Repurposing a Hamper

Hello everyone!

I wanted to show you my new salvaged tarp laundry hamper from Restoration Hardware.    I, of course, am not using it for laundry though.  I bought it because of the wonderful old material and french writing on it.  I ordered it during their 4th of July sale event.

I think it reminds me of an old mail bag or something.  I have it in the family room holding extra pillows (as if I needed more).

So, even though it is marketed as a "laundry hamper", it could be used for so much more. 

But, if I ever do decide to use it as one, it sure will look better than the plastic one I currently use!  Ha!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Linking to:  Vintage Inspiration Friday

Inspiration Friday

Celebrate!

Happy Fourth of July!

~ Kelly ~

From Trash to Treasure

Hello everyone!

The other day, while browsing in an antique store, I came across something that caught my eye.  It needed a lot of TLC though. 

This is what it looked like when I found it.

Can you say............."awful"?!

I took it to my garage and scraped as much flaky paint off as possible.  Then used some sand paper to scrub the rest of the loose paint off.  I hosed it down and then let it dry. 

Can you believe the tag said that it had wonderful patina?  I guess you could call this patina.  It had a little too much for my taste though.  Also, the color was all wrong for my use.

Anyway.............here it is now that I gave it some TLC.

I painted it black with spray paint and then stenciled the number on the back with white craft paint. 

I'm using it in my kitchen.  I love the industrial farmhouse style it now has.

By the way, does it look like something you've seen before?  Possibly on my blog?

  If you guessed Carrie Raphael's kitchen that was featured in Country Home Magazine, then you're absolutely right!

My stool doesn't have the step ladder part, but it looks like a pretty good match otherwise.  This picture was my inspiration for my revamp. 

So what do you think? 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~

Linking to:  Wow-Us-Wednesday

Displaying White Dishes

Hello everyone!

In my last post, I mentioned that I made a change to another room.  Well, it was in my family room in my glass cabinet.  I used to have brown and white transferware displayed there.  But, I decided it was time for a change again. 

Once I started collecting more white dishes (mostly serving pieces), I wanted to group them together somewhere.  I have always used them in my kitchen, but they are mostly for everyday use. 

I love them against the grey color of the cabinet.  I placed my two favorite tureens in there along with some pitchers and bowls.

I like the clean look of there just being white in this cabinet for now.

This may seem unexpected in a family room, but I like it.  It has the collected cottage feel that I like with the simplicity of the Nordic style.

The best part about collecting white dishes is that they are plentiful, affordable and blend with any color scheme too.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly~

Linking to:  Met Monday
White Wednesdays

It's All About the Shades

Hello everyone!

Hope everyone is finding a way to stay cool and comfortable during this heat wave that almost half the country is experiencing.  I've been doing a little bit of shopping amongst other things.  One of the things that I've been wanting to do is change up the lamp shades in my dining room.  Now, I hear your shrieks and gasps, but since I've been painting furniture grey and white and painting my walls white, I wanted lighter color lampshades in there instead of the dark brown.  So, here is what I came up with.

I like this color better because it fits in better with the overall room.  Remember my brown lampshades were chosen before the sideboard got painted.  Now, these script patterned lampshades look right at home.

Did you notice that I changed what's in the center of my sideboard (again) too?  Well, I'll show you where that went soon.  I made a change in another room that I'm really loving!  It involves the tureen that was featured in a recent post.

 

So, to go along with this inferno of heat that we've been experiencing outside, I'm lightening (even further) my home on the inside.  Ha!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly~

My New Blue Basket

Hello everyone!

Remember when I won a giveaway for a shopping spree at Antique Farmhouse?  Well, I spent the last of it on this adorable blue wire basket.

At first, I was going to put magazines in it, but then realized that the basket wasn't large enough for them to lie flat in the bottom.  (I don't like my magazines to stand upright because it curls up the bottom of the pages ..... OCD I guess!)  So, I placed it on my fireplace thinking it would look good there.

But, then I decided to move it again.  Are you still with me? 

It ended up in my foyer.

I decided it needed something in it.  I threw in some bundled books without the covers.

So, for now,  she sits here.  She adds a little pop of blue in there and I'm happy.  I love all of the possibilities of how it can be used.

Isn't it fun to get something new and figure out the perfect spot for it?

  I'm still waiting on my New Cottage Style book to arrive.  The company sent me the wrong book, so now they are supposed to re-send it out to me.  Arghh!

We are experiencing a heat wave here in GA too.  We will be reaching triple digits this weekend.  Yikes!  Thank goodness for air conditioning.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Thanks for stopping by.

~ Kelly ~ 



Fresh from the Garden

Hello everyone!

We have finally begun harvesting vegetables from our garden.  We are still waiting on tomatoes and okra, but most of the others are ready to eat.

Just take a look at all the cucumbers filling up our produce drawer in the refrigerator!

The sad thing though is, I'm the only one here that eats them!  My husband planted 2 plants and they have produced more than any other vegetable we planted.  Looks like we will be sharing these with our neighbors!

The one vegetable I've been waiting for the most is squash.

Finally!  I decided to fry these up to serve with dinner tonight. (Now, if you're my doctor reading this, please forgive me for eating these fried instead of steamed or baked. I know I'm supposed to be reducing my cholesterol.)

I got everything ready.  I forgot to take a picture of it frying.  I got so involved with everything cooking at once.    But here is the final product along with our dinner.

Oh my was it good!  We had pork roast, new red potatoes, squash and bread. I guess the only thing that wasn't on my diet was the fried squash and bread.  Oh, and quite possibly that big blob of butter on the potatoes.  But darn it was good! 

I love eating fresh vegetables in the summer!  Now, if the okra would ever finish growing, I'll give them a try next. 

Bon Appetit!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly~