Golden

Still to finish in the kitchen is this one upper cabinet next to the fridge.

When I started planning the kitchen renovation, a few of the things high on

my list were hiding the microwave and adding a TV.  Having this little space

tucked next to the fridge seemed to provide the golden opportunity to get both.

I think I mentioned earlier that I was painting the back of the cabinet

a dark color called Ben Moore Deep Creek.  I learned in my art

training that your eye goes to the area of highest contrast so the

idea behind the dark color is to "hide" the microwave and the TV.

And then I'll use white pieces of pottery to further draw your eye

away from these things.  An interesting experiment if nothing else.

I've quickly staged it with a few things so you see what I mean.

But this little area has also proven to be a challenge.

The original plan was to have a full-sized microwave but my ductwork

guys thought this would be the best location for the heating duct to the

upstairs bedroom which left me only 16 inches for a microwave.

I know they make tiny microwaves that will hold a mug but imagine

how psyched I was when I found a 15-1/2-inch model (Whirlpool)

that still holds a full-sized dinner plate.  It's perfect actually.

And deciding what paint colors to put where is driving me crazy...

this side panel on the fridge especially.

It starts out at the floor where I feel it should be the same gray as the cabinets...

...up to the top where white feels right.

If I start with dark gray at the bottom, I'd have to carry that all around

the fridge...

...and quite possibly around the corner on to the wall.  Nothing feels perfect.

How would you feel about an ombre treatment?

Anyway, while I mull that over, I'm thinking about staining

the wood of the upper cabinet to match (as closely as possible)

the bin drawers.  The two sets of bin drawers are pretty close

to each other so having that upper cabinet match those

would really help balance things out.

It looks like it's somewhere between Golden Pecan and Golden Oak.

If I can make it match, I'll be golden.

Kitchen Goings-On

Hey, long time, no see!

I made it though my big project.  It was a lot of hard work but we really rocked it.

It seems like so long ago, but I really enjoyed reading all of your comments

about the in-the-ground garbage pails.  It seems to have brought back a lot

of memories for people and it was fun reading about them.

I've moved my dining room table into the kitchen and it fits perfectly!

The chairs are Ligne Roset Calin chairs that I've had for a long time.

The room needed something modern to keep it from getting too stuffy

and I think these work well.  They also have slipcovers that come off

and can be machine washed which I love.  So they're not only practical,

they're as comfortable as any upholstered  living room chair I've ever had.

I'm missing one of the slipcovers, though, and it's driving me crazy!

Even with the chairs pulled out, there's plenty of room for me to

get around the table to the sink and stove, dishwasher and armoire.

I've finished painting the cabinets and I'm still liking the drawers unpainted.

The drawers look a lot more orange in the photos than they do in person;

I'm not sure why that's happening.  Still need to paint the windows but it

needs to be a little warmer so I can leave them open while the paint drys.

It's been so cold here!

I bought these stemware racks from The Container Store.  They're made for

under-cabinet mounting and I've mounted them up in the top of the armoire.

Their design isn't the best I've ever seen.  I didn't feel they were very

secure so I added a washer to the screw which will work much better. 

I used two triple racks, one on each end for champagne and wine glasses and two single racks

in the center to give more room for the martini glasses.  The thing I love most is when the armoire

doors are closed, you can't see the glasses at all.  

I bought new baskets for the lower two shelves.  Also from The Container Store, these are their

large Hogla baskets.  All or most of my cookbooks will eventually be moved to an upper

cabinet next to the refrigerator, but for now, they're out of the way.  I'll still have lots of

storage space in here once they find their new home.

Since I'm storing some food items in the baskets, and I wanted to keep the

bottom of the baskets clean, I found two plastic trays (also Container

Store) that fit perfectly in the bottom of each basket.  These will easily

come out for washing whenever necessary.

I still have a few cabinets and drawers to organize but I'm loving

my baking drawer.  Everything I need  for the task all in one place.

The maiden voyage of my new stove was to whip up some blueberry scones

for an Easter brunch.  I loved having marble countertops to roll out the dough.

These scones are from the America's Test Kitchen recipe...and they're killer!

You, too, can make these and won't believe how awesome you are!

Here's the video on how to do it.

Floundering

I'm knee deep in a huge project at work that involves some

late nights and weekends and keeps me on call 'round the clock.

Fortunately I'm able to work remotely so I'm not stuck at the office

for so long but it's left me kind of floundering, not wanting to start

any projects.  So I move around from a little unpacking, a little

cleaning up in the garden, and a little organizing

I put three boxes of stuff over on the neighborhood "free" table

this weekend and it all went like hotcakes, including a new griddle, the hot

plate from my temporary kitchen, a half dozen Cafe Fanny cafe au lait bowls,

cookie cutters, some old mixing bowls and a few small pots and pans.

An elderly woman scored a brand-new aubergine Staub kettle.  Seeing her

makes me feel guilty I ever spent so much hard-earned money on something

to heat water...and then never used it.   I hope she loves it. 

I've also been tinkering with what goes on the kitchen counters and

shelves.  I'm back and forth over having them be spare and decorative or

completely utilitarian.  A little mix of both is how I'm liking them right now.

A little shelf above the dishwasher was to be for a few drinking glasses

and/or mugs but I love playing with little vignettes so this what's going

on here right now.  I still can't decide what to do with the shelves:  paint

them white, light gray or stain them to match the unpainted bin drawers?

So maybe I'm also procrastinating a little bit.

My little garden was trashed by the porch project and after seeing

Loi's garden on his blog, I want to start from scratch.  I was out raking

over the weekend and rediscovered this in the corner of the gardne

 that I don't believe I've ever shown you.  Any idea what it is?  

I'll reply in the comments to the first person that gets it right.

This work project continues through May 1st so please don't expect a

lot from me for a little bit.  I'll be back soon.

European Country Antiques

Let's take a tour of European Country Antiques in the Huron Village

area on Cambridge's west side.

The store is at 146 Huron Avenue near the corner of Concord Avenue.

Huron Village is primarily a residential area but within a few blocks of this

intersection are some of Cambridge's finest independently owned shops.

But once you step through the door, you're in a different place and time...

a place that embraces you with its warm honey-toned woods, beautiful

painted antiques just waiting to tell you their personal stories.

The shop's website says the shop captures the authenticity of

true European countryside shops, the ones stacked to the limit with

furniture, where every time you move one piece you discover another.

Many of the antiques are in their original form.  Oh, how I wish I

had a place for this large cabinet!

Other pieces, such as this kitchen island, have been built from

reclaimed antique furniture pieces into modern forms.  There is storage

on one side, room to tuck a few bar stools on the other, all capped

off with a butcher block top with tons of patina.

There a lots of great lamps, these made from old balusters...

...urns and other architectural fragments...

...lots of great vintage and antique accessories...

...wonderful rustic tables....

...and unique case pieces to display your finest wares...

...all with incredible details.

This is another favorite piece.

A great Scottish chest of drawers.

And a nice selection of mirrors.

This trestle table is from one  of the store's custom lines.

Their tables come in two different woods, three different leg styles

and in a variety of finishes.

If you've been searching for that one special piece to finish of a room and you

don't find it here, talk to store manager Angela, or owner Ed Stuart, about the

possibility of making a custom piece designed just for you.

European Country Antiques is about a mile from Harvard Square.  On a nice day,

I would walk down Brattle Street to see all the old mansions, particularly the Longfellow

House where George Washington lived for a short time during the Revolutionary war.

Take a right on Sparks Street and walk to the end which is Huron Avenue.  ECA is on the

right just past Concord Avenue.

But I would drive so you can visit all the great shops along Huron Avenue.  There were

several that were now to me so I can't wait to get over there and explore again.

Be sure to tell them I sent you!

European Country Antiques

146 Huron Avenue

Cambridge, MA  02138

www.ecountryantiques.com

The Kitchen Armoire

My armoire was delivered a few days ago so I've been busy

unpacking more boxes and moving dishes from the dining room

that served as my temporary kitchen during the renovation.

If I widen the view, you can see the armoire sits in the corner of the kitchen between the 

dining room and the French doors to the porch.  This makes it convenient both to get dishes to

the dining room table and to put them away when they're unloaded from the dishwasher.

Let me show you some of the details on this beautiful piece.

All of the original hardware is in working condition.

The armoire, I believe, is French and is a "knockdown" or "breakdown"

armoire meaning it breaks down into pieces so it can easily be moved up

the tiny staircase to your pied-a-terre.  The block of wood above the raised

panel slides back and forth and actually locks the top and side together.

I love the oyster color of the interior.

I'm looking for stemware racks that I can mount in this upper portion

of the armoire so I can really optimize the storage space in here.  

  

I love the alligatored finish.  And notice the mortise and tenon

joint and dovetails on the upper corner.  You just don't see these

details on new pieces anymore.

I've put all my dishes and serving pieces in here and still have about

half of the space open so I'm trying to figure out what else would make

sense to store in the lower shelves.  You'll notice in the upper photos I

put a few of my English fishing creels on one shelf that I can use for

some hidden storage.  I like the texture and color they add to the piece.

I mentioned in an earlier post the piece came from European Country Antiques

right here in Cambridge.  I was really impressed with the shop and the service

they provided so, next time, let's meet over there so I can show you around.

Moving Back In

The grouting is done...and it's white.  I have no photos of the process

because it was tough.  It's been several years since I last grouted anything

and I've never done such a large area.  I wasn't sure how long I would have

the time I started grouting until it set up so I moved quickly.  It was difficult.

It was messy.  I broke out in a sweat.  And I might have cried a little bit.  

Once I had about one-third of it done, I stood back and was certain I

made a mistake using white.  It should have been gray, I thought.

But once it was all done and I'd wiped off the white haze, the subtle

color difference and texture looked beautiful and my attention went back

to the cabinets which is where I thought it should be.

(I should note I'm not done painting the cabinets.)

This was what the kitchen looked like on Monday night after I'd finished the

grouting and I started contemplating what I'm going to do with the window

casings and sashes.  I'm going to paint the French doors on the opposite wall

the same as the cabinets so I think I need to have some of that darker value

on the windows to balance them.  Having the dark gray above the white sink

will also make a nice composition I think.

Everything needed to be cleaned out of the kitchen for a final coat on the 

floors.  I understand that it makes a lot of sense to leave a final coat until

all the work is done--there were a few scratches that happened--but it was a

drag having to keep the cats barricaded from the room while the floors dried.

But all the workmen are out the house and I can start moving back in. I had

to wonder, after living with the bare essentials for the past seven months,

what was in all the boxes that were stacked in my front hallway. I'm taking

a critical look at everything and making tough choices about what I keep.

I'm a hunter and gatherer by nature and giving away doesn't come easily.

I recently discovered my neighborhood had a "free table."  Anyone can

drop off or pick up from the free table.  It's a great place to drop things off

that wouldn't really warrant to trip to Goodwill or selling at a yard sale.

People leave books, clothes, boots, housewares, artwork, all kinds of things.

Even the worst of things seems to find a new home.

I have some vintage stuff I can send off for sale but a good deal of this

stuff will be going to the free table.

I've never really been an organized person.  The house

might look presentable but I have screwdrivers in my sock drawer

and paint cans in the dining room cupboards.  I want that to change.

I gathered up all my gift cards and headed to The Container Store

where I got all kinds stuff to pimp out my cabinets.  I got several

of these pull out drawers so I can make better use of the space.

In some of the cabinets, I can fit two.  I thought

the lid racks would also be good for cookie sheets

and cutting boards. 

I wanted to have a pull-out trash and recycling combo 

but the bins were so small, the really didn't make sense.

So I got a trash bin and there will be room left over for

a paper grocery bag to sit next to it for recycling.

And I got a few of these dividers for the deep bins

to store smaller pans and cutting boards.

I'm kind of spring cleaning as things move around. After

several months of renovation, the house is just filthy and I

can't take it anymore.

My armoire will be delivered this week and I'm really looking

forward to getting all the dishes, serving pieces and glassware put away.