A couple of weeks ago, we finally made it down to Garden Ridge to get the bistro set I've been wanting since we moved in. My kitchen is goo sized, and it has this nice bay window looking into the front yard (another project, since it was nothing but weeds for a lawn when we moved in) and I could see myself sitting there with my coffee and iPad in the morning (I love getting my paper on my iPad, much better than newspaper spread all over - but I digress..). Now that I have the bistro set, I'm ready to finish up the kitchen. So here is the starting point:
So, really, not a bad starting point. You can see my black wrought iron roosters that frame each side of the bay window. And the light fixture works for me (which is good since it's a rental house and changing the fixtures isn't very cost effective!). I just added the pitcher of flowers on the table. I definitely need to get more stems, as they look fairly anorexic right now, but I love the pop of red from the poppies, and it's a color I intend to continue on as the accent in the kitchen.
If you are sitting at the bistro table looking away from the bay window, you've got a ring side seat for my L shaped kitchen. Of which there is absolutely nothing to see right now. Bland counter tops, black and stainless appliances (actually, I like that a lot!), white cabinets, and a nice window in front of the sink that has potential, but is currently...bland. And please ignore the weird halo in the center of the photo's. I cleaned my lens before I took and I clearly missed a spot or something! And the walls don't have this much yellow in them. Think about the color of foam on top of a mocha at Starbucks. That's about the color of my kitchen. But it doesn't photograph well, so it looks more beige-ish.
OK, things I plan to change. First, curtain panels in the bay window. While the white wooden blinds are nice, they lend to the overall bland feel of the kitchen. Maybe if they were plantation shutters, I'd feel differently. Maybe. Probably not! And I don't want a heavy drapery. That's actually a small space with the bistro set there and I don't want it to make that side of the room off balanced. So just some simple panels. I'm thinking one on each end and one in between the each window.
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| Habitat Cherry |
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| Piastrelle Vapor |
I'd also like to re-upholster the seats. Microfiber is practical, but the tan color doesn't work for me. I'm still contemplating fabric choices. I'm going with a French Country feel for the kitchen, to keep it from looking to modern (essentially the kitchen is black and white with some stainless steel accents - and modern is not the feel I want for my kitchen). I sort of like this print, Habitat Cherry. While the colors might work, I'm afraid it doesn't have quite the French Country feel I'm looking for. Although at $7.69 a yard, it's certainly cost effective! I think the second one, Piastrelle Vapor, might work too, although I'm worried about the white background. It's $11.19 a yard for this one, and I only need one yard for each chair, so still affordable in my book. And I really, really love So Silhouette Tuxedo. I'm just afraid it would be straying back to the modern look I'm trying to avoid. Still, I have to say that it's my favorite of the three choices. There are a couple of other options I might consider, but I think I'm going to start with swatches so I can see what it's actually going to look like in my room. Technically, none of them have the actual French Country look, so I'm still looking for other options (that won't cost $30-$40 a yard!)
And a rug? Maybe? I'm not sure I want to have to worry about vacuuming a rug in the kitchen.
As always, more to come!
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| So Silhouette |
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