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

design - kitchen inspiration

[ nine & sixteen for Victoria Magazine]

I wanted to share some of the inspiration behind my design for the kitchen. It was the hardest room in the house to design, by far, because I had never stepped foot in it. Having to design an island and figure out how the layout would function was so challenging for me. I really feel like you need to live in a space before truly understanding how it functions best, hence why a lot of it has yet to be finished. We decided to build the island, as we needed that to function, but hold off on any other cabinetry and just re-purpose what was existing.

It was also important for me to have some antique pieces incorporated into the design and it takes time to find those perfect pieces. I love the cozy feel of the space Tessa designed (above), and it was what convinced me to keep our small antique table.

                                                                                            

 

[de Vol via @cotswoldsinteriors]

I love the look of unlacquered brass, especially with marble.

[de Vol Kitchens]

I also love the warmth and character of exposed beams. This kitchen from de Vol also convinced me to commit to a darker island, and by darker I mean not white. The colour I selected was Edgecomb Grey by BM.

[de Vol Kitchens]

[@farmhouseforfour]

This kitchen was a huge inspiration in the designing of our island. I just love the simplicity. This, and the kitchen above, were also very influential on the style of the island - simple, shaker style feeling very English.

[@in__the__fields]

Catherine of In The Fields is always so inspiring. From how she uses antique finds to bring beauty to the everyday items, to the lovely open shelves of her former  kitchen. I'm looking forward to seeing how she finishes her new one.

[Julie Blanner]

 

I also always love the simplicity of Julie Blanner's kitchen. She probably convinced me to commit to the brass faucet. I also love her hood and plan to design something similar, but in reclaimed pine from the original floorboards.

[dreamlightforyou - Etsy]

I'm waiting for this Etsy shop to reopen so I can order the pendant lights for above our island.

[@junehomesupply]

Another lovely sink - this one from June Home Supply. I also love the very simple open shelves.

[@cat_in_france - Rabbit Hill]

Cat's beautiful home, filled with all of her lovely antiques, is also a huge inspiration. To me, it embodies a personal kitchen; one that functions according to it's owners needs and style of cooking. I plan to add a wooden piece for between my range and fridge..

[Martha Stewart Living]

On top of the wooden piece by the range will be a set up similar to this one in Martha's Kitchen. I love the urns filled with cooking tools and the storage underneath. Functional and beautiful. I also love the putty-beige colour of her kitchen with the gorgeous marble tops. Again, a kitchen curated around how it's owner uses it.

[Barefoot Contessa]

I also need to find a large basket, similar to this, but to conceal my garbage and recyclables.

While I love a good, satisfying before and after, the designing of our home is something that takes time. It evolves as we live. I'm okay with that process. In fact, I enjoy it. And I have a feeling so many of you enjoy seeing the process just as much as the final reveal.

kitchen tour

Lately I've been spending quite a lot of time in the kitchen, and have been attempting to document it more. As I've been posting more of this room, as well as more tours of the rest of the house as it currently is, I've started getting a lot of requests for more. I know that I've already shared a tour of the kitchen with sources, but I thought I would walk through it again. For now, I will go over the details that still need to be finished and then tomorrow, I will show the inspirations for what the rest of my plans are for it's design.

Currently our appliances are in place, but not finished off. I am on the hunt for a larger piece for between the fridge and stove. It will serve as mainly storage, but also a workspace. I'm hoping to add a runner down this side of the island and we're hoping to be able to build the fridge in, and add a cupboard to the top for storage. This will help draw the attention away from the fridge.

We will also add open shelves above my baking counter and I need to find shades for these windows, as this one in particular is Western facing, and the sun is extremely bright when we sit down for dinner.

Lighting wise, we are waiting to order two pendant fixtures for above the island, as well as two sconces for the back wall, on either side of the picture window. I actually ordered two different sets of fixtures for here, and neither came in the right finish I wanted. Eventually there will be bench seating under the window, but for now, it's fine as it is. I also want to add some peg hooks beside the door to the porch.

I have some salvaged floorboards, from the original floor we had to remove, and I'm saving them for a vent hood above my stove. It will be in raw wood, to match the exposed beams.

I'm also still waiting to find four stools for this side of the island. This was an old one we had, but unfortunately, Ikea no longer carries this same style. I had found two sets of nearly identical wooden stools with cane seats, but I wasn't sure about painting them. We'll see.

This is the view of the kitchen from the living room couch. I always think it's a pretty one.

the butler's pantry

Because in some ways it's an extension of the kitchen, I wanted to also show you the progress I've been making on our butler's pantry.

Having a butler's pantry, as wonderful as the idea would have been to me, was not even slightly a consideration when pursuing possible properties. However, stumbling upon a house that did have one felt like the luckiest of surprises.

For someone who spends a great deal of time in the kitchen and loves to entertain, a space to keep all the items for setting a pretty table, a charming old sink perfect for arranging flowers and lots of space to house pantry items was, well, probably the equivalent to a gorgeous walk in closet. But in my opinion, even better, because I'm constantly passing through it!

Now, before I show you it as it is right now, I feel like you need to see it before...

Here it is as of last October, post demolition. The door frame was tiny (just over five feet!), all of the beautiful beams were covered up. There was a great deal of duct work and plumbing running through it and the window needed to be re-supported as it wasn't structurally sound.

There's always a part of me that's sad I never got a chance to walk through it before, but at the same time, there's also a very tiny part of me that wonders if it's good that I didn't. What a difference.

We essentially stripped everything away. Plumbing and venting was all rerouted to be hidden neatly, and the ceiling was left exposed (but cleaned up). We raised the height of the doorway to the kitchen and added the transom to allow extra light into this space. There isn't much natural light as the only window is under our large covered back porch. Wonder of all wonders, one of the only things in the house (which was sitting vacant for a number of months), was this beautiful old cast iron farm sink.

Eventually, the butler's pantry will be finished with custom cabinets. The sink will be mounted slightly more to the left of the window, in an extra deep counter (thought it will still have an open bottom underneath it), with plenty of storage on the right side, right to the kitchen wall. And the opposite wall will have very tall built in cabinets that are on either side of the original chimney.

For now, we tweaked the sink as it was mounted (which meant we saved time and money just using what it was already in), and used an old cabinet I had as a sort of counter top beside it. That cabinet is currently holding all of my pantry type items (canned foods, baking ingredients, dried pasta and legumes etc...) I will add some open shelves on the opposite wall soon as that is where my ironstone collection will be displayed. The dish rack was from my mother in law. She had it in her kitchen for years and I always loved it. At our old home, I didn't have a space on our kitchen walls that it could fit it. I'm so glad that I stored it away though, because it's perfect here.

I decided I wanted to display a lot of my blue pieces in this space. It's still clean, and neutral, but I love the traditional feel. I will have a shade made for this window, hopefully in Lee Jofa's Hollyhock print in lemon and aqua (see below) It's probably one of my favourite prints.  I will keep the curtain for the bottom of the sink quite simple though, likely a natural linen, or very plain windowpane pattern, but maybe with some pleats to add a bit of character. 

In the spring, when the garden centers open again, I will add some more green in the form of a few pretty topiaries in some of my old terracotta pots. I also have an Audubon print in an old gilt frame to hang as well. I would also like to find an old sconce that holds a candle for on the walls by the door to the kitchen, and I have been waiting for an Etsy shop to return from vacation so I can order the prettiest cord pendant light.

The sink was so helpful while we waited for the stone to be placed on the island, and then the plumbing to be attached. It meant I only needed to wash dishes in a pail for one weekend!

The top of the dish rack made the perfect little impromptu wine rack.

And the baskets are pretty, but also functional as they hold my napkins and a few sets of antique cutlery and napkin rings.

This is the opposite side. As much as I would have loved to expose the chimney brick, it had been covered in something and wasn't pretty, so it was easiest to just cover it all in and keep it clean. The two built ins will be narrow and very tall. One will be shelving on the top (the left side) so I can display my ironstone collection, and the other side will be closed in (to the right of the chimney). Those cabinet will be done in the same style and colour as the island. We absolutely love the exposed ceiling.

For now, three little bins are where I sort my paper and plastic.

The flooring is also slightly different from the rest of the house. We ran out of flooring and had to go with something kiln dried so we could install it right away. The man who did our floors happened to have this on hand, so we used this. When the cabinetry is in, and the runner is down, it will be a fairly small amount of flooring actually visible, but I do like the warmth of it.

The butler's pantry is between the kitchen (the doorway I'm standing in taking this photo) and the family room (beyond). In the family room we have a small formal dining area, so it's handy having things like my table linens and candles here.

I can't wait to get the curtain hung to cover up the sink, but for now, it's at least pretty to look at.