Bringing A Kitchen Up To Date

I’ve been working with a friend/client who is wanting to update her kitchen and dinette and put a little “spice” if you will, into her décor.

I thought I’d give you a sneak peek at where I’m headed with this one.  She lives in a lovely ranch style home with exquisite solid oak custom kitchen cabinets.  Only problem is…..she doesn’t like the very dark, heavy grained OAK cabinets.  They were there when she purchased the house and always wanted to change them, but they are very good solid custom cabinets so it doesn’t make sense to replace them.

She is not a fan of white cabinets, so my suggestion is to paint them in an espresso to help hide the grain she doesn’t like and which will give it an updated modern feel.    Although there are a few methods to help hide the grain when you paint oak cabinets, none are perfect.  It is sooo hard to cover over the grain so it doesn’t’ show.  I have seen a product called Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations and the testimonials sound good.  Have any of you tried it?

She also describes herself as a “caught in a taupe world” home decorator and wants to jazz up the space with color.

Below is a mood board that I am working on:  I like the results so far.

Her favorite colors are eggplant and sage so we are going to use these colors for accents and on windows and rugs.  Replacing fixtures and cabinet handles will also imbue a modern vibe while still maintaining a traditional “chic”.  The homeowner likes “bling” so in goes a chandelier.

(Oops! The above photo is not mine. It came from Google Images. I have the automatic watermark turned on in Windows Live Writer and couldn't figure out how to remove it in the already published post!)

I’m loving the sophistication of this window treatment.  I want to use geometrics in this space and stay away from florals.

Of course, I have to add a French touch.  I’m thinking updated ticking and toile? Or maybe a confit?

We’ll see.

Until next time,

Kim

Linking up to:

Newbie Party at Debbie Doo’s Blogging and Blabbing

Cowgirl Up! at Cedar Hill Ranch

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Potpourri Friday at 2805

Inspiration Friday @ At The Picket Fence

Mother Nature’s Transformations

I woke up to snow this morning and frigid cold.  Only last week the temperatures were in the upper 60s.  The weather is so temperamental and unpredictable at times but certainly provides us with an ever-changing backdrop.  

It made me think about seasonal changes so I decided to share some inspiring photos from Mother Nature around La Belle Époque.

A view of downtown Pikeville from my balcony.

 

A watchful cherub still guards the garden no matter what she is given to wear…sunshine or snow.

It’s amazing how strong delicate flowers can be…

Still blooming…

Had to add the snow bunny for fun.

  

Changes in our home décor reflect the same kind of excitement and it’s natural for us to want to freshen our interiors given Mother Nature’s constant refreshing of her house, planet Earth!   Just look outside for inspiration!  I’m looking forward to Spring!

Until next time…

Blessings,

Kim

Linking up to:

Newbie Party at Debbie Doo’s Blogging & Blabbing

Cowgirl Up! at Cedar Hill Ranch

Whatever Wednesday at Momma Hen’s Coop

White Wednesday at Faded Charm Cottage

DIY Heart of Roses

I saw this heart of roses in a mail order catalog (can’t remember which one) and thought it would be a gorgeous idea for a Valentine centerpiece. 

It was costly…well over $100 I think.  So I thought it would be fun to make my own.   The only materials I bought were the red roses and a piece of florist foam which I cut into two pieces to make a flat square about 1 1/2” high. 

I drew an outline of a heart of the foam, snipped the roses, and began inserting them until I liked the results.  It took about 23 roses for the approximately 10” X 10” square.  I used reindeer moss to fill in around the heart and wrapped burlap ribbon around the base. 

An old printer’s tray that I already had was a perfect container and then I started playing with items that reminded me of romance and Valentine’s Day.

I’ve had that sugar sack for a while now and thought it would make a nice backdrop for some photos.  A mercury glass heart and some antique French zinc numbers are some of my favorite items.  And, of course, a key for “a key to my heart”!

I also had some black tin numbers and a cherub valentine.

I’m going to use this on my dinette table until Valentine’s Day!  I love using real flowers in my décor whenever possible.  The real thing is always so much better and I don’t have tons of chotskies to store for every holiday!

 

I’ll be working on some more projects this weekend and hopefully will share some with you next week.

Blessings,

Kim

Linking up to:

Flaunt it Friday at Chic On A Shoestring Decorating

Show and Tell Friday at Romantic Home

Potpourri Friday at 2805

Blog Hop Fun

I found this post over at Domestically Speaking by Maryann and copied it here to play along.

Come on and join the fun!
Cheri over at It’s So Cheri came up with the wonderfully fun idea of having a party for the new Linky Followers.  Since it’s a new thing and a great way to meet new friends, find new blogs and since I’ve never been a part of a blog hop… I figured I’d jump right in!
Many of you have probably already heard that

GOOGLE Friend Connect will go away

on Feb 29 for any one that is not with blogspot
but rumor has it that it is being completely phased out for everyone soon

BUT

there is good news

There is a NEW awesome tool–Linky Followers
It has so many amazing features (that GFC never had). If you have not signed up you should. (yes you can have both.)  I love the new tool so much and want everyone to enjoy all the new features.
…and did I tell you its super easy and FREE!


What better way to celebrate a fun new blogging tool than to have a party
so break out your poodle skirt and saddle back shoes cuz’ we’re having a LINKY FOLLOWER PARTY HOP

RULES:

1. you MUST have the LINKY FOLLOWERS tool on your site to participate.

{You can have both the LINKY FOLLOWERS & GFC on your site but you must have the LINKY FOLLOWERS to participate in this party hop.}

2. You MUST follow the person who has the party on their site as a thank you.

3. Just add your blog button to the LINKY PARTY below.

4.Then grab the BLOG HOP code

You will find the code right under the Linky Party where it says CLICK HERE TO ENTER–
just under that it says: WHAT IS A BLOG HOP? GET THE CODE HERE
Click on GET THE CODE HERE and enter it into a post on your site.
You can grab the party button code in the FOOTER at Its So Very Cheri
You can grab info from my post if it helps you with your post.

5. Then you follow other bloggers–(as many as you want)
–leave each one of the blogs that you follow a comment letting them know you are following them and ask them to follow you back.

If you want to add the BLOG HOP to your own site you will get lots of new followers–(see rule #2)

…So do ya want to go Cruisin’?

I plan on HOPPING from BLOG to BLOG to follow everyone who follows me.

So… what about you?  Want to join too?
It’s a Blog Hop!
Blessings,
Kim

Romantic Altered Boxes for Valentine’s Day

What better way to re-purpose old gift boxes and cigar boxes than to make them into something pretty and romantic? Why not try one for someone special this Valentine’s Day?

I’ve always loved making collages.

This was made from a lovely discarded gift box covered in floral paper.  Using Victorian valentine scrap, German Dresden trim, buttons, stickers,  snippets of fabric and small found trinkets, the lid is transformed into a Valentine gift box with a little bit of glue.

As a surprise to the recipient, the underside of the lid is also decorated including lace and rhinestones.  It is now used to store special valentines.

This extra special box is given a  3-D lid by layering a dove, ribbon, vintage rhinestone pin, tassel, and a love poem attached as a banner with a pearl topped pin.

Again, the underside of the lid is decorated using a vintage card and paper butterfly.

Small jewelry boxes can be fancied up with ribbon, stickers, figural buttons, and miniatures.

I wanted to include this as well, although I did this one several years ago in 2002 for our second anniversary.  An old wooden cigar box was used here.  These make the greatest items to alter because they are very solid. I got this idea from one of Tracy Porter’s books.

In this particular instance, I used it as an invitation given to my husband for a romantic dinner.  Because it is so shallow it is almost like opening a book or card.  It was a lot of fun to make because you can use so many different kinds of scrap, trim, and found objects. 

Try one for your sweetheart and include movie or play tickets, or a gift certificate for dinner for two.

Using collage is a fun way to make something ordinary into something extraordinary! There are no mistakes so that’s what I like about it!!!  And, it’s easy to use what you already have on hand.  All you need is a little imagination!!!

Blessings,

Kim

Linking up to:

Vintage Inspiration Valentine Edition at Common Ground

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

Inspiration Friday @ At The Picket Fence

Weekend Wrap Up at Tater Tots and Jello