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

christmas in the kitchen

We awoke this morning to a winter wonderland!

And all the snow makes the whole house bright. So I made the most of the light and thought I'd show you the very minimal Christmas decor in the kitchen. It really is just tucking a bit of greens here and there. No snowmen tea towels or special Christmas dishes...

I like using Juniper for the shelves as it has pretty blue berries.

And I love that I can see just a glimpse of the tree from the kitchen.

But one of my favourite things about our home is my white dishes against the stone walls. It's such a pretty contrast.

I even made the most of a quiet snowy day and snuggled with this little one for a bit this afternoon.

The Country Living Fair

This past weekend, I enjoyed a girl's weekend away (with our babies) in Ohio. I can't even call it a weekend as we left before the sun was up on Thursday and arrived home very late on Friday. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip, actually, but it was so fun. And to be honest, it was very needed.

Arriving just before lunch time on Thursday, we spent the afternoon touring about the Holmes County area. This is an area of Ohio that we've been to a few times, so we knew all the places we wanted to stop. We stocked up on homemade chocolates and our favourite preserves, drove the prettiest back roads, stopped for once-a-year pumpkin pie, and hurried through all our favourite shops before they closed at five.

I couldn't get over how much it felt like fall! The leaves had just started turning and all the farm stands had piles and piles of every kind of pumpkin, in every size. And speaking of pumpkin! I found the most delicious mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Buttercream filling that we nibbled on the entire trip. And fall candy! I never knew there were so many varieties of fall-inspired candy corn! I couldn't resist picking out some for their class parties.

After enjoying a home-style buffet for dinner (broasted chicken, real mashed potatoes and the fluffiest dinner rolls!), we made our way to our hotel in Millersburg. It was full of charm, running along the top floors of about four shops on the main street of town. This meant that every time you left one building, and the hall took you into the next, the floor level changed and the doors and windows were different. Inexpensive antique artwork hung on all the walls and the main areas boasted tin ceilings and creaky floors. The town of Millersburg is a classic, small American town, but as we left early to head to Columbus for the fair, we didn't have time to enjoy any of it.

After breakfast, we made our way to Columbus, winding up and down hills, the countryside under a thick blanket of fog.

One of the reasons I was looking forward to the show in Columbus was because I really love that it's set in Historic Columbus Village. It's a great show, but the beautiful old town makes it even more enjoyable to browse around.

The pile of Pumpkins, in every size and variety, right in town square.

I loved the simple bales of hay and corn stalks.

This little home is my favourite in the village.

And then there were all the booths. I just love the creativity that some vendors put into their spaces. Farmhouse Frocks was a beautiful shop in Millersburg that we weren't able to see, but their booth didn't disappoint.

I'm always drawn to displays of ironstone.

Findings is another favourite booth I look forward to visiting.

I only purchased a couple things for myself on the whole trip. I brought home a couple packages of these little birch leaves. I figured they would look pretty for place settings on a Thanksgiving table, but also double as Christmas ornaments.

Some great architectural salvage throughout the show.

And then there's that one thing you decide not to purchase, and then regret immediately after. You know what I'm talking about. There's always something.

For me it was a pair of these beautiful tables. It was near the end of the show, Jude was ready to eat and I couldn't fit the stroller in the booth, so I was half looking from near him. I didn't realize until later that they were a pair, and I wish I would have got them! They would have looked perfect as night tables in our master. I did contact the seller, and she was graciously going to let me know if they didn't sell at her remaining two shows. So fingers crossed!

While I loved the show, I loved driving about the countryside, stopping whenever we saw something we wanted to take a photo of (which happened quite often!). I loved having hours to get to know a new friend better - crying babies, frequent nursing stops and all!

And I especially love that I left not quite ready for summer to end, and came home ready for Fall.

Weekend Celebrations and Some Antique Finds

This past weekend we had lots to celebrate.

First, it was Willen's 7th birthday - something that is so unbelievable to me... seven. I can hardly believe how old he seems in these photos. He's still so young to me, and yet when I see this, I see that he's not. He's become this independent, smart and loving person, who is always learning new things and creating and exploring and longing for me to let him be free and adventurous.

Instead of a big party, we invited the few kids on our block that we don't really know so well. Summer holidays are one week away and we wanted him to meet some neighbors who he could spend time with this summer. This is a lovely "after" shot of the party, but we were busy having fun.

We also got to celebrate this handsome man whom I love and count as one of my greatest blessings. This man has no idea how deeply I love him and how thankful I am to be his. God has transformed him into the father I dreamt would raise my children with me and He continues to do the most beautiful work in Him. He is one amazing father and we love him.

And even amidst all the celebrating, I was able to sneak out on Saturday morning with my sister for a quick sale at Oliver and Rust. I picked up a basket, a metal carrier which was for my dad (he has a slight obsession with little feeders and carriers right now) and an ironstone sugar pot.

I also grabbed these two gorgeous pillows that she makes. They match our couch perfectly, and are the perfect size for our two sitting chairs.