Furnishing the Breakfast Nook

I thought I would share a picture of our breakfast nook. I've set it up to be a cozy little spot for tea. With only two of us here most of the time, it seems redundant to get another table for this area. It couldn't just sit vacant, though, that looked horrible!

I spiffed up a wicker settee that we've had for 15 years, and was actually outside at our last house with paint chipping and bottom sagging. I reinforced the bottom with rope and tightened up where it was sagging. I found a wicker chair at a yard sale for $10 and painted both pieces with tan spray paint so they would match. I repurposed valances that I made 12 years ago, and have had a different look in each of our last 3 homes. The rug was in our bedroom before, as were the pillow shams and quilt, so I like the way they mix and match with each other. However, the quilt has not survived Kissy Belle's scratching on it, so it needed replacing on our bed. I folded all the worn areas to the inside, and it works perfect as a cushion, because of its padding. There is an iron piece on top of the family photos that matches the one in the last post (these two walls are visible on opposite sides of the living room). Then I made curtain panels from $6 worth of fabric on clearance from Walmart. I also spray painted the little magazine rack black (it had a dated ivory/gold finish on it) to tie it in with the other black accents.

It definitely looks better than it did bare, and only $35 total spent on chair, spray paint, curtains, and iron piece.

Roses on China

I have had several questions and comments about my header, so I thought I would just explain in a post.

I have loved flowers on porcelain since I was a young teenager. My first purchase was a small white vase with lovely violets all over it. Shape wise, though, I prefer teacups to vases, they stack and hang making them easier to display, and you can cart them around the house with you like moveable art.

The dishes on my header are my dishes, collected over the last 20 years or so from goodwill, salvation army, thrift shops, yard sales, estate sales, and even marshalls, and tjmaxx, (they're not all old). I'm not afraid to dig around and move piles apart (you have to HUNT for treasure). I purchase only 1. what I love 2. when it's a good deal. I have passed up many things that I loved but were expensive. Please be assured, mine is not a valuable collection. My collection is to use and look at to give me pleasure, so I really don't want super valuable items, those add carefulness and stress to the household. I also don't worry about purchasing sets, teacups don't have to have a matching saucer and vice versa. I usually don't match the teacups to the saucers when using them - even if there's a match - that way the oddballs don't stand out. Almost all of these in the picture were picked up for $3 or less. The exception is the teapot and teacups in front - a gift from my husband many christmases ago. Didn't he do good? He's not a teacup and saucer kind of guy, so I was very impressed he picked these out. They are the Royal Albert "Old Country Roses" pattern, which has always been one of my favorites.

This is a picture of the secretary desk in my dining room where my teacups are displayed. This shot is pulled back and shows both the shelves.

So enjoy the header, and if you like teacups, let me encourage you to get out there and start collecting. Happy Hunting!! Love, Pam

February Flowers

I found this GREAT little table at our local goodwill store for $2.99. I took a picture of it before with my old 35mm camera. Then sweet hubby bought me a little digital camera to make this blogging thing work easier. SO, I didn't develop the film of the before shots - I'll just describe it for you.

It was white, but it looked like a priming coat with lots and lots of brush stokes in all directions. It was very dusty inside, and there was a little red toy snake in the corner which I originally thought it was a bit of ric rac (the snake has nothing to do with anything, except that I thought it was funny how your experiences shape your perceptions - me, always seeing fabric pieces, even when it's plastic!!)he he There was also a spot for a drawer, but no drawer with it. I snagged it - less than $3.00 and solid wood - can't pass that up.

After sanding and painting white, it still looked so plain. I had decided it would be perfect in the bathroom, to hold books and magazines. So, what to decorate with - maybe decoupage? or fabric? (I'm famous in my family for covering something in fabric if it's not great to look at). Then I spied these for inspiration. Pretty little embroideried linen towels made many years ago by my dear m-i-l.
I remembered a little foam stamp that I have in the shape of a rose. Along with paint in my stash, I could decorate this without spending any additional money. After getting the roses on, however, they looked so linear. I have a very hard time doing anything totally random! So I added the lines in beige to look like a lattice connecting the roses. I tried this two ways on scrap paper. The first way I taped off lines to paint with blue tape. (I have used this method before to paint a lattice on a larger flat surface.) Second way, I just free handed little lines the width of my brush. I liked the way the second method looked for this project. More whimsical, and since the little roses are pretty whimsical themselves, it seemed like a better match.

So there you are, little stand for $2.99 to brighten up the bathroom. Flowers in February, not in the garden, but still garden-like. And my quick fix for the missing drawer? A piece of cardboard cut to fit and spray painted white. I have lots of cardboard around here from left over moving boxes that I saved for just such a purpose!! :-) While this would not be the best solution for a kids room, it is plenty sturdy enough for the wear and tear of two adults. (Looking at these pictures, I think I really need to paint the walls - they are so builder white - but this is a rental house, and I'm not sure yet if I should (or want to) tackle that. It is main reason, though, that I'm desperate to add color. )

The last three pictures are of the little shelf on the wall above the stand and the wall above the toilet. Thanks for visiting and sharing in the fun of my project!