Another Cow has joined the Herd

 This post is dedicated to my Husband for letting me get away with not just 1 Cow painting he dislikes, but now 2.  Remember when I told you another one was going to be joining the herd, so to speak, here? Well, it has been framed, and placed on the other side of my sliding doors.  

You can find the painting here.  The framing was done at Michael's.

It's a strange thing to be excited over, but I am truly over the moon happy.   I feel like the whole wall is now completed (other than the obvious patches needed, hint, hint).  

You can find my post here, about the bookcase shown.  I like the way it looks under the painting, and my favorite part is always styling things.  The light in here can get pretty tricky throughout the day.  We have 2 skylights, 2 large windows on each side, and the sliding doors to the outside.

All items here were purchased a long time ago.  I bought the faux orchid at Ikea, milk glass was thrifted, and of course what photo would be complete without the San Pellegrino water bottles?

The Tiffany crystal bowl was a wedding present, organizer purchased from Pottery Barn, ironstone came from an estate sale, and picture frame recently purchased from TJ Maxx. 

The magazine holders purchased from Ikea, perfect for plain paper, coloring books, extra notebooks and menus.  Gold frame from TJ Maxx.

I love this retro looking phone purchased from Pottery Barn years ago, and yes, it is a working phone.

And I think this concludes the Old Mc'Terceira's farm.

Built-ins for Ironstone

Before we started remodeling our kitchen, I scoured through Pinterest creating board after board of things I really liked.  This helped me narrow down what we could do in the space we had.  I knew I wanted a way to display my ironstone but also be able to use it.  I found my inspiration from this picture below.

Via

I would have loved to have used the Ikea bookcases shown, but they measured too high.  Hiring a Carpenter to do it all was an option, but a costly one. (We still need a Carpenter to add molding and give it that built-in feel).  I  spent weeks looking  online for the exact measurements I needed, but couldn't find one with 3 shelves that would fit. My next option was to find a small enough bookcase with 2 shelves at a reasonable price, and close to the height I needed. I found these bookcases below on Amazon.  I've purchased 3, which leaves room under the counter but not enough for a fourth bookcase.

Amazon

The plan now is to hire a Carpenter to raise the bookcases slightly, hide the gap between the top of the bookcase and underneath the counter, and attach molding along the fronts to hide the fact they are individual bookcases.

I use the magazine holders from Ikea to hold all of the kid's learning materials like workbooks, extra paper, and worksheets from School they might need.  The ironstone vegetable tureen on the bottom shelf holds things like pencils, calculator, and erasers.

I've also put to use a few tureens without lids and a compote to hold each of my children's candy stash from Christmas.

Close-ups of some of my pieces.

Currently filling out the space is our one stop pet feeding station for both the dogs and cats.  The original idea came from Pinterest from an uploaded user photo.  The vinyl decals and supplies label came from Craftcuts.

Ironstone pieces have come in handy in creating a quick pet treat station.

The pet dish station is no longer available but was purchased from Anthropologie years ago.

The mat was a very easy DIY project.  I used a place mat from Ikea, cut the indoor-outdoor fabric we used for the window treatments and hot glued the fabric in place.  I then used Scotch Guard to treat the fabric and give it another layer of protection.

For now our pet station has found a home but I think eventually I will move it as I often do. I'm considering making this into our recycling center using the Ikea Trofast system.

IKEA

All of these projects will be done sometime in 2016.

Breakfast Nook reveal and source list

                                Happy New Year Everyone!  

I've decided to give blogging another go around.  I enjoy the creative process and this really motivates me to get projects done. 

We started our kitchen last year and had some issues along the way, which prolonged the process.  It's 90% finished with just a punch list left to do. I've decided to show you all, the breakfast nook first, which is something I've always wanted in a kitchen. Along with having the nook for eating, and snacking, we have also started using it as a place to play games. Originally the bookshelves were going to be used just for my ironstone collection but after visiting friends in North Carolina and seeing their nook/game area, I was sold.

I am so pleased with how it all turned out. Please excuse the boxes on the right.  We have extra flooring that can't be returned and my Husband has yet to move them to a new location.

My gallery wall is just above the bench. All pieces were found at Estate sales.

I blogged about my ironstone haul as well as these prints, here.

I purchased the frame from Michael's and used washi tape around the print.

I love this cow painting, my Husband not so much.  This painting first caught my eye while reading Miss Mustard Seed's blog.  You can find it here on Etsy.  In a couple of weeks, I will be revealing a second painting from this same artist, that I've purchased and currently having it framed.

My inspiration for using an Ikea bookcase as a bench came from this picture below. Instead of using baskets, I opted to purchase the doors separately.  I also changed out the knobs that came with each door to match with the hardware I chose in the kitchen.

Via

I love these brass knobs from Schoolhouse Electric.  You can find this Ikea bookcase turned bench here.  Ikea KALLAX shelving offers a few options, doors, drawers or baskets.

I upholstered the bench myself which was easy to do.  If you are looking for a good tutorial on how-to and a material list, I included a link, h2obungalow.

The fabric I used on the bolster and bench is no longer available, but I found it here. Fabric.com is one of my favorite sources for fabric. 

I had my 2 bolster covers made for me by CleusaSordiDecor, again found on Etsy.  Fast turnaround and wonderful craftsmanship.

All my pillow inserts come from this shop Peteuga on Etsy. Amazingly fast shipping.

The Ikat pillows were purchased as a pair and ready to ship from CastawayCoveDecor.

The navy Greek key pillows were purchased separately and made by JoyWorkshoppe found on Etsy.

I don't know why I didn't capture a picture of the smaller linen pillow in the middle but you can find out the information from SkippysCorner.

The DOCKSTA Table is from Ikea.  It is the only easy thing to put together.

The Blue & White Salt & Pepper shakers are from Pier 1 imports and are no longer available.

The tray is Lilly Pulitzer for Target.

The ironstone pieces contain candy for a little extra treat.

I can't find the information for the Manufacturer's of my ghost chairs.  I originally purchased them as a pair for my porch, and will again, since these will be staying here in the nook.

The rug is an indoor-outdoor one from allmodern.  The shedding was minimal after the first vacuuming.  Very easy to clean and super soft underfoot.

My children are really enjoying having most of their games here.  In those plastic containers I have playing cards, learning materials, as well as small puzzles.  More on those, on another upcoming post.

In the meantime, I've covered the backs of the bookcases with the same wallpaper I used in my hallway. You can read more about it here.  I'm going to eventually change it to a grasscloth wallcovering.

Below are 2 pictures that helped shape my vision for what I wanted for my Breakfast Nook.

Via

Via

I hope you enjoyed the little tour of my Kitchen.  Please join me again for the rest of the tour.

Fall Decor on Etsy

I'm in denial about Fall being right around the corner, especially when the temperature is anything but cool. I've noticed a lot of bloggers are already posting Fall decorations, so I figured I would spotlight some great Fall finds off of Etsy.

Adorable knit pumpkins that start at $18 and up.  You can find them here.

This is an instant download for $5.

This is also an instant download for under $3. 

Set of two covers size 20x20 for $30.

Fall drinking straws for $5.

Pricey but super cute Fall wreath starting at $105.

Planner stickers for $2.

Autumn garland 7 ft in length for less than $20.

Scented Candles for $34.

For all of you with a sweet tooth, here are a dozen Pumpkin Spice cake truffles for $24.

Switching out bronze for brass

I still haven't solved my fabric dilemma, in fact I found 3 more fabrics I like.  I am waiting on the swatches to arrive to make my final decision. My cabinets are being installed in 2 weeks (yay, can't wait) in the meantime I have been shopping for hardware.  

My initial thought was to go with all bronze since my current light fixtures are, and we recently purchased a bronze kitchen faucet. However, I realized that the look isn't working for me any longer and I want to do something entirely different for my kitchen.  

That picture was taken shortly before everything was removed.  As you can see the light fixture, the faucet and the cabinet hardware are all bronze.  It just makes for a very dark kitchen even though this room is flooded with light.  The granite counter top will be the same but now I want to add brass.

Source

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I've ordered the pulls in various sizes depending upon the size of the cabinet or drawer.  I have so many things planned for my dream kitchen and it's nice to finely see it coming together.

Asian Scenic Wallpaper

So, I haven't been blogging but I have been doing a lot of projects both big and small. Now that the kids are back in school, I will try and get you all caught up. This post is very picture heavy, and is about my stairway leading up and also, the upstairs hall.

This is the top of the stairs looking down.  The color reads orange-ish but it's really a soft cream color.  I started with patching all the nail holes.  

Here's looking up the stairs, and the color of the walls is much better shown here.  The stairs I painted white a couple of years before, and the runner is a thick jute rug I purchased this year, I believe from Wayfair.

This is a very awkward and angular hallway.  It has 4 doors to rooms and 1 stairway opening.  

Here's at the top of the stairs facing my girl's shared bedroom.  We have smoke detectors hardwired in our home but for peace of mind, we also installed them on the ceilings.

The girl's bedroom is to the right, and is located next to the upstairs bathroom, across from their room is the Master. Before having the wallpaper installed, I painted the ceiling, doors and trim.  

Get ready for a lot of after shots.  I love how it turned out.  This is at the bottom of the stairs looking up.

At the top of the stairs and to the left is my son's bedroom.  I painted the other side of his door navy to match with his walls, so some of the inside door frame is also painted navy.  More on his room on another post.

Here's at the top looking down.  Again we have some funky angles in the ceiling to work with.  Having them covered in wallpaper makes them a lot less noticeable.  

Facing toward the direction of the girl's bedroom.  The camera made this wall look wavy but it's actually a straight wall.

I had painted the cord previously in the same color as the hallway was, it matched up perfectly with the wallpaper.

My little Lulu matches perfectly.

Here's a close up.  This job required 8 double rolls which adds up money wise, and then of course installation of the paper.  I plan on having this wallpaper for a very long time, so for me the investment was certainly worth it. The pattern name is Asian Scenic, comes in different colors, and is from York Wallcoverings.  If you are in the Maryland-Pennsylvania area, I highly recommend Hurst Painting and wallpapering. 

This room is about 70% completed at this point.