Easy Ways to Accessorize your Kitchen

When you have a tiny kitchen like I do, you have to be creative in giving it some personality.

Here's a shot of my compact kitchen.

There's a small stove on the wall opposite the mirror.
And that's it.

The easiest way to jazz up your little kitchen is with accessories.
Since French Country style leans toward soft and muted colors,
colorful accessories can liven up this room. 

I enjoy decorating my kitchen with farm animals but you could pick

your favorite accessory and repeat it throughout the kitchen for more impact.

Love ironstone?

Fill your open shelving with it.

Or maybe you collect silver or copper.

You can always find a spot to squeeze in a pretty silver tray or a copper tea kettle.

For me, farm animals add a simple touch of Provence to my kitchen.
You'll find lots of cows in this room.

Bring on the cows, roosters, pigs and sheep. 

Then add some pretty glass bottles to catch the light.

I love the pig on this lard tin
and pops of red energize this space.

Don't forget the roosters. This symbol of Provence is a must.

The top of the fridge is the perfect spot for a big basket or two to add texture.

 I love the juxtaposition of the wire hen against the woven basket.

Original artwork is an easy way to add color and a fun farmhouse feel.

Those 1960's paint-by-number paintings are inexpensive and charming.

I won this vibrant rooster painting by an art teacher in an auction.

If farm animals, copper or silver aren't your thing,
collectible kitchen items can add a warm feeling to your kitchen.

A large, round breadboard is on my wish list if I can find an affordable one.
Meanwhile I love this hand-carved board.

It may be small but my kitchen is one of my favorite rooms in my house.

And it's not because the wine is stored there!
LOL!

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A New Look for an Old Crate

Please note:
Last week I experienced some technical difficulties with my computer and am not sure this post was distributed to everyone. Therefore, I'm sending it again to all subscribers under a different name.
The original post was called "French Wine Crate 2.0."
My apologies if you've already seen this post. If not, please enjoy.


Have you been wondering whatever happened to that rare French wine crate 

I uncovered last summer in a dusty basement at an estate sale? 

Well, here's a little hint.

You might remember my post about that wine crate.
Here's a link if you missed it.  Wine Crate Find

The crate was perfect for containing a sparkling centerpiece on the dining room table.

But you know we can never leave well enough alone, right? 

I wanted to find another way to use this beautiful crate and I found it in the kitchen.

By turning the crate on its end I was able to make some space on my kitchen island 

and now I'm using it to hold bottles of wine and cooking utensils. 

Looking at the wine crate from the side,
you can still read the beautiful French writing on the front.

This really opened up the counter space and gave me a little more elbow room.

The display makes me think of a fancy kitchen store like Sur la Table.

This stand-alone cabinet is handy for parties, baking or unloading market baskets.



Don't overlook everyday objects like these Prosecco corks
when creating a unique accessory.

Cheers, my friends!

So, what do you do with your wooden boxes and crates? Love to hear from you.

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Lighten Up for Spring

The first day of Spring is just around the corner and it's time to bring a fresh look to your home. 

The good news is you don't have to spend a lot of money to lighten things up. 

Just shop your house, move things around, bring the outdoors in, and celebrate the new season.

I like to use lots of white with red accents for Spring. 

Tucking a white matelasse coverlet over a brown sofa 

shows the living room in a whole new light. 

The guest room gets a fresh Spring look with cheery linens and piles of pillows.

In the sunroom, the farm table is all dressed up in red and white. 

I love a splash of red and white in the Spring kitchen.

I keep the foyer simple with some straw accents and a basket of dried larkspur.

I don't usually photograph the bedroom but it does look cozy in the soft morning light.

I moved my enamel pitcher and bowl to the space just outside of the bathroom
for a fresh French Country touch. 

So, what do you see in your decorating future for this Spring?

Wishing you a lovely Spring!

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What a Difference a Chair Makes

I have added two little chairs to my home recently and they've made a big difference.
Here's a peek at one of them in the kitchen . . .



but first let me show you the old chair in the office.

It's Ron's desk chair which was a standard office model with wheels. 

Housed in the guest room, it didn't do much for the French Country look
I was going for but it did the job.

When Ron decided to use his computer in his man-cave downstairs instead of at his desk, 

he said he was thinking about selling his office chair. 

Did someone say "Whoopee!"? 

Oh, yeah. That would be me.

(And yes, that's Roxy's favorite cardboard box bed under his desk).

From Corporate to Country . . .
I happened to have an old wooden chair listed on Craigslist that I pulled.

Then I took the chair out of the attic and plopped it down at his desk. 

What a difference. The office area instantly went from corporate to country.

When he mentioned the chair was a little hard, I had no problem finding a pillow for the seat. 

I do have a bit of a pillow addiction so I actually had one or six handy.

I even suggested we could drape a pretty white tablecloth over the desk 

but I guess that was taking it a tad too far. File that away. 

Still, what a difference a chair makes!

On to Chair No. 2 . . . 

The other chair is actually a bar stool.

I'd been wanting a stool forever for my tiny French Country kitchen but it is really really tiny. 

There simply wasn't room for a stool. 

But baking cookies requires lots of standing with a resulting back ache to boot. 

Wouldn't it be nice if I could sit down in between batches?
But where to put it?

Then, the Goodwill gods smiled on me. 

Rustling around in their basement recently, I spotted a bar stool. 

It had a low curved back and a woven straw seat. And it was already painted cream colored. 

It was new but it looked old.
Very French Country.
I couldn't pass it up for $10.

You know, you can make just about anything fit if you try hard enough.
Like those old jeans. 

You know what I mean. 

I wiggled that stool into the corner under the countertop and voila!
It fit. Sort of.

.

I can't tell you how often I have used it. 

It's so nice to be able to sit down in the kitchen and talk to Ron as he makes a sandwich. 

He says I have to make him some cookies now that I have a chair!

I love pulling the stool over to the window and looking out at the garden 

while I'm having a cup of coffee. It's just the right height and the low back is comfortable.

Yep, what a difference a chair (or two) makes!


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~~ Changes in the French Country Kitchen ~~

My tiny French Country kitchen is still tiny. 

But I've made a few changes -- some big, some small -- 

that make it more cozy and, well, a little more French. 

I've always loved the look of a small lamp in the kitchen. 

The warm glow, the intimate feeling. 

Probably what it was like back in the day before electricity

when a few candles provided flickering light. 

I had to move a few things on my kitchen island to make room
for this vintage lamp but I like the space better this way anyway. 

It's really pretty at night too. 

I found this chair at Goodwill and knew it would be perfect in the kitchen

even though I also knew I didn't have room for it. 

(I'll be sharing a separate post about chairs so stay tuned.)

This is probably the closest I'll ever get to having a kitchen table.

Check out this adorable tea-towel with roosters that Ron got me for Christmas.

 I may have mentioned it to him a few hundred times when we were out shopping. 

I don't want to go overboard on the rooster theme but seriously. . .

how cute is this plate!

I love red in the kitchen . . . gives it a warm country feel. 

I added this little painting of a Holstein calf that I bought in Ohio at least forty years ago. 

It was painted by a young Amish girl whose job it was to care for the newborn calves. Aww.

Okay, so on to the biggie. A new faucet. 

Here's the old one that decided to leak over the holidays.

Standard design. Plastic sprayer. Nice handles that leak. Uninspiring.

I'd been wanting a new faucet anyway.

So long Old Leaky. 

I went online and started looking around. 

It didn't take long to find exactly what I wanted at Wayfair.com. 

A few days later it arrived on my front porch.
And here it is!

I love the shape. So French. 

That curvy faucet. Ooh la la.

The sprayer is brass and hefty. 

The white handles give it a vintage look.

And . . .  it doesn't leak.

Ron saved me a bundle by installing it for me and said,
"If you say enough bad words while you're installing it, it won't leak!"
I'm pretty confident it will be dry for quite a while. 

A few accessories also got a tweak here and there.

Can't go wrong with old ironstone on the shelf above the sink!

Still tiny but with a little more French soul.

Voila!

I won't say my tiny kitchen is finished because, well, you know how that is!
I do love me a white farmhouse sink.

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