open shelves in the kitchen

One of the projects on our list of things to finish on the house was to build open shelves in our kitchen. Because we repurposed the two existing cabinets that were in the home before we purchased it, we don't have a great deal of cupboard space. I don't mind, as I enjoy arranging my dishes and serving ware on display.  Finding the right style of shelf however, proved more difficult than I imagined it would be, as I couldn't quite find the style I was looking for. I wanted a substantial bracket that had a pretty silhouette to it, and I wanted shelves that were extra deep. The 12" depth allows me to not only stack wider pieces, like dinner plates and cake stands, it also allows me to layer pieces in front of each other, which I find visually makes the shelves much more interesting to look at.

We had our carpenter build a bracket that I had sketched, and cut large pine boards to our custom dimensions. The original design was inspired by Tessa of Nine & Sixteen. Though for anyone asking, I have seen very similar ones, also available to order extra deep, from Home Depot online. Whenever I'm styling shelves, as with so many other things, it takes a bit of tweaking and adjusting before I feel like I've found what I'm happy with. And of course, in time, it will change again, especially as the seasons change. I enjoy the few pieces of brown transferware and a couple pumpkins for autumn, but they'll likely change again come Christmas.

I think a good shelf style includes variety, but also uniform and balance. Mixing heights and depths is aesthetically pleasing. I try to mix a variety of shades of white, from more creamier dishes to cooler white ironstone. And because most are white, I like to add pieces that have pretty details like ornate handles and pretty patterns. I don't even mind a few pieces that are damaged, as usually having them turned a certain way can conceal that damage. Both of these pieces on the bottom right are significantly damaged, but you can't tell.

I also like adding texture, like these rattan highball glasses and my bamboo flatware.

The shelves are quite high, so high in fact that I need a chair to reach the top shelf at nearly 8' high. But the items on the top shelf aren't ones I use often, so I only need to reach to clean them occasionally. The height is also perfect as the ceiling in this part of the kitchen is vaulted and 18' high, so the higher mounted shelves help draw your eye upwards. The also balance the large, mounted cabinet on the opposite side of the kitchen. Having a lot of height to work with also meant that I could space them slightly higher apart. This is perfect for being able to stack items one on top of another, and also, to be able to stand larger old platters behind things.

I will eventually add a small strip along the back to keep the platters from slipping, but they were out. For now, thought they don't move, I made sure to put enough weight in front in the event they did slide forward accidentally.

Here you can see the profile of the bracket. Originally we were going to do a solid bracket, but given the extra depth, and the weight of the dishes, we decided to do a bracket in this design as it's a lot more strong.

I will remove the pumpkins this week. It's funny, I didn't realize until I was editing these photos that the one pumpkin has started rotting from the inside! You can't tell as clearly in person as you can in a bright photo.

While most of these are antique pieces, some of you have messaged for sources,

so I've listed what I can below.

White Dish Set - Antique White by Mikasa

Footed White Bowl and Cake Plate (on top shelf) - Martha Stewart for Macy's

Vintage Bamboo Cutlery - @baltimorevernacular

Rattan High Ball Glasses - Monika Hibbs Home

A Merriest of Christmases

These past two days have been unusually relaxing and quite peaceful.

Ryan and I spent the day wrapping up the last of our gifts, setting the table for brunch on Christmas morning, and tidying the house before we headed off to church for the evening.

I didn't have much time to share with you the rest of the house, and that's okay.

I did however enjoy playing with the boys and snugging on the couch as we read the Christmas story. I enjoyed chatting late into the night with my handsome husband as we laughed and stuffed stockings.

And I enjoyed a few too many delicious Christmas cookies.

I love Christmas day.

I love hosting Christmas for my family. For the past number of years, we've hosted a late breakfast on Christmas morning. My sisters and parents all come over after we've each had some time to do our own gifts with our families. We enjoy a big brunch, and exchange gifts with each other.

It's especially nice because it means that we never have conflicting Christmases. Breakfast is always with my family, and dinner is always with Ryan's.

As you can see, the table wasn't quite finished. Some of the napkins we in the wash still, and again, that's okay.

Everything was laid out the day before and prepped in the fridge so I could spend as little time in the kitchen as possible and as much time as I could soaking in each moment and watching the boys joyfully open their gifts.

I love watching them on Christmas morning.

Breakfast has become the same each year. When you find a good thing, why change?

We enjoyed cinnamon buns from the store, citrus salad, bacon and sausages, french toast with maple syrup and our favourite, eggs Benedict.

After gathering the piles of paper, and relaxing for a while, we headed to Ryan's parents for our traditional Christmas turkey dinner - and it was amazing, as always.

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And now the boys are fast asleep, and presents have all been opened. The house is quiet and peaceful and it's hard to believe that another Christmas has come and gone.

But really, that's the best part about Christmas - it's never really over. The greatest gift is always patiently waiting to be received. Our Saviour is always waiting, longing for us to come and sit and rest and be loved and welcomed as we are. The lights come down, but His light is always shining brightest, even in the darkest of times. And the gifts are opened and the tree is bare once more, but the greatest gift, the gift of life eternal is always found at the foot of the cross - the tree on which the perfect baby we celebrate at Christmas time hung for our sins. So that we, we who are broken and lost and hopeless, can be made perfect, and welcomed in and given the only sure hope - eternal life.

It's the most perfectly beautiful gift. And it's ours if we want it. And who doesn't want to be loved unconditional and welcomed as we are, and given life and joy and purpose and washed beautifully clean and made holy by his perfect blood, shed for us?

He gives us the gift of Himself, and the gift of finding Him in everything we do each day. We simply have to choose to open it or not.

Wishing you the most wonderful of Christmases today.

With love, 

the Heikoops

New Brown Transferware Pieces

Ryan has a few holidays left to use this year, and as crazy as it seems, our opportunities to use them are getting fewer as the weeks go by. So we decided to take a couple of days to work on the house, and then spend a night out of town with the boys. We planned a small road trip to see the Fall colours and pretty towns within only a few hours drive from our home.

While out and about, we would stop in a small town or port and we'd wander around. I would pop in and out of shops, the boys would play on a playground close by with Ryan. Then we'd search out a cozy little spot to eat, or a charming bakery to grab something warm and sweet. We just took our time, and did as we pleased and halfway, stayed in a hotel.

I'll share some more photos from this little adventure soon, but for now, I just wanted to share a couple things that I brought home with me.

Our hotel was in Woodstock, Ontario, and in Woodstock, there is a very large antique mall. In fact, it claims to be the largest in Canada with over 500 retailers.

 Now, before you start to imagine this massive antique mall, with aisle after aisle of antiques and treasures, I'll stop you. It's not. In fact it's more like three floors of industrial warehouse housing every person in town's left over garage sale items... And occasionally some handmade items, or some very sparse spaces that almost had potential.

Okay, maybe that's a little harsh. There were a few good vendors, and despite all of the clutter, I did actually come away with a box full of items. In fact, I came away with a box full of fantastic items.

One of the booths had a small collection of brown transferware, most of which were beautiful Aesthetic pieces. Because I couldn't justify purchasing every one of them, I spent some time deciding on my most favourite ones.

I loved the different shape of this plate, and the darker brown on this gravy boat.

I loved the deer and swallows depicted on this dinner plate.

I also found two smaller plates, a luncheon plate and dessert plate,

And this coffee pot was a steal because it was cracked in a few places. The little ironstone tea cup was another steal at $2.

So, with a few new pieces to display, it meant I needed to do some rearranging of my shelves.

I find it so soothing placing things and rearranging them until I feel like they're just right.

To give you some bearings, this is doorway leads into the living room. You can see the couch, which faces the fireplace in the background. The kitchen is an addition the runs along the back of the house, so you have to step through the stone wall. I love all of the casings from past years. It's just an interesting detail. I even love the dark, worn treads.

Fall Decorating and The Dining Room Revealed

I spent yesterday, the first day of Fall, arranging things around the dining room, getting it ready for the cooler months ahead.

Fall is such a cozy time of year and I feel like my decor reflects that change. In the summer, I find I enjoy things more airy and paired down - clean decluttered shelves, simple bouquets, light linens. Just open and fresh and light. But this changes in the Fall; cozy throws are scattered among the rooms, and candles are set out to invite us to cozy up. Colour and more natural elements are included; colouring leaves from changing trees, whimsical grapevine draped over the mantel, the rich colours of pumpkins, gourds and fresh picked apples. nuts and pine cones tucked here and there.

They all add so much warmth to the room.

As you can see, the room is no longer blue.

Everything has been brightened up with Simple White by Benjamin Moore.

  

Nests are displayed under glass cloches.

I loved the colour of these Maple leaves. It's such a rich green, with the golden brown keys.

Just easy cuttings tucked into a hanging basket - simple and yet beautiful.

And really, that was what I was going for. While I do enjoy a home that transforms with the seasons, I don't have boxes of stored seasonal decor. I prefer hints here and there.

Like this vine tucked on the mantel.

As you can see, I'm still hunting for a forth chair!

And you know that else, the off-centered mantel and mirror doesn't bother me in the slightest anymore! I just added a little weight on the other side and it visually balances it out.

I can't stand having to remove a million things from the table at meals. so I didn't go too crazy. The glass hurricanes can be seen through, And using the antique linen towel as a short runner means it doesn't get dirty. Ideally, I would love to have a full-length runner, but aside from having one made, I haven't found one long enough for the table. This was $20 at Christie's the other weekend.

I just picked a few gourds in muted tones.

I also kept the buffet simple.

Here I displayed a few of my favourite ironstone pieces.

This is a floor to ceiling built-in at the bottom of the staircase. It has six narrow shelves. I decided to group my brown transferware here.

And while it's not the dining room, here are just a few shots of the kitchen shelves. Again, just a few touches here and there.