Some Thoughts on Decor

Kitchen Confidential

So we get the keys to the house at some point today and I'll be able to get in there, take some pictures and see just what everything looks like. I really remember very little, my visits were quick and over a month ago. It's a little bizarre. One thing I've been focussing on is the kitchen. I think it's a bit of a diamond in the rough. Here's an awkward photo of it from the Real Estate pages:


Naturally, we'll get rid of the table, the holly hobby lampshades and the wallpaper. The plan is to add a double sink and a butcher block counter at some point, too. Now conventional wisdom would dictate that I replace or at least paint out the dark stained cupboards, but I'm planning of keeping them and building the kitchen around their mid-century charm. I WILL be replacing the hardware, with something along these lines:


I'm picturing the walls in a sort of teal or aqua to play off the brown of the cupboards and I'm looking forward to accessorizing with my favourite vintage kitchenware like this beautiful casserole dish I picked up on Etsy last year on Christmas Eve.


What did I say to The Robeau when I showed it to him? "I'd like to build a kitchen around this piece some day." Now I can.

Dining with Decals?

Here's what the dining room looked like when we were at the open house (they were using it as a living / sitting room:


There's lots to be done, like tearing up the pink shag carpet, losing the weird bedknob looking spindles in the pass through and replacing the fancy lady draperies. We have a dining set and sideboard that are very mid-century modern (don't you love teak?) and I was thinking it might be fun to create a little shabby chic contrast on the wall. There are lots of great opulent looking wallpapers happening right now which could be fun. Ultimately, what I'm thinking about is finding a way to add some luster to the modernity of the mid-century shapes we'll be housing in there. Something I'm considering which seems almost too easy and economical to be true is decals:



I'm not sure though, the space might be too small for a statement like that to work. I don't know. Like I said, I hardly remember anything and it's all academic until I get in there, armed with paint chips, The Robeau's good design and common sense and the Decor Dream Team (Paula, Annette and Jen). Hopefully we'll be hearing from The Decor Dream Team in more detail on these virtual pages over the next several weeks as we whip this house into shape. In the meantime, any thoughts or suggestions you have are more than welcome in comments. I never get tired of swapping these kinds of ideas.