Heirloom stool....

I know I probably sound like a broken record, but I don't decorate with just anything...the "stuff" I decorate with has to be things I love or heirloom pieces!

A few years ago I picked up a couple of stools and dolled them up a bit and featured here.

The one I liked most was the one with the birdies...but every time I wanted to open a kitchen drawer I had to move it. So I sold that one and have been using the yellow stool.

But this past Christmas, when I was hauling decorations out of my packed attic, I spied an old stool that had belonged to my great-grandfather. I believe it was the stool he used at his drafting table. I have had it for years but it was in pretty bad shape, so I had stuck it in my attic and pretty much forgot about it.

I finally hauled it down to the garage and decided to give it a little makeover. The first thing I had to do was strip and oil the oak base using this process.

I had a little leftover fabric from this chair project so I decided to use it to recover the seat.

Did I take a "before" picture...um...no. Just imagine...old, dated, well used.

The upside is it fits perfectly under the kitchen drawers. Now I can use this precious family heirloom!

Oak is not my style...but anything that belonged to family is...another "thing I love."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!!!!

I want to take a minute to wish my precious, beautiful, smart, funny, talented youngest daughter a very happy 19th birthday...I can't believe you are entering your last year of teenhood! I have no doubt this next year will be as amazing as the last 19! You make a mama very happy and proud!

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Reviving old cutting boards...

I have featured old cutting boards on several occasions...here and here. They are relatively easy to find and simple to "revive!" And super cute to decorate with!

If you check out my kitchen reveal you will see I use them in several places in the kitchen...as a little chalkboard, as a recipe holder and for a back drop in my "baking corner!"

As I have said before, I don't use wood cutting boards in my kitchen...I prefer the marble and vinyl cutting boards for sanitary sake. But old wood cutting boards can add a real touch of warmth to any kitchen and you can often find them in a variety of woods...maple, mahogany, walnut, and oak!

This first board is a tiny little thing I found in a box of auction goodies. First I stripped the board using this process, then I chalk painted the handle and distressed it a bit and then I added a little something extra!

Adding this little transfer was super simple. I printed out the design, traced it onto the board using sewing trace paper...then I used a black sharpie to draw it on the board.

I used a design I found online, but you can find hundreds of awesome designs and transfer methods on Graphics Fairy!

After applying the transfer, I applied three coats of Watco butcher block oil on the board. Since I don't use (and don't recommend using!) the board for it's intended purpose, you could just spray the board with poly, but I like the natural and rich look of oil!

The next board is another little auction find...and old mahogany board that had been well used!

Stripping this board would not have removed all the cut marks so I took the sander to it...220 grit to get rid of the cut marks, then I finished it with 220. Super simple since mahogany is a relatively "soft" wood! I cleaned the little metal "stem" then I oiled the wood with butcher block oil (3 coats)...beautiful!

These little butcher block makeovers are simple and a great way to add a little "whimsy warmth" to any kitchen. Next time you spy one in a thrift store or at a garage sale, don't pass it up just because it looks a little warn and ratty! Take it home and spend just a few minutes bringing it back to life...you won't be disappointed!

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Traditional china vs. Ironstone....

I currently have 7 sets of china in my attic. The "important" pieces of each set are displayed throughout my home...tea sets, serving dishes, pitchers....as well as one place setting of all.

I did not set out to "collect" china. My first set was a pretty pink and green floral I purchased at an auction almost 30 years ago. The set had mint EVERYTHING...salt and pepper shakers, tea pot, sugar and cream set, serving dishes and 12 place settings.I proudly displayed it all in my china hutch until one fateful move...when I didn't get the little pegs securely in the top shelf of the china hutch...and it all came crashing down. No, it did not break the pieces I had 12 of, like plates and cups. Nope...the teapot, the sugar and cream set, the salt and pepper shakers, serving dishes. THOSE took the hit. By some weird alignment of the stars or fate, an older lady we were buying a house from was having an auction and she had the exact same set....including the serving pieces I had destroyed. Wow...what are the odds. Now most are packed away in the attic.

I bought another set of china years later, again at an auction.I loved the colors...browns, oranges, blues. It has the prettiest scalloped edges on the serving pieces! We used them at Thanksgiving for several years until we (I say we...actually Brian is the dishwasher!) got tired of having to hand wash them...now they are in the attic!

And then just a few years ago another set...a simple "white" with platinum edging, decorated with little platinum branches with birdies (if you remember, I have a thing for birdies!) Simple. I bought them for a New Year's dinner party. Much more "contemporary" than the other two sets. Naturally I used them once and then most were packed away in the attic.

Now the "family" heirlooms are starting to roll in. The first was from my paternal grandmother. She wasn't a "china kind of person" but she had the prettiest serving pieces of the Universal Ballerina in mist from the 1950s....a beautiful greenish-bluish color with a simple platinum edge. So pretty in fact that I began purchasing the dinner plates and bowls and cups. And then I promptly packed them away in the attic with the other sets.

Then my maternal grandmother's. Then both my maternal great grandmother's. All from Japan or Germany, where my mother's family lived during my grandfather's military career. I get tickled when people make a huge deal out of "Occupied Japan" pieces at auctions...I have an attic full because my grandparents actually lived in occupied Japan in the late 40s!

Again, I have the serving pieces, a place setting of each and the tea sets displayed but the rest are all packed and labeled in the attic.

So where does the ironstone come in?

Well, since the discovery of blog sites like Miss Mustard Seed and The Ironstone Nest I have taken a fancy to simplistic style of the white ironstone. So much so that when I discovered ONE ironstone bowl in an apartment, I went on an obsessive hunt for more pieces. For years I have loved white dishes because it was easy to add other white dishes when needed without there being a "glaring" difference! I ended up spending way more than I want to admit to put together 20 dinner plates, bowls and dessert plates for every day use, buying a few pieces at a time on Etsy and Ebay!

Ironstone is not as prevalent in our area as it is in other parts of the country. I have run across a few pieces here and there but nothing like the northeast where it seems to be in every antique and thrift store...and has soared in value. I have purchased a few pitchers and tureens and dish sets over the years (usually for VERY little), but nothing like what other bloggers report. It just hasn't made a "splash" here like it has elsewhere. The pieces I have sold have often sat for some time and sell for very little.

So I have begun to "hoard" what few pieces I stumble across.

Just last week I bought two pitchers (each thrown in a flat of odds and ends) at an auction.

I also picked up this pretty sugar and creamer set that came with an entire set of ironstone dinnerware. My daughter will get the dishes for her apartment this summer (that should tell you how little I paid for the entire set)...the sugar and creamer set are mine!

I found this little chipped creamer in a box of odds and ends several years ago and kept it because it was chipped and it is the perfect size for little knock-out roses.

I think I picked up this little set at another auction some time back. Pretty....

And this little pitcher...I like it with the little Gerber daisies in my laundry room!

Martha Stewart is credited for bringing ironstone to the fore-front of today's collectors. Her website gives the simplest, most comprehensive, history of ironstone. Well worth the read!

I really love the simplistic styling of the white ironstone. As much as I love and cherish all the pretty china I have purchased and inherited over the years, sometimes I feel like all the "traditional china" kind of gives my home that "old lady vibe." But most are heirloom pieces and are just a few of the Things I Love!

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Old shop cart transformation....

Sometimes you have to look really hard to see the treasure lurking beneath all the gunk and layers of paint.

This piece is a prime example....

I bought this old shop cart with metal castors at an auction several weeks ago. It was covered in decades of grease, grime and several layers of paint. My original plan was to clean it up and fix it up a bit to be used in a shop.

After a good scrubbing, I began stripping the top with my favorite finish stripper.... 1/2 acetone-1/2 lacquer thinner. My original intent was to completely strip the top and then apply a stain and poly.

After stripping off a majority of the top paint layers, I started sanding....and that is when I discovered that this table didn't want to be hidden away in an old shop...it wanted to be a beautiful butcher block island!

(I apologize for the pictures! I had fully intended to take it in the house and stage it all pretty...again, more doing, less froo-frooing! These were taken with my phone after I took it in to my booth!)

Even after stripping and sanding, the grain of the wood held onto an amazing "patina" that was so warm and beautiful I decided to leave it. I applied 3 coats of butcher block oil to hydrate and preserve the wood. No stain...this is just the natural color of the aged wood that was hiding under the layers of gunk and green paint!

I applied a chalk paint treatment on the base and distressed it a tad so the green "peaked" through a tiny bit. After painting and distressing, I sprayed it with poly. Again, poly tends to "yellow" a tad which gives the new paint an aged look, as well as seals! The inside of the drawer was pretty nasty, so I scrubbed it with ammonia and gave it a KSTP treatment!

This is not some fancy antique...just an old shop cart made out of pine. But it is absolutely beautiful and I think after years of being hidden away in a shop covered in gunk and grease, it deserved a little love! I honestly would have kept it if I had a place for it!

Again, don't turn your noise up on a piece that has years of neglect and abuse. Maybe, just maybe, there is a beautiful "soul" just waiting for you to reveal!

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A few new storage solutions!

In my quest to make my kitchen a tad more "user friendly" I stumbled upon a nifty little storage gadget at Lowes that will help me manage my casserole dishes and mixing bowls a bit better.

As I have mentioned, in my "dream kitchen" I have nothing but big deep drawers in my lower cabinets. Unfortunately that is a "dream" so I have to work with what I have and digging around in a lower cabinet for heavy casserole dishes and keeping all my mixing bowls organized has become an issue.

Again, and I can not stress this enough, the number one key to getting organized is PURGING!

Pull it ALL out and ask yourself...DO I REALLY NEED THIS?! In my kitchen cabinet, I had several casserole dishes that were duplicates of what I have but they didn't have lids. Do not need! I had 5 large 9x13 casserole pans...do not need them all! I had 3 stainless bowls the same size, which made stacking them a impossible...do not need! I have FIVE crock pots...two smaller ones just for dips and such. I DO need those but only once or twice a year so there is no need for them to take up valuable kitchen real estate. So off to the hall pantry they went!

I contemplated building and installing either 4 drawers or 2 large drawers in this cabinet base. Lots of work! So when I found these nifty little metal storage drawers at Lowe's I knew I had found a relatively easy solution.

The problem with these metal drawers is they are not custom sized so I was going to end up with a lot of "dead space." I decided to only install one for my bowls and casserole dishes since those are things I use almost every time I cook. I left the other side shelf space for crock pots and dishes I only use occasionally.

The drawer component lets me easily get to my bowls and casseroles dishes without wallering around on the floor and pulling everything out to get to the stuff in the back.

A perfect, and simple, solution for organizing a tough space.

When Brian and I went scrounging around the flea market out in Tontitown last weekend, I found this neat little wall decor. A framed chalkboard with two "distressed" wire baskets. I knew it would be perfect for organizing magazines that tend to get piled up in the coffee table, which in turn means they get ignored!

I'm pretty sure it is probably something one could pick up at Hobby Lobby, or something I could easily make with an old frame and paper storage racks from an office supply store. But it was there, and it was done...the only thing I did not like was the original finish on the frame...kind of a "white-wash" natural wood looking thing. I immediately painted it with some chalk paint and distressed and sealed it. Great for magazines or mail. Remodelaholics featured a bathroom with a similar one.

I like it in the bathroom but I am of the opinion that if you are in the bathroom long enough to read an article, you probably ought to seek treatment. Just saying....

Last fall I bought this awesome antique sewing machine at an auction. The "lid" flips back to reveal the machine

I immediately fell in love with the little wood box that covered the machine. After a little research I discovered they are called coffins....most often in mahogany or walnut. BEAUTIFUL! I immediately jumped on Ebay and found a few of these amazing little boxes.

Naturally they needed to be refinished, but a little magic mixture and a few coats of tung oil and they are amazing!

My original plan was to use them in the "kitchen reset," but there really was no good place for them so I have them scattered around the house for storage. In the den, I use them to store some of my photo albums. They would be darling with little castors for "rolling" storage. l absolutely love them!

When I reset my kitchen, I dug around in my flea booths looking for "functional decor." In other words, pretty with a purpose! A few things caught my eye.

The first was a little glass pumpkin...perfect for this time of the year! I usually keep my coffee in a crystal decanter, but this little pumpkin is perfect for the fall season.

Now I am going to be on the look out for one I can use for the Christmas season!

I also found this little sterling silver piece. I THINK it might have originally been for sugar since it has a little notch in the lid where a spoon may have rested but most sugar jars are smaller. Regardless, it is the perfect size for my coffee filters.

And of course the need to store 1/2 of my dishes when I built my floating shelves...seriously, who needs 20 plates! I purchased this little basket from Kaufmann Merchantile with a gift certificate from my son but I also found some on Amazon and have ordered 3 for my holiday wrapping station! (I'll share that little project when I get it set up!)

I have mentioned time and again that I really don't decorate much with "pretty" without "function" or purpose...unless something has sentimental meaning.

I am learning that these little touches are what really give a home "character." No need to use boring old plastic containers or cardboard boxes if you can "think outside the box" and find interesting pieces that are "pretty" but can also serve a useful function!

Anything that can make my life more organized is great...the fact that it is pretty or interesting is a huge plus!

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Decorating with the traditional colors of fall!

The week before Brian and I left for our annual vacation to Colorado, I spent several days cruising the blogosphere and enjoying all the beautifully decorated homes on the "Fall Tour." I noticed many are now decorating with more "whites and blues" and neutrals for the season....blue and white pumpkins, vintage containers, natural elements, muted greenery.

I think it is all beautiful but as I decorated my home for the season I realized that all my fall decor are the bright and bold colors of traditional fall foliage....reds, oranges, yellows, browns and deep greens.

And as I have mentioned before, when I am done, it looks like fall has puked in my house. I LOVE this time of the year and every time I stroll through the isles of department stores, craft stores or a flea market I find more fall "stuff" I just can't resist.

I had pretty much convinced myself that I needed to transition to the more "neutral" pallet of the "farmhouse fall" next year. Until....

I neglected to take pictures of the southern view at Mesa Verde so I stole this picture from Thomas Mangan...he has some breath-taking photos....the colors are AMAZING and a pretty representation of the southern slope of Mesa Verde! — I neglected to take pictures of the southern view at Mesa Verde so I stole this picture from **Thomas Mangan**...he has some breath-taking photos....the colors are AMAZING and a pretty representation of the southern slope of Mesa Verde!

....Colorado...the vivid yellows and orange of the Aspens, the deep reds of the mountain sides and red oak foliage, the vibrant greens of the pines.

Yes, there are whites and blues and neutrals...the stark white of the Aspen bark, the muted "pinks" of Mesa Verde (a MUST see!)....

...the neutral pallet of a canyon wall along the river...

...snow capped mountains reflecting in the crystal blue waters of a mountain top lake!

...white snow filled clouds creeping over a mountain pass.

All beautiful...all colors found in nature!

For me, I am still in love with the vibrant colors of fall that are so prevalent here in the Ozarks...the yellows, orange, reds and deep greens. I have shared my "fall home" before, but I thought I would share again this year...nothing much changes from year to year and that is just fine with me!

Notice the "Colorado red" flagstone...yes, that is native Colorado stone and yes, there are rivers and mountains that color!

These little lanterns are "multi-seasonal." I can easily change them up for fall, Christmas and even spring/summer!

Every holiday I hang a "seasonal" wreath on the big mirror in the living room! I now have one for fall, Christmas, Valentine's and the 4th!

Still love my black doors! In the fall I hang simple "candle wreaths" with ribbon to decorate every door and window. I simply change them out for Christmas wreaths after Thanksgiving!

Several years ago I hit the 90% clearance at Hobby Lobby and snatched up all the high dollar fall garland...I wrap it in the dining light fixture, lay it on top of the display hutch and in the transoms, and lay it across the fireplace mental!

Say hello to Litty...she loves the camera!

Years ago I made two "table top" fall wreaths...I use to put hurricane candles in both but I found this awesome little grapevine pumpkin last year. What do you know...I actually do change things up a bit every now and again!

For vases and urns, I just bundled a bunch of fall stuff I like together and stick them in the container...simple! This one is a glass vase filled with fall glass beads I picked up for Pier One years ago!

Mr. Owl was actually one of those ugly plastic "decoy" owls I picked up at an auction. I painted him off white...again, super simple!

Here I shared how easy it is to make a little seasonal vintage box that can be easily changed up throughout the year...

THIS is what I love to decorate with...the traditional colors of fall. I love the blues and whites and neutrals but every year I take a 14 hour trip west to see the vibrant colors of the Colorado Aspens.

For some, it is the beach....white sands and blue waters and sky. For me, when I see a grove of shimmering fall Aspens, it fills my heart with pure joy! When I stand on a mountain top at Mesa Verde and look down at the red, orange and yellow foliage on a mountain side, I feel at peace.

So for now, I will continue to decorate with the colors I love. Maybe some day I will transition to the "in" colors, but this year, I am at peace in my home surrounded with the vivid colors of a traditional fall!

And that, my friends, is what decorating a home is all about!

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The kitchen makeover reveal!

It is time for the big KITCHEN REVEAL!!!

First, I had to wait on the maple trim...then I decided to wait on the new doors and glass!

I had not intended to start decorating for fall before "the big reveal." My plan for this week was to do the glass doors Tuesday, take pictures of the kitchen and get ready for Matt's birthday celebration Wednesday (he turns 26 Saturday!), post the reveal Thursday morning and then get most of the fall decor up and get my hair and nails done ...AND LEAVE FOR COLORADO FRIDAY!!! Yippeee!

One hitch...I got a call Tuesday morning that the glass wasn't on the delivery truck so it wasn't going to be in until Thursday...well that just threw a wrench in my whole week. So Tuesday I started working on my fall decor. Tuesday afternoon, the glass place called and said they "found" my glass and it was ready. Sooooo....short story long, the "reveal" pictures are going to have smatterings of fall!

I think I have mentioned before that I have a bad case of "Pinterest envy" when it comes to kitchens.

Tipsaholic recently featured some beautiful kitchen pantry/storage ideas. I love the painted kitchens and all the open shelving but the one thing I noticed about EVERY picture, whether featuring beautiful glass containers or pull out drawers, was the ORGANIZATION of every item and space.

For me, the key to a great kitchen (or any space for that matter) is making sure everything is organized and functional for MY needs! And of course aesthetically appealing, but unless it is organized and functional, I am wasting my time making it pretty!

While I love all the neat pull-outs and storage inspiration, I think the first thing you need to do BEFORE you start any kitchen remodel is get every drawer and cabinet purged and organized and see what you have, what you need and what space you can rework, organize or add to make your kitchen function for YOU! Plan, plan, plan!

Here is a post on purging and organizing your kitchen drawers! A super simple little project but it has made a big difference in my ability to find stuff I need!

My goal in "resetting" my kitchen was to make it more functional for my purposes.....and of course, change things up a bit aesthetically so I am not tempted to take a paint brush to these beautiful cabinets

I basically had a "standard" (and small) kitchen layout.

I do love stained wood and as drawn as I am to painted cabinets, I knew the day would come in the future when I would regret painting mine. My stain color (Paprika Cherry on Maple) isn't totally offensive and fairly "timeless" if that is possible, unlike my daughter's kitchen which had "pickled oak," a stain my dad and I were putting in houses in the 1990s!! I did not discourage her in the least when they decided to paint their cabinets.

For those who believe "white is classic and will never go out of style" obviously don't remember the "honey oak" trend of the 90s..."oak is classic and will never go out of style!" EVERYTHING goes out of style...eventually! Which is why we are all painting honey oak cabinets!

Earlier this year I made an offer on a smaller house with a smaller yard in a subdivision I would love to live in. The house was basically a "gut job" and the new kitchen I designed had NO upper cabinets...none! I wanted lots of windows, maybe a few open shelves, tons of base cabinets with drawers and a big island.

But that deal didn't work out and I don't have the "footprint" to build a kitchen even remotely close to what I would have put in that house. Right now I don't have the funds (or energy) to make major changes and I can't bring myself to change out appliances that aren't totally offensive and work perfectly fine!

What to do, what to do!? I wanted some changes, but I didn't want to do something I might regret down the road.

This is one of those times when I had to "work with whatcha got" and make changes that would give me a few elements I crave, without spending a ton of money or eating out for 2 months while the kitchen is in complete disarray. In the end I probably spend under $800 (doing the work myself!) and I think we ate out two nights! Keep in mind that the three doors cost around $200 and special order maple trim can be costly. The changes I made would be A LOT cheaper if you use stock trim and don't add new doors!

If you aren't in a position to spend a lot of money on major changes and upgrades but you love the concept of open shelving and more storage, these few changes might just be the answer!

I did not paint my cabinets but I was making changes that required a few pieces of new maple trim the color of the existing. THAT is a Herculian task and one I would advise you do BEFORE you start moving things around...unless you have stock wood like oak or poplar, or intend to paint the cabinets! My kitchen cabinets are 16 years old and honestly even if I knew who, what, and where the odds that they would have trim pieces to match after all these years are pretty slim. I tried finding stock trim that came close, but none was close enough. There are cabinet manufacturers that will do "color matches" but unfortunately they won't do it for a few pieces of trim.

As I have mentioned before, most manufactured cabinets and furniture have a stain and finish that is sprayed on...so matching an existing finish can be pretty difficult! Thank you David, at Sherwin Williams in Springdale...most amazing color match EVER! I honestly can not tell the difference between the original and the new! I took a door and a few samples of the new trim and he matched it right up...amazing!

There were a few things I wanted to accomplish in this little "makeover." First, I knew I wanted open shelving. That is one element I am always drawn to in my quest for "inspiration." (Here I talk about finding your inspiration for ANY project!)

I wanted to "pop up" a few of my cabinets and open a few up for display. In the post featuring my laundry room, I tell you exactly how to "pop up" existing cabinets.

Moving the dish cabinet, spice cabinet and the two cabinets on either side of the refrigerator allowed me to add the open shelving beneath them.

Here you can see a step by step tutorial for constructing three different types of floating shelves!

The frame to the left is just foam board with scanned copied of my grandmother's old recipe cards tacked to it! The boys always gripe about my "shallow" bowls so I pulled a couple Philbe Fire King bowls I had in my booth and then ordered small matching custard cups I found on Ebay for dips and such!

My spices, along with my cooking and serving spoons, are now at my finger tips!

I love all the different glass jars! I painted my old knife block a pretty teal just to freshen it up a bit! I love refinishing and repurposing old cutting boards...this one is perfect for holding recipe cards!

This is now my "baking corner." I added the antique fan for comfort...you can see how easy it was to rewire this 80 year old fan here and bring it back to life!

I choose not to pop the cabinets all the way to the ceiling. I know some would, but I have 9' ceilings and to do so would have looked funny and made the cabinets completely unusable.

One thing I really love are the stainless and glass vent hoods. I really dislike the big hulking, over the range microwaves. The truth is, I don't have the real estate for a counter model, so for now I will stick with the big hulking over the range microwave! Poo.

I removed the doors on two of the cabinets and painted the interiors. After looking at them for a few weeks, I decided I did not like that open look even with all the "pretties," so I ordered new maple doors, stained them and added reeded glass inserts...like my laundry room door! (LOVE!)

I get the "openness" without the cabinets looking "unfinished." There is a chance I may eventually do this with the doors on both sides of the refrigerator!

I did add some under counter lighting above the pasta shelf and the "baking" shelf.

I wired into the existing under counter lighting and ran the wires between the cabinets and across the top of the cabinet above the refrigerator that was covered by a shelf. Now all the under counter lighting can be turned on with a flip of the switch that was added when we did the original lighting!

I added glass jars here and there to hold tea, baking stuff, beans, and pasta. I love the Anchor Hocking Heritage jars for flour and white sugar but they don't have sealed lids which is necessary for brown sugar. (That was one great thing about reworking and organizing my pantry...I was able to designate one cabinet and shelf area specifically for baking stuff.)

I found sealed jars similar to the Anchor Hocking Heritage jars, as well as jars tall enough for spaghetti and linguini at TJ Maxx! I ended up with a variety of jar styles I picked up at TJ Maxx, flea markets and Oneida online.... and I like the different looks!

While I think the matchy-matchy boxes and storage bins are super cute in pantries, I prefer to actually SEE what I have...so I organized my pantry and cabinets so that like items are together and I am able to see what I have and what I need at a glance!

The upper shelves were a great addition...mostly so I can now openly display my cookbooks and a tiny bit of my china (I have 6 sets!) and also a few little decorative do-dads.

The old coffee grinder is one I have had in my booth for MONTHS...probably because it is missing a piece of the top...but it looks pretty neat on the shelf with the big gold B I picked up at the flea market, a fall berry wreath (I also have a boxwood, but the berry wreath is a new fall find this year) and an old chopping board I turned into a little "chalkboard."

This shelf had to be removable for one special reason! "Lord ?" He is stored away in the attic for the time being, but he has to have a special place when I decorate for Christmas and he would be too large for the space if the shelf could not be removed. So I painted the shelf bracing the same color as the wall and the shelf can easily be removed when it is time to display him!

As you can see, my kitchen is pretty "traditional." With furniture, I tend to lean more towards the clean lines of "modern/mid century" now but as with everything in my house, my kitchen is more of a mix of traditional, modern, and "farm house." Eclectic, to say the least. That seems to be the "style" I am most comfortable with...not too much of any one style, but a broad mix of everything!

A toss of this, a pinch of that, a smidge of whatever strikes my fancy!

One of the great things about being "eclectic" in your decorating style is you can pick up anything without worrying about whether it fits in with the "style" of the room. Whether it is modern, traditional, transitional or farm house...if I like it, I can usually make it work!

The biggest improvement for me is the addition of the open shelves and my ability to reorganize a few spaces to make the over-all kitchen a tad more functional and organized.

And that my friends should be the PRIMARY goal for any "makeover." Because let's be honest...if the piece or space isn't functional and organized, all the pretty it the world isn't going to cut it!

First and foremost, make your space or piece functional and organized. THEN make it pretty!

BTW, as much as I debated painting the fireplace wall when I remodeled my den I am SO glad I didn't...it is perfect for the holiday seasons...fall AND Christmas.... and I can't imagine it any other color!

Friday we head out for our annual train/zipline/fishing/Aspens adventure! I am soooo ready. Matt will be here holding down the fort and when I get home, fall will be in full swing...regardless of the temperatures!

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Fun and quirky pumpkins and fall in the Ozarks!

The high Saturday was in the low 70s!!! Fall is in the air! But as always, the "early fall" was fleeting and this week we are back in the 80s. Cruuuuud!

I want desperately to break out all the fall decor but I will wait! I usually decorate right before we head out to Colorado...after a trip to the mountains and a week in the glorious Aspens, it will officially be fall in my mind...regardless of the temperatures!

I have been tweeking a few things in preparation for fall decorating. I picked up a few boxes of holiday knick-knacks at an auction a few weeks ago and found four really cute ceramic pumpkins and two wooden pumpkins.

As much as I love the fall colors, I decided I have WAAAAY too much orangey stuff so I decided to get a little creative with these.

Metallic gold? Hum...interesting.

Maybe white pumpkins?

Candy corn pumpkins? Kinda like these little jars I made a few years ago...super simple and a quick, quirky update to otherwise boring pumpkins!

Dunno...I have a few hundred pumpkins stored in the attic so I will see how these mesh when I finally drag it all down and start setting it up! The great thing about hitting the clearance sales after the season (besides the great savings) is all the wonderful surprises I find the next year!

A few years ago I shared a tutorial for making fall floral urns! Now is the time to get busy and make a few of these! This is the perfect way to use old pumpkins and garland you have grown tired of and no longer want to decorate with!

For me, decorating for fall is a two day process....seriously, I have THAT much! Insane!

Fall in the Arkansas Ozarks can be amazing! One of the greatest traditions in our area is the Fall Craft Fairs, anchored by the War Eagle Mill Craft fair! This year the fair will be October 15-18.

My advise for attending this event....go early to avoid traffic...wear comfortable walking shoes...come hungry (OMGosh the food is amazing!)...and make sure you clean out your trunk!

Not sure if you can even book a hotel in this area at this late date, but even if you hve to stay 1-2 hours away, it would be worth it.

War Eagle is not the only craft fair in the area...Northwest Arkansas will be covered with craft venues and the local papers will print maps of all the places where you can literally get lost ALL day just browsing and buying and filling your head with all kinds of inspiration for the holidays and home decorating.

Since I DIY almost everything, I rarely come home with a lot of "stuff" but I do come home with a head full of inspiration!

If you don't have anything planned for that week and want to take a little road trip with your girlfriends or family, I can promise you will have an amazing time! And maybe the trees will cooperate and you can see the glory of fall in the Ozarks!

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Rewiring an old fan and my home's 15 seconds of fame....

The trim pieces for the kitchen still have not come in so as much as I would love the share my kitchen "reset" I am going to hold off until it is ALL done. I did share the construction and addition of the floating shelves last week, and you can check that out here.

This week I want to share an easy little project that I incorporated into my kitchen.

I have always wanted a fan in my kitchen...especially now that I am at the age when sudden bursts of "heat" wash over me (some call them hot flashes...but those are for old women!) A paddle fan isn't really a good idea in the kitchen, especially if you have a gas range like I do.

Over the years I have bought several "vintage" and "antique" fans at auctions. My favorite was a teal fan I had in my room for months...but as with a lot of things, it eventually went to the flea market and was sold...darn it! NOW I have the perfect place for it!

A month or so ago I picked up two antique fans at an auction...one a Westinghouse and the other an Emerson. I did a little research and found that both were from the 1930s. One had a decent, intact cord on it so I tested it and it worked beautifully after it was cleaned up and oiled. The other had a pretty ratty cord and there was NO WAY I was plugging that sucker in!

I took the working fan to my booth and kept the one that had the ratty cord. Since it had the "least value" and was a tad smaller and lighter, I decided to keep it and replace the cord!

The first thing I had to do was give it a good scrubbing. Most of the fans I have bought have been pretty nasty. Straight ammonia and steel wool! Not fun but necessary. Then I spritz all the insides with WD40.

Replacing the cord on any appliance, especially these old fans, is not difficult. If you can open it up and find the electrical connections, its pretty simple. These old fans have a few screws holding the baseplate onto the base of the fan...just remove the screws and remove the base plate.

Make sure you note where the old connections are....you want to make sure you hook up the new wiring properly. Occasionally, I will use painter's tape to actually "label" the posts or wiring so I don't forget...or better yet take a picture of it.

(Disclaimer...I actually used an old extension cord I had stripped to make sure the fan actually worked before I invested in a new cord! No sense in replacing the cord, only to discover that the fan motor wasn't working!)

Once I opened it up and got a look at the connections (and cleaned it up a bit...ewww), I purchased a new cord and electrical connectors at Lowe's.

The replacement cords have two bare wires on one end and a plug on the other. Just "crimp" the connectors on each wire and then attach the new wiring to the fan (or appliance) like the original wiring was connected. In my case, one wire went on one bolt and the other wire went on another bolt...then just tightened with a nut and washer...simple simon!

Then reassemble the fan. On this fan, it was just a matter of putting the base back on!

This fan is a little "vintagey" for my decor tastes, but I like that it adds just a touch of "eclectic" to this space. And as with everything, it will serve a great purpose when those heat waves hit!

COMMERCIAL SHOOT!

A few weeks ago, an old classmate of my son posted on Facebook that a producer he works for needed a fireplace to use in a photo shoot. Hey, I have TWO fireplaces...sweet!

I thought "photo shoot" meant they wanted to come take a few pictures. Um, no. Verge Videos is currently shooting a commercial for Dayspring Greeting Cards in my den. And since it is a Christmas commercial, we had to haul a bunch of Christmas decorations down out of the attic to "stage" the shots!

I know several bloggers who have had to decorate their house for Christmas in JUNE for magazine shoots! Pish-posh...not happening...and now it is!

Truth is, it is fun to watch all the work (and mess) that goes into making a simple little commercial! Lighting, props, hair and makeup...the whole shabang! Super cool process!

I have no idea if this is a local or national commercial. Doesn't matter...my house is officially a "pro" and will get it's 15 seconds of fame.

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THREE different Floating shelf tutorials...

I am going to wait to do a full reveal on my kitchen "reset." I call it a "reset" because I didn't paint the exterior of the cabinets or get new flooring or counters...just moved cabinets around, removed a few doors, painted the inside of a few cabinets, added some under-counter lighting and added shelving. So while it is a major change, and looks and functions MUCH better, it isn't a full-blown makeover.

Today I am going to share a tutorial on floating shelves. Actually THREE different tutorials!

The first thing I had to do was figure out which cabinets I wanted to "pop up" and where I wanted open shelving. That was what all the planning and measuring and drawing has been all about for the last few months. After I decided on the "configuration" of the cabinetry, I moved the cabinets that needed to be moved (see a tutorial on doing that here) and decided what "stuff" I wanted on each shelf...that is an important part of the plan because you don't want to plan on storing a 10" tall Anchor Hocking jar on a shelf that, in the end, only has 9" clearance!

The problem with adding floating shelves to any room is the need to plan for the weight of the items it will hold and whether or not there are studs to anchor the support.

In my kitchen, I had four areas I wanted to add floating shelves. I didn't want brackets, so the "support" for each shelf was a huge issue. In the end, I had to construct and anchor three different types of shelving to give me the clean look of floating shelves!

The first area was the hardest only because it was the longest span and will hold all my dishes. When I weighed my dishes they came to SIXTY FOUR POUNDS!!!! Just for plates, bowls and salad plates....that didn't account for cups, glasses or condiment bowls! Course then it dawned on me that I really didn't NEED to display ALL my dishes so I pulled out 8 place settings and stored the rest above the pantry! Not a great place to store something you use every day, but perfect for things you only need a few times a year! I actually have MORE of these dishes in my hall pantry...they are Pier One Bianca ironstone and they don't make it any more...so I stock up every time I find them on Ebay or Etsy!

The two shelves were still going to hold a lot of weight and I knew I needed something sturdier than a pre-build floating shelf you buy at Lowe's.

The wiring is from my under counter lighting that was attached to the cabinet! Notice the black piece of electrical tape on the switch so someone didn't accidentally flip that switch!!

I found a tutorial online for floating shelves using metal brackets attached to the studs by cutting out the sheetrock. God help me, I did not save the link! Since I knew what I needed to do, I didn't need to refer back to the tutorial! Hopefully my tutorial will give you the information you need!

My plan was to attach L brackets directly to the studs and then conceal them with sheetrock and the construction of the shelf!

The first thing I did was locate the two studs with a stud-finder. I marked the location, used my L brackets to "trace" out the area I needed to cut out and then cut out the sheetrock.

You can use a Dremel with a cutting blade but I didn't want to blow dust all over the place. I just cut it out with a utility knife and chisel.

After cutting out the opening, I set the L brackets directly on the studs, made sure it was level between the brackets by laying a 24" level across the two, predrilled the holes for the screws and then attached them to the studs using heavy duty wood screws...3/8" bolts will work as well!!!

You may notice that the brackets are set 1/4" above the top of the tile...that is because the underside of the shelf will be 1/4" plywood and I want to be able to slip it on top of the tile. Someday I MIGHT change my backsplash and I want to be able to remove the tile without messing with the shelving!

After the brackets were attached, I used sheetrock mud to fill in the holes...right over the bracket attached to the studs. You could "patch" the area like I showed you here, or you can just fill them with mud. As the mud dries, it will crack, and you may have to sand and refill it 2-3 times...no biggy....I had a lot of stuff going on over several days so I wasn't in a hurry!

After the mud dried, I sanded it well, sprayed it with texture (again, this tutorial shows you how to do that) and then painted it (AGAIN, this is where having leftover touchup paint is SO important...unless you are repainting the entire wall!)

Here is the downside to doing tutorials...I don't always take the pictures I should take! Sooooooo......try to follow me here. The shelf was pretty much constructed the same way the shelves adjacent to the refrigerator were...so you can see pictures of the construction later in this post!

I cut, primed, sanded and put one coat of paint on all the shelving components before I put them together...that way, once it was all constructed all I had to do was caulk, putty the holes and give it one final coat of paint! (I used oil based paint on the shelves...maybe overkill but I know it will hold up!)

I used 3/8" plywood for the top of the shelf...I cut it (and the 1/4" ply for the underside) the size I wanted the shelf, LESS the 1/2" for the strips of wood used to face the front and both sides (Example, if you want your shelf to be 8" deep and 30" wide, you would cut your plywood 7 1/2" x 29"). I glued and nailed 1/2" plywood strips to the underside of the 3/8" top to create a "channel" for the electrical cord for the under counter lighting and for the bracket. I laid the 3/8" plywood across the two brackets and attached the top to the L bracket with #10-3/8" screws and then glued and nailed 1/4" plywood to the underside. So all in all, the thickness of each shelf was 1 1/8" thick (3/8" top + 1/2" inside strips + 1/4" underside = 1 1/8" thick.)

I wanted to reinstall my under counter lighting to the bottom shelf so I measured for it's placement and drilled holes for the electrical wiring in the underside (1/4" plywood) of the bottom shelf and ran the wiring between the "channels" and through the holes before I attached the bottom to the top of the shelf. KNOW WHERE YOUR ELECTRICAL WIRING IS so you don't put a nail through it when you are nailing the underside to the top!

I capped the edges off with 1/2" boards...1/2 x 2" (actually 1/2" x 1 1/2") for the top shelf with no light and 1/2 x 3" (actually 1/2" x 2 1/2") for the bottom shelf so the light fixture would not show when it was installed. Caulked, puttied and gave them one final coat of paint!

A huge advantage to constructing your own support or frame is you can make the shelves any depth you want...I actually made the bottom shelf a little deeper than the top shelf.

The spice corner was a tad easier. Since the items on those shelves were pretty light weight I used premade floating shelves. The only adjustment was the width of the shelves. The smallest premade floating shelf I could find was 18" but my space was only 15". The upside is the metal bracket the shelf slips on to was only 15" wide, so I was able to cut the actual shelf down...1 1/2" off each side, and still use the metal bracket! I painted those to match the dish shelf and installed them per the directions. (Yes, you can easily paint pre-made floating shelves...you aren't limited to white or black!)

The two 15" shelves on either side of the refrigerator were another "challenge" and constructed completely different because one side had NO studs in the 15" span and the other side only had ONE stud. Curses.

Not a biggy. Sometimes you just have to get creative!!!

I built a "skeleton" for each shelf using 1x2 material (actually 3/4" x 1 1/2") I didn't want to make the skeleton too terribly heavy but since only one side of each shelf could be attached to the adjacent cabinet, I decided to beef up the "free floating" side with a 2x2" (actually 1 1/2" x 1 1/2") I used oak on the side that attaches to the wall since it is a "harder" wood! The rest is poplar since it is a little bit lighter! Make sure when you "design" your skeleton that you account for the 1/2" "facing" that will go on the front and sides. For example, my space was 15" wide x 14" deep...since I was "facing" the shelves with 1/2" material on the front and one side, I made my skeleton 14 1/2" x 13 1/2". Sometimes it helps to actually draw it out with the measurements!

I glued each joint, tacked them with a trim nailer and then counter sunk screws...just to make it all nice and sturdy!

If you don't have a special "counter sink" screw bit, you can always cheat like I do...first, predrill the hole using a small bit (1/16th ish bit!)...

...then use a bit that is a tad larger than your screw head and drill on top of the small bit hole, maybe 1/8" deep...then just put your screw in!

It is important to predrill holes because the wood WILL split if you do not!

After constructing the "skeleton" for the shelf, I placed it on the wall, leveled it, then predrilled 4 holes through the skeleton into the sheetrock.

Notice I tacked a piece of 1/4" plywood to the bottom of the skeleton so I could maintain enough space to slip the 1/4" plywood underside on after the skeleton and top were installed!

After pre-drilling the holes through the skeleton and into the wall, I removed the shelf and inserted "self-screwing" sheetrock anchors into the wall... the package says they hold 80 pounds each...I'm hoping four will do the job since there is no stud in this area!!!

I used the screws that came with the self-drilling drywall anchors to secure the skeleton to the wall. I added washers on the left shelf since it didn't have a stud in the wall to attach to.... just for good measure!

Litty inspected my work every step of the way!!!!

The right side had one stud to anchor to, so I used two self-drilling drywall anchors (no washers this time) and two sheetrock screws into the stud. For good measure I used my nail gun to nail from the inside of the skeleton into the adjoining cabinet (making sure it was level from back to front!)...again, probably overkill!

After the skeletons for the shelves were securely anchored, I used 1/2" plywood for the top and 1/4" for the underside. Glue and a few trim nails. The thickness of the shelf is 1/2" top + 1 1/2" skeleton + 1/4" underside = 2 1/4"... so I used 1/2" x 3" boards (again, actually 2 1/2") for the front and sides (all pre-primed and 1 coat of paint). Caulk, putty, paint!

Three different construction methods...this is one of those times when one shoe WILL NOT fit all and you really have to get creative!

This may all seem like a daunting task...and I may make it seem easy. But even for me, it is not. You really have to think, and draw, and measure and plan. And be willing to throw your hands up and start over when something doesn't work the way you thought it would! THAT is what DIY is all about.

You may have noticed that since I popped up the cabinets, you can actually see the underside now...that will not do! And that is one of the pieces of "trim" I am waiting on to finish things up...1/8" maple ply that will cover the underside of the cabinets. I had David at Sherwin Williams do a stain match and he did an AWESOME job...so as soon as the trim and skins come in and I get them stained and installed, I will do a full reveal!

In the end...I have exactly what I want...open shelving in my kitchen and when I reveal the entire kitchen you will see how this all ties together. At least for now you know that you are not limited to the measly little 10 pound limit of a pre-built floating shelf! You CAN build a floating shelf that will hold more weight, anywhere you want!

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