Freshening Up My Kitchen

Have you ever had a decoration around for so long that you forgot it was there? Yeah, me neither.

 In spite of my continual decorating change-ups, I’m ashamed to say that the tops of my kitchen cabinets have been touched very little since we got married 6 years ago (yep, six YEARS!)

BEFORE

Okay, I might have changed a few things up here and there-- as I gathered more décor from my garage sale/thrift store shopping habit-- but I know for a fact that the two baskets of plastic fruit on the ends were the original ones I placed up there when I first decorated my house! Yikes! Needless to say, not only were they very dusty, (seriously, who climbs on top of their kitchen cabinets to dust every week?) but they were, well, just boring! It was DEFINITELY time for a décor refresh!

Really, things might still be the same up here, if it were not for this beautiful bird cage! I have oohed, aahhed, and drooled over gorgeous cages like these in magazines for years. A few weeks ago, during one of my regular Goodwill runs, I was getting ready to head for the checkout, but I had this nagging feeling that I was missing something IMPORTANT! (I have that feeling almost every time, but never mind…) I headed across the store to look through the clothes one last time, when what did I spy, perched on top of the clothes racks, but this beauty! I picked it up with shaking hands, thinking, “It’s perfect! Please, oh, please, let it be under $10!!!” Lo and behold, the price tag said $3.99! Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to get it home and find a place for it!

Believe it or not, however, I had a hard time finding a home for it, because it was TOO BIG! I finally decided that it would have to go above my kitchen cabinets—which meant a complete rearranging and redecorating of everything up there! (Not that I was bummed about that…). :) I knew that, like the rest of my living areas, I wanted to get rid of the red accents and go for a lighter, brighter look. So I followed my usual formula for decorating an area:

1)      Remove all preexisting objects from the area.

2)      Raid storage room for any decorative items that might possible fit the color scheme/size/style you are going for.

3)      Move items around and switch them out until you are happy with the arrangement!

 (Usually I repeat steps 2 & 3 multiple times—even days in a row—until I am happy with the results!)

AFTER

As mentioned above, the rest of the items I already had—either found at garage sales or in thrift stores over the years.  I ended up with a gold-and-white “pear” theme of sorts, though that was not really my intention to begin with :) (Okay, there’s one exception: the pot on the left is lemons, not pears…)

I believe the “Café” sign is the only item I bought “new”… and that was in a clearance section because of some missing paint! (Though you certainly can’t tell from a distance!) The gold candlesticks were I think 50¢ apiece at a community-wide rummage sale last fall, and I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth of use from them since! They seem to find a place in just about every vignette I make!

I really adore the vignette on this side. The old frame came from a thrift store… you can tell it used to be gilded, but most of it has worn away :) I just love that effect! The print inside of it I bought for $1 at a flea market, because I loved the earthy tones.

The small round bird cage was one of my first-ever spray-paint projects! It was brass when I bought it (at Goodwill, of course). I sprayed it first green,  but didn’t like it, so I painted it white, then distressed it lightly with a scuff pad till some of the green showed through. It’s the perfect size for one of the few fake houseplants I still have. (Yes, I went through a big fake plant stage… but I’m growing out of it now!)

I think the refresh makes a big difference—especially since this is the first view you see when you walk in my front door! Now, every time I walk into my house, I smile!

So take a look around your house, and see if you have any decorations or areas you might be overlooking!  You don’t need to make gigantic changes like remodeling or even painting—just change out a few items, and be ready for a fresh new feeling in your home!

Parties I link to:

Sunday:

• Southern Hospitality Blog: Thrifty Treasures

Monday:

• This Gal Cooks (formerly Jam's Corner): Marvelous Mondays Link Party

Tuesday:

• Adventures Of a DIY Mom: Terrific Tuesdays
• Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
• Elizabeth & Co.: Be Inspired Link Party
• Mercy Ink Blog: All Things Heart & Home Link-up
• My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia: Tuesday's Treasures
• Uncommon: Uncommonly Yours Link Party
• The Winthrop Chronicles: Share It Link Party

Wednesday:

• Embracing Change: Creative Inspirations Link Party
• Hooking Up w/ House of Hepworths
• Vintage Gwen: Show & Share

Thursday:

• My Repurposed Life: Catch As Catch Can
• The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday
• Two Yellow Birds Decor: Thursday's Temptation

Friday:

• A Heart 4 Home: Finished Friday
• Chic on a Shoestring Decorating: Flaunt It Friday
• Decorating Insanity: Furniture Friday
• Five Days, Five Ways: Feature Friday Free-for-All
• Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday
• Two Sasters: TGIF Party

Saturday:

• It's Overflowing: Overflowing with Creativity Party