This and That, Details & Answers

 

As I worked my way around the room, I had to move pretty much everything. Hanging from the window frame is a hand crafted ladle made of wrought iron, brass with copper rivets. How do I know that? Because when I took it down to remove the molding around the window, it was so cruddy feeling I got out the Barkeeper's Friend and cleaned it. Then I reached over and polished the Copper oval Au Gratin dish hanging nearby.

I even polished the brass cup hook the ladle hang from! Now these items look pretty, and pretty spectacular!

I also washed the Christmas ornament that hangs above the sink. It isn't a Christmas ornament any more.

I bought the butterfly magnet when Julie visited in June. At that time I had no idea I would redecorate the kitchen, or that the colors would be blue and yellow (a very traditional, and very French color scheme, btw.) When I got it home I put it on the fridge, because, hello steel. But today I opened the fridge and saw it there, lost amid all the other stuff I have stuck to the fridge, and moved it.

Fifty years ago Dansk was introduced to this country. I loved it then, and love it still. So when I saw this casserole on sale, I snapped it up. I had always thought I would get a blue one, but when the blue one arrived, you couldn't see it, so I sent it back and got a yellow one. She is the Diva of my kitchen, 

I found this wall mounted spice rack online, and now it hangs behind the door in the office. It has the spices I don't use much, but now they are out of the way, yet still easily accessible.

Accessing my skillets has always been a pain. They are usually at the bottom of a stack of other pots and pans and it was like wrestling with them whenever I wanted to use one. Now they hang and are so much easier to reach.

I have a magnetic knife holder in my studio I use for scissors, so it was a no-brainer to get one for the kitchen. And yes, after polishing the copper pan, I had to polish the copper bowl that hangs above.

You can see my grandmother's antique muffin tin hanging on the wall the hutch. Getting the doors on the hutch by myself was really tricky, and I was really sore afterward. I have been very sore after painting, and have been taking painkillers before bed. I can't tell you how happy I am that I decided NOT to paint the kitchen cabinets. 

I didn't mean to leave you all hanging with this picture that was on yesterday's post. I wanted you all to see that I used my quilting rulers and templates when I cut pieces of wallpaper on my worktable. I used my rotary cutter to cut the pieces. It was nice to have these tools available to me.

I didn't have any trouble with the stick on wallpaper. The instructions that came with it suggested two people work together. But most of the pieces in the kitchen were less than 18" high, and were no trouble to work with (except the corner under the cabinets, which was fussy, but mostly because it was hard to reach). I learned to work from side to side rather than from the top down. It was easier to match the pattern that way. And I hate to say it, but measure twice, cut once. The distance between the bottom of the upper cabinet to the top of the backsplash was NOT consistent from one panel of wallpaper to the other. Ask me how I know this. Sometimes the wallpaper did get stuck to itself, but it didn't have any ill effects on the finished look when I peeled it apart and pressed it back in place. I do have to wallpaper the wall behind the refrigerator, but I will use my scraps for that, since it's behind the refrigerator and nobody will ever see it. In the end it's a lot like making a quilt, measure accurately, use sharp tools, take your time, and pay attention to the details.

I really like the new kitchen. Everything I did makes me happier when I work in it.

 

Oh yeah, the Fiestaware. I guess I'll be bringing it to Goodwill.