begonias

The black lattice is a perfect back drop for another annual fern in another chimney pot.

Annual Fern in Front of Black Lattice on the Side of the Garage

My last annual fern rests on a tall planter inside an iron garden sphere.

Fern Inside an Iron Garden Sphere

I love my iron sphere.  I change it seasonally.  To see its other transformations, go here.

Fern Peeking Through My Iron Sphere

What plants do you have in your garden that never disappoint?

Kathy

Two years ago I shared the ways I incorporated architectural pieces into my garden.

If you missed it, please check it out here.

The Forty Mile Yard Crawl

I have some long-time friends who are kind enough to invite me and my family to their country house in Virginia.   Every year we look forward to relaxing, catching up with our busy lives, and my son's favorite--a slow ride on an inner tube on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River.   When my friend called to invite us again, she said she wanted to tempt me to visit.  Obviously we need no convincing, but her temptation was that the Forty Mile Yard Crawl would be held that weekend.  It started in Strausburg, VA and continued to New Market, VA.  We didn't make it the whole forty miles, but I found many treasures along Route 11.

I wanted to share some of my finds from this adventure, but wanted to say that mixed in with them are even more treasures from a beach shopping trip.  No summer vacation at the ocean is complete without a vintage hunt with my friend, Sandy, who is lucky enough to live near the water year round.

And, I must confess that also in my eclectic stash are some things garnered from less exciting shopping trips around home and in Pennsylvania.  Yep, I've been a busy girl this summer.

I'm pretty sure that this classroom map will make it to Sweet Clover's September sale.
Perfect for back to school.

The backdrop I'm using for the photos is some Italian velvet fabric.  Yummy.
I also was excited to find a globe, a book with vintage maps, an architectural fragment, and some binoculars.  I've never seen a globe with a lucite support.  Have you???

I always buy folding camp stools, but this one was so unique.  It has a back rest, nail head trim, AND it is a rocking chair.  Someone added a mirror to an old ceiling tile and of course I bought it.  The brass compote holds marble spheres and tucked under the chair is a book with a fleur de lis spine.  Resting on top of it are two small French readers.

This is quite a jumble.  Empty frames, a weathered box in a fabulous green, a lion book end, a piece of a tree trunk turned into a pedestal, another architectural fragment, some games, and the little clown perched in the middle is actually a juicer.

The wooden floats tumbled around, some into an old garden trug, another supporting a seamstress's pincushion, and yet another provided a riser for an iron deer head.
Behind it all was what the seller described as an army mosquito netting hat,
but I'm going to say it really belonged to a beekeeper.
 Don't miss the artist's brush trying to hide.

Another totally unrelated mix of treasures.  Everything is resting on an architectural blueprint that's curling and cascading on the velvet.  The steps are old library steps outlined in gold.  On the top step is a ceramic horse head.  One step down is a rubber mold of an Indian.
 I topped this old goblet with a seed pod orb.
 One of my favorite things to collect are old document boxes.
 Teeny ones and ones with words are the best.
 I also came across some very unique copper bracelets.  One has an applique and the other is made to look like a belt buckle.  The other is simply linked metal circles.

I love that I have friends who coerce me into shopping with them.
 I hope you have some too.
 I'd like to hear what you've come across this summer.


Kathy

Recent Vintage Finds

I'm always out and about looking for the unique.  I'm very happy with my recent finds.

Patina gets me every time. This large pine grain bin had it in spades. 

 When I ran my hand across the top, it felt silky soft.  

What a perfect coffee table with tons of storage inside.

Forged iron hinges for support and a brass escutcheon.

Huge iron hinges support the lift top.  Boards are joined with pegs and there are square nails.

The sides are dovetailed, more iron support hinges, and iron handles.

You know how I love shabby chippy.  I fell in love with this mirror.

Detail of Mirror

Another Detail of the Mirror

I also found some signed nautical map prints of Mystic River, Stonington Harbor, and
Pawcatuck River in Connecticuit.  They're signed by John Dodge.

One of Three Framed Nautical Prints in Original Frame and Signed

I also found an architectural column, a demi-john, and two huge bound volumes of
The New York Times.
 It's hard to believe that each huge volume contains approximately only two weeks worth
 of the publication.

Column, Demi-john, Bound New York Times

I have plans for this rope bundle.
 Now it supports a turtle shell and is surrounded by some small bleached turtle shells.

Rope and Turtle Shells

What out-of-the-ordinary finds have you discovered?

Kathy