Decorating an Outdated Kitchen with Food

Greetings, HWYD Friends!

Food as decoration - we do it all the time! And not just on the plate! If you are having a dinner gathering in a space that just doesn't have the feel you are going for, think about what you have on hand in your pantry and on your shelves around the house that you can put together the feel you want.

The room that follows is in a 1980's dated house with beige, peach, and country blue. The meal is north African. Think delicious cous-cous. That doesn't really scream peach. So we are going to transform the space with red! And we are are going to do it by centering the room around the red in Campbell's soup cans.

Shelf 1

Red books. But not too many. Overall, we were going for primary colors mixed in with the colors already in the room. This is the layer where we are working the primary palette in with the pastel one. Some books are cookbooks, but some are from around the house and are filling in for color.

Shelf 2

The centerpiece: Campell's soup cans. You can't go wrong with popart. If Warhol can do it, so can you.

The rooster plates are from a thrift store. The plates are a pattern by Maxcera. They say, "Bonjour," "Buenos Días," and "Good Morning!" around the rim. 

The small glass liqueur glasses are to add depth.

Shelf 3

The fancy $2 red salad plates are from a sale at Dillard's two years ago. The shape is really unusual and they were reduced from $15. 

The foreign phrases in the rooster plates got me thinking about travel souvenirs. Along with the popart , I added the Coca-Cola bottles in Arabic from Morocco.

And I added a little camel given to our daughter. A man we met in the street in Tethouan was so charmed with her that he came and found us again later in the day and gave it to her as a gift.

Morocco, April, 2006

On the ends, we red heart-shaped glass votives. But because they are on a high shelf, you can't tell they are hearts.

Top

Pulling in all possible red, you see a glass candy dish and vintage bowl. For more color, I took a plate off of the children's art shelf, finishing with a kindergarten graduation picture with a red background and a set of Russian nesting dolls.

On the table, I added a Pier 1 pitcher filled with garden greenery with red placemats and napkins. The white dinner plates are my Dollar Tree specials, and the crystal is Longchamp by Durand. This crystal is very common and inexpensive. You can find a ton of it on eBay.

Transformed - all by decorating with food!

Happy Decorating!

Andrea & Steve

Sharing at:
http://betweennapsontheporch.net
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com
http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com

A Hardwood Ceiling For Goodwood

Greetings, HWYD Friends!

It's probably not a great idea to lead with one of our favorite all-time projects. We should have saved it for later, but we just couldn't help ourselves.

We are in the process of renovating our town home in Atlanta, The Goodwood House. In fact, it has been a long remodeling endeavor. Think 1980's kitchen, popcorn vaulted ceilings, carpet everywhere... 

Remember this look?

photo source: http://interiorsforfamilies.com

1980, TAKE BACK YOUR SPACE!

Though this kitchen in the same neighborhood has been updated and the wallpaper has been long hidden or removed, you can definitely spot the lack of granite, modern cabinetry, updated appliances, etc. This is a beautiful property, but in remodeling, (rather than just updating), for north Atlanta, we felt like the upgrading had to reach a little farther - not just in the kitchen, but throughout the home.

In envisioning the renovation, our entire house would require a major overhaul. Structurally it was sound, but aesthetically it needed a whole lot of oomph! And the AC needed replacing as well. But one of the most exciting spaces to redo was the grand living area on the main floor. This encompasses an open living space comprising the kitchen, dining, and living area with a loft on the second floor overlooking the living space. This post focuses on the closing in of the loft and replacing the vaulted ceiling with hardwood flooring!

From the loft, the room had this sort of feel to it, except the walls were white in some areas or wallpapered with plaid, too-many-pink flowers, and so on everywhere else. 

This is the loft from the same home shown above. They really used color nicely, as in their kitchen, but we went a few steps further. The loft you see above? Our loft became an enclosed office, with built-ins and a Juliet balcony with French doors. It would make a nice third bedroom, but it is a wonderful space to work in.

The wow factor is in the new vaulted ceiling. The ceiling is 15' at the sides and 20' in the middle. Steve felt like a darker color would bring down the space and make it more intimate. He said it felt like a racquetball court before the install.

An amazing new look was created with the hardwood flooring in the place of that white, popcorn ceiling.

The really amazing part of this is that it was a do-it-yourself job. If you are a little handy, it seems you might be able to manage a project like this. Steve bought and delivered the hardwood flooring himself. He rented the scaffolding. And like Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, he patiently installed the whole thing.

If you're not that adventurous, it is certainly something a contractor can do.


Happy Decorating!

Andrea & Steve

Sharing at:
http://betweennapsontheporch.net
http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com
http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com