Our mini kitchen makeover....

The makeover is mini but, then again, so is our kitchen! (I'll give you the "grand tour" in a bit)... After the "tour" be sure to visit Susan's Metamorphosis Monday where you'll see how she transformed her dining room walls (teaser - her dining room is soooooooo elegant!); not only that, there's also a list of bloggers who are all sharing makeover or "before and after" projects! Okay, on to our little kitchen...

Here are Before (mid-80's) and After (2009) photos, both taken from the same vantage point.

All that remains of my 80's kitchen are the tan tiled backsplash, faux butcherblock counters, and stainless sink. I'd love to put up beadboard as a backslplash and get a white sink at some point; but I have to admit that the countertops (that I used to hate!) have grown on me over the years and I quite like them now...

We replaced the floor with inexpensive stick down tiles a couple of years ago, and the original almond appliances were replaced (as needed) with newer bisque-colored appliances. The old dark brown cabinets & hardware were treated to a coat (actually many coats) of creamy white paint about 4 years ago...

And last year, I made fabric panels for the cupboard doors over the sink... Little by litttle, it's coming together...

I've often said that some man with serious mother issues (i.e. he hated women) designed this kitchen... What it doesn't have: not one single window (for view or light) and no elbow room whatsoever... What it does have: tons of "dead" space in the backs of the top and bottom corner cabinets (which are not the lazy susan variety). I now store my pots and pans on a small shelving unit behind the family room sofa (seen in above photo) because everything kept getting pushed into the dead space way back in the corner cabinet next to the dishwasher, making things impossible to find unless you were on hands and knees with a flashlight..

So now I just keep my griddle, roasting pans, and a big Texas sized frying pan in the cabinet... I'd love to have a pot & pan rack, but there's no ceiling space to hang one from that wouldn't involve a cabinet door opening into it or people banging their heads on the hanging pots and pans!! In all seriousness though, I realize how blessed we are to have what we do... So all this complaining is superficial (to a point! ha ha)


Okay, so on to the grand tour... As you are coming through the dining area (there is no formal dining room), you have the kitchen off to the left, with the step-down family room straight ahead...

On the left, we're passing our little 'recycling center,' which is butted up against the fridge.... Coming into view is our stove. We replaced the old hood/fan with a microwave/fan a few years ago in order to free up counter space (which we are sorely lacking)...


Take a step into the kitchen and you'll see the dishwasher and sink area.

Okay, I know I just told you we have very little counter space, but I still found the need to set up a little "50's vignette" with some parakeets and a vintatge cat planter to give a little oomph to that corner....

.... because I've been so inspired by the many little lamps and vignettes on kitchen counters in blogland that I had to take a little chunk of counterspace and try one of my own!

Turn slightly to the left and -whoops - there's the fridge already!


Turn your head a tad more to the left and you'll see the side of the recycling center that I said was butted up against the side of the fridge. The toaster and blender are over on the counter behind the fridge. Wow, that was quick!! The tour is over almost before it began!!


To add some natural light to the kitchen, we removed the original light fixture and in its place installed a sun pipe (like a skylight except it's a highly reflective tube that fits between attic rafters and evenly diffuses the light throughout the room). We then installed track lighting over the work areas.

So there you have it... You can see the entire kitchen in this photo, and if you stand in the center of the room you can touch everything you need to (which makes it a breeze if you're the only one in there trying to cook, but just try adding one or two more people - ha ha! - my family says that's the reason they don't ever offer to help me cook!)... The floor tiles are 12" square, so you can easily do the math and see how tiny my kitchen really is!

The one change that made the biggest difference was painting the cabinets creamy white. Why I didn't do that until four years ago is beyond me. It at least made the room seem bigger, even if it didn't add any real square footage...

So if there ever is another house in my future, Dear God, I promise I won't ask for much... I don't need a stainless steel kitchen or granite countertops or a nice big island... I don't need top appliances or fancy floors... But do you think I could have a window so I can watch all the birds and Chips and Sammies you send my way? I would so love that!!!!

Donna

Putting my yard sale goodies to work for me...

On Sunday, Spotty and I showed you these goodies that I picked up at a yard sale last weekend; at that time I promised to share where I used some of these treasures...

The Wicker Planter: Even though I'm still not crazy about the color, I'm leaving it alone for now (although Coralie must have been reading my mind when she suggested painting it a nice cottage white because that was my first thought, too!!)... It's perfect for the oversized pot I plant my basil in every year. (And one of our little Chips, who happened to be on a peanut run, asked if he could be in the photo, too!!)

Pyrex Ovenware: Turns out it's also the perfect size for the salads I make to go with our supper most evenings!

Tea Kettle Timer: The timer has made its home in a corner of the kitchen counter for the time being...

Green Fringed Rug: I'm loving it in front of the sink right now...

... but I can think of so many other places throughout the house where it will also be used...

Have a happy Friday, everyone!.............

Donna

Lilacs and a baby food bottle...

I wish I'd remembered....


...to photograph these double-white lilacs while they were still fresh....


But even though they've started to turn a bit brown, they're still beautiful and the scent is heavenly.


This vintage Mellin's Infant's Food bottle that I picked up last year in New Hampshire....

...is the perfect size for a small bouquet.

I love the color of these bottles, ...

... especially when paired with creamy white lilacs.

Thanks, Mellin's, for the great vase. You couldn't have picked a better color!

Donna

I {{heart}} birdbaths...

I admit it... I have a love affair with birdbaths. Last year I took you around our yard and showed you our twelve birdbaths (some are just teeny tiny ones). I also shared various birds, chipmunks and squirrels at our birdbaths last summer in my Backyard Visitors and Drinking Buddies posts. A never-ending supply of fresh water really does attract birds and little critters into the yard.

(click any photo to enlarge)

The newest addition is this white pedestal birdbath ... lucky number 13!!

I couldn't resist its distressed charm (that, and the fact that it was on clearance at The Christmas Tree Shop!)...

It has pretty roses around the base....

...and two sweet birds that sit on either side of the basin.

For the past few weeks I've been trying to decide where to place it. Yesterday I moved it to the backyard against the fence (the location you see in the first photo). The white shows up nicely against the age-darkened fence so I think that will be its permanent home.

If any of you are in the market for a birdbath fountain, just look at this one that I spotted at our local Wal Mart earlier this week (it's also available on their website, which is where this photo came from)... Isn't it adorable? I love how the water comes out of the bird's beak... Their website also has several varieties of simple pedestal birdbaths (not fountains) with bird statues perched on the edge of the basin... I am so drawn to that style!

I've really been enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having. Today was gorgeous! You'd never know that the night before last we had frost warnings! I ran around covering all my annuals with plastic bags and, thankfully, they all made it through the chilly New England night!

Wishing you all a lovely week, wherever you are!

Donna

Create a birdcage planter for your patio...

As some of you may already know, I love (am obsessed with) using bird cages to decorate inside our little home... But lately I've been on the lookout for just the right cage to use outside in the yard...

(click any photos to enlarge)

On a trip to New Hampshire a few weeks ago, I happened upon a yard sale that was just shutting down. I made a quick U-turn because this beautiful blue cage caught my eye... It's not vintage, and it's not in the greatest condition, but it was perfect for what I had in mind...


... so for a couple of dollars, this pretty cage came home with me! (I still can't believe it hadn't been scooped up early on in the yard sale!) Let me show you how it started out, and how I put everything together... Maybe you can learn from my (many) mistakes if you decide to make one of your own. I'm also going to list this on Susan's (Between Naps on the Porch) Met Monday. Be sure to visit her blog to see some amazing room-by-room transformations done on an antique home and to find a list of other bloggers with incredible before and after transformations!

Step 1 - Find a cage


Look past dirt.. (Picture it after it's been cleaned up!).

Step 2: Find a table or base (optional)


I got out a few of my garden/patio tables...


...and found one that was the perfect size for the cage to rest on.

Note: With the combined weight of wet plants and a garden statue (even a resin one), I wouldn't recommend hanging the birdcage as I don't think the cage/base attachment system is all that sturdy. I know with mine, I'd always be in fear of the bottom falling out and everything crashing to the ground on top of one of my little Chips (chipmunks) or Sammies (squirrels)!

Step 3: Choose your garden statue


I thought this rascally rabbit might look good in the cage (but as you can see from my first 2 photos, he didn't like living in a cage and was replaced with Mrs. Bird!!)


Here's where you can start learning from my mistakes (many of which you'll see in the following photos).


1) If your cage comes with a tray, remove it. That way, when you water your plants, the water will run out through the slide-out tray opening, rather than sitting in the tray (mine has since been removed, although not until after I took these photos)....


2) The same goes for any feeders or water cups. Remove them because, like the tray, water just sits in them after you water the flowers (again, mine were removed after taking these photos). After all, the end result should be a beautiful patio decoration, not a romantic mosquito breeding ground...


3) Since my cage had a large/tall base, I decided to place my garden statue on a suet feeder to raise it up and give it some height. Unfortunately, I didn't pay any attention to how tall that ultimately made the statue; therefore, after arranging all the flowers around it and getting ready to attach the cage to the base, the rabbit ended up being too tall for the cage (which meant taking everything apart to remove the suet feeder, and then starting all over again). So measure the height of your garden statue to make sure it will fit before arranging flowers all around it!!

Step 4: Start arranging your flowers


I decided to put trailing flowers in the four corners (I chose a petunia type flower called Calibrachoa, color Caloha Pink)...


Doesn't it look pretty against the blue base?


I then filled up the rest of the base with impatiens and double impatiens in an assortment of colors...



I left all flowers in their original containers, just snipping apart 6 packs or whatnot (if necessary) to make them fit, and then just placing them in the base. (I've done this in past years in other containers and have always had good luck as long as everything is watered on a daily basis... I'll let you know at summer's end how it worked on this project!!)

It was then time to carefully attach the cage to the base. I gently pulled the trailing flowers through the corners, first trying to do so with my hand reaching through the little cage door (which didn't go too well!) and then with the cage slightly tilted back before attaching it to the base... and that brings me to another HUGE mistake that I made - one that would have made things SO much simpler!

How did I not notice that this particular cage not only attaches at the base, but also has a 'lift off roof' that can be removed?????

If I had only know that, I would have arranged all the flowers (especially the trailing corner flowers) with the cage sides intact so that I'd only have had to attach the roof when done (rather than painstakingly being so careful not to crimp or crush any flowers while attaching the cage to the base)... I've never had a cage where the 'roof' was removable, so I'm guessing that's a more modern feature (I'm so used to the old vintage style birdcages)...

But in the end, it all worked out and I'm happy to report that Mrs. Bird is much more cheerful about living in the cage than Rascally Rabbit was. (The last I saw him, he was down in the yard hopping around after the pink flamingos!)

NOTE: Make sure that the cage door

is securely closed so that no poor

creature (bird, chipmunk, etc.) is

able to enter the cage through an

unsecured door, only to have

it close behind them, thereby

trapping them inside the cage.

(Okay, this is the second bold case 'warning' I've issued in this one little post [about a decorative bird cage, no less!!]... Blogging definitely promotes self-awareness and self-realization. As I read back through my post, I'm beginning to see why my girls call me "the worrier." It's clear I have earned that title and do, indeed, worry about every little thing - and to excess, I might add. A little worry is a good thing; it keeps us safe; but anything done to excess is not healthy and this is definitely something I need to work on!!! Okay, end of self-realization moment...)

We are having a major mess with all the oak catkins in our yard... Maybe I'll get some pictures of them to share with you in an upcoming post. I'll sure be glad when they're done falling!!

Wishing you all a lovely week!

Donna

The early bird....

...(and that would be me) got some pretty cool stuff at a yard sale Saturday morning (and for next to nuthing, which is the great thing about yard sales!)... Rhoda at Southern Hospitality is also sharing her great chandelier find and has a list of lots of other yard-saling bloggers sharing their recent finds, so be sure to stop over there when you're done here!


...and look who was right there to check everything out the minute it came into the house!


This big wicker planter will be perfect out on the deck (hubby loves the gray stained color, but I'm not sure I'm digging it); the wire shelving unit on casters is exactly what I need to organize some supplies in my office...


L-o-v-e these fringed scatter rugs (and in my favorite blue and green color combination that I posted about yesterday!!) Perfect for the kitchen or entryway...

Okay, how cute is this little 'stainless steel' tea kettle timer? And this 3 quart glass Pyrex casserole/serving dish is going to get lots of use!

So in the end, Spotty approved of all my purchases and told me he's anxious to lay (shed) on the scatter rugs as soon as they come out of the wash! I'll show you where I ended up using everything in a post later this week!!

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Donna